Transcript Highlights:

• So that's automatically new property tax relief money built into the budget, correct?
• So that's automatically new property tax relief money built into the budget, correct?
• In a nutshell, we baked in roughly $3.5 billion of property tax automatic. It's on autopilot.
• But that kind of automatic property tax relief last time was $5.3 billion; this time it is $3 billion
• Okay, and Montgomery County, I hate to say it, Senator Creighton, but they used their incremental rates

Bills: SB 1

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

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee convened for its first hearing of the 89th regular session, confirmed a quorum, adopted committee rules by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the committee’s organization, introduced staff, and described the budget as conservative and focused on one-time investments. She highlighted major SB 1 priorities including property tax relief, full funding for public education formulas, teacher pay, school safety, border security, Medicaid growth, dementia research, energy and water infrastructure, transportation, wildfire suppression, and other capital and public safety needs. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending in 2026-27, with a projected $23.8 billion ending balance from the current biennium. He cautioned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid committing short-term surpluses to ongoing expenses. He also explained that the Economic Stabilization Fund is projected to hit its constitutional cap, meaning an estimated $5.6 billion in severance tax and related revenue would remain in general revenue in the upcoming biennium rather than flow into the fund. Senators discussed whether to raise or rename the fund and the implications of keeping more severance-tax revenue in general revenue. The Legislative Budget Board then gave an overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major funding changes. LBB staff explained that the bill is essentially flat at $332.9 billion in all funds, but includes large method-of-finance shifts and major property tax relief. They detailed how prior property tax relief enacted in the 88th Legislature grew from an estimated $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher property values and hold-harmless provisions, and said SB 1 continues that relief with a total of $51 billion in ongoing and new property tax support. Members asked extensive questions about the automatic growth in school tax compression, the constitutional homestead exemption, COVID-era federal funding, Medicaid assumptions, and the sunset of the non-homestead circuit breaker. No additional votes or final budget actions were taken beyond adoption of the committee rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• could do the math back then kind of suspected it, but now we have just figured out that there's an automatic
• So that's automatically new property tax relief money built into the budget, correct?
• In a nutshell, we baked in roughly $3.5 billion of property tax automatic. It's on autopilot.
• what property... ...what property value growth is going to be in that biennium, but that kind of automatic
• Okay, and Montgomery County, I hate to say it, Senator Creighton, but they used their incremental rates

