Transcript Highlights:

• Byrne, Sheila Hemphill, Elliot Schulte. Gwen Marotta. She's not here. Okay. Is it Noursela?
• My name is Sheila Hemphill, and I'm opposing SB 2233.

Summary: The Senate Education K-16 Committee heard several bills before recessing to the floor, with most measures left pending subject to the call of the chair. SB 2986 would allow public schools and universities to permit after-hours facility use by religious groups on the same terms as other nonprofits, and SB 1032 would open the Governor’s University Research Initiative to private and independent universities; both had committee substitutes adopted and were left pending after brief testimony. Supporters of SB 1032 from Rice and Baylor said the change would help Texas recruit top researchers and strengthen the state’s research economy. The committee also heard SB 2058, which would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to publish annual data on nursing clinical training sites to improve placement coordination, and SB 2683, which would bar public colleges from giving benefits or recognition to student organizations that receive support from foreign entities of concern; both were left pending after testimony. A large portion of the meeting focused on SB 2233, which would require public institutions of higher education to adopt policies prohibiting students or employees on nonimmigrant visas from publicly supporting terrorist activity or organizations, with enforcement through investigations, reporting to Homeland Security, and possible Attorney General action and fines. The author said the bill was intended to reinforce existing federal definitions and campus safety, while senators questioned the bill’s scope, the definition of terrorist activity, and the clause tied to U.S. policy or practice. Public witnesses, including civil rights advocates, law students, and others, argued the bill was vague, overbroad, unconstitutional, and likely to chill protected speech and increase surveillance of international students and Black and brown communities; several Jewish witnesses also said the bill misused Jewish safety concerns and could be used for viewpoint discrimination. SB 2233 was left pending after public testimony. The committee then took up SB 735, which builds on prior Holocaust education legislation by funding optional age-appropriate and bilingual curriculum, museum field trips, teacher preparation partnerships, annual reporting, and regional collaboration with Holocaust museums and education service centers. The author and invited witnesses said the bill responds to survey findings showing uneven Holocaust instruction and a need for better teacher training and accountability. A fifth-grade teacher and the director of the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio testified in support, emphasizing the need for accurate, age-appropriate instruction and professional development. The committee recessed before finishing the agenda, and SB 735 was set to resume after the floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• King of Hemphill voting aye. Have all members voted? Have all members voted?
• King of Hemphill voting aye. Have all members voted.

Bills: HJR5, HB39, HB 102, HB 126, HB290, HB300, HB1330, HB2110, HB2143, HCR64, HCR101

Keywords: education funding, Texas State Technical College System, constitutional amendment, capital projects, workforce education, military education, early registration, ROTC, corps of cadets, higher education, military academy, student athletes, name image likeness, compensation, intercollegiate athletics, representation, tuition assistance, military, Texas State Guard, education

Transcript Highlights:

• The House and Gallery will please rise for the invocation, offered by the Honorable Ken King of Hemphill

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Sheila Hemphill, have you gone?
• I saw you earlier, she's in the wrong committee, wrong city, Sheila Hemphill.
• My name is Sheila Hemphill.
• Hemphill, just if you can keep it under two minutes.
• Hemphill, thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Hemphill. I appreciate it.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Allison Gallery, please rise for the invocation which will be offered by the Honorable Ken King of Hemphill

Transcript Highlights:

• and gallery, please rise for the invocation, which will be offered by the Honorable Ken King of Hemphill

Transcript Highlights:

• House and Gallery please rise for the invocation which will be offered by the Honorable Ken King of Hemphill

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• King of Hemphill voting nay. Have all voted. Have all voted.
• King of Hemphill voting aye. They've all voted. We're all voted. They have all voted.

