Transcript Highlights:

• I work with Job Materials. It is headquartered out of the El Paso area.
• Job.
• Job Materials is a construction materials company in El Paso.
• , but you mentioned Job.
• Job Materials is a, uh, construction materials company in El Paso.

Bills: SB2037 , SB1757 , SB1758 , SB1759

Committee: Senate Natural Resources

Keywords: rock crushing, permits, air quality, environmental monitoring, aggregate production, seismicity, public meeting, land use, SB 1758, cement kiln, portland cement, aggregate production operation, aggregate quarry, semiconductor wafer manufacturing, chip fabrication, semiconductor plant, vibration, seismic disturbance, liability limitation, TCEQ

Summary: The Senate Committee on Natural Resources took public testimony on Senate Bill 1757 and its committee substitute, a measure dealing with aggregate production operations and a new permitting option for rock crushers/aggregate facilities. Testimony centered on whether the bill should remain focused on air permitting or also include broader quarry operations such as stormwater, reclamation, monitoring, and public participation requirements. Supporters of the substitute, including representatives of the Texas Aggregate and Concrete Association and Associated General Contractors, said the bill would provide a voluntary third permitting option, preserve existing authorizations, and create a more practical regulatory path for Texas growth. Opponents and critics, including representatives of Texas for Responsible Aggregate Mining, Job Materials, and Public Citizen, argued the bill as written was too weak or too broad in the wrong ways. They said best management practices should be set in statute or through negotiated rulemaking rather than left to TCEQ rulemaking, and they raised concerns about limited monitoring periods, vague air-monitoring standards, public notice procedures, and the inclusion of non-air requirements in an air permit. Several witnesses said the bill should better balance industry needs with neighborhood impacts and public health protections. Chair Birdwell questioned witnesses about ongoing negotiations between industry groups and said the bill was intended to be a practical compromise. After testimony and questions, public testimony was closed. The committee left SB 1757 and its committee substitute pending, with no vote taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• The better job that we're trying to do is get a contractor on board.
• The better job that we're trying to do is get a contractor on board.
• The better job that we're trying to do is get a contractor on board.
• The better job that we're trying to do is get a contractor on board.
• The better job that we're trying to do is get a contractor on board.

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 422, relating to school impact fees. The Education Committee recommended passage with amendments, and Ways and Means concurred. The amendments would repeal the construction fee component of the school impact fee while retaining the land impact fee and in-lieu fee requirements, remove related statutory language, exempt certain developments from school impact fees, raise the unit threshold for satisfying the land component to 100 units, require the School Facilities Authority to adopt rules and policies, and require a report to the Legislature on the effect of repealing the construction portion of the fee. The measure was also given a sunset date of June 30, 2029, with the committee report to note that the changes are intended to test the efficiency and efficacy of the fee structure and could be made permanent if the report supports that outcome. The committees adopted the recommendation, with one senator initially voting no and then changing to yes after the amendments were explained. The meeting also included a separate hearing on House Bill 1155, concerning procurement for Department of Transportation projects and construction manager/general contractor procurement. DOT testified that it supported the concept but wanted to narrow the bill, saying the current language was too broad and that the goal was to allow more innovative procurement while preserving selection safeguards. The State Procurement Office said it supported the bill’s language but was willing to work with DOT on alternative wording. Several construction-related organizations, including subcontractors, iron workers, elevator constructors, and building trades representatives, opposed the bill, arguing that exemptions from the procurement code would weaken protections such as retainage, equality, and prompt payment and could invite favoritism or corruption. In response to those concerns, the chair proposed amendments limiting the exemption to DOT, narrowing the qualifying contracts, adding a two-year sunset, requiring a report after the first year, and clarifying that project management could not be procured under the section. The amended recommendation passed, though several members voted with reservations. A separate item, House Bill 476, was briefly called up at the end of the agenda, with a recommendation to pass with amendments to increase a rate from 7.25% to 8%, but discussion was not completed in the portion of the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's our job to make sure we advocate for those projects.
• And it's our job to make sure we advocate for those projects.
• And it's our job to make sure we advocate for those projects.
• And it's our job to make sure we advocate for those projects.
• JOBS AT HOME BY BOLSTERING OUR EXPORTS OF GOODS MADE IN AMERICA.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The jobs must be new.
• The structure already protects taxpayers and focuses the credit on real job growth.
• jobs that allow New Mexicans to stay, work, and raise families here.
• for attracting and retaining well-paying jobs.
• So I guess. these high-wage jobs coming in.

