Transcript Highlights:

• The program for school district local accountability plans and actions challenging Texas Education Agency
• funds to support districts that wish to build their own local A through F system.
• She doesn't feel that when she takes local unit tests.
• Our framework includes metrics that our local families value, such as AP participation.
• Local leaders know their students and their communities best.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• They were concerned that there was a shift from local control to commissioner control.
• House Bill 8 also strengthens accountability by expanding... ...engines to provide that and publish local
• 2007, but these costs cover the development of the new assessment and the educators reviewing the local
• And then districts are restricted from using local benchmark tests.
• They are actually more concerned about these local assessments than they are about the state test.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• So you don't have processes inside of schools for the local unit assessment that the student takes to
• She doesn't feel that when she takes local unit tests.
• The local unit test actually can control whether or not she is promoted to the next grade.
• in extracurricular activities, and local surveys that we call Feedback February.
• Local leaders know their students and their communities best.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Summary: The House Committee on Public Education met to hear House Bill 8, which would replace STAAR with a new assessment and accountability system beginning in the 2027-28 school year. The chair described the bill as reducing testing time, limiting benchmark tests, adding beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments, requiring faster score turnaround, involving Texas teachers in test development, and tightening accountability timelines and transparency rules. Members also discussed provisions on A-F ratings, cut scores, CCMR, local accountability plans, and TEA reporting requirements. Committee members and invited witnesses split sharply on the bill’s approach. Supporters, including the chair, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, and Ed Trust’s Nicholas Munyon Penny, argued the bill would reduce high-stakes pressure, provide quicker and more actionable data, limit over-testing, and better align assessments to Texas standards while preserving criterion-referenced accountability. They said the new system would help teachers and parents intervene sooner and would improve transparency, including parent access to student responses and automatic rescoring in some writing cases. Opponents, including Rep. Hinojosa and student witness Ella Moran, argued the bill still increases testing and replaces one high-stakes test with multiple TEA-created tests. Moran testified that STAAR creates anxiety, disrupts instruction, and does not reflect real learning, while Hinojosa said the House had previously passed a better bill based on a nationally norm-referenced model and criticized the new proposal as a concession to the Senate. Questions also focused on AI scoring of writing, rescoring rates, and whether the bill’s new accountability rules would be reliable and fair. The committee did not take a final vote during the portion provided, but the chair said a vote on HB 8 would be called after public testimony later in the day.

Bills: HB 186, HB 201, HB 229, HB 796, HB 1506, HB 2702, HB 2885, HB 3225, HB 3909, HB 4285, HB 5138

Keywords: social media, children, account verification, data privacy, parental control, financial crime, card fraud, motor fuel theft, law enforcement, criminal activity, skimmers, prevention, training, biological sex, government information, definitions, sex-based distinctions, public health, federal directives, state authority

Transcript Highlights:

• Increasingly, local governmental entities are utilizing non-voter-approved debt instruments like Certificates
• But that limit is really on a local basis.
• This is just a straight limitation on what local governments can do.
• A responsible, well-planned local infrastructure investment is crucial.
• These state and local... ...partnerships save lives and taxpayer dollars.

Bills: SB512, SB1024

Keywords: SB 512, Texas Finance Code, money transmission, money services business, money transmitter, money transmission licensee, terms of service, consumer protection, civil penalty, attorney general enforcement, account closure, refund of balance, financial services regulation, payments industry, fintech, prepaid accounts, remittance, licensee compliance, local government debt, municipal finance

Transcript Highlights:

• are some appropriations that I think may fit what the senator is saying in terms of truly private entities
• and… in terms of truly private entities, but in this particular situation with Tuskegee, they are not
• Well, I was just curious about on three and four the differences between the local boards and the state
• I'm looking at local boards. I'm looking at line 122.
• That's helping our superintendent who would have to handle that at the local level.

