Transcript Highlights:

• an amendment coded uh house file<00:43:24.200> 7<00:43:25.160> A1<00:43:26.160> who
• We have tried to get our communication center to code those differently so it’s not an investigative
• So the Transportation Policy and Finance Committee has transportation-related portions of Public Safety
• and finance transportation policy and finance committee<01:16:19.480> has<01:16:19.719> Transportation
• <01:16:20.440> related committee has Transportation related committee has Transportation related

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present, approved the January 21, 2025 minutes by voice vote, and then took up House File 7, which was recommended to pass and be re-referred to the Ways and Means Committee. The chair also reminded attendees about decorum rules in the committee room. House File 7 was described by the author as a public safety package combining 12 provisions from prior Republican-authored bills, aimed at supporting law enforcement, reducing violent crime, and increasing accountability in the criminal justice system. The bill’s main provisions discussed included tougher penalties for aggravated fleeing, making it a crime to be in a stolen vehicle, allowing tracking devices on stolen vehicles even when occupied, increasing penalties for blocking highways and critical infrastructure, and increasing penalties for assaulting peace officers. The author also highlighted provisions on sex trafficking, predatory offender registration, and greater public disclosure of bail payments, case dismissals, sentencing reductions, and sentencing guideline changes. Testifying in support were Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, MPPOA President Shane Mey, and Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Executive Director Jeff Potts, all of whom argued the bill would help officers address auto theft, fleeing suspects, and assaults on law enforcement. They cited increases in assaults on officers and high numbers of stolen vehicles and fleeing cases, and said the bill would improve safety and transparency. Witnesses generally supported the bill’s approach but suggested some refinements, including adding language for additional aggravating factors in officer assault cases and considering similar treatment for corrections officers. Sheriff Fletcher also urged reconsideration of the recently enacted raise-the-age changes, arguing they could limit law enforcement’s ability to respond to younger offenders involved in stolen vehicles. No opposition testimony or final vote on House File 7 was recorded in the excerpt beyond the motion to pass and re-refer it.

Transcript Highlights:

• maintain their transportation and maintain their essential<01:09:05.679> protections.
• because that is still discriminating against a zip code.
• > a<01:28:49.040> zip<01:28:49.280> code.
• <01:28:49.600> Thank discriminating against a zip code.
• Thank discriminating against a zip code.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call 00:00:15 Department of Insurance Update 00:01:39 Department of Financial Institutions Update 00:37:07 Insurance Industry Update 00:54:50 Credit Union Industry Update 01:10:53, 958, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the September 16 minutes, and then received an update from Insurance Commissioner Sharon Clark and staff on the Department of Insurance. Clark reviewed department activity, including growth in premium volume and licensing, consumer complaints and recoveries, and a rise in fraud referrals. She said the department has 66 open fraud cases and described common schemes such as staged auto accidents, inflated repair or cleanup charges, and roofing scams. She also said the department’s investigators often prepare strong cases but face reluctance from local prosecutors, especially in Fayette and Jefferson counties, to pursue them. Clark reported favorable workers’ compensation news, saying rates will decrease 9.7% next year for the 20th straight year. She contrasted that with a difficult property insurance market driven by storms, reinsurance costs, inflation, labor shortages, and litigation, but said Kentucky’s market remains relatively stable, citing the Kentucky Fair Plan’s small number of policies. She then warned of significant 2026 health insurance premium increases on the exchange: 16.1% for Molina, 23% for Anthem, and 37% for WCare, after CareSource withdrew. She said the rates were reviewed by actuaries and found fair, but that the biggest pressure point is the scheduled expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, which she said could leave about 90% of exchange enrollees facing a compounded increase. Members questioned Clark about fraud prosecution, the number of people in commercial versus public coverage, and the impact of expiring subsidies. Clark said the prosecution issue is mainly with Commonwealth attorneys and that rural counties are more cooperative than urban ones. She also said the health market is individually rated and that older enrollees would be hit harder, while the loss of tax credits could push some people out of the marketplace. One member asked about the attorney general’s recent opinion on SB 188, the PBM bill; staff said attorneys were still reviewing it. Clark closed by noting that Kentucky’s fraud and towing/storage legislation has become a model for other states.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota's income, business, and estate tax codes create disincentives for farmers.
• estate tax codes create disincentives for<00:23:50.440> Farmers<00:23:51.440> farming<
• Investments in rural infrastructure, including highways and river transportation, will keep Minnesota
• <00:35:50.359> and<00:35:50.640> Export plants transportation and Export plants transportation
• crops infrastructure and transportation crops infrastructure and transportation reliable<00:36:59.240

