Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, techno, when I say technology, I mean for things like Microsoft, uh, software, which is on every
• Uh, get another software product or get out our #2 pencils and our big cheap tablets and go forward.
• Our county engineer's office and our county engineer position is vacant at the moment, uh, but it's a
• In 2023, we spent $365,000 and we reimbursed $41,000 on engine defense.
• With new software and technology. We could have prevented that.

Transcript Highlights:

• The findings showed hiring experienced in-house economists, engineers, and financial analysts is not
• These funds would be applied to software modernization and additional data center costs.
• Um, this is a software that was developed in 1986.
• Different softwares based on that review that we no longer needed or we could use another software that
• Funding for blockchain software and $168,000 for the Biennium.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's for continued architectural and engineering services. Good afternoon.
• This is for continuation of our software program that controls or houses maintenance information for
• So it's a really cool app, and it can be shared among all of our engineering team.
• Uh, then you have Thompson Engineering also for geotechnical.
• Uh, then you have Thompson Engineering also for geotechnical.

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• lifespans, while simultaneously making repairs more difficult through digital locks, proprietary software
• lifespans, while simultaneously making repairs more difficult through digital locks, proprietary software
• restrictive service agreements. making repairs more difficult through digital locks, proprietary software
• transactions and data, spurring job creation, new markets, and industry transformation. ...and engineering
• Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering at Texas A&M. So how long is that institute?

Bills: HB 106, HB144, HB145, HB252, HB1732, HB2221, HB2467, HB2468, HB2517, HB2518, HB2963, HB3016, HB3689, HB3960, HB4386, HB4490, HB4751, HB5247, HJR175, HB2213

Keywords: HB 106, oil and gas, Railroad Commission of Texas, overhead electrical lines, electrical distribution system, power line maintenance, administrative penalty, Natural Resources Code, oil and gas lease, well operator, energy safety, utility infrastructure, regulatory compliance, cleanup fund, oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund, production safety, leasehold operations, electric utility, distribution poles, inspection

Summary: The committee first handled pending business, including reconsidering SB 715 and then voting out several measures. The committee substitute for SB 1978 was reported favorably, and HB 431, HB 1522, HB 1922, HB 3228, HB 3229, HB 3803, HB 3804, HB 3805, HB 3806, HB 4219, HB 4238, HB 434, HB 1584, and HB 4739 were all reported favorably, many with objections sent to the local and uncontested calendar. HB 1522 and HB 4238 were adopted as committee substitutes before passage. The committee then moved into public testimony on HB 2963, a right-to-repair bill for consumer electronics. Supporters argued it would reduce waste, lower costs, and help independent repair shops by requiring manufacturers to provide parts, tools, and information on fair terms, while opponents said the bill was too broad and the automotive MOU exemption was problematic. The bill was left pending after testimony. The committee also heard HB 2467, which would align State Fire Marshal Office investigators’ pay with other commissioned peace officers at TDI; testimony was strongly supportive, emphasizing the office’s arson-investigation role, and the bill was left pending. HB 252, a bill allowing certain state agencies flexibility to pay Schedule A employees twice monthly, was laid out and left pending after limited testimony. HB 2468, dealing with public improvement district notice in real estate transactions, would let buyers terminate within seven days if required PID notice was not provided before contract execution; it drew no public testimony and was left pending. HB 4386, an annuity exchange and surrender process bill, was presented as a consumer-protection measure with deadlines and penalties for insurer delays; it received support from industry witnesses and was left pending. The committee then heard HB 4751, creating the Texas Quantum Initiative within the Governor’s Office to coordinate quantum research, workforce, industry partnerships, and possible future grant funding. Witnesses from universities and industry supported the bill, while several senators questioned whether a new state structure was necessary; the bill was left pending. HJR 175 proposed a constitutional amendment protecting Texans’ right to use mutually agreed forms of exchange, including cash, bullion, digital currency, or private script, and was discussed at length in the context of central bank digital currency and barter; it was left pending after testimony. HB 2221, updating insurance anti-rebating laws to allow wellness and value-added services, drew supportive testimony from the insurance industry and discussion about incentives versus monitoring; it was also left pending. Finally, the committee heard a series of utility wildfire and infrastructure bills: HB 106, requiring oil and gas operators to maintain certain electrical infrastructure near well sites; HB 144, requiring electric utilities to submit pole inspection and management plans to the PUC; and HB 145, requiring wildfire mitigation plans and allowing self-insurance under certain conditions. Utility, insurance, and cooperative witnesses generally supported the wildfire-related bills while asking for clarifications and less burdensome reporting, and the bills were left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• <03:11:31.359> who Institute of Traffic Engineers who Institute of Traffic Engineers who created
• The wastewater grant requirements say that you have to have an engineer, a consulting engineer, hired
• The wastewater grant requirements say that you have to have an engineer, a consulting engineer, hired
• <04:02:54.159> is one um the portrayal of that software is one um the portrayal of that software
• software software really<04:04:46.000> if<04:04:46.120> I<04:04:46.319> put<04:

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've partnered with a software company called Datai to enhance our marketing and give us better spending
• the same folks getting these potentially getting payments to help get them to town receive the engineering
• I'm thinking about the remote workers' tax credit, the various engineering tax credits we have that both

Bills: SB1307, SB1425, SB1826, SB1365, SB1696

Keywords: SB1425, health care, healthcare workforce, workforce board, Health Care Workforce Resources Board, Health Care Workforce Resources Act, Oklahoma Health Care Workers and Educators Assistance Program, repeal, statutory repeal, health care workers, educators, workforce development, health professions, state board, assistance program, Oklahoma statutes, economic development, incentives, enterprise zones, local government

Transcript Highlights:

• Implement agile software development. I'm not a software person.
• Give us a little software and give us a whole bunch more FTEs, hoping that will fix it.
• Could you clarify what specific limitations you're facing with the current software?
• Following DIR's project guidelines, we have a software as a service program.
• Eleven is for software packages that augment CAPS.

Bills: SB1

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

Summary: The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees. DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.

Transcript Highlights:

• lot in your dial. with me around this process and you know my first objective would be to process engineer
• I think many of this is about what I call process engineering, understanding where we are creating. backlogs
• Well, we have 13,000 software engineers today at Pfizer. believe we're fundamentally a tech company that
• I think we'll do all the root cause analysis will do all the process engineering and everything that's
• Well, I think in a case like that, many of these are really about process engineering on how to change

Keywords: Social Security, Medicaid, Frank Bisignano, Elon Musk, benefit processing, office closures, public testimony, administration policies, health care, vulnerable populations

Summary: The committee meeting focused heavily on the nomination of Frank Bisignano as the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, with intense discussions around the current state of Social Security and its management under the current administration. Members voiced significant concerns regarding potential changes to Social Security and Medicaid, specifically addressing issues such as office closures, delays in benefit processing, and the perceived policies from Elon Musk's association with the administration. Public testimonies highlighted fears that these changes would severely impact the accessibility of benefits for seniors and vulnerable individuals, resulting in a chaotic environment at the SSA. Members expressed a unified opposition to the notion of dismantling these critical programs, emphasizing the long-term implications on their constituents' well-being.

Transcript Highlights:

• Dina Lao, with Engineering, LNR 401.
• Dina Lao, with Engineering, LNR 401.
• Dina Lao, with Engineering, LNR 401.
• Dina Lao, with Engineering, LNR 401.
• Dina Lao, with Engineering, LNR 401.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the State Highway Maintenance Engineer for the Department of Transportation.
• permits is a complicated engineering permits is a complicated engineering effort<00:13:23.279>
• <00:13:40.800> plans preliminary set of engineered plans preliminary set of engineered plans
• than internal engineering more expensive than internal engineering review<00:17:33.120> but<00
• are addressed Expediting engineering are addressed Expediting engineering review<00:18:53.000>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It will house six colleges: architecture, interior design, construction engineering, engineering, and
• Restarting mining engineering, but the University of Texas at El Paso has a plan to restart mining engineering
• A hundred mining engineers, graduate a hundred mining engineers a year, yes sir.
• You know, April is there, a mechanical engineer, coming right out of high school to be a mechanical engineer
• I've been told that, and that's more software related.