Committee: House House Taxation & Revenue

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It provides jobs for Washington citizens.
• As reported, we have had over 23,000 construction jobs and over 1,000 after-construction jobs since the
• permanent full-time job.
• permanent full-time job created.
• This is half of a person's job in my community.

Bills: SB5989 , SB5898 , SB6240 , SB6244 , SB6231 , SB6228 , SB6220

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: aircraft fuel tax, tax revenue distribution, aviation funding, transportation, state revenue, aeronautics, taxation, aircraft fuel, state funding, aviation fuel, hazardous substance tax, air quality, noise mitigation, environmental impact, tax exemption, agriculture, hazardous substances, crop protection, warehousing, data center

Transcript Highlights:

• If you have a job that's open and you're going to seek for one, just to see if you've got people who
• are applying for the job, and then once you start the process, how long does it take before you onboard
• If it takes us two months to hire somebody, they can find another job somewhere else really quickly.
• How many people were doing the job of hiring? Oh, in the HR department?
• You know, if they don't do their job, we can't really do anything about it.

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Summary: The committee considered and advanced several bills. House Bill 4995, concerning video cameras in special education classrooms, was explained as requiring parents to be notified of recording interruptions, providing written notice of the law to parents and school employees, shortening the required random review of recordings from every 90 days to every 30 days, and clarifying that school boards must still conduct independent investigations even if DHS or prosecutors do not act. The committee adopted the motion to report the bill to the full Senate. House Bill 5214, dealing with drug testing in child abuse and neglect cases, would allow courts to order testing of parents in certain cases, require laboratory confirmation of positives, and require DHS to notify the court and other parties; the committee adopted the strike-and-insert amendment, then reported the bill as amended and adopted a title amendment. The committee also advanced House Bill 4025 and House Bill 5441, both restructuring state personnel systems. HB 4025 would exempt employees of the Department of Health, health facilities, and human services from classified civil service and grievance procedures beginning July 1, 2026, while preserving status for some current employees and allowing exemptions to comply with federal requirements; the committee adopted a piecemeal amendment and reported it as amended. HB 5441 would eliminate separate civil service systems for Transportation, Revenue, and the Bureau for Social Services and move classifications and compensation structures to the Division of Personnel, with testimony from the governor’s counsel emphasizing faster hiring and more flexibility; the committee adopted the strike-and-insert amendment and reported the bill as amended. House Bill 4602, a child welfare pilot program creating a private community-based system for post-removal services, drew testimony from DHS about concerns over costs, continuity, oversight, and child well-being outcomes, while supporters argued it could reduce caseloads and improve flexibility. The chair amended the bill to remove one of the two pilot regions, leaving only the Berkeley/Jefferson County pilot, and the committee then reported the bill as amended despite opposition from the senator from Marion. House Bill 4106, removing the provisional concealed handgun license requirement for ages 18 to 21, heard testimony from a pediatrician opposing the change and from a gun rights advocate supporting it; an amendment requiring firearms training for under-21 carriers failed by a 1-14 roll call, and the committee then reported the bill as amended. Finally, House Bill 4198, after a subcommittee rewrite, was advanced with a strike-and-insert amendment that refined E-Verify requirements for public and private employers, added exemptions for certain small or new employers and sole proprietors, clarified recordkeeping and notice requirements, and adjusted penalties and enforcement procedures. After a motion for the previous question, the committee adopted the amendment and reported HB 4198 as amended. House Bill 5319 was removed from the agenda, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've also been consistently ranked number five as job growth rank, excuse me, job growth rank.
• And so we're talking about all jobs that are available, but also number four in the skilled job growth
• There are jobs here. This is a quality of life that they want to be part of.
• Planning for the future and training students for the jobs of tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday.
• The data on here speaks for itself: the 100% job placements, the 98% job placements.

