Transcript Highlights:

• Do you, Representative Mayhew, remember if there was a fiscal note on the highway signs?
• Do you, Representative Mayhew, remember if there was a fiscal note on the highway signs?
• The fiscal note on here says zero or unknown.
• So is this a situation where the cameras only trigger if something irregular happens?
• So it’s mostly dependent on the driver triggering a way to... Yes. All right.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so this is just fiscal responsibility.
• Physically, I had a rapid decrease in body fat and other physical side effects that triggered extreme
• <00:30:09.399> extreme<00:30:10.320> body side effects that triggered extreme body
• side effects that triggered extreme body dysmorphia<00:30:11.399> and<00:30:11.559> mental<
• Chairman, in the name of fiscal common sense that thankfully is sweeping our nation today, I vote...

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:00 Roll Call: 00:00:08 SB 169: 00:01:07 SB 02: 00:05:56 Discussion in Opposition to SB 02: 00:19:22, 958, all

Summary: The House Judiciary Committee first took up Senate Bill 169, which would expand the Attorney General’s and Kentucky State Police’s authority to use administrative subpoenas in child exploitation investigations. Senator Danny Carroll and Attorney General’s office staff said the bill updates existing law to reflect modern online platforms, adding social networking companies, mobile payment services, and cloud storage services so investigators can obtain limited account-holder information tied to online child exploitation cases. Members raised no opposition, and the committee approved SB 169 17-0 with favorable expression. The committee then heard Senate Bill 2, which would prohibit the use of public funds for certain cosmetic or elective procedures in correctional facilities, including gender-affirming surgeries, and would also affect some hormone-related treatment. Senator Mike Wilson and supporters said the bill was intended to stop such procedures from being authorized by memo rather than regulation and to ensure taxpayer money is not used for elective care. Several members asked whether any such surgeries had occurred in Kentucky; Wilson said none had been approved, and he emphasized the bill was about public funding, not general medical care. Supporters argued the state should not pay for elective procedures, while opponents said the bill targeted a tiny population and could create constitutional problems. Opponents included incarcerated and advocacy voices, a psychologist, and legal advocates, who said gender-affirming care is medically necessary for some patients, that withholding it can cause serious mental health harm, and that similar restrictions have faced court challenges. One speaker described personal harm from being denied hormone therapy while incarcerated. Another warned the bill could violate the Eighth Amendment and lead to costly litigation. After debate, the committee moved to vote on SB 2, with members giving explanations both for and against, but the transcript cuts off before the final roll call result is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the last one was just the fiscal note, the fiscal note being zero.
• So I didn't create the fiscal note. You know, the fiscal note works.
• But, you know, the fiscal note, how they generated it, I'm happy with the zero fiscal note.
• So there's a fiscal law requirement: time, purpose, and amount.
• So we want an accurate fiscal note.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, I would even venture to describe this bill as fiscally conservative.
• <00:28:44.640> Uh<00:28:44.800> this bill as fiscally conservative.
• Uh this bill as fiscally conservative.
• Not only is this bill about fiscal responsibility, it's also about government accountability.
• 20 megawatt and not trigger the 20 megawatt threshold. threshold. threshold.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These are selected fiscal and policy issues.
• The lump-sum payment this fiscal year is $611,000...
• The lump sum payment this fiscal year is 611,000 The lump-sum payment this fiscal year is $611,136.
• As he said, this triggered the fact that we're in the position we are today, triggered a cost-of-living
• Selected fiscal and policy issues.

