TX

Texas 89th Regular

Senate Committee on Business and Commerce (Part II) Feb 18th, 2025

Business & Commerce

Transcript Highlights:

Hearing none, we will now open public testimony. Anyone wish to testify?
Hearing none, we're going to open... Welcome to public testimony.
Hearing none, we're going to open up public testimony.
Hearing none, let's see, we're going to open up... We do have Tara.
Okay, hearing that we're going to close public testimony. Any closing comments?

Bills: SB 21, SB21, SB72, SB140, SB262, SB370, SB372, SB495, SB627, SB703, SB764, SB842

Keywords: emergency alerts, weather alerts, public safety, local government, municipality, county, website posting, online notice, emergency management, disaster preparedness, evacuation, National Weather Service, NOAA, Texas Division of Emergency Management, TDEM, localized alerts, hazard warnings, severe weather, watch warning advisory, public information

WA

Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session

Senate Transportation Sep 30th, 2025

Transcript Highlights:

I know he'll watch on TVW so he can hear us.
So we can hear from them next.
As you've been hearing, those trends were going in the wrong direction.
offenders who need to get a pretrial ignition interlock device.
offenders who need to get a pretrial ignition interlock device.

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met in Yakima to focus on tribal traffic safety, with members and Yakima Nation leaders emphasizing the importance of safety, the right to travel, and continued partnership on U.S. 97 corridor improvements. Yakima Nation Vice Chair Christopher Wallachie and engineering staff described the Tribal Traffic Safety Committee, the U.S. 97 safety project, heritage connectivity trails, roundabout construction, and the use of federal grants and advanced sensing technology to identify hazards before crashes occur. They highlighted collaboration with WSDOT, the Traffic Safety Commission, the University of Washington, and other regional partners, and explained that the goal is to move from reactive crash response to proactive risk reduction. The Yakima Nation engineering team and AI Vision presented the MUST sensor project, which uses compact AI-enabled devices to collect traffic counts, speeds, near-miss events, roadway conditions, and pedestrian activity, with data transmitted to a dashboard and used for real-time warnings and longer-term planning. Committee members asked about speed tracking, driver behavior, enforcement, and partnerships with WSDOT and counties. Yakima Nation staff said the relationship with WSDOT has improved over time, especially after community outreach on proposed roundabouts, and that the tribe now supports several roundabout projects and broader safety coordination. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission then presented statewide fatality trends and tribal traffic safety data. Mark McKekney said 2024 showed a roughly 10% decrease in fatalities statewide, though recent years remain among the highest in decades. He noted that race and ethnicity data are only available for people who die in crashes, and that many American Indian and Alaska Native fatalities involve passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists rather than drivers. Penny Rerick outlined tribal traffic safety coordinator grants and other state-funded tribal projects, including work with Yakama Nation, Colville, Kalispel, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Lower Elwha, and Puyallup, stressing that flexible state funding helps fill gaps left by federal programs and supports community-led solutions. The final presentation covered impaired driving enforcement and ignition interlock compliance in Yakima County. Yakima Police Chief Sean Boyle said the city created a DUI enforcement and education officer program that helped reduce serious injury and fatal impaired-driving crashes, supported by state funding and social media outreach. Yakima County District Court’s Nick Bazan described a supervision program for DUI offenders and interlock compliance, reporting more than 1,000 DUI convictions in 2024-25 and about 3,800 noncompliant interlock users countywide. He said the court is using a two-pronged approach—pretrial assistance for indigent clients and post-conviction accountability and case planning—to improve compliance and reduce impaired driving. The committee expressed support for the work, noted the progress made, and adjourned the work session after thanking presenters for their updates.

