Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1286 by Eckhardt and Gutierrez, relating to the imposition of a sales tax on ammunition, firearms
• , and firearm accessories, to Finance.
• Senate Bill 1326 by Johnson, relating to civil liability arising from a firearm hold agreement, to State

Summary: The Senate met briefly to receive first-reading referrals of a large number of bills, resolutions, and joint resolutions. The measures covered a wide range of topics, including public education, health care, criminal justice, business regulation, transportation, water and natural resources, local government, taxation, elections, and public information. Many of the filings were by Senators Hughes, Perry, Alvarado, Creighton, Hancock, Parker, Zaffirini, Blanco, and others, and included proposals on school safety, health records and billing, election procedures, water planning, housing and rent issues, energy and environmental regulation, and criminal penalties. The chamber also read several concurrent and joint resolutions, including measures designating state symbols and local honors, a proposed constitutional amendment related to gaming by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, a proposal concerning special-session subjects, and resolutions on fiscal restraints and retirement obligations. No debate, testimony, or substantive action on the merits of the measures occurred in this portion of the transcript; the items were simply read and referred to committees. At the close of the proceedings, the Senate adjourned pursuant to a previously adopted motion and announced it would reconvene at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 4.

Transcript Highlights:

• The difference between Francesco and I is I did not have access to an unsecured firearm.
• Seventy to 80 percent of school shooters under the age of 18 access a firearm from their home or someone
• FIREARM FROM THEIR HOME OR SOMEONE ELSE'S HOME.
• There is no reason for the amount of pain that we’ve seen caused by unsecured firearms.
• The amount of pain that we’ve seen caused by unsecured firearms.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened, approved the prior day’s journal, and then processed a large number of motions to discharge bills from committees and substitute identical Senate or Assembly versions for third reading. The chamber also adopted the resolution calendar with exceptions and took up several resolutions and ceremonial recognitions, including a resolution mourning Hudson Talbott, a Dairy Month resolution highlighting New York’s dairy industry, and introductions honoring Niskayuna academic teams, Gabriella Scheer for receiving the Liberty Medal, the Hartstein family’s civic engagement, and Diana Cochran’s advocacy for safe firearm storage. The Senate then moved through the calendar and passed many bills on topics including insurance, public health, education, labor, social services, banking, local government, veterans, public service, consumer protection, criminal procedure, cannabis, parks, taxation, election law, and highway matters. Several members explained votes on notable measures: support for acupuncture insurance coverage, consumer protections for doorbell-camera data sharing, expanded protections in debt collection cases, trauma-informed procedures for sexual assault survivors, a Legionnaires’ disease awareness program, changes to mandatory minimum sentencing, and universal safe storage of firearms. A number of home rule and local authorization bills were also approved, including parkland alienation measures and local tax exemption authorizations. Most measures passed with broad bipartisan support, though some drew recorded opposition. Notable roll calls included the consumer debt uniformity bill, the mandatory minimum sentencing bill, the safe storage/firearms bill, and the public housing and public health measures, each with more divided votes. The chamber also accepted a lengthy Rules Committee report sending many additional bills directly to third reading, and then began the supplemental calendar, passing at least the first items before the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• That surprised me, because it certainly is with a firearm. But it also...
• um but it also dis so is with a firearm um but it also dis so we<00:33:09.639> we<00:33:09.799
• So these are not cheap firearms; they're very, very expensive, and you've got to take the equivalent
• We now lose Pittman-Robertson money when people buy firearms and ammunition.
• We now lose Pittman-Robertson money when people buy firearms and ammunition.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So whether it's a silencer for a firearm or whether it's any other component, they're all components
• that make up or that can be attached or detached from a firearm.
• So when the tax holiday was put together,... ...detached from a firearm.
• or can be detached from the firearm.
• . ...that can be attached or detached from that particular modified firearm.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I think firearms are somewhat an buy. I think firearms are somewhat an impulse<01:37:55.840> buy.
• Such as firearms and hunting supplies. Okay. Why do you think it's important?
• A lot of people buy firearms for self-protection. And we have a lot of tax credits.
• :58.159> self-p people buy firearms for self-p people buy firearms for self-p protection.<01:44
• These are young people who died as a result of firearms.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• been arrested for a crime of violence or sex offense or distribution of drugs or an offense with a firearm
• If that subsequent offense is a sex offense or involves a firearm, it requires a remanding of the convicted
• of bail for a defendant admitted the bill for certain offenses, being violent crime, sex offenses, firearm
• It retains existing firearm qualifications that I were to...
• State Capitol Building retains existing firearm qualifications that I already mentioned requirements

