Transcript Highlights:

• It should have a picture of a drone and a truck. Okay, got it.
• The mobile modular sensor suite, the M2S2 trucks, has radars and high-powered cameras.
• The drone program was established in 2022 and the trucks began operations in 2024.
• This slide shows the general locations of our drones and trucks.
• It requires annual school safety exercises in every county in the state, which is a pretty heavy lift

Summary: The Select Committee on Homeland and Border Security convened with a quorum, adopted its standard committee rules, and began its interim work on the charge of keeping Texas skies safe. Members introduced staff and emphasized the committee’s focus on drone threats, border security, fuel trafficking, critical infrastructure, and public safety. The chair outlined that the committee would hear invited and public testimony over the interim to evaluate current law and recommend legislative action for the next session. The first invited witness, Dr. Michael McGee, gave extensive testimony on the rapid spread of drone technology and the difficulty of detecting and countering drones across multiple threat tiers. He argued that criminal organizations and hostile actors already use drones for surveillance, smuggling, and attacks, and that Texas now has new federal authority to counter drones but lacks enough trained personnel and statewide capacity. He recommended expanding Texas training pipelines, creating a statewide task force led by DPS, building a shared statewide data picture, pursuing federal and state coordination, and supporting lower-cost sensor development and Texas-based manufacturing. Members questioned him about airport vulnerabilities, critical infrastructure costs, commercial delivery drones, and the need for universal protection against evolving threats. A Texas Department of Public Safety panel then described current drone and counter-drone operations. DPS officials said drones are widely used for crash reconstruction, search and rescue, tactical overwatch, and critical infrastructure monitoring, while counter-UAS capabilities remain limited and layered, with only a small number of officers certified through the FBI’s two-week counter-drone course. They said DPS used federal coordination and grant-funded equipment successfully during FIFA-related events and is developing regional counter-UAS teams, but state law still needs updates on FAA alignment, weapons on drones, critical infrastructure definitions, altitude restrictions, sporting venues, and public education. The panel also described DPS’s drone first responder program, including rooftop-launched drones at the Capitol, the Alamo, and other sites, and said current mitigation authority depends on federal certification, policies, and coordination with FAA and air traffic control; without mitigation authority, officers mainly rely on visual detection and ground teams to locate operators.

Transcript Highlights:

• and adds weight to the material being trucked from transfer stations to landfill facilities.
• c><00:34:09.040><c> kitty</c><00:34:09.320><c> litter</c><00:34:09.679><c> is</c><00:34:09.960><c> heavy
• </c> paint mixed with kitty litter is heavy paint mixed with kitty litter is heavy and<00:34:11.119><
• c><00:34:12.399><c> being</c> and adds weight to the refu being and adds weight to the refu being trucked
• from our municipalities transfer trucked from our municipalities transfer stations<00:34:15.919><c>

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on House Bill 451, which would create a postconsumer paint stewardship program in New Hampshire. Prime sponsor Representative Karen Ebel described the bill as a bipartisan, broadly supported model based on PaintCare programs used in other states. She said consumers and businesses could drop off leftover paint at participating retailers or municipal household hazardous waste sites, with the paint then collected and recycled by the stewardship organization. She emphasized that the program is intended to reduce landfill disposal, improper dumping, and contamination of groundwater and soil, while also helping municipalities save on hazardous waste handling costs. Members asked several questions about how the program would work and how it would be funded. Ebel explained that the program would be financed by a small fee charged at the point of sale on paint products, not a general sales tax, and that retailers could either list it separately or roll it into the price. She said the fee would cover the Department of Environmental Services’ administrative costs, which were described as minimal, and that the program’s structure was developed with DES and industry input. Questions also addressed whether cans would be recycled and how collected paint would be processed; Ebel said the ACA and PaintCare representatives could provide more detail, but that the paint and containers would be handled through recycling or other approved disposal methods rather than landfilled. Representative Judy Aron, a co-sponsor and chair of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee, testified in support, saying the bill had been developed over several years with stakeholders and would keep toxic paint out of landfills while saving municipalities and taxpayers money. Representative Peter Bixby, the ranking member of Environment and Agriculture, also supported the bill, saying his committee had heard it many times and that it had strong bipartisan enthusiasm. No vote was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Spend the $300 to get a truck to take it.
• Spend the $300 to get a truck to take it.
• Spend the $300 to get a truck to take it.
• Spend the $300 to get a truck to take it.
• Spend the $300 to get a truck to take it.