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard budget presentations for the Texas Historical Commission, the Pension Review Board, the Employees Retirement System (ERS), Social Security and benefit replacement pay, the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System (TESSRS), and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The Legislative Budget Board outlined recommendations and major changes for each agency, including reductions tied to one-time projects at the Historical Commission, continued funding for courthouse grants, heritage trails, and Holocaust/genocide education, as well as new or modified riders and capital items. For the pension-related items, LBB described funding changes for PRB, ERS, Social Security, and TESSRS, including ERS health plan cost growth driven largely by pharmacy costs, the status of pension funding reforms, and TESSRS’s request for additional state support to address its unfunded liability and staffing needs. Members asked extensive questions about the Historical Commission’s one-time funding, unexpended balance authority, courthouse preservation, the Presidio La Bahia and National Museum of the Pacific War projects, and coordination of Texas history messaging across sites such as the Alamo, San Jacinto, Washington on the Brazos, and other heritage locations. The Historical Commission chair emphasized heritage tourism, economic development, and the need for continued investment in historic sites, staffing, IT modernization, and vehicles. On the pension items, senators discussed PRB oversight of local systems, including the Dallas police and fire pension situation, and ERS investment returns, benchmark comparisons, and rising health costs. ERS officials said the plan remains well funded overall, noted a 2021 cash balance reform and a planned supplemental legacy payment, and explained that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are a major driver of pharmacy spending; they also said the agency is working with the Texas Pharmacy Initiative and that rebates are contractually returned to ERS. For TESSRS, LBB and agency staff said the system serves volunteer and part-paid emergency personnel, is facing an infinite amortization period, and is requesting additional appropriations, staffing, and IT funding, along with a statutory change to allow an actuarially determined state contribution. The agency said it may otherwise need to cut benefits for volunteer firefighters. For CPRIT, LBB reported about $600 million in recommended funding for the biennium and a 10-FTE increase, while the agency described its $6 billion voter-approved program, $3.75 billion in grants awarded to date, and $10.4 million in revenue sharing since 2011. CPRIT’s only exceptional item was a request for a 10% salary increase for two exempt positions. No committee votes or formal actions were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• instructions were received that a fiscal instructions were received that a fiscal note<00:23:37.000
• One is a technical question, and that is: is there a fiscal note anywhere attached to this?
• Do we have any idea of fiscal impact?"
• was what triggered what triggered this was what triggered what triggered this was and<00:47:08.440
• <00:47:54.680> the of reverse that but that triggered the of reverse that but that triggered

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first held a public hearing and then an executive session on HB 650, a housekeeping-style bill from the Joint Committee on Dedicated Funds. Testimony explained that the bill would remove references to two already-repealed dedicated funds, split the state parks dedicated fund so Cannon Mountain winter activities would be tracked separately from the rest of the parks system, and place a $1 million cap on the robotics education fund so excess money would revert to the general fund. Supporters said the changes were mainly administrative but would improve accounting and avoid timing issues; committee members asked about a typographical error in the bill text and whether the measure was more than housekeeping. The committee later voted 16-0 to recommend HB 650 ought to pass, and then placed it on the consent calendar. The committee also opened a public hearing on HB 585, which would revise the property tax exemption for religious organizations. Representative John Janigian, the sponsor, said the bill was intended to help small churches and other religious groups that own parsonages or worship buildings but no longer have a resident pastor, allowing them to rent space or use property for church purposes without losing the exemption so long as the money is used for church operations, maintenance, or outreach. He described his Salem church’s parsonage being taxed after it was no longer occupied by a pastor, and said the bill would prevent similar burdens on small congregations. Former Representative Betty Gay testified in support, describing prior assessor actions in Salem that taxed church land and buildings very aggressively, while a Municipal Association representative testified in opposition. Committee members raised questions about how terms such as “regularly recognized and constituted denomination” would be defined, whether the bill could be applied consistently to larger denominations with multiple parishes, and whether legislative research should review past treatment of similar cases.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a bill that has some significant fiscal impacts for various agencies.
• To follow up, do you have a fiscal impact question?
• So it's hard to have fiscal questions with no fiscal attached, but I do have a question about the disabled
• So from a fiscal standpoint...
• Fiscally, this is bad for Florida. Thank you for being here today.

Summary: The committee first took up CS for SB 1342, a transit-oriented development bill intended to expand housing near fixed transit corridors. The sponsor said the measure builds on the Live Local Act by reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging private investment around transit investments. An amendment was adopted that narrowed definitions, limited the bill to land use and development regulations, removed a private cause of action, and exempted certain sensitive areas including military installations and environmentally sensitive lands. Supporters argued the bill would increase housing supply and maximize the return on state transit spending, while local government groups and other opponents warned it would preempt local zoning, impose uniform density rules, and create infrastructure, evacuation, and public input concerns. The bill was then reported favorably. The committee then considered CS for SB 1334, an elections bill that would require documentary proof of citizenship in certain voter registration and verification processes, update candidate qualification rules, require U.S. citizen markers on driver licenses and ID cards, and clarify that paper ballots are the primary voting method. Two technical amendments were adopted. The sponsor said the bill would streamline verification by allowing agencies to rely on Real ID and DHSMV records, reduce duplicate documentation, and improve communication between state systems. Senators questioned the fiscal impact, data-sharing procedures, storage of sensitive documents, effects on students, disabled voters, and people without driver licenses or Real IDs. A large number of public speakers opposed the bill, arguing it would burden eligible voters, especially students, seniors, disabled people, low-income residents, naturalized citizens, and people with name changes, while a smaller number supported it as an election integrity measure. The bill was ultimately not finished in the portion of the transcript provided, but the committee continued taking testimony and questions. Later, the committee took up CS for SB 1362 on advanced air mobility. A strike-all amendment was adopted to align the bill with the House version and authorize FDOT to fund vertiports and charging systems as part of public-private partnerships, including up to 80% of the non-federal share when federal funds are available and up to 100% if FDOT elects to do so. The sponsor framed the bill as helping Florida lead in advanced air mobility, and the measure was reported favorably with support from industry and local government representatives. Finally, the committee heard SB 174, which would designate a portion of State Road 985 in Miami-Dade County as Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue and direct FDOT to install markers at an estimated cost of $2,400. The sponsor said the designation was tied to Turning Point USA activity at FIU and civic engagement. Several senators objected in debate, arguing Kirk was divisive and that the state should reserve road memorials for figures more broadly deserving of honor; others defended the designation as symbolic and non-regulatory. The transcript ends during the sponsor’s closing remarks, before a final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, we have a team there that's going after the trigger pullers.
• <00:13:27.839> Our going after the trigger pullers. Our going after the trigger pullers.
• Um, and also at the legislature, you all gave us another 1.5 or 1.3 million in fiscal year 27 and fiscal
• <01:10:14.320> year<01:10:14.640> 27<01:10:15.920> and<01:10:16.480> fiscal
• year 27 and fiscal year 28 is 1.5 fiscal year 27 and fiscal year 28 is 1.5 million<01:10:19.600>