Committee: Senate Education Postsecondary

Summary: The Education Postsecondary Committee met to hear an overview of Florida career and technical education (CTE) from Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell and presentations from Big Bend Technical College and Santa Fe College. O’Farrell described Florida’s CTE structure, including career clusters, postsecondary program types, enrollment and completion growth, apprenticeship expansion, and the state’s credentials review process. He said postsecondary CTE enrollment is near 480,000 students and completions reached a record 76,806, with strong growth in nursing, law enforcement, EMT, and other public-safety credentials. He also discussed the CTE audit, which uses retention/success, employment or continued education, and labor-market demand metrics; programs not meeting thresholds would eventually require phase-out plans beginning in 2026. He highlighted the workforce development capitalization grant as a major driver of program expansion and facility renovation, and answered questions about business outreach, construction trades, apprenticeships, and space-industry training. Shelby McCall of Big Bend Technical College described how the college responded to hurricanes, mill closures, and regional economic disruption by expanding rural workforce training. She highlighted aluminum welding, millwright, welding technology, health sciences, and a new advanced manufacturing facility funded by state grants and local partnerships, along with a new LPN-to-RN bridge program. She said the college has strong placement and certification results and is working with employers such as Lippert, NAMO, and others to align training with local demand. Senator Simon praised the college’s role in Taylor County’s recovery and workforce development. Dr. Paul Brody of Santa Fe College said state workforce grants have helped the college expand nursing, skilled trades, apprenticeship, automotive, diesel, and manufacturing programs, including partnerships with Bradford County Technical College, UF Health, Habitat for Humanity, and local employers. He reported growth in CTE enrollment, nursing credentials, apprenticeship enrollment, and job placement rates, and described new efforts in semiconductor training, CDL training, and a charter school model that combines high school, an AS degree, and industry credentials. The committee took no formal action beyond hearing the presentations and adjourned after Senator Berman moved to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• My job ensures warrants are accurate, lawful, and properly executed.
• It does not say that it depends on your job.
• Instead, it will make an already difficult job even harder.
• The union got my job back.
• I do not view teaching as a job; I see it as a purpose.

Summary: The committee took up a long agenda of bills, beginning with several measures that were amended and reported favorably, including a strike-all to SB 4 on child protective investigations and specific medical diagnoses, SB 1570 restoring a statewide missing-persons project for individuals with special needs, and SB 182 creating a teacher training and mentoring program for schools needing improvement. Members also advanced SB 794 on APD background screening and support coordination standards, SB 1168 on background screening for athletic coaches and related entities, and SB 214 to let rural special districts pay verified invoices directly for state- and federally funded work. Supporters emphasized improved child welfare investigations, help for families of vulnerable individuals, teacher retention, and better administrative efficiency; the APD bill drew especially strong testimony from waiver clients and providers about the importance of competent support coordinators and stable services. The committee also favorably reported SB 1376 on grants for genetic counseling education, SB 1574 requiring newborn screening for biliary atresia, SB 1510 as the DEP agency package with environmental, septic, water quality, solar, and permitting changes, and SB 598 updating funeral and cemetery licensing and consumer protections. SB 688, after a delete-all amendment, would create licensure for naturopathic doctors and a board of naturopathic medicine; it drew strong support from naturopathic advocates and sharp opposition from a critic who argued the bill would authorize diagnosis and treatment beyond appropriate limits. SB 1318 made a technical change to scholarship account reversion language, with senators clarifying that remaining funds would return to the scholarship funding organization for future use rather than to the state. Later, the committee approved SB 682 on domestic violence and protective injunctions, SB 130 on workforce training for current and former inmates, and SB 1548, the latest Live Local Act iteration expanding affordable housing options and limiting local barriers. It also reported favorably SB 536 on criminal gang membership criteria after extensive debate about constitutional issues and modern gang activity, SB 762 allowing cross-jurisdiction assignment of capital cases among regional conflict counsel offices, SB 1332 strengthening career offender registration requirements, SB 1742 creating a new offense for indecent exposure of sexual organs to a minor, and SB 1750 increasing penalties for serious sex offenses and child sexual abuse material crimes. The most contentious discussion came on SB 1226, which would overhaul Public Employee Relations Commission rules, require majority support for union certification, and impose new limits on union activities and dues-related practices; members debated constitutional concerns, differences between first responders and other public employees, and the bill’s impact on union representation and public-sector labor rights. Most bills were reported favorably by roll call, with SB 536 drawing several no votes and SB 1226 still under active debate at the end of the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Arkansas now ranks number one in the nation for teacher job satisfaction.
• They found Holly a permanent place to live and a job opportunity.
• That is a tough job.
• The cost of living was low, but he couldn't find a job.
• He said he was really looking for a job that could pay him $30,000.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's our job, and the governor and our team... Yeah, it is fraud, of course.
• And it's our job, and the governor and our team and our agencies are doing a tremendous job of finding
• And it's creating jobs. We have VA hospitals. We have... ...creating jobs. We have VA hospitals.
• When California incentives can't be used, we lose out on jobs and investment.
• When California incentives can't be used, we lose out on jobs and investment.