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Transcript Highlights:

• So, that'd be quite a heavy lift if it was 8 hours. I would leave it to your discretion, Mr.
• </c> heavy lift if it was 8 hours. heavy lift if it was 8 hours.
• And your municipality may not have access to a foam truck. So, I can see the concern here.
• Because I think these stones are fairly heavy, aren't they? Um, I think they are.
• </c><00:25:43.720><c> lifting</c> for us to be doing that heavy lifting for us to be doing that heavy

Summary: The joint Minerals Committee met to select interim topics and announced its meeting dates for April 27-28 in Casper, June 4-5 in Casper, and August 27-28 in Cheyenne. Members heard public testimony on several economic development and minerals-related topics and were asked to identify their top priorities for later ranking and consensus. No formal votes were taken during this portion of the meeting. A major topic was removing obstacles to energy development in Wyoming, including possible regulatory, bonding, and permitting barriers. Testimony from the Mining Association and Energy Capital Economic Development supported revisiting barriers to development, similar to the earlier Regulatory Reduction Task Force. Another related topic was industrial siting exemptions on coal mine property, with testimony arguing that mineral-related projects such as rare earths, uranium conversion, and ferroalloys should not have to go through the full industrial siting process when communities have already dealt with similar development. Members also discussed industrial siting bonding requirements, including whether bonding or advance payments should be used to cover impacts on local services and emergency response, especially for projects like solar farms or battery storage. The committee also discussed coal bed methane industrial sovereign zones, tied to House Bill 120, with testimony seeking to include coal bed methane in value-added manufacturing zones. The sponsor said the goal was to create industrial zones that support economic development while protecting scenic values and limiting industrial sprawl. Another topic was sourcing curling stones in Wyoming, which was presented as a lighthearted but potentially useful way to promote Wyoming stone and broader dimension-stone quarrying; a state geologist testified that Wyoming has granite with similar mineralogy to stone used for curling stones elsewhere. Child care as an economic driver was withdrawn. The committee also heard support for a Business Council restructure review, though several members said the Minerals Committee should do the substantive review because the Business Council falls within its jurisdiction, while still coordinating with Appropriations. Finally, the committee heard a proposal for a domestic preference in residential general service contracts, extending Wyoming preference concepts beyond construction into goods and services, with testimony emphasizing local economic multipliers and possible exceptions for federal funding or other procurement limits.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> um you know, if there was heavier truck um you know, if there was heavier truck uh<02:11:22.040>
• 24.000><c> you</c><02:11:24.120><c> know,</c> uh truck traffic that was, you know, uh truck traffic that
• I mean, again, I'm not sure that a daycare would locate itself around lots of heavy trucking activity
• </c><02:13:55.160><c> trucking</c><02:13:55.640><c> activity.
• </c><02:13:56.360><c> So,</c> lots of heavy trucking activity. So, lots of heavy trucking activity.

Committee: Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm president and CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association.
• Tony Bradley continued: “...they made their trucks look like this road right now.
• Is the cargo parked already with the truck trailer? How?” Tony Bradley: “Mr.
• And so it does take into account other forms of transportation besides just trucks.”
• We have trucks but no drivers in them, and Mr.... ...currently have trucks with no drivers in them.

