Transcript Highlights:

• Alright House Bill 377, by Representative Tremont Heated Tobacco products.
• We're simply providing language to define heated tobacco products and create another category of other
• Do these heated tobacco products contain nicotine.
• Does your bill look at providing a tax exemption for these heated tobacco products to contain nicotine

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, July 17, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We clean up the gas, we burn it in turbines to make electricity, and then we recover the heat off the
• turbines to make electricity. make steam to heat this back up.
• Traffic. 7 News First Alert Meteorologist Steve Rudin is here, and Mother Nature is turning up the heat

Keywords: nominations, William Kimmett, Kenneth Keyes, Commerce Department, Tax Policy, economic agenda, trade, tax cuts, public testimony

Summary: This meeting of the committee was centered around the consideration of nominations for two key positions: William Kimmett as Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade and Kenneth Keyes as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the Treasury Department. Members were given the opportunity to provide remarks on the nominees, with discussions revealing contrasting views on their potential impact on U.S. economic policy. While some members expressed support for the nominees, highlighting their qualifications and expertise, others voiced strong opposition, arguing that their confirmation would further a harmful economic agenda that favors billionaires over average Americans. Senator Wyden, the ranking member, emphasized concerns about trade chaos and the detrimental effects on workers and businesses across the country.

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, it's a sensitive subject that comes up a lot: heat mitigation in the prisons.
• What you have done, though, with the area of looking at how we mitigate heat, we have a protocol where
• inmates with heat need—basically, if they have any vulnerability to heat, they’re placed in air conditioning
• On TDCJ, I want to pause and thank the committee for funding cool beds and heat mitigation under the
• Thank you for the mitigation of heat monies and safety equipment for workers in TDCJ.

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard the Legislative Budget Board’s overview of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 2026-27 budget, followed by extensive testimony from DPS leadership. The LBB presentation covered funding and staffing changes across driver license services, facilities, troopers and recruit schools, crime labs, vehicle and aircraft operations, and border security. The recommendations included added support for customer service staffing and trooper hiring, but did not include several DPS exceptional items such as major driver license staffing and technology requests, new regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio, and other capital projects. Members also discussed proposed rider changes, including a new rider to lapse unused trooper funding and require reporting after recruit schools. Much of the committee’s questioning focused on driver license operations, where senators criticized long call wait times, low call-answer rates, appointment delays, and what they viewed as an overreliance on adding staff rather than improving processes. DPS and LBB witnesses said the agency is pursuing some technology upgrades, including automation, online pre-population of applications, and appointment-system improvements, but acknowledged that the driver license division remains a major problem area. Senators also raised concerns about whether the 2019 efficiency study led to meaningful changes and whether the agency should consider broader process redesign or even a different administrative structure. Colonel Freeman and other DPS officials then defended the agency’s broader law enforcement and border-security work, emphasizing the need for the Williamson County training academy, the 500 additional troopers funded in prior sessions, and continued support for Operation Lone Star. They described DPS’s role in border interdiction, threat-to-life investigations, oilfield theft cases, Capitol and Alamo security, and highway safety, and said the agency is stretched thin by deployments and overtime. Members asked about border reimbursement possibilities, regional staffing differences, pursuit safety, fleet and aircraft replacement needs, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame museum. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• So both transportation fuels and heating fuels and the cost of electric rates have entered the top 10
• So both transportation fuels and heating fuels and the cost of electric rates have entered the top 10
• <02:29:38.640> for biomass boiler to generate heat for biomass boiler to generate heat for
• <02:34:56.760> with<02:34:57.080> wood heating for it since heating with wood heating
• He said the pellets are then conveyed to a heating system to heat your entire home with wood pellet fuel

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It has an extraordinary scope of responsibilities, and sometimes those can get heated.
• And sometimes those can get heated. responsibilities but and sometimes those can get heated but I also