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• different methodology to offset costs related at the school district level to implementing the bridge software
• The total cost for both of those projects came in at $168 million when you had construction engineering
• project itself in total is ...in total is $71 million when you add in the construction costs and the engineering
• We start to see those in June, July, and August because our primary software renewals and contracts come
• Otherwise, as we project forward the next three years, we're trying to anticipate vendor increases, software

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• different methodology to offset costs related at the school district level to implementing the bridge software
• The total cost for both of those projects came in at $168 million when you had construction engineering
• itself in total is... ...in total is $71 million when you add in the construction costs and the engineering
• We start to see those in June, July, and August because our primary software renewals and contracts come
• otherwise, as we project forward the next three years, we're trying to anticipate vendor increases, software

Summary: The Budget Section approved the March 18 minutes and received an OMB update showing the general fund is still ahead of the budgeted starting point, but revenues through May are now about $76 million below the legislative forecast, driven mainly by individual income tax and sales tax shortfalls. OMB also reported the budget stabilization fund is above its cap, meaning a transfer to the general fund is expected, and reviewed oil price/production assumptions, noting continued volatility. Members asked about the income tax netting process, the sales tax decline, oil price discounts/premiums, natural gas taxation, and when the executive branch would present its revenue forecast. The committee then acted on several Emergency Commission requests. It approved, as a group, requests for federal mine reclamation funds for the Public Service Commission, an additional criminal investigator FTE and funding for the Attorney General’s office, and a DPI transfer for bridge software costs. It separately approved DPI request 2164 for $500,000 to support the food vendor program after debate over whether the program’s savings were known and whether the money was simply a pass-through. OMB also reported on federal grants, fiscal irregularities, tobacco settlement proceeds, budget guidelines for agencies, FTE pool usage, vacancy savings, and the DAPL settlement, noting the settlement funds had been deposited and that a deficiency appropriation may be needed later to cover remaining accrued interest. Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus presented on the primary residence credit program, saying participation has grown sharply and that the current biennium will likely need about $431 million, roughly $22 million above the appropriation. He explained how the credit interacts with homestead and disabled veteran benefits, how the 3% property tax cap works, and why county valuations and mill rates vary. The committee also received a Legacy Fund/Budget Stabilization Fund report showing strong returns, and DOT Director Ron Henke received approval for two Flex Fund highway projects on ND 49 and ND 31. Henke also explained remaining Highway 85 funding and said the department is exploring uses for leftover state dollars. Finally, the Department of Mineral Resources reported on abandoned well plugging and site restoration, noting North Dakota remains in relatively strong shape compared with other states, and DPI began a presentation on gap funding tied to the 3% levy cap, reporting 24 districts received $1.8 million in the first year and projecting higher future needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• every person within a designated search area or who entered certain words into an internet search engine
• Oregonians are also continually looking up information on the internet using search engines like Google
• EIS has some experience unifying system efforts; Microsoft 365 and utility software are great examples
• hospitals or other water districts could be vulnerable if they share something common about the software
• hospitals or other water districts could be vulnerable if they share something common about the software

Keywords: 907, all

Summary: The committee held a series of informational briefings on information management and technology issues. It first heard from ACLU representatives on data privacy, who argued that Oregon should strengthen protections against private data brokers, government purchases of personal data, reverse warrants, automatic license plate readers, and local police surveillance. They urged data minimization, limits on data sales and retention, and broader transparency and accountability measures. Members asked about practical uses of license plate readers, state sales of data, and how Oregon’s approach compares with other states; the presenters said similar proposals have been adopted elsewhere, including data minimization in Maryland and a state version of the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act in Montana. The committee then received a detailed update from the Department of Administrative Services and Enterprise Information Services on licensing system modernization for 14 boards and commissions with the most immediate need. DAS said it is seeking a shared procurement approach through an RFP that would create either one scalable system or two tiers of systems, depending on agency needs and security requirements, with contracts expected by September. Committee members emphasized the need for a more unified, user-friendly statewide login and service experience for businesses and residents, and raised concerns about small agencies “figuring it out on their own” without sufficient cybersecurity or technical expertise. EIS said it is overseeing the investment review, security and architecture review, and future implementation planning, and noted that multiple agency requests may still come back to the legislature in the next session. The committee also discussed a revised cybersecurity incident notification concept. Staff explained that the earlier bill had raised stakeholder concerns, so the co-chairs directed further interim work with the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council and other local government and K-12 stakeholders. The goal is a narrower, voluntary “911-style” notification process that would let public bodies alert peers and potentially receive assistance after cyber incidents; a temporary voluntary process is being tested now, with a work group developing language for possible 2027 consideration. Finally, the committee heard updates from the new state chief data officer on data governance, data sharing, geospatial work, and the state transparency website, followed by a briefing on data centers from NCSL and the Technology Association of Oregon. The data officer described efforts to expand data inventories, data governance plans, data literacy, and interagency sharing, along with statewide aerial imagery, geospatial standards, and the open data portal. The data center discussion focused on national and state trends, including rapid growth in data centers, rising electricity and water demand, and legislative responses such as new rate classes, reporting requirements, and cost-allocation rules to protect ratepayers. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational only.