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And I also saw the fact that they were transported to schools, to colleges.
• Existing Penal Code section... I'm here to oppose SB 1330.
• Laws and other Penal Code sections such as Penal Code Section 242, battery, and various Penal Code sections
• Many Penal Code sections address the possibility of this type of criminal behavior.
• local law, and as specified in Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The coal seems up in our area to transport a lot of the water systems, especially the shallow systems
• If we can crack the code 2.0 for enhanced oil recovery, it'll be a great win.
• And that's again where we use it to dry the coal and then to transport it into the boiler.
• Again, where we use it to dry the coal and then to transport it into the boiler.
• That, again, gets just transported up to a fly ash silo.

Summary: The committee met at the Coteau Freedom Mine in Mercer County, approved the June 2 minutes, and heard an overview of the mine from Coteau Properties president Andrew Hawbaker. He described the Freedom Mine as the largest lignite mine in the United States, supplying coal to Dakota Gasification, Antelope Valley Station, and Leland Olds Station. He emphasized the mine’s scale, safety record, reclamation work, workforce needs, community involvement, and economic impact, including payroll, taxes, royalties, scholarships, and local hiring. Members asked about how long land stays in production, how quickly it returns to agriculture after reclamation, labor shortages, and how mining affects groundwater and water wells. Hawbaker said most tracts are mined for about three to five years, reclamation is coordinated with landowners, and the company continues to struggle to find electricians, welders, mechanics, operators, and engineers. The committee then heard from Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christman on coal mining reclamation and permitting. He reviewed North Dakota’s coal mining history, the state’s reclamation laws, federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act primacy, bonding, permit renewals and revisions, prohibited mining areas, inspection and enforcement, and contemporaneous reclamation requirements. Christman stressed that North Dakota’s program is professional and thorough, with frequent inspections, financial assurance, and a 10-year revegetation monitoring period before bond release. He also discussed federal coal ownership issues that can delay mine plans, the treatment of prime farmland, and how reclamation differs for wind and pipelines. In response to questions, he said one challenge is sometimes releasing land too soon before long-term compaction issues are fully understood, and he noted that data centers do not currently have a comparable reclamation model because they typically own the land. In the afternoon, the committee received an update from Lignite Energy Council president Jonathan Fortner on the lignite industry. He said North Dakota’s lignite sector supports five commercial power plants, four mines, about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and more than $5.5 billion in economic activity, while helping keep the state’s electricity rates among the lowest in the nation. Fortner reviewed coal severance and conversion tax revenues, the lignite research fund, federal regulatory rollbacks, carbon capture policy, and the industry’s legal costs fighting federal rules. He also highlighted a study on large-load development, saying new data centers and critical mineral processing facilities could create major local tax revenue and help justify new baseload generation. Members asked whether new gas pipelines would crowd out coal plant development and whether the economic study included jobs and broader local impacts; Fortner said the industry sees room for both and that the study did include construction, operations, jobs, and tax effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has to be coded manually.
• Mexico is our largest trading partner, and we talk about transportation.
• We have to review all the variable codes for construction, make sure that ...space, can it be done?
• We have to review all the variable codes for construction, make sure that it can be accommodated.
• We've accumulated $2.8 million of transport costs. Is that one year?

