Transcript Highlights:

• including the use of artificial intelligence tools and, as applicable, related subject areas such as software
• what that can mean, especially as you're seeing the workforce change and go into robotics, go into software
• I'm also chairman and CEO of CIMPRO, a very large software and AI company that focuses on the trades.

Bills: S1694

Keywords: technology education, digital literacy, artificial intelligence, computer science, high school graduation

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education met with a quorum present and first took up CS for SB 1694, which would require technology-integrated postsecondary general education core courses to include digital literacy and competency instruction, including use of artificial intelligence tools, and encourage high school computer science courses with AI content to teach how AI systems use data, their benefits and limitations, and responsible use in academic and personal contexts. The bill drew support from several speakers who emphasized the need for students to understand AI’s capabilities, limitations, ethics, and risks, while one speaker raised concerns about overreliance on AI and the loss of skills. Senator Davis said the bill was a good step toward preparing the future workforce and suggested earlier instruction might be worth considering later. The bill was reported favorably, and Senator Leek asked to be recorded in the affirmative. The committee then heard a long series of confirmation presentations for trustees at multiple Florida colleges and universities, including Tallahassee State College, USF, UNF, Palm Beach State College, the College of the Florida Keys, Hillsborough College, Miami-Dade College, Florida A&M University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, New College of Florida, Florida Polytechnic University, and the University of Florida. The appointees generally emphasized student success, workforce alignment, fiscal responsibility, access and affordability, and institutional growth; several members and senators offered supportive comments, with some asking about specific issues such as Tallahassee State’s NCLEX passage rates and the need for continued improvement. One appointee’s attendance was delayed or skipped for later consideration, but the committee ultimately took a block vote and reported the confirmations favorably to the Ethics and Elections Committee. Finally, Chair Harrell gave a brief overview of the higher education budget, describing a total of $11.9 billion and highlighting increases for workforce education, Florida College System operating funds, workforce development capitalization, the Rural Incentive for Professional Educators program, the USF Center for Nursing, preeminent research universities, UCF’s community school grant program, UF’s Lassinger Center on Learning, the Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, and campus security through a postsecondary guardian program. Senator Davis asked about a transfer related to the workforce development capitalization and incentive grant fund, and the chair explained it was a transfer of an existing program with new funds being added. There was no public comment on the budget, and the meeting adjourned after Senator Leek requested to be recorded in the affirmative on SB 1694.

Transcript Highlights:

• there unique data, privacy or data security concerns that are unique to AI as opposed to any other software
• So we'll go through kind of a robust review all of that software.
• recognizing that we're a federated model in Florida where every agency is delegated to by their own software

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> Chair Persons-Mulicka: I HAVE ONE QUESTION REGARDING THE AI, NEW AI SOFTWARE THAT STEP UP IS USING
• WITH THE RECEIPT AND THE TWO INK CARTRIDGE REIMBURSEMENTS, WERE YOU USING THE NEW AI PROCESSING SOFTWARE
• NOW WITH THE SOFTWARE WE MEET THESE ON INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEMS.

Transcript Highlights:

• Or program, including technology and software services for selected school districts for a term of 3
• To provide an energy management platform and software services.
• council approval to contract with a measurement and verification vendor to perform M&V technology and software

Transcript Highlights:

• So, if this bill simply said motor carrier safety improvement means any device, equipment, software,
• training, policy, program, or operational practice associated with the use of the device, equipment, software
• training policy, program or operational practice associated with the use of the device equipment, software