Bills: HB18, SB 54, SB 10, HR 76, HR 77, HR 78, HR 82, HR 83, HR 88, HR 89, HR 93, HR 94, HR 95, HR 98, HR 101, HR 102, HR 104, HR 105, HR 107, HR 108, HR 109, HR 110, HR 111, HR 112, HR 113, HR 123, HR 125, HR 79, HR 80, HR 81, HR 84, HR 85, HR 86, HR 87, HR 90, HR 91, HR 92, HR 96, HR 97, HR 100, HR 103, HR 106, HR 114, HR 115, HR 116, HR 117, HR 118, HR 119, HR 120, HR 121, HR 122, HR 124, HB 18, SB 54, SB 10, HB 8

Keywords: HB 18, Texas Legislature, quorum break, quorum-busting, legislative walkout, absent legislators, political contributions, campaign finance, political expenditures, legislative caucus, specific-purpose committee, Texas Ethics Commission, civil penalty, show cause order, district court, Fifteenth Court of Appeals, session fundraising, travel lodging food expenses, legislative session, compelled attendance

Transcript Highlights:

• Sheila Hemphill, have you gone? I saw you earlier. in the wrong committee, wrong city.
• Sheila Hemphill. James Jackson. James Speeger, James Jackson, James Speeger. Is it you?
• Salvador Espinoza, Salvador Espinoza, Sheila Hemphill. Pamela Hart, Pamela Hart, Ryan Logue, Henry.
• Hemphill, just, if you can keep it under two minutes.
• Hemphill, thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Hemphill. Appreciate it. And I yield back my time.

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair calls Columba Wilson and Sheila Hemphill. Good morning. My name is Columba Wilson.

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• The motion calls Columba Wilson and Sheila Hemphill. ご視聴ありがとうございました Good morning.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In fact, it was first introduced five years ago by Sia Hemphill. It's received...
• In fact, it was first introduced five years ago by Sia Hemphill.

Bills: SB36, SB88, SB92, SB97, SB48, SB55, SB58, SB76, SB93, SB89, SB60

Keywords: quantum technology, tax credit, infrastructure, economic development, New Mexico, corporate tax, research and development, innovation, foster care, income tax, guardianship, youth services, financial relief, affordable housing, gross receipts tax, tax deduction, construction materials, multifamily housing, low income, tax credits

Transcript Highlights:

• King of Hemphill voting aye. voting aye. There being 136 ayes, 3 nays, the amendment is adopted.
• King of Hemphill voting aye show miss Goodwin voting aye I have all voted, there being 136 ayes, 9 noes

Bills: HB29, HB 125, HB145, HB171, HB255, HB50, HB796, HB363, HB 116, HB491, HB589, HB1495, HB368, HB 1285, HB1905, HB1360, HB2002, HB917, HB2723, HB2067, HB 1238, HB2337, HB745, HB 1188, HB1606, HB2003, HB2147, HB2391, HB2355, HB2546, HB2495, HB2818, HB2249, HB1749, HB3109, HB3228, HB3240, HB1507, HB658, HB1748, HB1851, HB1922, HB2001, HB2798, HB 107, HCR29, SB5, SB262, HB 11, HJR72, HB 106, HB18, HB48, HB27, HB37, HB1481, HB581, HB1696, HB2216, HB 1035, HB1633, HB742, HB754, HB1689, HB1690, HB2669, HB391, HB517, HB 1024, HB1607, HB252, HB1716, HB1562, HB4116, HB1866, HB1741, HB2103, HB2637, HB2884, HB503, HB 1089, HB2986, HB972, HB502, HB29, HB 125, HB145, HB171, HB255, HB50, HB796, HB363, HB 116, HB491, HB589, HB1495, HB368, HB 1285, HB1905, HB1360, HB2002, HB917, HB2723, HB2067, HB 1238, HB2337, HB745, HB 1188, HB1606, HB2003, HB2147, HB2391, HB2355, HB2546, HB2495, HB2818, HB2249, HB1749, HB3109, HB3228, HB3240, HB1507, HB658, HB1748, HB1851, HB1922, HB2001, HB2798, HB 107, HCR29

Keywords: water audit, water loss, water loss mitigation plan, municipally owned utility, municipal utility, water conservation, Texas Water Development Board, TCEQ, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, water leakage, leak detection, billing data accuracy, utility validation, water audit validation, water scarcity, water management, infrastructure, public utility, conservation plan, administrative penalty

Transcript Highlights:

• McCormick and Sheila Hemphill and I think y'all can all join us at the table at this time that is all
• My name is Sheila Hemphill with Texas Right to Know. and I support this bill wholeheartedly.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You two are excused, and Sheila Hemphill, you can have a seat up here if you're here.
• Sheila Hemphill. And Hannah, go ahead. My name is Hannah Maida. I'm from Flower Mound, Texas.
• Sheila, so is Sheila Hemphill here? Okay, come on up, Sheila. I thought I'd seen you.