Summary: The committee heard several transportation-related appropriation and policy bills. SB 1273 would appropriate $14 million in FY2027 for pavement rehabilitation of Olga Frontage Road between Bowie and San Simon; after brief discussion about the road’s length and whether it was on a rural transportation priority list, the bill was reported out 3-2 with a do pass recommendation. SB 1452 would create a cargo theft task force in the Attorney General’s office, modeled on the retail theft task force, with reporting and investigative duties; Tony Bradley of the Arizona Trucking Association testified in support, describing cargo theft as a growing, sophisticated problem and noting the funding would come from the consumer fraud protection fund rather than the general fund. The committee adopted an amendment making the task force subject to appropriations and then passed the bill 5-0. The committee also considered SB 1332, which would require the Auditor General and an independent transportation research entity to study Maricopa County light rail expansion and compare it with other transit technologies. Senator Kavanaugh argued the study was needed before committing billions more to light rail and said the governor’s office was open to the concept. Supporters, including local business owners, said the study would provide needed transparency and reflect concerns about business impacts and changing transportation options. Opponents, including Valley Metro, the City of Phoenix, and transit advocates, argued the state should not second-guess locally approved transit plans and pointed to existing studies, ridership, and economic development along light rail corridors. The bill passed 4-3. SB 1059 appropriates $9.2 million for an additional right-turn lane at State Route 87 and State Route 260, and Senator Wendy Rogers used the hearing to describe several rural road projects she and Representative Blackman were pursuing, emphasizing safety, congestion, and local requests from mayors and councils. Members broadly supported the need for rural infrastructure, and the bill was reported out unanimously. The committee then took up SB 1209, which would exempt homeless individuals and others without a residence address from non-operating ID fees if they prove U.S. citizenship. Testimony from the Homeless ID Project and ADOT focused on how IDs help people obtain work and services, how citizenship and authorized presence are verified, and whether the amendment would create operational or fiscal issues; the discussion continued as the transcript ended, with no final vote shown for that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're right next to the trucks, the ambulance. We have walk-in medicals all the time.
• a point when the mental and physical demands of a 16-hour shift in a crisis environment become too heavy
• They deal consistently with multitasking, heavy workload, life-or-death decisions, and often uncooperative

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service held its 15th hearing of the 194th General Court, focused on retirement group classifications for a range of public safety and related employees. Much of the testimony centered on bills affecting Barnstable County dispatchers and 911 telecommunicators, who argued they should remain in or be moved to Group 2 because their work is highly stressful, life-or-death in nature, and historically had been treated that way. Speakers said the proposed changes would largely grandfather in current employees, would not add costs in some cases, and were needed to correct outdated statutory language and PERAC rulings that had created uncertainty for workers nearing retirement or already retired. Similar support was offered for bills to reclassify 911 dispatchers statewide from Group 1 to Group 2, with testimony from dispatch supervisors, sheriffs, and police associations describing chronic stress, PTSD, staffing shortages, and retention problems. The committee also heard testimony on several other retirement-related bills. Representatives of Massport and campus police supported measures to align retirement benefits for Massport police and public higher education police with other law enforcement groups, arguing they perform comparable duties and face similar risks. The Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association also backed a bill to ease post-retirement earning restrictions for retired police and firefighters so they can continue consulting, training, or advising without penalty. MOSES testified in favor of bills moving certain state employees into Group 2, including forensic scientists at the State Police Crime Lab, DCR aerial foresters, and Department of Correction construction coordinators, citing hazardous work environments and physical danger. Department of Fire Services compliance officers likewise sought Group 4 classification, describing exposure to toxins, fatal fire scenes, and cancer risks. No votes were taken during the hearing. The committee heard extensive testimony from affected employees, union and association representatives, and public safety officials, all urging favorable reports on the bills. At the end of the hearing, the chairs thanked witnesses and staff, and the committee adjourned after a motion and second.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 728 by Representatives Bourriaque and Broome, requirements for out-of-state tow trucks conducting
• For his extraordinary bravery under heavy enemy fire while flying helicopters during the Vietnam War,
• For his extraordinary bravery under heavy enemy fire while flying helicopters during the Vietnam War,

Bills: HR39 , HR40 , HR41 , HCR19 , HCR20 , HCR21 , HB2 , HB3 , HB15 , HB441 , HB976 , HB977 , HB978 , HB979 , HB980 , HB981 , HB982 , HR19 , HR20 , HR21 , HR22 , HR23 , HR24 , HR25 , HR26 , HR27 , HR28 , HR29 , HR30 , HR31 , HR32 , HR33 , HR34 , HR35 , HR36 , HR37 , HR38 , HCR15 , HCR16 , HCR17 , HCR18 , SCR10 , HB115 , HB208 , HB465 , HB964 , HB965 , HB966 , HB967 , HB968 , HB969 , HB970 , HB971 , HB972 , HB973 , HB974 , HB975 , HB474 , HB487 , HB503 , HB606 , HB633 , HB707 , HB720 , HB728 , HB733 , HB846 , HB852 , HB856 , HB868 , HB875 , HB78 , HB112 , HB148 , HB149 , HB190 , HB221 , HB346 , HB354 , HB355 , HB356 , HB358 , HB384 , HB427 , HB657 , HB675 , HB716 , HB207 , HB300 , HB331 , HB428 , HB464 , HB587 , HB618 , HB629 , HB801 , HB853 , HB891 , HB901