Summary: The Senate Committee on Transportation heard several bills, mostly local memorial highway designations and transportation-related regulatory measures. Senator Hinojosa presented SB 1351 to designate part of US 281 in Hidalgo County as the Jose Rodriguez Lua Memorial Highway in honor of a Border Patrol processing coordinator killed by a drunk driver; a family member testified emotionally in support, and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard and left pending SB 2245 on bonded titles for vehicles when a lienholder has gone out of business, SB 1568 on animal-friendly specialty license plates with a second “spay, neuter, adopt” plate, SB 2589 on handling closed county roads in Webb County, SB 1104 on allowing large retailers to use one fingerprinted employee of record across multiple Texas locations, SB 1423 naming the Bill Stout Parkway in Longview, and SB 1931 naming part of US 83 the Rodolfo Valdez Memorial Highway. Most of these bills drew supportive testimony or were presented as local measures with no opposition. The committee also took up broader policy bills. SB 215 would create a digital identification program for Texas driver’s licenses and certain other licenses, but the sponsor said he was mainly laying the bill out for discussion and study; testimony was limited and the bill was left pending. SB 2707 would clarify that government entities such as TxDOT and the military remain exempt from fees on oversized/overweight permit authority, though a county commissioner raised questions about road-use impacts and fee revenue. SB 2807 drew the most discussion: it would prevent a motor carrier’s use of safety technology, training, and related practices from being used as evidence that an independent contractor is actually an employee. Supporters said the bill would encourage adoption of safety tools like cameras and braking systems without increasing misclassification risk, while opponents from the trial lawyers’ side warned the wording could conflict with existing labor-code definitions and create litigation. The sponsor and committee members discussed possible clarifying floor amendments. After public testimony, the committee voted on the pending bills. All measures were reported favorably on 6-0 votes, with committee substitutes adopted where applicable. SB 1351, SB 1423, SB 1568, SB 1931, SB 2245, SB 2589, SB 2707, SB 2807, and SB 2841 were all sent to the full Senate, and several were recommended for the local and uncontested calendar. The committee recessed subject to the call of the chair after completing the votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• We can also use it for equipment, as well as software, but there are also... in permissible uses of the
• 6.1 million. is for maintenance and operations and the second bucket for 3.2 million is for the software
• of about 7.75 million and another 2.67 million to address the operating cost which includes the software

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , as you know, for goods—and has become a major issue for towns and for schools when it comes to software
• , as you know, for goods and has become a major issue for towns and for schools when it comes to software
• what is a service is less clear—for example, think about information technology and cloud-based software
• You know, for example, think about information technology in cloud-based software products.
• When used strategically, it can simplify the procurement process, particularly for those IT software-as-a-service

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing focused on Governor Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll’s Municipal Empowerment Act, with administration officials and municipal leaders broadly supporting the bill as a package of tools to help cities and towns manage rising costs, staffing shortages, and service demands. The administration highlighted procurement reforms, including raising Chapter 30B advertising thresholds, clarifying cooperative purchasing, and removing the Commbuys notice requirement; permanent authority to amortize emergency-related deficits over three years; expanded authority and enforcement for removing double poles; continued flexibility for hybrid and remote public meetings; regionalization options such as regional boards of assessors and intermunicipal agreements; cybersecurity reporting to EOTSS; and several local revenue options and other municipal finance changes. They said the bill was shaped by listening sessions with municipal officials and was intended to increase flexibility, efficiency, and stability without imposing broad mandates. Committee members asked about regionalization, cybersecurity costs, Commbuys, hybrid meetings, and double poles. Administration witnesses said cybersecurity reporting would help the state target resources and that existing Community Compact and capital grant programs, including IT and municipal fiber funding, could support local needs; they said EOTSS would absorb reporting within existing resources. On procurement, they said the Commbuys notice change would be optional and that other public notice methods would remain available. On hybrid meetings, they emphasized flexibility for different types of boards and the burdens a one-size-fits-all mandate could create for small towns and volunteer boards. On double poles, they said the bill’s main change from last session was to give utilities more time and improve the removal process while keeping enforcement mechanisms aimed at speeding removal rather than raising revenue. The Massachusetts Municipal Association, MAPC, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and multiple mayors and town managers testified in support. They described the bill as a practical modernization measure that would help local governments operate more efficiently and respond to fiscal pressure. Witnesses from Northampton, Lynn, Gardner, Cambridge, Franklin, North Andover, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Ashland praised the hybrid meeting provisions, procurement changes, regional service-sharing, and emergency deficit amortization. Several also urged adoption of local revenue tools, including meals and lodging tax options and other local fees, as ways to preserve services and staffing. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• and they must submit a structured safety case demonstrating the safety of the vehicle's hardware, software
• and they must submit a structured safety case demonstrating the safety of the vehicle's hardware, software
• , and operations. the safety of the vehicle's hardware, software, and operations.
• And so if an AV experiences a critical detachment or software freeze, it blocks a lane on an interstate
• Membership spans the autonomous vehicle ecosystem, including suppliers, manufacturers, software developers