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee 4 met to consider a large block of budget items as part of the Senate Democrats’ budget package. The chair highlighted major budget themes including investments in affordable housing and homelessness programs, full funding for Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program rounds 7 and 8, support for economic development through the CalCompetes tax credit, consumer protection and financial regulation funding, and technology, resilience, and data security programs. Members also noted the broader budget process and the extensive number of hearings and public comments received. During member comments, Senator Smallwood-Quarris raised concerns that the committee had not received all requested information from departments and said that was unacceptable, while also urging more investment in Expo Park ahead of the Olympics and in arts and cultural programs. Senator Cowan praised the transparency of the Senate budget plan, the work of staff and agencies, and the committee’s oversight role. Public testimony included support from the California State Association of Counties for fully funding HAP at $1 billion and meeting a September 1 distribution goal, and from the Small Business Development Centers for $26 million in GoBiz funding for SIP and TAP loan and technical assistance programs. The committee then voted on items in blocks. Most items were approved unanimously, while one larger block passed 3-1 with Senator Nilo voting no and another block passed 3-0 with Senator Nilo not voting. Items 20 and 42 were also approved 3-0 with Senator Nilo not voting. After concluding public comment and votes, the subcommittee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, it's a sensitive subject that comes up a lot: heat mitigation in the prisons.
• What you have done, though, with the area of looking at how we mitigate heat, we have a protocol where
• inmates with heat need, basically if they have any vulnerability to heat, they're placed in air conditioning
• inmates with heat need, basically if they have any of the environment, at how we mitigate heat.
• We have a protocol where inmates with heat need, basically if they have any vulnerability to heat, they're

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard a presentation from the Legislative Budget Board on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Article 5 budget. LBB recommended $3.7 billion in all funds for 2026-27, a 5.2 percent decrease from the base, while FTEs would rise by 856.7. Major items included funding for driver license services, DPS facilities, troopers and recruit schools, crime labs, vehicle and aircraft operations, border security, and rider changes. The committee also reviewed DPS exceptional items not included in the recommendation, including additional staffing, technology, and facility requests. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, criticizing long wait times, call abandonment, and repeated staffing increases without clear process improvements. LBB said the agency’s call-answer rate was about 9 percent in fiscal 2024, with average hold times around 34 minutes, later reduced to roughly 22-25 minutes. Senators questioned whether more FTEs alone would solve the problem and urged a broader efficiency study and better use of technology. DPS officials said they were pursuing process changes, including appointment-system upgrades, online pre-population of forms, and remote issuance options, while noting that Real ID requirements and population growth continue to drive demand. DPS leadership then outlined the agency’s priorities: completion of the Williamson County training academy, recruitment and retention of troopers, capital needs for vehicles and aircraft, and expanded responsibilities at the Capitol complex and the Alamo. Officials said the new trooper funding would help address staffing shortages, public safety, and border operations, and that overtime and deployment patterns had been adjusted to reduce burnout and improve flexibility. They also discussed Operation Lone Star, saying DPS spending is largely overtime, travel, and fuel, and that the agency continues to coordinate with federal partners while awaiting clarity on possible federal reimbursement for border security costs. Senators also raised concerns about oilfield theft, cartel activity, high-speed pursuits, bilingual pay, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, and DPS said it would follow up on some of those issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• Heat. Heat. Oh my God. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Have all members voted? Have all members voted? Yes.
• Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Does anyone ever wish to change their vote? Who's voted?
• [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. One minute.
• Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. One minute left for this vote.
• Heat. Heat. Have all members voted? Does anyone wish to change the vote?

