Transcript Highlights:

• This House bill requires TDCJ correctional officers and their supervisors to receive pre-service and
• Pre-service and annual training on de-escalation, crisis intervention, and behavioral health.
• House Bill 451 will allow these children to access proper supports and services so that they can begin
• It just says M&O should be M&O and I&S should be debt service for future projects.
• We have access to this capability, this great technology. We need to use it and deploy it.

Summary: The Senate opened with an invocation by Pastor Tedrick Woods, followed by routine chamber actions including excusing Senator Gutierrez and receiving House messages that the House had passed HB 21 and HB 49. Senators also recognized advocates visiting the gallery on focal segmental glomerulosclerosis awareness and introduced the Doctor of the Day. The chamber adopted several resolutions, including HCR 66, by voice vote. The Senate then took up and passed a series of measures, often by suspending the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule. Among the bills finally passed were HJR 2, which would prohibit state death taxes; HB 206, limiting counties from requiring cash bonds for pipeline construction; HB 517, barring property owners associations from fining homeowners for discolored vegetation during watering restrictions; HB 2756, requiring TDCJ correctional officers to receive de-escalation and behavioral health training; HB 451, expanding screening for commercial sexual exploitation risk among children in DFPS and TJJD custody; SB 705, cleaning up the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board; SB 2017, creating an offense for burnouts and wheelies; SB 1858, expanding body armor grant eligibility to ISDs; SB 1400, directing a study on transfer-student outcomes for community college funding; SB 2764, requiring notice to manufactured home buyers about converting homes to real property; SB 748, a licensing cleanup bill on laser hair removal; SB 2519, restricting certain ad valorem tax uses and bonds after amendment; SB 2878, the courts bill with amendments on Brazoria County courts and youth diversion provisions; SB 466, allowing families to request fetal death certificates at any gestational age; SB 1608, requiring timely physical exams for inpatient mental health admissions; SB 1730, limiting civil damages claims arising from certain uses of force or deadly force; SB 2417, clarifying Attorney General antitrust investigation work product and discovery rules; and SB 1946, creating a family violence, criminal homicide prevention task force. The Senate also passed HB 3204, renaming and updating the Polytechnic College at Sam Houston State University, and SB 1986, requiring opioid warning labels. Several bills drew brief debate or amendments. Senators discussed broader HOA reform while considering HB 517, and SB 2203 on TCEQ discovery procedures was amended to require party motions, set a 15-day expiration for certified issues, and limit hearing abatement. SB 2017 was amended to change the mens rea language from knowingly to intentional. SB 2519 was narrowed by amendment to a forward-looking policy statement separating maintenance-and-operation taxes from debt-service taxes. SB 2878 also received amendments to reduce the number of new Brazoria County courts and add youth diversion and crisis-response provisions. SB 466 prompted a floor debate over whether fetal death certificates are appropriate for pre-20-week losses, with supporters emphasizing family closure and opponents arguing the document has no estate-related purpose. SB 1730 also prompted questions about the relationship between criminal findings and civil liability in self-defense cases. The session concluded with additional House and Senate measures being signed in the presence of the Senate and continued consideration of SB 2177, a grant program to help local law enforcement solve violent and sexual offenses.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> her progression uh including her service her progression uh including her service at<00:03:21.840
• </c> to know what I guess support services to know what I guess support services there<01:19:05.040><
• uh community service community service uh community service gumator<01:23:14.960><c> nominee</c><01:
• ><c> administers</c> statewide service plan, administers statewide service plan, administers grant<01
• Chair votes I. national and community service. national and community service.

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Majority report of the Committee on Science, Technology and Energy, to which was referred House Bill
• </c> adopted committee on science technology adopted committee on science technology and<00:34:49.119
• </c> helping their children receive Services helping their children receive Services identified<03:45
• </c> challenging the district for services challenging the district for services offered<03:51:16.399
• Announcement: The Emerging Technologies Caucus is going to meet tomorrow by Teams at 11 o'clock.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• must cross the United States-Canadian border twice to get to school, the doctor's office, and other services
• acknowledges the shared economic prosperity from integrated supply chains and thriving maritime technology
• shared efforts toward marine habitat restoration, natural disaster mitigation, advancing clean technologies
• Vancouver, but also in Ottawa as well, and learning about the important and those deep relationships on technology
• Vancouver, but also in Ottawa as well, and learning about the important and those deep relationships on technology