Bills: SB 1

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

Summary: The committee began with Article I budget items for the Secretary of State. LBB staff outlined recommendations that would reduce the agency’s appropriation by about $40.3 million, including changes to HAVA funding, removal of one-time business system replacement money, and a rider directing the agency to use Fund 5095 first. Secretary Jane Nelson and staff then defended several exceptional items, especially additional staffing for elections and business filings, a new website, digitization of records, cybersecurity tools, and renovation of the James Earl Rudder Building. Members focused heavily on election administration, cross-checking voter rolls, Harris County complaints, call-center response times, and whether online voter registration should be expanded. No votes were taken; the discussion was informational and budget-focused. The committee then heard the Office of the Governor and trustee programs. LBB presented a recommended $2.4 million decrease for the governor’s office proper and a much larger decrease in trustee programs driven by one-time funding and unexpended balances, while still preserving major border security funding and victim assistance funding. Governor’s staff emphasized Texas’ economic growth, the importance of border security, and efforts to seek federal reimbursement for the roughly $11 billion Texas has spent on border operations. Members discussed whether shifting National Guard deployment to federal control could reduce state costs, and they also reviewed the music incubator program, the Governor’s University Research Initiative, and the semiconductor innovation consortium. Staff highlighted a $5 million late-added request for grants to protect nonprofits from violence and terrorism. Again, the exchange was largely explanatory, with no formal action. Finally, the committee took up the Texas Facilities Commission and lease payments for revenue bonds. LBB recommended major reductions overall, including removal of border wall construction funding and capital complex bond funding, but added money for higher utility costs, renovation of the Rudder Building, and additional facilities staff. George Purcell also noted stable maintenance-and-renewal funding and new riders related to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission building, tenant communications, and space utilization. For lease payments, LBB recommended a smaller appropriation tied to revenue-bond costs allocated across agencies. The discussion was informational, with members asking about the Rudder Building renovation, border wall progress, and capital complex construction timelines; no votes were recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't have transportation capacity.
• Transportation and access.
• And then we got a $25,000 cut in transportation for this school year.
• So, is transportation fully funded for microdistricts? I challenge not.
• And uh one of the ones that you mentioned is on um On the transportation.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:23:27.360> cannabis location, while transporting cannabis location, while transporting
• prior 21 days or while transporting prior 21 days or while transporting cannabis<00:23:43.159>
• They're transporting the seedlings to a location.
• They're transporting person's location.
• <02:13:31.599> aeronautics department of transportation aeronautics department of transportation

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• message assigned Transportation the message assigned Thomas<00:10:24.040> S<00:10:24.279>
• the bill is being Transportation the bill is being referred<00:10:37.680> to<00:10:37.800>
• The amendment is coded A5. The chair recognizes the author of the A5 amendment.
• <01:14:52.719> and at some point produces transports and at some point produces transports
• The bill is being referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance and Policy.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• seeking guidance on code interpretation. seeking guidance on code interpretation.
• Is that your transportation.
• um from Judici from Transportation um from Judici from Transportation Committee.
• . transportation. transportation.
• uh has a big role in in transporting uh has a big role in in transporting people<02:53:32.080>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill makes sweeping changes to the children's code, the kind of code-wide revisions that have not
• been made since 1993. when the code was first drafted.
• Our biggest concern is that the proposal expands some of the most problematic parts of the 1993 code,
• As we go forward, and I go back to the early 1980s when I did serve on the Children's Code Task Force
• They spend less than 2 million to transport our kids from Santa Fe to San Juan.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the current bill we just default to the standard venue statute under the Civil Practice and Remedies Code
• It can't be brought by a person who has been convicted of an offense under the penal code, right?
• Section 143 of the Local Government Code sets up the meet-and-confer agreements for civil service cities
• Certainly, in transportation, you and I worked together in killing the Trans-Texas Corridor. ...which
• Some of the DFCs aren't considered accurate, but that's what we've put in the code, Mr.