Bills: SB 1

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

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee held its first hearing of the 89th regular session, adopted nearly identical committee rules from the previous legislature by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the budget framework, emphasizing conservative spending, a $332.9 billion all-funds budget, and major priorities including property tax relief, public education, border security, health and human services, transportation, energy, and water infrastructure. She also introduced committee and leadership staff and described the hearing schedule and public testimony procedures. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending, including a $23.8 billion ending balance, but warned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid using temporary spikes for ongoing commitments. Senators questioned him extensively about the Economic Stabilization Fund cap, sales tax trends, inflation, and whether the state should consider raising the cap or using severance-tax revenues differently. Hager said the Rainy Day Fund is expected to hit its cap, which would leave more severance-tax revenue in general revenue, and he stressed that infrastructure needs remain significant. The Legislative Budget Board then gave a detailed overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major components. LBB staff explained that the bill includes continued funding for the Foundation School Program, $850 million for the Texas State Technical College endowment, $1.3 billion for the Texas University Fund, $6.5 billion for border security, salary increases for correctional officers and state troopers, $3 billion for dementia research, higher community attendant wages, expanded community-based care, $5 billion for the Texas Energy Fund, and funding to clear volunteer fire department grant backlogs. They also outlined supplemental priorities such as water infrastructure, retirement legacy payments, rail grade separations, wildfire aircraft, and emergency facilities, and said the current controlling budget limit is the tax spending limit. A major portion of the hearing focused on property tax relief. LBB explained that prior-session relief grew from an expected $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher-than-anticipated property values and interactions among hold-harmless provisions, and that SB 1 continues and expands relief with $51 billion in total property tax relief, including $3 billion more for compression, $3 billion to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and a $500 million placeholder for business tax relief. Senators discussed the automatic nature of some of these costs, the effect of the non-homestead circuit breaker, the role of federal COVID funds, and the need to maintain school finance commitments if the state continues to compress school tax rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• you; walk me through how a judge is able to make that finding with regard to a death sentence as automatic
• Debate will be limited to 60 minutes per side in 15-minute increments.
• automatic Unlawfully here, and then the automatic sentencing of death, that it was unclear and ambiguous
• And I think if we're going to automatically send someone to death, that ought not to be ambiguous.
• And I think if we're going to automatically send someone to death, that ought not to be ambiguous.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, approval of the journal, and adoption of the special order calendar for the day. The chamber then took up House Bill 1B on immigration, along with discussion of anticipated Senate changes. The sponsor described the bill as creating a chief immigration officer housed in the Department of Agriculture, establishing an Office of State Immigration Enforcement, expanding cooperation with federal immigration authorities, increasing criminal penalties for certain offenses by unauthorized aliens, ending undocumented-student fee waivers, and providing substantial appropriations for enforcement and related programs. Members also questioned the Senate version’s proposed mandatory death penalty provision for certain capital offenses involving unauthorized aliens, as well as pretrial detention, 287(g) participation, DMV reporting requirements, and the bill’s effects on schools, teachers, social workers, and local agencies. The sponsor and supporting members repeatedly said the bill required broad cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and that existing federal law would control where conflicts arose. A major portion of the debate focused on whether the bill would allow or require immigration enforcement in schools and other sensitive settings, and whether teachers, school resource officers, and social workers could be placed in conflict with federal privacy or professional obligations. Members also raised concerns about detention based on suspected status, the standard of proof for immigration-status determinations, prison and jail impacts, workforce shortages, and the fiscal effects on counties and state agencies. The sponsor said the bill did not provide DMV funding, that the state would need to study some implementation questions, and that the appropriations included $25 million for a local law enforcement participation incentive program and up to $350 million for broader implementation and coordination. Several amendments were offered and failed. Representative Chambliss proposed protecting schools, churches, and places of worship from enforcement activity; Representative Escamani offered amendments to preserve in-state tuition for Dreamers and to grandfather currently eligible students; Representative Woodson offered a similar Dreamer-related amendment; and Representative Bartleman proposed barring local law enforcement from entering schools during school hours to detain children solely for immigration status. Supporters of these amendments argued they would protect children, preserve educational access, and prevent trauma in schools and houses of worship. The House rejected each amendment by voice vote, and the transcript ends during debate on the Bartleman school-safety amendment before final disposition is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• 00:37:18.319> support<00:37:18.640> elac<00:37:19.440> uh<00:37:19.599> automatically
• funded to support elac uh automatically funded to support elac uh automatically transfer<00:37:20.839
• we<01:09:55.920> were 2020 I'm sorry 2022 so we were 2020 I'm sorry 2022 so we were incrementally
• :58.080> who<01:09:58.280> we<01:09:58.400> serve<01:09:58.679> in incrementally
• changing who we serve in incrementally changing who we serve in these<01:09:58.960> professions

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill as originally introduced would have extended the deadline by which transferred increment under
• would be treated in the same way that increment normally is.
• This is kind of the default assumption under the TIF Act that interest on increment is increment, so
• As we speak, we are looking to utilize unobligated pooled tax increment to help facilitate a $150 million
• Creating the timeline for spending increment would allow for completing important development and growth

Bills: HF2048, HF2360, HF2006, HF950, HF912, HF3140, HF2931

Keywords: individual income tax, retirement contributions, tax corrections, annuity contracts, tax year attribution, tax credit, economic development, community investment, data disclosure, Minnesota regulations, tax increment financing, municipal authority, job creation, transferred increment, public hearing, nonresident employees, income tax exemption, Minnesota taxation, employment duties, tax withholding

Transcript Highlights:

• earned on loans of transferred increment, interest or investment earnings on transferred increment,
• increment.
• on loans of transferred increment, interest or investment earnings on transferred increment, or other
• <01:06:33.440> increment.
• loan or invest an obligated increment loan or invest an obligated increment pursuant<01:11:46.159