Transcript Highlights:

• We now see that we have about $505,000 that are used for engineering, and we have about another $4.83
• This Irrigation Works Construction Fund is where the state engineer draws money to do a lot of their
• Some of the resources go into the engineering, other, if you will, to the direct construction.
• The substitute adds software purchases to the equipment replacement revolving funds for the Department
• It lines up expenses and planning purposes for equipment and software at the same time.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Individual caution is no match for the automated engine of abuse.
• The software is the predator that weaponized impulsivity.
• <00:10:07.519> The<00:10:07.839> software<00:10:08.240> is is a moral surrender
• The software is is a moral surrender.
• The software is the<00:10:08.640> predator<00:10:08.959> that<00:10:09.120> weaponized

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• But today, more and more of what we buy is tethered by software back to the manufacturer.
• Jennifer Gibbons with the Entertainment Software Association.
• And members, Jennifer Gibbons with the Entertainment Software Association.
• Books, movies, music, software, and online services are not required to remain available forever, yet
• Books, movies, music, software, and online services are not required to remain a standard.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So starting with number one is the State Engineer. This is for the Lower Rio Grande settlement.
• You have to the State Engineer, $10 million for the Indian Water Rights Settlement Fund.
• Then down to the next one for the State Engineer. This would be recurring.
• But both of these funds are funds that exist inside of the Office of the State Engineer, and they are
• It wasn't what I dreamed of, but I just wanted to give some more money to the State Engineer because

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Instagram account and rendered her naked. using artificial intelligence-powered clothes removal software
• exception for individuals with disabilities to use their assistive technology and the accompanying software
• Some of the items that are considered no longer allowed include software that uses text-to-speech and
• communication boards. writing system software, and captioning software.
• permitted because schools are not able to limit or control the data that is being captured by these software

Bills: SB204, SB570, SB735, SB784, SB1207, SB1396, SB1447, SB2392, SB2540, SB747, SB875

Keywords: parental rights, education, school trustees, training, handbook, truancy, attendance policy, chronic absenteeism, school attendance, student absence notifications, parent notification, home visit, attendance officer, truancy court, school district, open-enrollment charter school, student support services, school counselor, principal, administrator

Transcript Highlights:

• instruction on applications of artificial intelligence tools to the course, and related instruction on software
• engineering, computer networks, database systems, and cybersecurity as applicable to the course.
• are in that, and the people who are not necessarily Floridians who are in that, the College of Engineering
• This bill takes, gives engineers in the engineering pathway an exception because they generally have
• academic standards and jeopardizing licensure pathways for students in fields such as nursing, engineering

Summary: The committee first took up PCS for HB 1503, which would require general education courses that use technology to provide students opportunities to build digital literacy, including instruction on applications of artificial intelligence and related topics such as software engineering, computer networks, database systems, and cybersecurity as applicable to the course. It would also require high school computer science courses offered by school districts to include instruction on AI. There was no public testimony or debate, and the bill was reported favorably on a unanimous roll call vote. The committee then considered PCS for HB 1279, an education bill that the sponsor said was intended to improve consistency, oversight, and transparency while putting Florida students first. The bill drew extensive questioning and opposition over provisions affecting university admissions and funding, including a 95% Florida-resident first-time-in-college enrollment target tied to preeminent funding, a cap on nonresident students from any one country, standardized GPA weighting, limits on institution-wide graduation requirements, and changes related to accreditation references and other education programs. The sponsor argued these changes would open more seats for Florida students, preserve academic rigor, and align statutes with existing regulations and court action, while opponents said the bill would harm university competitiveness, research, revenue, faculty recruitment, and access for international and nontraditional students. Public testimony on HB 1279 was largely opposed. Speakers included a student advocate, a dental hygiene representative concerned about dual regulation of expanded-function dental programs, and faculty representatives from FSU and FAMU who warned the bill would politicize admissions and curriculum, reduce competitiveness, and create negative fiscal impacts. During debate, supporters emphasized taxpayer investment in Florida students and the need to prioritize in-state applicants, while opponents argued the bill would weaken the state university system and undermine its national standing. The committee reported PCS for HB 1279 favorably by a 12-5 vote.