Bills: SB 2, SB 5, SB 10, SB 9, SB 7, SB 17, SB 4, HB17, HB7, HB7, HB15, HB15, HB27, HB1, HB7, HB15, HB18, SB9, SB7, SB17, SB4, HB17, HB27, HB1, SB8, HCR13, SB2, SB5, SB10

Keywords: disaster relief, flood preparedness, emergency funding, local government support, meteorological forecasting, school assessment, public education, accountability, transparency, education standards, STAAR, Texas Education Agency, TEA, public school accountability, school ratings, A-F ratings, assessment reform, student testing, benchmark tests, interim assessments

Transcript Highlights:

• In this particular committee, we only dealt with the section within the Health Code, and that was around
• How we pay for these programs really matters, and this bill relies on criminal fees and Vehicle Code
• , what was a previously kind of old, antiquated mandate and sort of conforming that and doing some code
• It removes the hidden cost embedded in outdated building and health codes, requirements that no longer
• It updates the food code to reflect modern operations including temperature monitoring, practical hand

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In terms of CalWORKs Child Care, this proposed trailer bill amends WIC code to include participation
• Pay should account for transportation, fair compensation for weekend and evening care, and more.
• We're transporters.
• On the public contract code exemption, how many contracts will be exempt?
• Without transportation, health insurance alone is insufficient.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The subcommittee first heard May Revision items for child support, child care, and related human services. The Department of Child Support Services described two technical adjustments, which the LAO said raised no concerns. The Department of Social Services then walked through child care proposals, including a shift in how federal and Proposition 64 funding reductions would be absorbed, a 2.01% COLA, disaster-related child care infrastructure grants, an increase in in-contract administrative support costs for alternative payment agencies, reversion of prospective-pay implementation funding after a federal rule change, a one-time allocation to cover the first quarter of Cost of Care Plus payments in the next fiscal year, reappropriation for existing infrastructure grant closeout work, and estimates of unspent child care funds. The department also outlined trailer bill language on a single rate structure, site safety and emergency procedures, CalWORKs child care data sharing, and child care oversight. The LAO recommended that the Legislature seek more justification for shifting reductions from General Child Care to the Alternative Payment Program, noting that CAP reductions affect more slots and that General Child Care has had significant unspent funds. It supported removing prospective-pay funding, but recommended rejecting the administrative cost shift to a percentage-based rate because it could create future General Fund pressure. It also suggested the Legislature review alignment between the disaster grants and the child care infrastructure program. Senators and members pressed the administration on why the budget would reduce child care slots and COLA percentages while the state still has waitlists and unspent funds, and questioned the need for early funding of Cost of Care Plus payments and the move from a flat administrative amount to a percentage. Public commenters, including providers, advocates, county offices, and infrastructure partners, urged full COLA funding, preservation of child care slots, support for prospective pay, and continued investment in child care access and facilities. After a short recess, the committee moved to Part B on health and heard the Department of State Hospitals. DSH presented a May Revision budget of $3.2 billion and described proposals for a central utility plant replacement at Metropolitan State Hospital, an electronic health record implementation, reduced county bed billing authority due to phased-in LPS bed capacity, limited contract exemption authority for online clinical subscriptions, reversion of prior-year unspent operating funds, and a workforce development proposal shifting some costs to Behavioral Health Services Act funds, including support for an additional psychiatric training cohort at Napa. The department also outlined IST-related savings and a trailer bill to remove the sunset on the independent placement panel program.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is one amendment that adds a provision for Title 42, United States Code, Section 1396b, subsection
• Under Louisiana Administrative Code, there are three levels of a crisis receiving center.
• Did you code everything?
• Section 603 is the general definition for Title VI of the Children's Code.
• It would prioritize maternal mental health screening, transportation assistance, doulas, telehealth,