Committee: Senate Revenue and Taxation

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• good-paying jobs, and they're meaningful jobs.
• It provides jobs for people in and around my district, jobs that are desperately needed.
• It's all about jobs. It's all about affordability.
• Absolutely, we do not want people, jobs, to leave this state.
• We're punishing the hardest workers, the job creators, the jobs that the good, hardworking people in

Bills: HB2720 , HB2073 , HB2487 , SB5816 , SB5919 , SB5831 , SB6137 , SB6244 , SB6044 , SB6132 , SB5109 , SB5877 , SB6258 , HB2720 , HB2073 , HB2487 , SB5816 , SB5919 , SB5831 , SB6137 , SB6244 , SB5420 , SB5868 , SB6044 , SB6132 , SJM8002

Keywords: behavioral health, emergency services, health insurance, provider access, mental health funding, premium assistance, funding, healthcare, subsidies, insurance tax, state regulation, insurers, taxation, budget impact, juice grapes, agriculture, commerce, market access, fire safety, insurance incentives

Transcript Highlights:

• doing... ...a great job.
• The really important point, I think, is the jobs: 985 induced and jobs direct, indirect, and induced.
• It's bringing jobs.
• When on page 27, where it says direct Jobs in 2024: 313 direct jobs with total jobs of 790.
• So how do you break those jobs down?

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, 1,500 jobs may...
• For example, for our 14-year jobs in the first year, and those jobs of the second year, since they are
• We focused on quote-unquote job creation, and many of the job creation efforts in the state that have
• We are not here to create jobs that are warehouse jobs.
• I didn't have those jobs there; the U.S. had those jobs.

Committee: House Economic & Rural Development & Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to go on the lower-paying job.
• </c> once they're in because of the job once they're in because of the job conditions. conditions. conditions
• </c> Interestingly, that their own job Interestingly, that their own job satisfaction<01:32:01.560><c
• <01:32:36.000><c> to</c><01:32:36.200><c> a</c> job to a job to a at<01:32:37.640><c> least</c><01:32
• Not just individuals saying, “I love this job and I want to keep doing it,” but I love this job so much

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The committee's jurisdiction covers a wide range of important topics: workforce training, job creation
• by launching a soft skills pilot program designed to develop our labor capacity as more high-paying jobs
• would allow people with disabilities who don't quite qualify for those services, but still need some job
• The goal of this bill is to bring high-paying jobs to Cameron County, which is crucial for the future
• This isn't just about job creation.

Bills: HB322 , HB331 , HB673 , HB 1147 , HB 1154 , HB2488

Committee: House S/C on Workforce

Keywords: JET Grant Program, career education, technical education, community colleges, technology solutions, high demand jobs, first responders, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, benefits, compensation, presumption of disability, emergency services, healthcare, Medicaid, mental health, substance abuse, treatment access, cost, insurance coverage

Transcript Highlights:

• In the Jobs for the next budget year.
• </c> and are not a part of the Jobs and are not a part of the Jobs Committee.<00:26:20.720><c> And</c
• </c> job readiness programming. job readiness programming.
• pre-employment and job readiness uh training.
• It's a very hard job to get those forms back.

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• After retiring, I took a job as a 911 dispatcher and made it one week.
• They are part of the job. Some telecommunicators experience immediate acute reactions.
• I remained calm, focused, and professional because that is what the job demands.
• And you have a very difficult job, and I can see that in your faces here today.
• Great job. Chair Mayfield. I will give you the gavel back. Thank you, Chairman DeSigley.