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, June 5, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > Global one of the best tools to mitigate Global one of the best tools to mitigate Global heating
• it also stabilizes the heating it also stabilizes the electrical<00:08:36.919> grid<00:08:37.240
• green infrastructure in urban areas, like trees in residential areas, to provide shade and reduce heat
• residential areas to provide shade to residential areas to provide shade to reduce<00:15:59.800> heat
• 00.639> due<00:16:00.800> to<00:16:01.040> carbon<00:16:01.880> uh reduce heat

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committees heard testimony on several measures, with the main discussion centered on energy policy. SB 993 on geothermal exploration drew support from the State Energy Office and others, who described geothermal as a key low-cost, firm renewable resource and said the state should fund community outreach and resource research. However, the chairs deferred further action on SB 993 because a similar bill, SB 1068, had already passed the prior week. SB 202 on renewable energy also received broad support, including testimony that net energy metering benefits households and helps clean energy adoption, while Hawaiian Electric opposed the bill’s changes to the NEM forfeit feature as unfair to non-solar customers. SB 1588 on nuclear energy drew sharply divided testimony: supporters argued the bill would only study nuclear options and that the state should consider all tools, while opponents from 350 Hawaii and Greenpeace said nuclear is unsafe, costly, and inconsistent with Hawaii’s clean energy goals and constitution. The committee also heard SB 73 on county permits, SB 100 on intoxicating liquor, SB 1234 on government efficiency, and SB 1336 on a greenhouse gas sequestration task force. SB 100 was described as helping a Maui nonprofit recruit board members by addressing liquor commission-related fingerprinting or background-check issues, and the Attorney General’s technical amendments were accepted. SB 1234 was framed as improving coordination among state, federal, and local agencies, though HGEA opposed it as an opening to privatize government services. SB 1336, which would establish a task force to study greenhouse gas sequestration and related mitigation topics, drew some questions about its scope but was supported as a way to study climate mitigation and green infrastructure. In the later portion of the meeting, the committee took votes and adopted recommendations on several bills. SB 73 was passed with an amendment setting a defective date of May 13, 2040. SB 100 was passed with amendments, SB 202 was passed with amendments including technical changes and allowing the PUC to set the customer credit rate, SB 1234 was passed with amendments and a defective date of May 13, 2040, SB 1336 was passed as is, and SB 1588 was passed with amendments and a defective date of May 13, 2040. The committee also took up SB 161 on county permitting and inspection, agreeing to a package of amendments that would soften exemption language, remove some inspection and certificate-of-occupancy provisions, add flood-hazard language, require reporting and a working group, and set a defective date of May 13, 2040; the bill was then passed with those amendments. SB 635 on energy efficiency was passed with amendments assigning the State Energy Office to lead a survey and prioritizing first responder facilities, and SB 700 on renewable energy was introduced with proposed amendments, though the transcript cuts off before its final disposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• The development of the technology and the ability to access really hot zones of the Earth's heat has
• The development of the technology and the ability to access really hot zones of the Earth's heat has
• You're just extracting the heat of the earth and then using that.
• Fuel use: you're just extracting the heat of the earth and then using that to drive the turbine.
• heat of the earth and then using that to drive the turbine.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I'm wondering if you've done any cost analysis on the Environment Department's heat illness rule.
• Chairman, Representative, was that for the, the heat, that the heat exhaustion, heat illness, yeah, yeah
• Chair, Representative, so, um, that map, I, it's a heat map showing the amount of freight traffic along
• We've been a little bit on soapboxes this morning and it's heating up to the time we're running a little

Transcript Highlights:

• Home heating fuel, we get a lot of that from Canada.
• They want to know how they're going to handle it. they're going to pay their home heating bill right
• for gasoline, maybe 10 to 15 percent higher for electricity, and 10 to 15 percent higher for home heating
• On those items I mentioned, home heating fuel, electricity, gasoline, mean that Vermonters pay more for
• home heating fuel, gasoline, and electricity.

Keywords: nomination, Deputy Secretary of Treasury, economic policy, inflation, tariffs, tribal nations, government relations

Summary: The meeting convened to consider the nomination of Mike Falkender for the position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. During the session, multiple members voiced concerns regarding current economic policies under the Trump administration, particularly around inflation, tariffs, and the impact on small businesses. Discussions frequently centered on the administration's approach to tariffs and taxation, and how these factors contribute to the rising cost of living and potential job losses. Additionally, the importance of bolstering government-to-government relationships with tribal nations was emphasized, highlighting the need for specialized offices focused on tribal affairs within the Treasury Department.