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: The Senate convened on February 24 with no roll call, approved the prior day’s Journal, and referred committee reports and listed measures as designated. One exception was Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2548, concerning health care market standards, which was sent to the Committee on Rules. The chamber then moved to the eighth order for resolutions. Senate Resolution 8696, recognizing Washington’s interconnected relationship with Canada, was read and adopted. Supportive remarks emphasized cross-border economic ties, family and community connections, shared environmental and scientific work, trade, border communities such as Point Roberts and Blaine, and cooperation with Canadian and Quebec officials. The Senate also formally recognized visiting Canadian and Washington guests in the gallery, including the Canadian Consul General, a Quebec delegate, the mayor of Blaine, and Western Washington University representatives. After a brief at-ease, the Senate returned to business and received supplemental standing committee reports, including Senate Bill 5998, the supplemental operating budget, and House Bill 2664, both referred to the Committee on Rules. The Senate then agreed to adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Item 3: Data center services recommendations include an additional $0.4 million in general revenue.
• Revenue to maintain current obligations for shared technology services.
• This ensures Texans have the reliable services that they deserve and keeps our state's economy humming
• It kind of came out of sunset, and you pulled away from Health and Human Services.
• Thank you for your time and service to the citizens of Texas. My name is Dr. David Yu.

Bills: SB1 , SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

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:

• And this technology actually has been utilized for many decades.
• 00:20:39.200><c> utilized</c> technology actually has been utilized technology actually has been utilized
• We need new technology and to be open, and we haven't as a state.
• We need new technology and to be open, and we haven't as a state.
• right here in energy technologies right here in Minnesota.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• services.
• services.
• services.
• More IMD services.
• housing services.

Summary: The meeting focused heavily on behavioral health and substance use treatment, especially the IMD exclusion and whether North Dakota should pursue a Section 1115 waiver to allow Medicaid reimbursement for services in institutions for mental diseases for adults ages 21 to 64. Turtle Mountain representatives described major local needs, including limited access to care, high syphilis rates, and the importance of timely public health data. They also discussed the tribe’s recovery center, which opened the prior year, now operating five levels of care with 16 beds, and the desire to expand capacity, possibly through an IMD waiver or related policy changes. Committee members also raised related issues such as rural health transformation funding, telehealth, workforce retention, and the need for better coordination between tribal and state public health systems. A central issue was Turtle Mountain Public Health’s long-running effort to secure a data use agreement with the state so it can receive surveillance data and respond directly to infectious disease cases among tribal members. Speakers said the tribe had a successful COVID-era agreement that allowed faster contact tracing and case management, but that agreement ended with the pandemic. They argued that current delays in sharing data, especially for sexually transmitted infections, leave the tribe unable to respond quickly, while the state and county epidemiology workload is too distant and stretched to be effective. Committee members expressed support and said they would look into the issue, noting that other tribes have secured similar agreements. The committee also heard a detailed presentation from the National Health Law Program on the IMD exclusion. The presenter explained that federal Medicaid law generally bars payment for care in facilities with more than 16 beds, but that states can use other tools such as state plan amendments, managed care arrangements, telehealth, and community-based services. He said IMD waivers are administratively complex, time-limited, and have shown mixed results in other states, with some gains in residential treatment access but limited evidence of improved overdose outcomes or stronger community-based care. He urged the committee to consider broader continuum-of-care solutions and cautioned that waivers alone are not a cure-all. No final vote was taken on the bill draft during the portion shown, but the committee discussed the proposal to appropriate $49,000 and one FTE to HHS to pursue an IMD waiver and report back in the next interim. Members also debated the policy rationale for the 16-bed limit, the role of the state versus tribal sovereignty, and whether the bill should move through the Health Care or Human Services committee in the future.

Transcript Highlights:

• that surcharge on their bill, and it is adjusted once or twice a year and approved by the Public Service
• So the fact that there could be a surcharge, and the Public Service Commission created the surcharge,
• It was very loosely written, which required the Public Service Commission to develop rules to establish
• We believe that there's enormous promise in this new wave of nuclear technology development.
• The technology was unproven. It was expensive. We needed to build that marketplace.