Summary: The committee first heard SB 145, which would require adult residential care providers, especially assisted living centers, to have generators or other backup power arrangements and to submit preparedness plans to LDH. After technical amendments and testimony from the sponsor, LDH, and the assisted living industry clarifying the bill’s scope and cost concerns, the committee adopted the amendments and reported the bill favorably. It then took up SB 433, which would require Medicaid coverage of medically necessary FDA-approved weight loss drugs, including GLP-1 medications, subject to appropriations and fiscally sustainable coverage criteria; the bill was reported favorably after discussion of current Medicaid coverage and costs. The committee also approved SB 52, which requires better coordination between DCFS and LDH so SNAP and Medicaid benefits can follow children more quickly when they are removed from or returned to a home. Technical amendments changed reporting deadlines and required written notice, and the bill was reported favorably. SB 4 on public water fluoridation was amended to allow local governments or voters to opt out through a petition and election process, with support from the Louisiana Dental Association and others after compromise language was adopted; it was reported favorably with amendments. SB 152, which would prohibit the sale of cultured or lab-grown food products for human consumption, was also reported favorably with amendments after brief testimony in support and opposition. The committee next approved SCR 37, which asks the Surgeon General to review Louisiana’s informed consent laws and report back on any gaps, after discussion that the existing medical disclosure panel had not met since 2018. It then considered SB 194, a public assistance bill aligning Louisiana Medicaid and SNAP rules with recent federal changes on non-citizen eligibility and tightening Medicaid’s reasonable opportunity period for citizenship verification. After extensive debate over immigration, emergency care, and whether the bill could harm eligible applicants or rural hospitals, the committee adopted an amendment allowing LDH discretion for emergency health care services and reported the bill favorably by an 8-3 vote. Finally, HCR 113 created a task force to study gestational carrier agreements and assisted reproductive regulation; after debate over surrogacy, ethics, and referral to Civil Law, the committee rejected the referral motion and then reported the resolution favorably, and the meeting moved on to SB 333 on child-in-need-of-care proceedings and legal representation funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, is there somewhere else in another code that requires a certain number of staff, or how do we
• I'm actually not certain if that's defined in code or if it's something that's set up by the departments
• people in county jail facilities have either been convicted of state crimes and are awaiting transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• in unpaid care annually, helping loved ones with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, transportation
• in unpaid care annually, helping loved ones with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, transportation
• in unpaid care annually, helping loved ones with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, transportation
• to carry out activities of daily living, hiring home health aides, personal care attendants, transportation
• They provide medications, meals, transportation, finances, and even complex medical tasks.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue held a public hearing focused largely on tax-credit proposals tied to children, families, caregivers, child care, health care workforce development, and public health. A major portion of the hearing concerned bills to expand the state earned income tax credit and child and family tax credit, including H. 3073/S. 1957 and S. 1975. Testimony from advocacy groups, legal services, tax assistance organizations, and health providers supported increasing the EITC match from 40% to 50% of the federal credit, expanding eligibility to immigrant and mixed-status ITIN filers, larger families, younger and older workers, and SSI recipients, and raising the child and family tax credit to $600 per child with inflation adjustments and possible advance payments. Witnesses said these changes would reduce poverty, improve health and educational outcomes, and help families meet basic expenses; committee members asked questions about ITIN filers and expressed support for the policy goals. The committee also heard extensive testimony on S. 1938/H. 3159, An Act Supporting Family Caregivers. Speakers described the scale of unpaid caregiving in Massachusetts and supported a package that would create a refundable tax credit, respite vouchers, workplace and housing protections, unemployment insurance access for those who leave work to care for relatives, a permanent advisory council, and a provision allowing spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth. Several witnesses shared personal caregiving experiences, and committee members responded favorably, noting the emotional and financial strain on caregivers and the importance of supporting them as Medicaid and long-term care systems face pressure. Additional bills discussed included H. 3174 on a child and dependent care tax credit, which was presented as a way to offset the high cost of child care; H. 3197/S. 2019 to improve the financial security of family child care providers through a tax credit; H. 3218/S. 1960 to create tax credits for health care preceptors to address workforce shortages; S. 2064 to establish a living organ donor tax credit; S. 2034 to promote healthy alternatives to sugary drinks through a tiered tax; H. 3015 to create a tax-return checkoff for the YMCA Youth and Government Program; and several public testimony ideas including vaccination, literacy, and grade-improvement tax credits. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing, which ended after all testimony was heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the biggest challenges in farmers markets is transportation.
• And you get into the deeper urban, then there's limited transportation.
• Then when you add the cost of housing and transportation, $24 an hour.
• And if you look at the H-2B, it is a small number, less than four people per zip code, right?
• Now, that farmer has to also help pay for housing, transportation.