Transcript Highlights:

• bill will affect virtually every sector of our economy: electric generation, transportation, home heating
• holds an expectation of massive reductions in residential use of natural gas for space and water heating
• But I am kind of concerned about the addition of, let's see, transportation fuels, heating fuels, and
• I want to be part of the process that tries to eliminate greenhouse gases; it's what is heating up the
• to assess how many greenhouse gas emissions come, for example, from all of those of us who use gas heat

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, as you know, heat reduces attention, memory, and concentration.
• Uh, and shaded outdoor environments also encourage physical activity, uh, because shade reduces heat
• ><01:48:04.480> memory, know, heat reduces attention, memory, know, heat reduces attention, memory
• activity uh because shade reduces heat activity uh because shade reduces heat and<01:48:10.480><
• So, um we getting heat-related illness.

Bills: HCR13, HCR61, HCR136, HCR185, HCR155, HCR68, HCR174, HCR178, HCR179, HCR91, HCR103, HCR115, HCR199, HR15, HR128, HR175, HR147, HR62, HR164, HR168, HR169, HR83, HR95, HR107, HR189

Keywords: coral reefs, sunscreen, environmental education, student stewardship, marine conservation, reforestation, Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, native forests, climate resilience, sustainable practices, economic opportunity, biodiversity, wildland-urban interface, WUI, wildfire mitigation, wildfire safety, Maui County, County of Maui, Kauai

Summary: The Committee on Water and Land met on March 31, 2026, and heard testimony on several resolutions. HCR 13/HR 50, which asks DLNR to work with DOE and the Public Charter School Commission on a student coral stewardship program, drew comments from DLNR, which said it stood on written testimony and had proposed amendments, and from supporters in the room. HCR 61, urging investment in reforestation policies, workforce, nursery capacity, and related support for public and private lands, received strong support from DLNR and multiple testifiers, including members of a reforestation policy hui, a resident, and others who emphasized watershed protection, flood and fire resilience, and the need to upgrade nursery infrastructure and staffing. Committee members asked questions about nursery modernization, staffing, island-specific needs, and whether reforestation could reduce wildfire impacts; the DLNR witness said all islands need investment, with especially large opportunities on Hawaiʻi Island, and that healthier forests improve resilience though they cannot eliminate climate-related risks. The committee then heard HCR 136/HR 128 on wildland-urban interface safety standards for Maui plantation towns, but no one testified. It also heard HCR 185/HR 175, which urges denial of permits for ICE detention-related warehouses; Chris Coffey of Immua Alliance testified in support, saying migrant survivors of exploitation are harmed when ICE detains people and that Hawaii would not be the first place to take such action, citing examples from other states and cities. In questioning, members explored whether a local facility would keep people closer to families and services or instead increase local detention; Coffey said detention generally cuts off access to services and can intensify fear, and that a local facility could incentivize more detention and make survivors less likely to come forward. Finally, the committee heard HCR 155/HR 147 supporting the Hawaii Water Safety Coalition’s Hawaii Water Safety Act. Testifiers included Allison Shapera, who described the statewide water safety plan, Hawaii’s high drowning rate, the economic and human costs of drownings, and her personal loss of her daughter in a preventable drowning; Kirsten Hermstead and Kalani Vierra of the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association said the plan’s recommendations need legislative recognition to help with implementation and grant funding; and Jessamine Town Horner testified by Zoom as a co-founder and bereaved family advocate. The transcript provided does not show any votes or final committee actions on the measures discussed.