Committee: House Utilities

Summary: The Committee on Utilities heard testimony first on House Bill 2807, which would lower Missouri’s renewable energy standard from 15% to 7.5% and add nuclear generation as an eligible source, with the sponsor saying the goal is to give utilities more flexibility and support dispatchable power. The sponsor and several witnesses discussed a Senate companion and committee substitute that would clarify the bill to apply only to new nuclear and, in the Senate version, add battery storage credits. Support came from Renew Missouri, Ameren Missouri, Missouri Farm Bureau, and Associated Industries of Missouri, who emphasized grid reliability, dispatchable generation, and the need to adapt to growing energy demand. Opposition from the Consumers Council of Missouri focused on ratepayer impacts, warning that the bill could increase the RESRAM surcharge and urging explicit language to prevent nuclear costs from being passed through to consumers. The committee then heard House Bill 2598, a more complex proposal to create a Missouri Advanced Nuclear Office and a grant program to help finance a “power campus” pairing a natural gas plant with a small modular nuclear reactor. The sponsor and supporters described the bill as a way to attract large data centers, provide near-term power, and use gas plant profits to help fund future nuclear development, while also positioning Missouri to compete with other states and federal nuclear incentives. Witnesses from Bridge to Nuclear and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce supported the concept as innovative and pro-reliability, though committee members repeatedly questioned why the state should put general revenue at risk, how profits and grants would be structured, and whether private markets could do the work without state involvement. Opposition to HB 2598 came from a consumer advocate and an environmental/community witness, who criticized the bill’s potential effects on electric rates, transparency, water use, and local communities affected by data centers. They objected to confidential grant applications and argued that the proposal would further favor large corporations over residents. No votes were taken on either bill during the hearing. Before adjournment, the chair announced that a committee substitute for Representative Banderman’s solar bill would be heard at a later, committee-only session, with the public allowed to attend but not testify.

Transcript Highlights:

• >> The Health and Human Services Committee will come to order. Sabrina, please call the roll.
• And if you could go into CS for HB 1229, residential homes for medically technology.
• Medically technology G technologically Sorry, dependent children by Representative Oliver.
• or who has a service-related disability at the time of death.
• It is the one service that we all must have for a waiver support for APD I Budget services.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> strategy including projects Technologies strategy including projects Technologies products<00:20
• :00.720><c> services</c><00:20:01.720><c> or</c><00:20:01.960><c> measures</c><00:20:02.480><c> that<
• /c> products services or measures that products services or measures that promote<00:20:03.039><c> Energy
• </c><00:25:08.840><c> to</c> expanded this for other Technologies to expanded this for other Technologies
• They need to be technology agnostic.

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we have an integrated service delivery, which is exactly the same thing.
• And then we have an integrated service delivery, which is exactly the same thing.
• Or have very little money to provide services.
• But again, we're going to have those constituents that don't have that technology available.
• Department of Workforce Services. So I've been at this for about 30 years. Yeah.

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That motion is adopted.<00:32:37.679><c> Senate</c><00:32:38.040><c> Services.</c> adopted.
• Senate Services. adopted. Senate Services.
• This past year they completed over 60,000 community service hours.
• Tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. in room 352, the Joint Technology Committee will be meeting.
• </c> a.m. in room 352, the Joint Technology a.m. in room 352, the Joint Technology Committee<01:36:48.760

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But no, there was no debt service reserve.
• And then you mentioned new lines of service. Can you elaborate on that?
• as defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
• Gabrielle Santor with the Emergency Medical Services Authority.
• I hear you're not cutting services.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There are a few different ways to fund fire service in our state.
• But the goal is voter-approved funding for fire service. Fantastic.
• Voters will see upfront... for fire services.
• Service continuity and employee protections.
• We get our cars serviced by our trusty local mechanic.