Bills: HCR65, HB512, HB1194, SCR23, SB502

Keywords: crawfish, agricultural labor, H-2A program, seasonal workforce, Louisiana economy, Healthy Food Retail Act, food access, food deserts, economic opportunity, public health, Louisiana agriculture, community development, fresh food, agriculture, national security, food production, supply chain, security task force, farm labor, Chinese investments

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Concurrent Resolution 23, which creates an agricultural-based national security priorities task force. Senator Kathy Stewart said the task force is intended to study emerging technology and other issues to avoid unintended consequences for farmers while still protecting Americans. The resolution was moved favorably with no objections. The committee then heard Senate Bill 502 on sugarcane bagasse storage. Senator Kathy Stewart explained that the bill clarifies bagasse as an agricultural byproduct and would prevent local governments from regulating its storage so long as it complies with Department of Agriculture and Forestry best management practices. Supporters described bagasse as a useful byproduct for biofuel and other uses, while several residents from St. Martin Parish testified in opposition, saying a large bagasse pile near homes was out of compliance, created dust, odor, and health concerns, and had damaged property values and livestock. Despite the opposition, the bill was reported favorably. House Bill 512 on cell-cultured food products was then considered. Representative Schamerhorn said the bill would prohibit the manufacture, distribution, and mixing of cell-cultured food products with other meat products, while amendments clarified the bill’s scope and delayed effectiveness pending certain court outcomes while preserving university research. Commissioner Mike Strain and others discussed legal uncertainty, safety questions, and the need for more research. The committee adopted the amendments and reported the bill favorably with amendments. House Bill 1194, the Healthy Food Retail Act, was also heard. The amendments shifted the food-desert study and related database/reporting responsibilities from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the LSU AgCenter. Representative Terry Landry and Commissioner Strain described the bill as a way to identify food deserts, create a 10-year elimination plan, and use grants or incentives to attract grocery stores and improve access to fresh food. Some members questioned government involvement and long-term sustainability, while supporters cited public health and economic benefits and examples such as the Fresh Food Financing Initiative and the Red Stick Market. After debate, the committee voted 10-3 to report the bill favorably with amendments. Finally, House Concurrent Resolution 65 was adopted. Chairwoman Butler’s resolution urges Congress and federal agencies to reclassify crawfish-industry job duties as agricultural labor for H-2A purposes. Testimony from Commissioner Strain and others said the current H-2A/H-2B split leaves crawfish processors short of workers, causing major losses to the industry and affecting rice farmers, restaurants, and related businesses. The resolution was reported favorably with no objections, and the meeting adjourned after a brief personal privilege announcement.

Transcript Highlights:

• Essentially, it goes from bucket A for ESF portion, the 37.5% continues to go to transportation because
• So transportation continues, fund six continues to get the ESF 37.5%. Speaker: Yes, sir.
• I mean, same as if Senator Nichols didn't bring up transportation. I'm sure, right?
• I mean, same as if Senator Nichols didn't bring up transportation.
• The first amount is $5.3 billion. to pass property tax relief, legislated through the Education Code.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• YOU ARE RECOGNIZED TO EXPLAIN THE AMENDMENT BAR CODE 121756. >> THANK YOU.
• TO NOTIFY BOTH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE EVENT OF MARIJUANA ENSURING TRANSPORTATION
• YOU ARE RECOGNIZED TO EXPLAIN BAR CODE 123052. >> Senator Collins: THANK YOU.
• AMENDMENT BAR CODE 120532 A TECHNICAL FIX OF THE BILL.
• BAR CODE 649872.

Keywords: 999, senate, all