Bills: SB305, SB109, SB122, SB111, SB114, SB113, SB150, SB112, SB289, SB303

Keywords: education funding, RAISE Act, student outcomes, public schools, local education agencies, accountability, weighted allocations, special education, English language learners, gifted students, Tuskegee University, Alabama Education Trust Fund, appropriation, agricultural research, Southern Preparatory Academy, fiscal responsibility, financial reporting, Education Savings Accounts, RAISE Fund, CHOOSE Act Fund

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a local land-use attorney here in Austin.
• Yet that is precisely what some local governments...
• To prosper, then we need to build and grow a local community and a local economy, not one funded and
• government in a way that reflects our local reality.
• We locals kind of use it.

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

Transcript Highlights:

• Not only could this lead to delays and financial burdens for our local governments...
• What's the recourse for citizens or those entities that are already there?
• Operators from overly restrictive local regulations that exceed the established NFPA standards.
• other than a governmental entity on which sites...
• It has halted most of our local work.

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

Transcript Highlights:

• Although this is a local project, it is a project that will have regional impact from our local cities
• The local investment to date has been about 250,000.
• pending federal, state, and local pending federal, state, and local funding<01:07:18.920> necessary
• instead of having people from local instead of having people from local communities<01:26:25.400
• Um, we will also contribute locally.

Bills: HF4710, HF4055, HF3848, HF3989, HF4599, HF3767, HF3592, HF3575, HF3574, HF3543, HF4606, HF4489, HF3891, HF3438, HF3811, HF3400

Keywords: capital investment, water infrastructure, sewer systems, public funding, municipal development, Eveleth, wastewater treatment, state bonds, environmental compliance, infrastructure, bonds, economic development, local government, transportation, intersection improvements, Lake Elmo, HF4599, St. Joseph, Minnesota bonding bill, bond proceeds fund

Transcript Highlights:

• undermined by inconsistent interpretations or vague standards by providing clear direction to both local
• This is a list of over 2,000 of these control structures that are regulated by local sponsors, which
• are conservation districts or other soil and water. ...water-type districts, governmental entities of
• The local districts and the State Soil and Water Board provide money for rehabilitation, but we're trying

Bills: SB612, SB1855, SB2568, SB3058, HB49

Keywords: SB 612, Texas Water Code, Section 49.2127, conservation and reclamation district, water district, reclamation district, developer fees, pipeline construction, water pipeline, sewer pipeline, associated infrastructure, subdivision infrastructure, cost recovery, fee cap, actual reasonable documented costs, engineering fees, legal fees, inspection fees, infrastructure relocation, utility connections

Transcript Highlights:

• Today, I'm here to talk about a local issue for Hays County.
• We may get involved negotiating with that governmental entity on certain aspects depending on the entity
• There's a lot of times, and again, depending on the entity, it's take it or leave it.
• I guess so that people in local areas and local districts are able to see what projects they may have
• Local officials can prioritize transportation initiatives based on local needs, creating regional coordination

Bills: HB2007, HB2863, HB2921, HB3331, HB3332, HJR144, HB3514, HB3528, HB3720, HB3751, HB3859, HB3947, HB4148, HB4346, HB4880, HB5603, HB4337

Keywords: commercial signs, county approval, transportation code, regulations, road signage, vehicle title, revocation, hearing process, Transportation Code, county assessor-collector, confidentiality, personal information, local government, airport data, public records, vehicle regulation, transportation, steel industry, state fees, safety standards

Transcript Highlights:

• First is some local TIF projects. First up is House File 160, Representative Bonner.
• It’s both a local and a regional asset.
• a regional attraction it's both a local a regional attraction it's both a local and<00:13:31.440
• So I didn't do my standard disclaimer before we heard the local projects on TIF because apparently I
• project that comes in front every local project that comes in front of<00:27:36.320> this<00:

Bills: HF1746, HF2585, HF1159, HF2574, HF2839, HF157, HF158, HF160, HF338, HF512

Keywords: Oakdale, tax increment financing, local government, funding, urban development, tax increment, St. Paul, redevelopment, housing authority, housing trust fund, low-income housing, property taxation, Minnesota statutes, vacant property, housing, commercial to residential conversion, Minneapolis, urban redevelopment, public parks, tax capacity

Transcript Highlights:

• entities. with the bond review board.
• There is a requirement for the local taxing entities to provide this information to the Comptroller.
• entities to do.
• Chairman Heffner proposed it; it passed out of the House, local, you can see.
• Local Bill. All right, the Chair calls Phyllis Seth to testify.