ID

Idaho 2026 Regular Session

Agenda Feb 16th, 2026

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

RS 32969 creates a structural pretrial immunity hearing.
If a defendant RS 32969 creates a structural pretrial immunity hearing.
I went to his pretrial hearing, and he was eventually found not guilty of the charges, but it cost his
If you don't mind, not at a print hearing. Okay, not a print hearing.
Chairman and committee, for hearing this.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Senate State Affairs Committee heard several bill introductions and one resolution. Senator Zito presented RS 32969, a proposal to create an early pretrial immunity hearing and possible cost reimbursement for defendants who lawfully use self-defense, arguing it would prevent financially ruinous prosecutions; Senator Adams asked about Idaho examples, and the committee voted to introduce the RS. Senator Nichols presented RS 33826, which would prohibit government from requiring digital ID, preserve acceptance of physical ID, and bar demands to unlock personal devices; the committee voted to send it to print. Nichols also presented RS 33333, a memorial urging the federal government to restore the tier-two duty on imported sugar to protect Idaho’s sugar beet industry, and it was sent to print. Senator O’Connellitz presented RS 33369, a revised bill to require Senate confirmation for remaining department directors and align them with other department heads; it was introduced. Senator Byrne presented RS 33388, which would allow breweries to operate two remote taprooms instead of one, framed as a small-business measure, and it was sent to print. Senator Den Hartog presented RS 33296, revising election timing and partisan designation rules for single-countywide highway district elections, and it was introduced. The committee also heard HCR 24 from Senator Toews, honoring fallen Coeur d’Alene firefighters Frank Harwood and John Morrison Jr. and injured engineer David Tisdell; members expressed condolences and voted to send the resolution to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation. The final major item was Senate Bill 1258, presented by Senator Shippy and Koenig Distillery representatives. The bill would create a specialty liquor-by-the-drink license for an agricultural distillery outside city limits, allowing it to serve its own products on-site, while clarifying related licensing and age-access provisions. Testimony emphasized support for agriculture, ag tourism, and small business, and the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a do pass recommendation. The meeting then adjourned.

LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Administration of Criminal Justice Apr 15th, 2026

Administration of Criminal Justice

Transcript Highlights:

And I thank you all for hearing I thank you all for hearing this bill.
Hearing none, let H.B. 568 be reported favorably.
Hearing none, let the amendment be adopted.
Well, that's why we're having the committee hearing.
Hearing none. We will see y’all next week.

Summary: The committee first took up HB 74, which would create a Louisiana Spectrum Alert for missing persons with autism spectrum disorder. Representative Eccles said the alert would be modeled on Amber and senior alerts and could be absorbed within existing resources. The committee heard emotional support testimony from a parent describing the dangers of elopement and drowning risks for autistic children, and several members voiced support. HB 74 was reported favorably. Members then considered HB 1033 and HB 1034 by Chairman Bacala. HB 1033 expands the statutory definition of critical infrastructure to include additional facilities such as airports, spaceports, aerospace facilities, mass transit, government facilities, military installations, and oil and gas exploration platforms. It drew mostly support from economic development and law enforcement groups, with one opposition card from the Sierra Club, and was reported favorably. HB 1034 authorizes parish presidents, mayors, sheriffs, police chiefs, and chief executive officers to establish temporary protection zones for public safety for up to 72 hours, with a warning before criminal penalties attach. The committee adopted an amendment clarifying that the bill cannot be used in a manner inconsistent with state firearms preemption law, heard concerns from the ACLU about vagueness and possible overreach, and then reported the bill favorably as amended. HB 59, by Representative Marcel, would require East Baton Rouge Parish and its municipalities to fund the 19th Judicial District public defender’s office in a manner parallel to the district attorney funding structure. The bill drew support from the public defender, the district attorney, and the state public defender, but several members raised concerns that the language could create an unfunded mandate or litigation risk for local governments. Despite those concerns, the committee reported HB 59 favorably. HB 175, as amended, redirected $500,000 annually from Louisiana Lottery net proceeds into a Veterans Service Grant Fund administered by a new board in the Department of Veterans Affairs; testimony emphasized support for veterans programs, treatment courts, homelessness services, and community organizations, and the bill was reported favorably as amended. The committee also advanced HB 568, which increases penalties for drug-free school zone violations involving open marijuana use and other drug activity. Supporters said the bill would give law enforcement and prosecutors a clearer tool to address visible drug use near schools and large events, while opponents warned it could over-criminalize marijuana and create proof problems. The committee reported HB 568 favorably. Finally, HB 525, which requires DPS&C to publish certain incarceration data online, was amended to remove parish jail census data after DPS&C said it would not post that portion; the department said it would publish the remaining data and codebook online. The committee then reported HB 525 favorably as amended.

CA