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:00 Roll Call: 00:00:07 Office of the Attorney General Update: 00:04:52 Department of Kentucky State Police Update: 00:44:57, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's also a special pandemic assessment that can be triggered that is not active right now.
• to be depleted by mid fiscal year 2026.
• year 2024 to 2027, and that pot of money is expected to be depleted by mid fiscal year 2026.
• <00:58:15.680> analyst um Jenna Hofer she's the fiscal analyst um Jenna Hofer she's the fiscal
• <00:58:34.599> year mid fiscal year mid fiscal year 2026<00:58:36.480> so<00:58:36.799

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• From a fiscal standpoint, this is a common-sense bill.
• 200 feet. ...portions of the bill mislead the reader into believing they simply make it harder to trigger
• a supermajority vote. 611-0021-D2 triggers only a majority vote, pulling the rug out from under the
• So far, I have not talked about Project Connect, which is what triggered all of this.
• Yeah, to our members, we feel like this was actually a fiscally responsible decision on the city's part

Bills: SB3038, SB3045, SB3065, SB3069, SB3071, HB2025, HB2149, HB3370, HB4205, HB4506, HB5424, HB5652, HB24, HB3687, HB24

Keywords: Fort Bend County, Municipal Utility District, MUD, special district, Rosenberg, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, TCEQ, ad valorem tax, bond issuance, assessments, fees, taxes, eminent domain, road district, storm drainage, infrastructure financing, development agreement, municipal consent, temporary directors, public utility district

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm very pleased to say that we will give priority to our fiscally constrained and rural communities.
• In addition, the fiscal costs associated with implementing these changes are not detailed.
• So that's what would trigger their ability to use additional...
• So that's what would trigger their ability to use additional resources.
• Let me ask one final question, and I'm going to stay with the economic and fiscal impact.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and included several member introductions recognizing guests, interns, firefighters, and a doctor of the day. The chamber then moved to the special order calendar and began taking up a series of bills, often substituting House companions for Senate measures before final passage. The first major bill, health care patient protection, required hospitals with emergency departments to adopt pediatric emergency care policies, training, a pediatric emergency care coordinator, and readiness assessments; it passed 36-0. A public records bill protecting victim identities and temporarily exempting the name of a law enforcement officer who is a victim also passed after questions about access for victims of police misconduct, with a 33-4 vote. The Senate next approved a local government cybersecurity bill creating a state-administered program through Florida Digital Service to help counties and cities strengthen cyber defenses, with priority for rural and fiscally constrained governments; after amendments, it passed 37-0. A clerks of court bill allowing clerks to retain all revenue above projections and, through a House amendment, revising legal notice and traffic citation distribution provisions, passed 38-0 despite debate over impacts on municipalities and law enforcement. The chamber also passed a trademark modernization bill and a septic system permit bill intended to reduce delays for builders; the septic bill was amended to align the House and Senate versions and passed 38-0. The longest and most contested item was the elections bill, which updated citizenship verification procedures using REAL ID and state databases, changed candidate qualification rules, and altered election administration provisions. Numerous amendments were offered and rejected, including proposals to exempt certain seniors, preserve student and retirement-center IDs, allow attestations in place of documentary proof of citizenship, and require human review over automated systems. One amendment to delay implementation until July 1, 2027, was also debated. The transcript ends while debate is still underway on the elections measure, with no final vote shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the really hard fiscal years.
• So they usually hold a little bit in reserve for those last quarters of the fiscal year.
• So it's the operating budgets right now—it's our current fiscal year, state fiscal year.
• By the end of fiscal year 2024, they had to spend $250,000 to develop a coalition.
• In fiscal year 2026, they reported that the website was launched in July.