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Therefore, there is probably a need to continue to have increments in funding from the state to meet
• And then if you say no, you're automatically kicked out. Luckily for me, I can still drive.
• But there's video files like on YouTube that can automatically create captions when they're made.
• While this work remains ongoing and incremental, these efforts reflect meaningful progress toward building

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Therefore, there is probably a need to continue to have increments in funding from the state to meet
• And then if you say no, you're automatically kicked out. Luckily for me, I can still drive.
• But there's video files like on YouTube that can automatically create captions when they're made.
• While this work remains ongoing and incremental, these efforts reflect meaningful progress toward building

Summary: The committee first approved the February 11, 2026 minutes and then received an update from the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency on the interagency council on homelessness and continuum of care funding. Testimony described rising homelessness tied to tight housing markets, low incomes, aging homelessness, barriers to rental assistance and public benefits, and limited shelter and case-management capacity. Members discussed the need for more affordable housing, continued one-time funding for the North Dakota Homeless Grant and Housing Incentive Fund, better coordination with Health and Human Services on economic assistance and human service zones, landlord engagement, recovery housing, and reentry housing. The committee also heard that federal continuum of care funding remains uncertain, with possible shifts away from permanent supportive housing and housing-first models; members asked for a future update on the impact if federal rules reduce the share available for permanent housing. The committee then took testimony on accessibility of government services for people who are blind or visually impaired. Paul Olson of North Dakota Vision Services School for the Blind described current screening and service delivery, including infant referrals, regional staff, short-term programs, and collaboration with vocational rehabilitation. He said the targeted screening system is working, recommended maintaining the current model, and noted ongoing challenges with staffing, public awareness, and accessible state websites and documents. Public testimony from a visually impaired resident and a deaf resident emphasized barriers such as CAPTCHAs, inaccessible PDFs, employment forms that screen out applicants based on driver’s license status, shortages of interpreters, and the need for video remote interpreting and video relay services, along with training for users and agencies. Finally, the committee heard a final report on the study of child care provider licensing from HHS Early Childhood Director Kay Larson. The report summarized provider input and committee discussion on simplifying North Dakota’s child care licensing structure, reducing administrative burden, and balancing that with health and safety standards. Key topics included licensing categories, child care assistance eligibility, food program sponsorship, staff qualifications, training requirements, ratios and group size, age bands, and preschool exemptions. The committee’s recommendations included streamlining to three provider types plus a preschool designation, revising ratio and age-band rules, and carrying forward certain preschool outdoor-space exemptions. Larson noted that any changes would require statutory changes, rulemaking, and a transition period before new licensing rules could take effect.

Transcript Highlights:

• With all these concerns and your list here, you would like to think this is automatic, but it is not.
• We have continued to We are making incremental changes and improvements as far as our test scores go.
• I don't think the person is going to come in and automatically commit a crime, but if you're asking someone
• actually, they were venting their Tritium out into the community, and they said it was in small increments

Transcript Highlights:

• They are not automatic from one contract to the next."
• in statute that teachers automatically in statute that teachers automatically got<00:41:42.800><
• about the contract not being automatic about the contract not being automatic once<00:43:05.520>
• <00:43:32.160> at agreement, you are automatically at agreement, you are automatically at
• This is automatic step increases for our teachers.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee on Education met on March 19 and moved through several bills under time pressure, hearing mostly brief testimony. SB 2024 SD2 and SB 896 SD2, both concerning public-private partnerships for charter school facilities, drew support from the Department of Education, the Charter School Commission, White Kids Can, and Hawaii Technology Academy. DOE said any P3 model should apply only to charter schools on private land and not affect public schools on DOE land. Supporters argued the approach could speed construction, reduce costs, and keep public money in public assets, while UPW and HGA raised concerns about privatization. In response, SFA said the intent was to mirror the existing conversion charter school model, with public ownership of assets and unionized staff, and noted some regions have waited years for schools. SB 2613 SD1 on TMK transfers was heard next. DOE said the bill had originally been supported as part of the governor’s package but was amended to require DOE to convey lands for 13 libraries on DOE property, which DOE said would create “donut holes” in campuses and was unnecessary because existing agreements already govern library use. The State Public Library System supported the bill, saying it has long coexisted with DOE but needs clearer separation and more reliable control over its sites. The Attorney General’s office said the library system currently lacks express statutory authority to own real property and flagged implementation issues because some of the affected parcels are not currently owned by DOE. Committee members questioned both sides about current agreements, communication, and how the bill would change operations. SB 494 SD2, concerning charter school audits, received comments from the Charter School Commission, which said the bill was redundant because charter schools already undergo annual audits during the term of their contracts. The Office of the Auditor was also present. SB 2391 SD2, relating to automatic pay increases for teachers, drew strong opposition from the Office of Collective Bargaining, which said step movement and longevity increases are negotiated in each contract and do not automatically carry over when a contract expires; it warned the bill could affect upcoming negotiations with HSTA. HSTA and several other supporters argued the bill would standardize annual step movement, improve retention, and reflect existing contract language. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we just let it happen gradually, incrementally, over time, taken away.
• as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic
• as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic
• In the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic tax increase
• It continues a pattern of celebrating incremental increases after years of inadequate investment.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And we just let it happen gradually, incrementally, over time, taken away.
• as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic
• as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic
• ... in the Internal Revenue Code, and we did nothing to the rate, then there would be an automatic tax
• It continues a pattern of celebrating incremental increases after years of inadequate investment.