Keywords: St. Joseph's Day, Saint Joseph's Day, St. Joseph's Altar, Italian American, Italian heritage, Italian immigrants, Louisiana culture, New Orleans, Sicilian heritage, Catholic, Feast of Saint Joseph, cultural resolution, heritage caucus, legislative caucus, ethnic heritage, jazz history, Italian Louisiana, immigrant contributions, cultural recognition, House Resolution 40

Transcript Highlights:

• including investments in cleaner practices for mobile ground transportation, public transit, and trucking
• They experienced very heavy flooding and had many culvert failures in the district.
• Speaker and members, today I rise with a heavy heart to adjourn in the memory of Dr.

Summary: The Assembly met on May 23, 2025, after a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance. Members also made several guest introductions and memorial recognitions, including tributes to labor leader Louisa Blue and a Memorial Day moment of silence. The body adopted a motion to suspend Assembly Rule 63 for certain Appropriations Committee bills, and later took up a second-day consent calendar and several resolutions. The chamber adopted ACR 68, declaring July 2025 as Parks Make Life Better Month, and ACR 83, proclaiming California Maritime Day; both received broad support. On the floor file, members passed a series of bills covering child passenger safety, student financial aid, downtown office-to-housing conversion districts, rental vehicle theft prevention, fire hazard zone reviews, medical data protections, UC admissions transparency, office-to-housing streamlining, inoperable RV removal, domestic violence and child welfare, insurance classification for social service workers, sustainable aviation fuel CEQA review, UC hiring background checks, accessory dwelling units, fish and wildlife exemptions for Sutter County infrastructure, speed limit assessments, geothermal permitting, special education transfers, recorder fee adjustments, and a BIT program exemption for farmers and ranchers. Most measures passed with little or no opposition. AB 435, which would have implemented a five-step test standard for child passenger safety laws, was later reconsidered and failed on a vote of 36-12 after the call was lifted. The Assembly also adopted the second-day consent calendar, including multiple bills and resolutions, and added co-authors to several resolutions. The session ended with adjournments in memory and an adjournment until Tuesday, May 27 at 1 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, but these are really, you know, commercial, really, you know, strong, heavy-duty bags. Yes.
• At the beginning of '24, Road had two Mack trucks that hauled our gravel.
• available to replace our old ones. ...trucks available to replace our old ones.
• They later offered us a truck in April and one in June. "Excuse me, Judge.
• The old trucks we were still using were breaking down pretty regularly.

Committee: All LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING-COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES

Summary: The committee began with prayer and approval of the January 8 minutes, then received updates on delinquent private water and sewer reports. Staff reported that for the 2022 reports, 19 of 43 entities had had their turnback reinstated, while 24 remained in escrow; for the 2023 reports, 59 of 64 entities had filed, leaving five outstanding. The committee also filed a report on Adona, where staff said the city had made enough progress toward substantial compliance with municipal accounting laws to discontinue withholding turnback, and the committee adopted that recommendation. The bulk of the meeting focused on municipal accounting noncompliance cases. Gum Springs and Denning were presented with extensive repeat findings involving budgets not adopted by ordinance or resolution, missing or incomplete bank reconciliations, inadequate receipts and disbursement records, payroll issues, and improper handling of Act 833 funds or other city money. Both cities’ mayors and recorders-treasurers testified about efforts to correct records, obtain training, and work with the Municipal League; the committee voted to start the 60-day turnback-withholding clock for both and then filed the reports. Fargo was deferred because no city representative was present. Additional reports included Green Forest, Elaine, Strong, Brooklyn, Mineral Springs, Rondo, Waldo, Columbia County, and several private water and sewer entities. Strong drew significant concern over missing garbage-bag revenue, improper fund transfers, and deficit balances; the committee deferred that report to the March meeting. The committee also heard investigative or referred reports on the Faulkner County Fair Association, Brooklyn payroll direct-deposit fraud, and other entities with questionable disbursements or recordkeeping. In several cases, staff recommended filing the reports after responses were received; in others, the committee deferred action when responses were lacking or representatives were absent. The meeting ended with a motion to defer a Cross County Rural Water matter so the entity could appear at the next meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, but these are really, you know, commercial, really, you know, strong, heavy-duty bags.
• At the beginning of '24, Road had two Mack trucks that hauled our gravel.
• hear from the Mack company, so I called them, got in touch with them, and found that they had no trucks
• They later offered us a truck in April and one in June. Excuse me, Judge, are these leased trucks?
• Our trucks, the old trucks we were still using, were breaking down pretty regularly.