Transcript Highlights:

• install a new mechanical system<00:16:11.759> that<00:16:11.920> will<00:16:12.079> heat
• <00:16:12.240> and<00:16:12.399> cool<00:16:12.639> each system that will heat
• and cool each system that will heat and cool each classroom<00:16:13.199> in<00:16:13.440>
• This project will replace the existing heat pump and install a new control system for the units.
• This project will replace the existing heat pump and install a new control system for the units.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first received several information items, including University of Kentucky reports on medical and research equipment purchases, five school districts’ planned bond issues, and a School Facilities Construction Commission list of prior debt issues. Members then heard and approved an appropriation increase for a federally funded University of Kentucky project at the Central Kentucky Regional Airport in Richmond. The project will construct a terminal building and is tied to EKU’s airport operations and planned flight school; members asked about the public funding, the role of EKU, and possible aviation expansion, and the item was approved by roll call. The committee next approved a University of Kentucky lease purchase for an 85,000-square-foot facility at 415 West Sun Street in Morehead for $6.4 million. UK said the property, formerly the Rowan County Board of Education site, is directly across from UK St. Clair and will be used for multiple purposes; members questioned the quarterly payment structure and why the county preferred not to receive the full amount upfront, but the item was approved. The committee then heard three appropriation increases in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet: a Fish and Wildlife pump project at Ballard Wildlife Management Area and two Lake Barkley State Resort Park repair projects. Finance staff explained the Lake Barkley increases were mainly to cover construction contingencies after bids came in close to available funding, and the committee approved the action items. Janice Thomas then presented four pool projects requiring no action: HVAC upgrades at the Future Farmers of America Leadership Training Center in Hardinsburg, geothermal and HVAC work at the Kentucky School for the Blind, a Brady Hall HVAC project at the Kentucky School for the Blind, and a renovation of Shanti Hall at Kentucky State University for the School of Engineering Technology. Members asked no substantive questions on those items. Finally, Natalie Broner presented a new CHFS lease in Wayne County and a Transportation Cabinet lease modification in Christian County. The Wayne County lease drew the most discussion, with members questioning the rent, the lack of other bids, and whether another county location might be preferable; CHFS said it maintains county-seat offices statewide and that the Wayne County site would replace an existing office. The Christian County item was described as a replacement site for driver licensing services with renovation costs largely absorbed by the lessor. Both lease items were presented for action after the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, a drop, it takes heat off the system without exploding the risk.
• We think that, yes, we're changing the threshold in a way that is going to take heat off the system,
• Again, a drop, it takes heat off the system without exploding the risk.
• Again, a drop, it takes heat off the system without exploding the risk.
• Again, a drop, it takes heat off the system without exploding the risk.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, bodies in the winter actually heat the building.
• Um, bodies in the winter actually heat the building.
• Um, bodies in the winter actually heat the building.
• Um, bodies in the winter actually heat the building.
• Um, bodies in the winter actually heat the building.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I think we've talked about other ways, whether it's district heating, that it can be utilized
• <00:34:35.839> at<00:34:35.960> the heating at the heating at the moment<00:34:37.919><
• you know many of my constituents Heat you know many of my constituents Heat their<00:34:49.480><
• that it can be it's District heating that it can be utilized<00:36:51.319> in<00:36:52.119>
• When we use fossil fuels, we're generating heat to turn a turbine, right, to make steam to generate.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's 24/7 baseload energy, but it's also renewable because the heat from the earth doesn't deplete.
• The heat from the center of the earth is always emanating, and it doesn't deplete even when it's used
• Geothermal energy is the heat and energy which emanates from the Earth's core.
• It's really hot, and that heat is always emanating out towards the surface, so the crust of the earth
• Well, similarly, geoscientists have always known that there's a tremendous amount of heat in, in the

Transcript Highlights:

• Because the heat from the Earth doesn't deplete.
• The heat from the center of the Earth... ...is always emanating and it doesn't deplete even when it's
• So, turning the page... ...is the heat and energy which emanates from the Earth's core.
• And that heat... is always emanating out towards the surface.
• popcorn. kernels on a skillet, and it also acts as a planet-sized battery where we can access this heat

Keywords: 1184, house, all