Summary: The House convened, opened with prayer and the Pledge, approved the journal, and welcomed several guests in the gallery, including a high school student and an advocate connected to the domestic violence bill HB 2995. The chamber then moved through multiple Committee of the Whole calendars, first advancing HB 4155, HB 4156, and HB 4157, then HB 4164, HB 4165, and HB 4166, all with do-pass recommendations and no substantive amendments on those calendars. Later, the House also considered SB 1326, a victims’ rights measure, adopted a floor amendment, and reported it out as amended. The House corrected an earlier clerical error regarding HB 4155-4157 being referred to engrossing rather than third reading. The House then took up a long series of final passage votes on Senate bills. SB 2174, SB 2611, SB 1011, SB 1012, SB 1016, SB 1018, SB 1038, SB 1039, SB 1040, SB 1053, SB 1055, SB 1057, SB 1060, SB 1061, SB 1068, SB 1069, SB 1075, SB 1100, SB 1113 on reconsideration, SB 1160, and SB 1170 all passed. SB 2873, SB 1004, SB 1009, SB 1042, SB 1043, SB 1049, SB 1093, and SB 1143 failed. SB 2995, the emergency family-law/domestic-violence bill known as the Alec and Lydia Act, passed with the required two-thirds vote after extensive debate; supporters said it would better protect children and clarify judicial standards, while opponents argued its definitions were overly broad and could harm families. SB 1018 on foreign laws also drew extended debate over Sharia law, with supporters framing it as a defense of American values and opponents calling it unnecessary and discriminatory. Several votes included explanations focused on policy concerns. SB 1004 on sex-offender registration and monitoring drew debate over whether electronic monitoring is effective. SB 1040 on voter registration transparency prompted arguments over public access to voter rolls versus privacy and security. SB 1118 on municipal zoning and historical homes was debated as a property-rights and local-control issue, with supporters saying it could help preserve affordable housing and opponents warning it would override local decisions. The House also adopted motions to reconsider prior actions on SB 1043 and SB 1100, and it requested the Senate return SB 1552 for reconsideration. The session ended with the House still processing additional Committee of the Whole business, including HB 4158, HB 4159, HB 4160, HB 4161, HB 4162, and HB 4163, with HB 4162 and HB 4163 receiving floor amendments and do-pass recommendations.

Transcript Highlights:

• would amend a session law from 2021 that gave temporary authority to cities to transfer unobligated increment
• Um, this project would not be feasible without the use of tax increment financing.
• cities to transfer unobligated increment cities to transfer unobligated increment uh<00:01:32.880
• increment financing. increment financing.
• financing TIF increments.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the state's incremental costs are for the state's incremental costs are for providing<01:09:15.400>
• <01:41:25.880> become<01:41:26.280> the<01:41:26.440> representative automatically
• become the representative automatically become the representative paye<01:41:27.599> when<01:
• Does the state automatically just in today's process become the payer and start to receive those funds
• apply to become the they automatically apply to become the rep<01:50:06.119> PE<01:50:06.560>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: Division 3 Finance held a work session to move through five bills before noon, noting one member’s early departure and adjusting the order of bills accordingly. The first item, HB 54, would allow some alternative treatment centers in the medical cannabis system to operate for profit. Members discussed a fiscal note showing a one-time $133,000 cost, which was described as a Division 1 budget item to be handled through HB 2 rather than directly in Division 3. After discussion about keeping Division 1 informed and the distinction between retaining a bill versus funding it, the committee voted unanimously to retain HB 54 for further finance work and conversion into HB 2. The committee then took up HB 547, concerning reimbursement to counties for enhanced FMAP funds during the COVID period. The chair summarized the issue as federal enhanced Medicaid matching funds that were received by the state before authority existed to pass them through to counties, creating a disputed amount owed to counties. County representatives said the money should have gone to counties and clarified the relevant time period, while the department did not take a position. The chair proposed retaining the bill and moving it into HB 2, with discussion of a possible four-year repayment structure in equal annual installments. The committee agreed to retain the bill for continued work in the budget process. During the HB 547 discussion, members also clarified the fiscal and accounting details, including that the fiscal note had not been widely available and that some figures in the note should be treated as county revenue rather than county expenditure. Testimony explained that the enhanced FMAP increased from 50 percent to 56.2 percent, and that the state’s and counties’ shares of claims were affected by the timing of the federal change and the later state authorization. The committee emphasized that the issue was complex and budget-dependent, and that retaining the bill would allow further negotiation and incorporation into HB 2 rather than immediate final action.

Transcript Highlights:

• We stated that if you have a residence, you're automatically allowed to build an accessory dwelling unit
• development codes or become compliant with the development codes, that the state's model code would automatically
• Some of these incremental steps we've been taking open up ideas about what could be done versus mandates

Transcript Highlights:

• And you're saying that that's five years away, that until the buses run out or the 12-year increment,
• thing it does do, I should say, that these also include, whenever you raise teacher minimums, you automatically
• Salaries are statutorily tied to teacher level 3 teacher minimums, and so they automatically get an increase

Transcript Highlights:

• But again, if someone in Georgia leave Georgia gets a Florida driver's license, we automatically let
• So if they've got 3 tickets in the state of Georgia, that automatically gets onto their driver record
• You're going to see some incremental, I think, improvements going throughout the year.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If we had full prosecutor buy-in where programs could be developed that we could automatically go to,
• This is the summary of our incremental and supplemental requests.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The minute it gets to a signed contract, it automatically was always included in our load forecast at
• Members, Texas allows the creation of public improvement districts and increment finance districts that

Bills: SB 438, SB 512, SB 647, SB 648, SB 1495, SB 2121, SB 2145, SB 2154, SB 2167, SB 2184, SB 2211, SB 2268, SB 2349, SB 2443, SB 2629, SB 2702, SB 2902

Keywords: SB 438, Texas, State Office of Administrative Hearings, SOAH, administrative law judge, ALJ, public information act, open records, confidentiality, privacy, home address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, social security number, family members, Government Code 552.117, Government Code 552.1175, Tax Code 25.025, public records, government transparency

Summary: The meeting of the committee commenced with the establishment of a quorum, where members discussed and voted on five significant bills related to energy efficiency, insurance regulation, and public utility governance. Notably, Senate Bill 2717 was presented, incorporating feedback to foster collaboration among various state agencies for improved energy efficiency performance. This was followed by a detailed discussion on Senate Bill 1642, which proposed changes to the Texas Department of Insurance's executive structure to optimize management and consumer focus. Each bill saw active participation from senators who moved to adopt committee substitutes for clarity and responsiveness to stakeholder concerns, indicating a proactive approach to legislative issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is just a matter of over time you'll see incremental and gradual changes.
• Communities may want it to go away, but if we don't pursue next steps, it doesn't automatically go away

Bills: HB24, HB2015, HB2149, HB2559, HB2701, HB2797, HB3172, HB24

Keywords: zoning, public notice, local government, residential development, protests, water conservation, municipal utility districts, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, environmental regulation, groundwater management, nonconforming uses, zoning regulations, land use, property rights, municipal authority, municipal moratorium, development moratorium, property development, subdivision, site plan