Committee: All LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING-COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES

Transcript Highlights:

• importantly, making sure we're providing educational opportunities to our military because we have a heavy
• I I want trucking company, my general manager of my trucking companies, a female, my audience, my audit
• compliance officer, which in the trucking world is very intense.

Transcript Highlights:

• His iconic red trucks are recognizable all over Arkansas and our nation.
• ,</c><00:06:51.759><c> particularly</c> with short hall trucking, particularly with short hall trucking
• <00:06:57.520><c> all</c><00:06:57.840><c> over</c> red trucks are recognizable all over red trucks are
• </c> and the folks at Lou Thompson Trucking and the folks at Lou Thompson Trucking the<00:07:30.000><
• Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life of Charlie Kirk.

Bills: HB3944 , HB3486

Keywords: appropriations, military construction, veterans affairs, VA funding, USDA, agriculture appropriations, legislative branch appropriations, fiscal year 2026, omnibus, spending bill, rural development, rural housing, broadband, SNAP, WIC, school lunch, food safety, FDA user fees, veterans health care, toxic exposure

Transcript Highlights:

• I also hear from businesses, from the trucking industry, who are perpetually having to keep up with new
• I also hear from businesses from the trucking industry who are perpetually having to keep up with new
• Singling out one industry for stranded asset risk while not applying the same treatment to heavy manufacturing
• Instead, we refine heavy Kern County crude oil into specialty petroleum products such as asphalt for
• Our refinery processes 100% California-produced crude oil, specifically heavy Kern River crude produced

Committee: Senate Environmental Quality

Transcript Highlights:

• Current conditions include beetles, heavy fuels, and emerging...
• Current conditions include beetles, heavy fuels, and emerging. For limited treatments.
• Current conditions include beetles, heavy fuels, and emerging fire corridors that require faster action
• Even small harvest areas support sawmills, trucking, and maintenance industries.

Committee: House Resources and Conservation

Transcript Highlights:

• that would be a heavy lift for the<01:29:00.440><c> sheriff's</c><01:29:00.920><c> office</c><01:29:
• lift on behalf of our be a heavy lift on behalf of our counties<01:29:03.880><c> to</c><01:29:04.199
• </c> that would be a heavy heavy lift to put that would be a heavy heavy lift to put on<01:46:23.280>
• No further questions, Chair calls Wurn. truck or something along those lines truck or something along
• </c><05:15:23.200><c> heavily</c> regulations fishing is a heavy heavily regulations fishing is a heavy

Committee: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• This tragedy underscores the heavy burdens that first responders carry, but it is not only incidents
• Um, I think what people don't realize is when you're on a truck and you're in a busy service, your shift
• It's a heavy burden to go from call to call.
• </c><00:24:52.799><c> I</c> heavy burden to go from call to call.
• I heavy burden to go from call to call.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Richardson. of a CDL for that specific truck.
• So for of a CDL for that specific truck.
• Imagine an autonomous semi-truck weighing 26,001 pounds trying to figure out where a runaway truck ramp
• an autonomous semi-truck Imagine an autonomous semi-truck weighing<04:15:06.000><c> 26,01</c><04:15:
• What where's a runaway truck ramp is at.

Transcript Highlights:

• But let me tell you, our roads have a lot of heavy vehicles.
• </c> tell you, our roads have a lot of heavy tell you, our roads have a lot of heavy vehicles.<01:41:
• </c> diesel pickup truck. Thank you, Mr. diesel pickup truck. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman.
• I say this with a heavy heart.
• This is not the way with a heavy heart.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, let me just—did I tell the story about my truck? It was a 2016 Denali.
• I replaced it with a 2024 AT4 Denali, or diesel, same as the truck I was replacing.
• It was a $100,000 truck.
• Christ comes in, it takes three hours to repair his truck.
• Chris comes in, it takes three hours to repair his truck.

Committees: House Emerging Issues , House Emerging Issues and Professional Registration