Summary: The Senate Local Government and State Parks Committee heard several bills focused on local government finance, land use, and public safety. SB 5903 would deem a cemetery district commissioner elected if only one qualified candidate files, with sponsor Senator Cortez saying it would save ballot-printing costs and local resources; there was no testimony in opposition. SB 6037 would create or modify a voter-approved option for cities and towns to form a single-city fire protection district, adjust levy and notice rules, allow administrative service contracts with the city, and clarify commissioner elections; Senator Cortez and multiple city and fire officials said it would give communities more flexible, locally controlled funding tools for fire service, while committee members asked about how it would work and the fiscal impact. SB 5983 would exempt certain current-use land transferred to a government entity for right-of-way from rollback taxes when the transfer is tied to development conditions and stays within a 20% acreage limit; Senator Leas described it as helping a family farm avoid an unfair tax bill, and there was no testimony on the bill. The committee also heard SB 5995, which would remove the 2031 sunset on the prohibition against using port funds to buy fully automated marine container cargo handling equipment. The sponsor and labor witnesses argued the bill protects jobs, keeps public dollars from underwriting automation, and still allows zero-emission, human-operated equipment; port and labor representatives testified in strong support, while the sign-in sheet showed substantial public interest both for and against. SB 6016 would change how urban growth area swaps treat critical aquifer recharge areas, making the rules for annual and periodic updates more consistent and allowing swaps if they do not increase net CARA acreage within the UGA; the sponsor, Commerce, housing, business, and development interests said it was a technical fix that supports housing and consistency, while one witness warned it could weaken groundwater protections and create litigation risk. Finally, the committee heard SB 6066, which would let counties, cities, towns, or WSDOT designate “accident risk zones” on roads with repeated crashes, require a public hearing and engineering review, double certain traffic penalties in the zone, and dedicate half the extra revenue to safety improvements before dissolving the zone. Supporters from cities, counties, and Pasco said it could help address dangerous intersections and fund fixes, though several witnesses raised liability and implementation concerns and asked for further stakeholder work. No votes were taken in the transcript; the chair closed each hearing after testimony and sign-in counts were noted.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sabadoza that the State Board of Retirement be authorized to grant creditable service to Jason Patricie
• , an employee of the probation service and a member of the state employees' retirement system, severally
• to the Committee on Public Service; the joint petition of Lindsay N.
• Sabadoza that the State Board of Retirement be authorized to grant creditable service to Jason Patricie
• on Public Service, the joint petition of Lindsay N.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and then took up several Rules Committee reports. Members adopted resolutions congratulating Auburn on the 100th anniversary of the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket launch and welcoming Boston’s new National Women’s Soccer League team, the Boston Legacy, to Massachusetts. The House also adopted orders extending the reporting deadlines for the Committee on Revenue on two House documents into 2026. The chamber suspended joint rules to allow several petitions to proceed, including proposals on social media regulation for minors, a sick leave bank for a Department of Children and Families employee, retirement credit for a probation employee, taxation of certain foreign government pension benefits, and naming the American lobster the official crustacean of the Commonwealth. The Steering, Policy and Schedule Committee then listed bills for consideration, including measures on private road maintenance in Gloucester, property valuation and assessment fairness, municipal tax collectors, preservation of historic resource information in community preservation funds, and Salem liquor license changes. The House advanced those bills through second and third readings, then passed to be enacted local bills involving compensation for a Revere widow, a Wellesley senior tax deferment change, and a Hopkinton library trustees charter amendment. It also engrossed a bill directing the Boston Police Department to waive the maximum age requirement for a specific applicant, Edney Joseph. The session ended with a moment of silent tribute to Adrian Dolan of South Boston and an order to adjourn until the next Thursday morning in informal session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sabadoza that the State Board of Retirement be authorized to grant creditable service to Jason Patricie
• , an employee of the probation service and a member of the state employees' retirement system, severally
• to the Committee on Public Service; the joint petition of Lindsay N.
• Sabadoza that the State Board of Retirement be authorized to grant creditable service to Jason Patricie
• on Public Service, the joint petition of Lindsay N.

Keywords: 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And we also brought a social service lens to this work.
• Chair, members of the committee, moving on to P777, Workforce Technology.
• But we will see, you know, some curtailment in services to go back to mom's shopping list.
• that we provide, that the 44 out of every 100 people provide those services for?
• People provide those services for it. I'd love to have that answer. Thanks, Secretary.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:02:08.840><c> Reagan,</c> Services. Keith Reagan Keith A. Reagan, Services.
• </c> and members of the Labor and Technology and members of the Labor and Technology Committee.<00:04
• ,</c> going back to the House Human Services, going back to the House Human Services, I<00:31:59.840>
• </c><00:36:20.800><c> in</c> the Office of Community Services in the Office of Community Services in
• </c> Community Service. Community Service.