Transcript Highlights:

• just take a moment to say, you know, one of our challenges I think you can appreciate is the state fiscal
• That all goes through the administering agencies and through the required fiscal systems.
• What would need to happen is there would need to be a trigger.
• And they're halfway within the fiscal year.
• The regulatory requirements are what trigger... the archaeological study.

Transcript Highlights:

• King, members of the committee, my name is Rahul Srini Vaston, Director of Government, Foreign, and Fiscal
• Members, these figures, sobering as they are, omit every incident too small to trigger mandatory disclosure
• , every compromise that's been absorbed Too small to trigger mandatory disclosure, every compromise that's
• The fiscal note mentions that the University of Texas system... ...you were exploring here.
• It's a precedent for innovative, fiscally responsible technology adoption across state agencies, making

Bills: HB146, HB150, HB1500, HB1545, HB1562, HB2067, HB2520, HB2818, HB3214, HB3250, HB3466, HB3512, HB3623, HB4063, HB4395, HB4464, HB4668, HB4690, HB5331, HB3833

Keywords: HB 146, Texas Capitol, State Capitol, State Preservation Board, Congress Avenue, Travis County, traffic lanes, lane closure, road closure, municipal authority, local control, Capitol area, downtown Austin, special events, construction traffic plan, pedestrian safety, public works, transportation policy, government code chapter 443, cybersecurity