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee heard an informational hearing on California’s newly finalized autonomous vehicle regulations, with DMV and CHP officials describing the updated framework and committee members pressing them on safety, enforcement, and first-responder impacts. DMV said the rules, effective April 28, 2026, expand reporting, create a phased permitting system from testing to deployment, add requirements for safety cases, remote operations, and first-responder coordination, and open a path for heavy-duty AV testing and deployment while still prohibiting oversized loads and hazardous materials. CHP said it worked with DMV on enforcement tools, first-responder interaction plans, and training local agencies on the new notice of noncompliance process. Members asked about crash data, immobilizations, freeway and construction-zone safety, weigh-station enforcement, and whether foreign licenses can qualify for remote assistants or drivers; DMV and CHP said the rules are intended to keep AVs accountable and that heavy-duty AVs will be held to the same roadway standards as human-driven commercial vehicles. A second panel focused on data collection and enforcement. Consumer attorneys argued the prior rules were too limited because DMV stopped collecting meaningful data once AVs moved from testing to deployment, making it difficult for the public and litigants to understand incidents; they supported the new regulations but urged that the collected information be made public. The industry association said California now has the nation’s most robust AV oversight, with monthly or quarterly reporting of collisions, system failures, immobilizations, harsh braking, vehicle miles traveled, and notices of noncompliance, plus broad DMV authority to restrict or suspend operations. In response to questions, the industry said it generally supports the new framework, believes the regulations are clear, and does not favor full federal preemption of state AV rules, though it wants federal standards for design, construction, and performance. A third panel addressed first-responder interaction and remote operations. The San Francisco Fire Department described repeated AV interference with emergency scenes and said AVs have generated hundreds of “sleeper calls,” where passengers fall asleep and trigger 911 responses; the department said these incidents consume significant staff time and it wants better protocols to reduce unnecessary dispatches. Waymo said it has trained thousands of public-safety personnel, maintains a 24/7 emergency line, uses geofencing/avoid-the-area messages, and can allow first responders to manually override or move vehicles when needed. Committee members asked about sleeper-call prevention, remote assistant licensing and drug testing, communication redundancies during outages, and how manual overrides work for vehicles without traditional controls; Waymo said it is collaborating with responders and that its vehicles are designed to reach a safe stop if connectivity is lost. The final panel began with testimony on heavy-duty autonomous vehicles. A transportation researcher said freight is essential to California’s economy and that heavy-duty AVs pose distinct safety risks because of their weight, stopping distance, and the potentially severe consequences of crashes or immobilizations on highways. He said the new regulations are important because they create a regulated pathway for heavy-duty AV deployment, require a safety case, set mileage thresholds, and add reporting categories that can serve as leading safety indicators. The hearing was still in progress when the transcript ended, with additional testimony expected from labor and industry witnesses on heavy-duty AV deployment.

Transcript Highlights:

• DIR remains the buyer of enterprise hardware and software.
• Just so I understand the two gentlemen in the middle, you all sell either services or software I don't
• Yes, we provide services, like I said, and software—ready-made software that can provide a lot of analysis
• It's not that we're going to write the software. We're going to go purchase it.

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:

• Ingoglia: THERE ARE SOME SOFTWARE COMPANIES, SOME OF THESE LARGE TECH COMPANIES THAT DO HOLD THE INFORMATION
• IS DONE EASIER ON THE FRONT END WITH ACCESS TO THE ACTUAL DEVICE ITSELF AND ON THE BACKEND BY THE SOFTWARE
• THEY SAY THEY CAN'T, EVERYTHING IS INCLUDED, EVERYTHING YOU SEE IN TERMS OF ALGORITHMS AND SOFTWARE TO
• I DO NOT BELIEVE A SOFTWARE COMPANY, SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY CANNOT CODE SOMETHING IN THE WAY TO PROTECT
• I'VE ARCHITECTED SOFTWARE BEFORE BUT I HAVE NOT CODED IT.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

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.
• With new software and technology. We could have prevented that.
• Our sheriff's been to commissioner's Court the last 3 sessions asking for a new software to help prevent
• That cost us over $200,000 in software expense that we as commissioner's court are trying to find funds

Transcript Highlights:

• usage of RGI software or similar software<01:24:25.920> system<01:24:26.560> which<01:
• 24:26.800> most software system which most software system which most municipalities<01:24:27.840
• Um these software systems are matters.
• Um these software systems are expensive<01:24:33.360> and<01:24:33.600> requires<01:24:
• system or someone on, have a software system or someone on, you<01:25:54.560> know,<01:25:55.280

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:55:18.239> called have a task management software called have a task management software
• I'd say around 30% are actually power users that are able to build agents within our software.
• <02:06:14.800> Uh output outputs of our software are.
• Uh output outputs of our software are.
• I think all of us have used mapping software, whether on our phones or GPSs, and that's AI, and we're

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's not the computing power; right now, it's the software.
• Power, software, etc.
• Every bit of it can work under patch software, connections, AT&T, Boost.
• For example, constant software updates and hypersensitivity to failure.
• Apple has their own proprietary software and language.