Bills: HB 103, HB 1256, HB1587, HB1632, HB2027, HB2525, HJR88, HJR138, HB103

Keywords: taxing unit, bond database, local government, transparency, civil penalty, education reform, funding allocation, school infrastructure, teacher recruitment, student achievement, tax exemption, water conservation, graywater systems, rainwater harvesting, ad valorem taxation, county commissioners, HB 1587, Texas sales tax holiday, back-to-school tax holiday, clothing tax exemption

Transcript Highlights:

• And then also that it gets reported to local law enforcement.
• That could be local law enforcement, that could be the FBI, but it should be to law enforcement.
• Removing this from educational entities in Texas opens the door for censorship, bias, and discrimination

Bills: SB12, SB226, SB413, SB1049, SB1191, SB2398, SB571, SB2920, SB 12

Keywords: parental rights, education, social transitioning, diversity, equity, inclusion, school policy, student clubs, residency, public schools, child safety placement, enrollment, education code, school boards, transparency, public meetings, attendance, recording, released time, religious instruction

Transcript Highlights:

• the state, and one of the complaints that we heard from them most often was about permitting at the local
• The bill authorizes information sharing with DPS, the FBI, and other relevant entities.
• As well as a second page that gives you information on the entities that were involved in the $95 million

Bills: SB650, HB3667, SB28, HB3201, SB1184, HB1800, SB 28

Keywords: permit issuance, regulatory framework, business operations, efficiency, application process, lottery, gambling, internet gaming, mobile application, criminal offenses, lottery regulations, occupational licensing, fraud prevention, criminal background checks, lottery couriers, SB 1184, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, wine collection seller, collectible wine, vintage wine

Transcript Highlights:

• been working on updating statutes and streamlining the process in this modernizes several different entities
• This is just consider the Federal funding eligibility would make ambulances by public entities, such
• as municipal, county, tribal, or other public entities, consider essential services.

Bills: SB206, SB904, SB933, SB1436, SB1500, SB1553, SB1557, SB1567, SB1644, SB1645, SB1651, SB1794, SB1833, SB1849, SB1984

Keywords: SB206, emergency medical services, EMS, ambulance, 911 response, emergency response, essential services, federal funding, grant funding, public health, health care facility, municipality, county, ambulance service district, tribal entity, public entity, contract ambulance service, Oklahoma, 63 O.S. 2021 Section 1-2502, emergency clause

Transcript Highlights:

• And we're giving that authority to that local entity to abate the state side as well.
• will only go into effect if that local will only go into effect if that local city<00:12:58.800>
• /c><00:13:05.519> state<00:13:05.839> side<00:13:06.160> as local entity to abate
• the state side as local entity to abate the state side as well.<00:13:07.279> And<00:13:07.519
• it's local, county, schools, and state. it's local, county, schools, and state.

Bills: HB185, HB378, SB28, HB400, SB155, HB312, HB185, HB378, SB28, HB400, SB155, HB312

Keywords: appropriation, transportation, judicial system, funding, state budget, Pickens County, local act, vehicle tag fee, registration fee, issuance fee, motor vehicle registration, license plate, replacement tag, transfer tag, renewal fee, county revenue, earmarked funds, ambulance service, emergency medical services, EMS

Transcript Highlights:

• government entities and local boards of education, which can access public finance through borrowing
• local governments to be able. local governments to be able.
• >> So basically this would allow the locals >> So basically this would allow the locals
• And our champion of that effort is now sitting on another governmental entity.
• And our champion of that effort is now sitting on another governmental entity.