Summary: The Criminal Justice Committee met on April 29, 2026, and first voluntarily deferred House Bill 517. The committee then heard and passed several bills focused on impaired driving, wrongful conviction compensation, gaming promo play, child protection, and criminal penalties related to sexual exploitation and worship-service interference. Senate Bill 118 would require substance use disorder screening for all misdemeanor DUI offenders, with supporters arguing early screening could identify treatment needs and reduce repeat offenses; it was reported favorably. Senate Bill 125 increased the wrongful conviction compensation cap from 10 to 15 years and from $400,000 to $600,000, with testimony emphasizing the hardship faced by people who were wrongfully imprisoned for decades; it also passed favorably. Senate Bill 294 allowed gaming operators to allocate promotional play across licenses without increasing the total amount, and it was reported favorably despite one opposition card. The committee also approved Senate Bill 87, which clarified the definition of commercial sexual activity to address conflicts in child sex trafficking statutes and better reach online solicitation and related conduct. Senate Bill 93 established minimum bond amounts for certain child sex abuse material offenses, and Chair Villio offered an amendment expanding related bail and revocation provisions for certain violent, sex, and firearm offenses; the amendment was adopted and the bill was reported favorably as amended. Senate Bill 98 added certain school employees, including school resource officers and security guards, to the definition of educator for purposes of prohibited sexual conduct with students, and it passed favorably. Senate Bill 199 imposed a mandatory minimum sentence for a second offense of purchasing commercial sexual activity and required sex offender registration; after a technical amendment, it was reported favorably as amended. The committee then took up House Bill 333, which would require the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to house inmates within 30 miles of their home or offense location. The author argued this would preserve family ties and reduce recidivism, but sheriffs, district attorneys, and DOC representatives opposed it as impractical given limited bed space, security needs, and existing placement criteria; the bill was not moved. House Bill 828 would create an independent Louisiana Correctional Medical Review Board to investigate deaths in custody, but law enforcement and corrections witnesses warned it could interfere with homicide investigations and duplicate existing coroner and agency reviews; the author asked for voluntary deferral, which the committee granted. House Bill 146, authorizing a Sabine Parish sports wagering election, was heard but received no motion and remained in committee. The committee also approved Senate Bill 277, expanding concealed-carry exemptions for certain statewide elected officials in the State Capitol, and Senate Bill 306, creating the crime of obstructing worship services in a church or other place of worship; SB 306 was amended to reduce a proposed fine from $10,000 to $2,500 after concerns about jury-trial implications. The meeting ended with adjournment after all remaining items were disposed of.

Transcript Highlights:

• Red and blue states have decided that it is safer for everyone if people are not bringing firearms there
• it stands right now, permit-to-carry holders will still be able to come to the Capitol with their firearms
• :14:48.800> capital<00:14:49.040> with<00:14:49.279> their<00:14:49.440> firearms
• <00:14:50.240> They'll the capital with their firearms.
• They'll the capital with their firearms.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The program opened the 2026 Senate session with tributes to Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and others lost or injured during the interim, including Senator John Hoffman, who returned to the floor after surviving an attack. Senators repeatedly framed the session around courage, grief, civil discourse, and a commitment to govern despite heightened fear and political violence. The Capitol itself has changed in response, with locked doors, new security systems, more law enforcement presence, and new visitor guidelines. A major segment focused on Capitol security. Senator Bonnie Westlin said the Axtell report, commissioned by the Department of Public Safety, was the basis for new screening measures and identified weapon screening as the top priority. She said the goal is to create a safer perimeter for members, staff, and the thousands of annual visitors, while keeping access workable through single entry points and Evolv screening machines. She also discussed Senate restrictions on guns in the gallery, possible future legislation to ban guns on the Capitol complex, encrypted badges, internal access controls, and behavioral threat assessments. She noted some recommendations will require funding, with the Department of Administration seeking about $41 million. The program also highlighted the Senate fiscal review, described as a nonpartisan summary of the enacted budget that is being moved toward a more interactive web format. Another segment featured Senator Eric Lucero on affordable housing and home ownership. He said the Minnesota Housing workforce and affordable home ownership program is intended to increase owner-occupied housing supply, but argued that 123 homes built statewide is not enough to address the shortage. Lucero blamed regulation and permitting delays for higher costs, said Minnesota homes can cost $50,000 to $150,000 more than comparable homes in neighboring states, and said he will continue pushing for regulatory rollbacks to make home ownership more attainable.

Transcript Highlights:

• All that prosecutor had to do was include a firearm enhancement on the verdict form, and justice would
• either an oversight, uninformed, uneducated, ridiculous mistake from a prosecutor, not including a firearm
• And shame on the state attorney's office who failed to include an enhancement for a firearm that would
• to be those moments when, in the heat of battle, and you are wrestling for your life to keep your firearm
• Your life to keep your firearm on you or in your holster, that you don't have time to think what's lawful