Bills: SB1, SB 1

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:

• Call Sheila Hemphill, Sarah Beck, and Zenobia Joseph.
• Call Sheila Hemphill, Sarah Beck, and Zenobia Joseph.
• My name is Sheila Hemphill with Texas Right to Know, and I'm for this bill. In 2011, I turned 50.
• Hemphill? Thank you for being here. Not bad for stream of conscience. Oh.

Bills: SB 5, SB 11, SB 12

Keywords: disaster relief, flood preparedness, emergency funding, local government support, meteorological forecasting, human trafficking, trafficking victim, compelling prostitution, affirmative defense, criminal defense, coercion, force fraud or coercion, sexual exploitation, victim protection, Penal Code, Texas criminal law, prosecution, party liability, affirmative defense statute, survivor rights

Summary: The Senate Committee on State Affairs took up Senate Bill 5, which Senator Perry described as a ban on intoxicating THC consumer products while preserving legal CBD, CBG, hemp seed, hemp seed protein powder, and hemp seed oil products. Perry argued that most retail THC products are already illegal under federal law, that the industry has used loopholes and misleading labeling to sell high-potency products, and that regulation would be ineffective because chemists can quickly alter formulations. He also said the bill would steer people with medical needs toward the Texas Compassionate Use Program (T-Cup), which he and other supporters described as the proper physician-guided alternative. Committee members and witnesses repeatedly discussed the distinction between legal hemp-derived products and intoxicating THC products, and Perry said the bill would not touch non-consumable hemp uses such as fiber and clothing. Invited testimony came from law enforcement and medical witnesses who supported the bill. Texas Police Chiefs Association representative Steve Dye, Kaufman County District Attorney Early Wiley, and Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne all said regulation would be too costly, too complex, and ultimately unenforceable, while a ban would be clearer and easier to enforce. They cited overloaded DPS labs, the need for expensive private testing, limited police and prosecutor resources, and the difficulty of keeping up with constantly changing cannabinoids and out-of-state products. Hawthorne and Wiley described raids and investigations involving warehouses, retail stores, cash seizures, and products they said were marketed to young people and often mislabeled or imported from other states. They also said the bill would help law enforcement by creating a clearer legal line and protecting legitimate CBD/CBG businesses. Dr. Lindy McGee, speaking for the Texas Medical Association and Texas Pediatric Society, testified that retail THC products pose serious risks to children and adolescents, including addiction, impaired brain development, psychosis, suicide attempts, self-harm, accidental toddler ingestions, and possible long-term cognitive effects. She said there is no effective medication treatment for THC addiction comparable to nicotine cessation tools, and she supported restrictions such as child-resistant packaging, no marketing to minors, and age limits, while opposing criminal penalties for possession by minors. Senators asked follow-up questions about brain development, memory, dementia risk, pregnancy, and cardiovascular effects. No vote was taken during the portion provided, and the committee continued with invited testimony and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Hemphill, did you just register to testify? Yes, sir. Okay.

Bills: SB2972, SB1909, SB2815, SB735, SB2233, SB800, SB1069, SB2683, SB2986, SB2058, SB2310, SB2055, SB1032

Keywords: expressive activities, freedom of speech, public forum, higher education, protests, student rights, antisemitism, public institutions, disciplinary policy, student organizations, compliance, institutional policy, disciplinary sanctions, diploma designation, institution merger, academic records, student options, Holocaust education, Holocaust Remembrance Week, genocide education

Transcript Highlights:

• How many loads a day if that aircraft has to be based in Abilene do you suspect it could drop on Hemphill
• and then I was expected to fight fire and now, um, you know, I represent the Roberts County and Hemphill

Transcript Highlights:

• HCR 75 by Schaffner, designating Hemphill as the official bass fishing capital for Texas for a 10-year

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this is a bill we heard previously designating Hemphill as official bass fishing capital of