Summary: The committee took up several pending business items and reported a series of House bills out of committee, including HB 2467, HB 2468, HB 2518, HB 4310, HB 4386, HB 4490, HB 5323, and HB 149. Most of these were advanced on committee substitute motions and sent to the local and uncontested calendar or reported favorably to the full Senate. HB 2467 drew one nay vote, while the others were approved without opposition. HB 4310 and HB 4386 were described as committee-substitute versions with changes narrowing disclosure requirements and preserving attorney-client privilege in certain circumstances. A major portion of the meeting focused on HB 149, an AI governance bill. The substitute was explained as addressing biometric identifier capture and storage, exempting certain AI uses for security and fraud prevention, clarifying definitions, restricting AI systems that simulate explicit child sexual content, adjusting Attorney General investigative authority, refining sandbox program waivers, reducing Texas AI Council powers and membership, and adding DIR coordination provisions. The committee adopted the substitute and reported the bill favorably. The committee then heard extensive testimony on HB 1500, the DIR sunset bill. The author said the bill would continue DIR for 12 years, restructure its board, update advisory committees, require regular cybersecurity assessments and penetration testing for state agencies, improve IT procurement training, and transfer the e-grants program to the Comptroller. A Texas 2036 witness supported the bill as a way to strengthen governance, procurement, and cybersecurity. Members asked detailed questions about the bill’s structure and then left HB 1500 pending. The committee also heard a lengthy presentation on HB 150, which would create the Texas Cyber Command as a component of the University of Texas System, administratively attached to UTSA and located in San Antonio. The author argued the command would centralize cyber threat intelligence, incident response, and digital forensics, and would be able to support state and local entities, with optional services for local governments. Members raised concerns about university mission drift, governance, security, chain of command, procurement authority, gifts and donations, and civil liberties implications of proactive cyber monitoring. Witnesses from UTSA/NSCC and SecurityScorecard testified in support, emphasizing the security of the downtown San Antonio facility, the existing cyber ecosystem there, and the need for a dedicated cyber capability. The bill remained under discussion with no final committee action announced in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• calculations of $15 million this fiscal calculations of $15 million this fiscal year<00:20:10.000
• year and another 5 million next fiscal year and another 5 million next fiscal year. year. year.
• aid grant parts of uh the the fiscal aid grant parts of uh the the fiscal year<00:47:44.319>
• So the because that's the trigger.
• So we our submission her fiscal years.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• grow why would this not trigger grow why would this not trigger could<00:53:27.440> this<
• <00:53:29.240> of could this not trigger yet another of could this not trigger yet another
• it um and a big part of that fiscal it um and a big part of that fiscal crisis<01:22:12.440>
• The amount that we estimated for those costs would be in fiscal 26 an additional $164,000, in fiscal
• It says, for fiscal 2026, $1.64 million? Yes, it's in the fiscal note.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on HB 135, introduced by Representative Michael Harrington. He said the bill would codify a portion of the New Hampshire Constitution to bar New Hampshire businesses from being required to collect sales or use taxes for other states unless Congress mandates it, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision created an onerous compliance burden for businesses. He described the patchwork of state and local sales tax rules, thresholds, and product exemptions as extremely complex and said the bill was intended to push the issue back toward Congress and the courts. Members questioned whether the bill’s reference to a “foreign government” would apply to other U.S. states, whether the proposal would conflict with the Supremacy Clause, and whether it would create standing for businesses to challenge Wayfair. Harrington responded that “foreign government” meant any government other than New Hampshire, that he believed the state could challenge the decision in court by passing a law contrary to Wayfair, and that businesses were already being harmed by compliance costs. Some members raised concerns about whether the bill was an unfunded mandate or simply a private compliance burden, and Harrington argued that the state itself would not be collecting the taxes, but businesses would still face recordkeeping and administrative costs. Sam Garland of the Department of Justice then testified. He said the department was not taking a formal position on the bill, but offered technical comments. Garland acknowledged that Wayfair created significant compliance burdens and noted that states have become somewhat more uniform, with all states now having a $100,000 economic nexus threshold, though not all use the 200-transaction threshold and local tax variation remains substantial. He said the department’s concerns were legal, describing the issue as uncharted constitutional territory involving both vertical and horizontal federalism. No vote or final action was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• The trend is when the department gets to the end of the fiscal year, and we look for our last deposit
• If not this coming fiscal year, it certainly will be the fiscal year after that.
• But based on our current revenue projections We think it's going to happen this fiscal year.
• The first one that we had was at the tail end of last fiscal year for Senate District Eight.
• And then the expenditures will drop as we go on through the fiscal year.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Slides 4, 5, and 6 are training metrics for the fiscal years 2019 through 2025.
• This is going to be the true waste shipment totals for fiscal years 2019. Fiscal year 2026.
• So, in the same fiscal year, just a couple of months delay.
• Into the general fund at the closeout of the fiscal year.
• In other words, we can carry over unspent funds from the previous fiscal year.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No fiscal impact is currently budgetarily scored because this bill is prospective and future wildfire
• fiscal cost would be for providing retroactive tax relief for wildfire settlements.
• The administration continues to look into the fiscal impact.
• It was a timing and a fiscal issue, so this covers payments that are made in 2025 or later.
• Yeah, so it's subject to a trigger, depending on what happens federally.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When we were asked for a fiscal note, it's impossible to do a fiscal note on something like this.
• When we were asked for a fiscal note, it's impossible to do a fiscal note on something like this.
• When we were asked for a fiscal note, it's impossible to do a fiscal note on something like this.
• When we were asked for a fiscal note, it's impossible to do a fiscal note on something like this.
• When we were asked for a fiscal note, it's impossible to do a fiscal note on something like this.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The conference committee received a nonpartisan walkthrough of the House and Senate side-by-side for higher education-related legislation, with staff identifying Senate-only, House-only, identical, and technical-difference provisions. Topics included paid blood donation leave for Minnesota State employees, a revised higher education attainment goal, athletic fee restrictions, developmental course disclosures, American Indian Scholars Program eligibility, protections and definitions for pregnant and parenting students, online program management contracts, student aid reporting, work-study and dual training grants, private and out-of-state postsecondary education regulation, private career school licensing and data privacy, college savings plan changes, and several University of Minnesota-related provisions. House-only items also included an unemployment insurance aid adjustment, a $1.5 million ongoing appropriation for an identity verification system to combat enrollment fraud, and $5,000 for Bemidji State University reforestation; Senate-only items included Board of Regents appointment language, limits on for-profit control of medical school curriculum, and reporting on for-profit funding in medical education. After the walkthrough, the committee moved to adopt the same and similar provisions and direct staff to make technical corrections. A senator asked about proposed adjustments to the pregnant and parenting student language, and the chair said amendments would be considered after adopting the same and similar provisions. The motion to adopt prevailed. During public testimony, Sydney Spre of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees supported the Senate’s paid blood donation leave language, saying it would create parity for Minnesota State employees and encourage blood and plasma donation. Commissioner Dennis Olsen of the Office of Higher Education thanked the committee for adopting most of the agency’s proposed language and said he was available to help clarify remaining differences. In response to questions, he explained the Senate’s higher education attainment goal proposal, saying it would extend and broaden the existing goal, raise the target from 70% to 75%, expand the age range, and use additional metrics and partner agencies; he also said the overall attainment rate had been 63.5 under the prior goal. The transcript ends as the commissioner was being asked whether the proposal would require additional appropriations.