Keywords: flooding, emergency response, communication systems, first responders, disaster management, Texas Water Development Board, regional planning, public safety

Summary: The meeting primarily focused on discussions around the recent floods in Texas, specifically addressing emergency preparedness, response coordination, and recovery efforts. Officials from various agencies provided testimonies on the challenges faced during the emergency, including issues with communication systems among first responders. Notably, the need for improved inter-agency communication and technology integration was emphasized, with recommendations for establishing regional communications units for better coordination during disasters. The audience included local government representatives and emergency management partners, who shared insights and experiences from the recent flooding events.

Transcript Highlights:

• We were able to work with some software to identify 35 counties where most of these victims were from
• Right now, it's the software. We use HEC-RAS, which is available to everybody.
• So, do we not have that type of data or do we have the be computing power, software, et cetera.
• For example, constant software updates and hypersensitivity to failure.
• Apple has their own proprietary software and language.

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We really have software now that does tracking of the vehicle from point of pickup to drop-off.
• We can validate that a ride took place with software that's out there and develop a single framework
• There is a software available now, and we've seen it, that actually does what we want to do with this
• now that does tracking of the software now that does tracking of the vehicle<00:24:30.600> from
• evaluate this uh there is a software evaluate this uh there is a software available<00:25:47.440

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So if you'll give us just a moment for staff to switch the software over, we will. Thank you.
• The committee will convene shortly. for staff to switch the software over. We will convene shortly.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• others and yourself, the Department of Revenue puts out guidance to TurboTax and all the computer software
• companies, and the CPAs use software too, right, to do all this stuff.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The caucus focused on HB 2153, a tax conformity bill that would align Arizona statute with the Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2026, including retroactive provisions affecting tax year 2025. Staff explained that the bill excludes three federal provisions from H.R. 1: the additional $6,000 senior deduction, the increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deduction to $40,000, and the deduction for interest on new car loans. It also adds several Arizona-specific provisions, including a $6,000 deduction for certain retirement distributions for taxpayers age 65 or older, a $6,000 deduction for Roth IRA contributions, an increase in the dependent tax credit from $100 to $125, and a deduction for child and dependent care expenses above the federal credit. JLBC’s fiscal note was cited as a negative $441.3 million in year one, declining over the next two years. Chairman Livingston and other Republican members argued the bill was needed immediately because the Department of Revenue had already issued tentative forms assuming full conformity, creating confusion for taxpayers and businesses. They said the state needed a signed law as soon as possible to avoid amended returns, inconsistent filing rules, and uncertainty for small businesses. Livingston emphasized that the bill was intended to protect small businesses from having to keep two sets of books and said he was advising taxpayers not to file until the issue was resolved. Members also discussed the practical impact on small businesses, citing testimony that Arizona has about 700,000 small businesses employing well over a million people. Several exchanges clarified the difference between the governor’s November direction to the Department of Revenue and the bill before the committee. Staff explained that DOR normally assumes “simple conformity” and that the governor’s directive attempted to add “below-the-line” deductions through a worksheet, but that those items still require statutory authorization. Members said the governor’s action was confusing and characterized it as a press release rather than binding law. The committee also discussed the child care provisions, describing them as a federal-style deduction Arizona has not previously adopted and as one of the main new benefits in the bill. The caucus ended without a vote, and members were told the floor would begin at 10 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• He said that, at some point, software will solve that problem.
• Having been in the software sector, I agree that someday it might.

Bills: SB161, SB195, SB216, SB245, SB246, SB257, SB258, SB260, SB278, SB281, SB283, SB93, SB98, SB99, SB306, SB314, SB315

Keywords: vehicle safety, crash test, crashworthiness, NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, New Car Assessment Program, NCAP, motor vehicle safety standards, 49 CFR parts 571 and 572, THOR dummy, THOR-50M, THOR-05F, WorldSID, female crash test dummy, male crash test dummy, occupant protection, frontal impact, side impact, vehicle ratings, automotive safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Yer Ali Magallon, on behalf of the Business Software Alliance, respectfully opposed.
• I have almost 30 years of experience in software engineering and technology.
• Chris Taylor, I'm a software engineer in the open-source community, and I strongly oppose.
• I'm a software engineer in the open-source community, and I strongly oppose.
• San Laurence Hastings, free and open-source software and hardware advocate, resident of Shasta County

Keywords: 987, senate, all