Bills: SB62, HB361, HB244, HB377, HB411, HB422, HB423, HB425, SB16, HB452, HB354

Keywords: SB62, Alabama, conservation and natural resources, hunting license, fishing license, wildlife heritage license, license identification, government-issued ID, residency determination, in-state residency, student residency, tuition classification, public higher education, domicile, resident status, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, DCNR, Section 9-11-32, Section 9-11-33, Section 16-64-3

Transcript Highlights:

• c><00:25:03.120> that<00:25:03.440> can<00:25:03.600> offer as potential uh entities
• that can offer as potential uh entities that can offer these<00:25:04.480> preferences<00:25:
• a foothold, I believe if we are to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves for increasing local
• a foothold, I believe if we are to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves for increasing local
• <00:26:53.440> food ourselves for increasing local food ourselves for increasing local food

Bills: SB2064, SB2662, SB2862, SB2343, SB2075, SB2781, SB2927, SB3068, SB3015, SB2929, SB2938, SB3230, SB3249, SB3332, SB3216

Keywords: state architect, construction projects, design approvals, building codes, state agency oversight, government accountability, external consultants, procurement reform, cost efficiency, in-house expertise, gubernatorial appointments, senate confirmation, executive branch, accountability, civil service, SB2343, Hawaii Legislature, regular session, lengthened session, continuous legislature

Summary: The committee met on February 12, 2026, to take decision-making on measures previously heard earlier in the month. Several bills were deferred indefinitely or set for later discussion, including SB 2064 on the Office of the State Architect, SB 3068 on procurement, and SB 3216 after its contents were moved into another measure. SB 2862 on gubernatorial appointments, SB 2781, and SB 315 were all deferred to Tuesday, February 17 at 3 p.m. in Room 225 for further work. The committee also noted that if technical problems interrupted the meeting, it would reconvene later for outstanding decision-making. The committee passed SB 2343 on the Legislature with amendments incorporating language from SB 3216, technical changes, and a defective date of 2525. SB 2075 was advanced as a Senate draft 1 after amendments responding to constitutional concerns raised by the attorney general and SPO. SB 2927 on procurement was also passed with amendments clarifying debriefing requirements and adding technical changes, and SB 2938 on search and rescue was amended to place the position in Hima rather than the Governor’s office before being adopted. SB 3249 on procurement protests was amended to remove the term "frivolous," reduce the forfeiture to half the bond amount, and note unresolved issues, then adopted. The committee also took up SB 3332 on state-funded travel, amending it to remove certain lines, report travel by position number to protect confidentiality, remove subsection G, and add a defective date of 2525; it was adopted. SB 2929 on public notice was amended into a pilot project for counties with populations between 100,000 and 175,000, with a year-end report to the Legislature, and was adopted. Later, the committee returned to SB 2094 on environmental action levels, heard testimony from the Department of Health in support of its current scientific process and from an environmental caucus witness in strong support of the bill’s transparency and petition provisions, and then deferred decision-making to February 17 at 3 p.m. in Room 225. In the joint hearing portion, SB 3233 on agricultural workforce housing drew generally supportive testimony from ADC, the Farm Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaii Farmers Union, and the State Procurement Office, with concerns focused on clarity, flexibility for smaller farms, and avoiding concentration of benefits in one large operation. The committee ultimately recommended passing SB 3233 with the State Procurement Office’s clarifying amendments and the Hawaii Farmers Union’s amendment to ensure workforce housing incentives benefit multiple farmers, and the measure was adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• At retail, both in and outside of ERCOT, where largely rural entities created and owned by local people
• It's built on principles that entities that should be held accountable when their actions entities should
• operations entities, communities, and interested stakeholders.
• Yes, sir. 52 to 57. are really wholly owned by those local governments.
• public safety entities.

Bills: HB 13, HB143, HB144, HB145, HB366, HB470, HB805, HB912, HB13, HB143, HB144, HB145

Keywords: emergency communication, infrastructure, first responders, grant program, interoperability, Texas Interoperability Council, local governments, HB 143, Texas Railroad Commission, Public Utility Commission of Texas, Natural Resources Code, oil and gas, well site, surface facility, electrical power line, National Electrical Code, NEC, electrical safety, utility disconnect, service disconnection