Committee: Senate Labor and Technology

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several measures. HB 2271 HD2, making emergency appropriations for public employment cost items, drew support from state agencies and other entities, including HPHA, the University of Hawaiʻi, DLNR, OYS, DAGS, DOH, DOA/Biosecurity, and the Behavioral Health Administration; no opposition was noted. HB 2324 HD2, relating to the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Law, was supported by DLIR, which said the bill removes a duplicative Hoisting Machine Operators Advisory Board requirement and aligns whistleblower investigation timelines with federal standards. HB 2387 HD1, relating to workers’ compensation medical benefits, also received support from DLIR and the State Fire Council, with the chair noting 40 supporters and no opposition or comments. HB 2116 HD2, relating to grants, was presented as a response to federal SNAP-related eligibility changes. Supporters included the Office of Community Services, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Catholic Charities Hawaii, and several other organizations. Testimony said the bill would help nonprofits provide volunteer opportunities that could count toward an 80-hour monthly work requirement and help vulnerable residents avoid losing benefits; witnesses cited potential impacts on older adults and households with dependent children. HB 1682 HD1, relating to the disclosure of intimate images, drew strong support from advocates, the Uniform Law Commission, the Commission to Promote Uniform Laws, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, and others. Testifiers emphasized the harms of non-consensual image sharing, the need for civil remedies, confidentiality protections, and the bill’s alignment with a uniform act already enacted in other states. HB 2468 HD1, relating to internship programs, received support from the University of Hawaiʻi, DLIR, the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and others. Testimony focused on the Hālau Mua internship program, workforce development, and the need to clarify sponsor contracts, background checks, and onboarding; committee members asked about a former intern now working in an 89-day hire position and how to streamline hiring into civil service roles. HB 2091 HD2, relating to petitions to restrain and enjoin harassment of DOE employees, was supported by DOE, the Attorney General’s office, UPW, and others; the AG’s office requested a data-driven appropriation amount, and members discussed a $300,000 figure for the full two-year pilot. The chair also asked for confirmation of prior cost figures for HB 2116 before moving toward decision-making.

Transcript Highlights:

• Treatment technologies do not currently exist to make the water safe.
• We have solar technologies.
• The technology has risen to the occasion where we know, and it'll keep getting better, I think, the technology
• And I believe, I mean, I support technology.
• Again, I'm not opposed to the technologies.

Committee: House House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources

Summary: The committee met to hear House Bill 207, as amended, which would direct the Water Quality Control Commission to adopt rules for permits allowing certain beneficial uses of treated produced water, including industrial, commercial, energy-related, infrastructure, pilot project, and other approved uses. Representative Brown presented the bill as a science-driven response to New Mexico’s water scarcity, citing the state’s 50-year water plan and research from the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium. The committee adopted an amendment requiring the rules to be informed by credible scientific data and other evidence, including consortium research, before moving to public comment. Supporters argued the bill would create a regulated framework for reuse of treated produced water, preserve scarce freshwater, and support economic development, construction, and energy-related uses. Testimony in favor came from the bill sponsor, the consortium’s Dr. Zach Stoll, the chair of the Water Quality Control Commission, business and industry representatives, local economic development officials, and some residents. They emphasized recent peer-reviewed studies, pilot projects, and the need for the commission to act on updated science. State agencies, including the Environment Department, said the amended bill addressed some of their concerns and kept the focus on science-based rulemaking. Opponents said the bill would override the Water Quality Control Commission’s prior findings and force approval of uses that remain scientifically unproven and potentially harmful. Many speakers from environmental groups, acequia and agricultural organizations, faith groups, and local residents warned about unknown contaminants, risks to groundwater, crops, roads, and human health, and the possibility of spills or long-term environmental damage. Several argued the bill would politicize a technical process and create liability or cleanup burdens for the public. No vote on final passage was taken in the portion provided; the committee recessed briefly after public comment and then returned to sponsor remarks and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• SYSTEM ACT OF 1991, ALSO KNOWN AS TSA BUT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OPPOSED TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE
• THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS SYSTEM TO DISTRIBUTE MORE MODERN AND UPDATED TECHNOLOGIES
• INCORPORATING DEFINITIONS FOR TECHNOLOGY NOT CONTEMPLATED BY THE ORIGINAL ACT AND REVISING OUTDATED
• NUMBERS HAVE GONE DOWN AND THE PEOPLE THAT RELY ON LANDLINES HAVE DECREASED SO THEY RELY ON THE RELAY SERVICE
• INCLUDING TOWERS ANTENNA EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES PROVIDE 911, E911 OR PUBLIC SAFETY RATE REGULAR SERVICES

Keywords: 999, senate, all