Summary: The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability met and first took up SB 774, which would extend workers’ compensation coverage for mental or nervous injuries, without a physical injury, to 911 public safety telecommunicators. The sponsor and several dispatchers, a behavioral health clinician, and communications directors testified in support, describing repeated exposure to traumatic calls, chronic understaffing, and the cumulative mental health impact of the job. Members from both sides praised telecommunicators and emphasized their role as first responders. The bill was reported favorably, with Senator McLean later recorded as voting yes on the measure. The committee then considered SPB 7028, a retirement bill setting Florida Retirement System employer contribution rates beginning July 1, 2026, without changing the 3% employee contribution rate. The proposal also allowed certain elected officers to receive a DROP payout under specified conditions and provided a 1.5% alternative cost-of-living adjustment for eligible special risk retirees. Representatives from firefighters, law enforcement, police chiefs, sheriffs, and fire chiefs supported the bill as a recruitment and retention tool. The committee voted to submit SPB 7028 as a committee bill and reported it favorably. Finally, the committee heard SPB 7024 and SPB 7026, both Governmental Oversight and Accountability proposals to consolidate and update public records/public meeting exemptions. SPB 7024 would repeal the current cybersecurity information exemption and create a consolidated agency-wide exemption for cybersecurity, information, and operational technology information. SPB 7026 would similarly consolidate agency-held trade secret exemptions into one agency-wide exemption. Neither bill drew testimony or debate, and both were submitted as committee bills and reported favorably by unanimous votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• I honestly did not know where to look for a job.
• I listed a few of the many skills that help us prepare for the real world and, well, still a job, but
• , you know, like higher-up jobs.
• And what I’ve heard, you’ve just done an amazing job today. So thank you for that.
• And congratulations on being so well prepared and doing such a great job.

Committee: Senate Agriculture

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When you think about that facility, those are 1,200 to 1,400 jobs in each one of those facilities and
• </c> that facility those are 12 to, 1400 jobs that facility those are 12 to, 1400 jobs in<00:05:06.840
• jobs that are<00:05:16.160><c> there</c><00:05:16.680><c> directly</c><00:05:17.120><c> created</c><
• It only has 168 jobs associated with it, but there's 3,800 farmers that supply corn from this area of
• We also have our... has 168 jobs associated with it but has 168 jobs associated with it but there's<00

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture met with a quorum present and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by guest Bob James of Barren County. The chair recognized visiting groups, including the Kentucky Leadership Program and the Kentucky Cattleman’s Leadership Program, before turning to the day’s only agenda item, Senate Bill 28. The committee adopted a committee substitute for SB 28 by motion and second, with no opposition recorded. The chair explained that the bill creates the framework and parameters for distributing $5 million in economic development funding included in the 2024 budget through the Department of Agriculture. Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell testified in support of the bill and described it as enabling legislation to help Kentucky attract more end users, processors, and further-processing operations. He highlighted the importance of existing agricultural processing in the state, especially poultry, citing growth in agricultural cash receipts from $3.1 billion in 1996 to $8.3 billion more recently, with poultry rising from 5% to 25% of the total. He also pointed to major processing facilities, job creation, and the broader impact on farmers and corn markets, including examples from Hopkinsville and other regions.

Transcript Highlights:

• That is part of our job duty.
• and understand that it is their job to perform these duties.
• That is part of our job duty.
• , understand that it is their job to perform these duties.
• There are things every job has, there are tasks that you may love the job, but there's some things you

Summary: The House convened, established a quorum, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and heard a prayer from a Scouting America leader. After caucuses and routine introduction and committee-report actions, the chamber took up House Bill 1604, dealing with standards for strip searches in local jails and related correctional procedures. Supporters said the bill would align local jails with existing federal law and provide clearer standards for staff and administrators; opponents argued it would create liability, staffing, and operational problems, and force female officers into unwanted searches of male inmates. A series of amendments were debated and mostly rejected. Failed amendments sought to add liability protections, require same-sex searches, create religious accommodations for staff, broaden exigent circumstances, limit how often an inmate could change gender identity, and allow staff to decline searches or delay them when no appropriate staff were available. One amendment changing the implementation date from 2025 to 2026 was adopted. The final striking amendment was also defeated. The bill was then advanced to third reading and final passage as Engrossed House Bill 1604. In closing debate, supporters emphasized public safety, dignity, and compliance with federal standards, while opponents repeated concerns about consent, staffing, and jail administration. The House passed the bill 56-39, with three excused, and the floor session ended afterward.