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions recognizing guests and visiting groups, including the Challenger Learning Center, the Florida Dental Hygienists Association, school students, and other local officials and organizations. Members also offered remarks about President Allbritton’s recovery and upcoming events, including State of Black Florida Week and a future executive appointments calendar. The main floor debate centered on Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 156, which revises criminal penalties involving law enforcement officers. The bill clarifies that resistance to an officer with violence is not justified when the officer is performing official duties, removes language stating an officer is not justified in using force if the arrest or duty is unlawful and known to be unlawful, and adds mandatory life imprisonment for manslaughter of a law enforcement officer. Senators offered competing views: supporters said the bill corrects a verdict-form and charging problem exposed in the Officer Jason Rainer case and honors his family, while opponents argued it removes civilian protections, expands police authority, and imposes disproportionate mandatory sentencing. Two amendments were offered and withdrawn, and the bill passed 31-4. The Senate then passed a series of bills, mostly on public records and regulatory topics. SB 168 expanded public nuisance law to include gambling establishments and increased penalties; SB 288 narrowed statutory ambiguity affecting rural electric cooperatives; SB 292 and SB 298 created or extended public-records protections for appellate court clerks and victims of dating violence in the Address Confidentiality Program; SB 296 created the HAVEN initiative to study a secure alert system for domestic violence victims and expanded confidentiality protections; SB 364 modernized CPA licensure pathways; SB 386 created protections for farm equipment purchasers; and several Open Government Sunset Review bills preserved exemptions for emergency shelter information, Department of Military Affairs records, conviction integrity unit records, Public Service Commission and Gaming Commission proceedings, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles investigatory records, social media platform investigations, and certain economic development loan-program financial records. Most of these bills passed with little or no opposition, and the Senate waived rules so all bills passed that day could be immediately certified to the House.

Transcript Highlights:

• All that prosecutor had to do was include a firearm enhancement on the verdict form, and justice would
• either an oversight, uninformed, uneducated, ridiculous mistake from a prosecutor, not including a firearm
• And shame on the state attorney's office who failed to include an enhancement for a firearm that would
• going to be those moments when in the heat of battle and you are wrestling for your life to keep your firearm
• Your life to keep your firearm on you or in your holster, that you don't have time to think what's lawful

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions recognizing guests and visiting groups, including the Challenger Learning Center, the Florida Dental Hygienists Association, Zeta Phi Beta, Pine Forest High School students, and others. Senators also noted President Albritton’s recovery and upcoming caucus and appointment announcements. The chamber then moved to the special order calendar. The main floor debate centered on Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 156, which increases penalties for crimes against law enforcement officers and other personnel, including making manslaughter of an officer punishable by mandatory life imprisonment without release and clarifying resistance to officers. Senator Leek described the bill as a compromise intended to honor Officer Jason Rainer, while Senators Rouson and Bracy Davis offered and then withdrew amendments. Senators Pizzo, Berman, Smith, Polsky, and others questioned the bill’s impact on self-defense, officer conduct, jury instructions, prosecutorial discretion, and the removal of language regarding unlawful force by officers. Supporters argued the bill corrects confusion and strengthens protections for officers; opponents said it removes civilian protections and imposes disproportionate mandatory sentencing. The bill passed 31-4. The Senate then passed SB 168 on public nuisances, expanding nuisance law to include gambling establishments and increasing penalties; SB 288 on rural electric cooperatives; SB 292 and SB 298 creating public records protections for appellate clerks and dating-violence victims; SB 296 establishing the HAVEN alert platform study and expanding address confidentiality protections for domestic violence victims; SB 364 modernizing CPA licensure; SB 386 creating protections for farm equipment purchasers; and several Open Government Sunset Review bills preserving or extending public records and meeting exemptions, including SB 7000, SB 7202, SB 706, SB 708, SB 7012, SB 7014, and SB 7016. Most passed with little or no opposition, though some of the public-records measures drew a few nays. At the end, the Senate waived rules to immediately certify passed bills to the House and adjourned until the next scheduled meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• It also encompassed any crime, any charge that involved a firearm, not necessarily shooting.
• To me, it was like pretty shocking because you're telling me nearly no gun cases, nearly no firearms
• But our police department has been incredibly proactive in looking at juveniles with firearms, so I think
• We also have parents who may not be as diligent about locking up their firearms as they should be, and
• police department, reasonable as a layperson would say, well, we need a crime where if you sell a firearm

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll be the printer goofed on us on that one. It looks like it is. Yes. Yes, Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• Buffer zone, or if you normally discharge a weapon or firearm on campus, you have certain penalties.
• During the shooting, law enforcement knew for a fact that the only people on campus with firearms should
• How do you know who has a firearm? Who is a Guardian? Well, that's in this legislation.
• So there will be no accidental confusion about who has the firearm.

Transcript Highlights:

• Assembly Bill 105, introduced by Assembly Member Hodgee, revises provisions governing firearms.
• Assembly Bill 105 introduced by Assembly Member Houdigee, revises provisions governing firearms, the
• under Section 1 of 5, prohibits, under certain circumstances, a person from possessing or causing a firearm
• Assembly Bill 105, as it infringes on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Nevadans by restricting firearm

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• thing for loose firearms in the home. thing for loose firearms in the home.
• Uh, the firearms, we share the concern about children's safety around firearms.
• 36:42.360> around<01:36:42.640> firearms.
• about children's safety around firearms. about children's safety around firearms.
• Theft of firearms is a strong use.

Bills: HF4407, HF4382

Keywords: child welfare, African American children, racial disproportionality, family preservation, reunification, foster care, kinship care, relative placement, noncustodial parent, guardian ad litem, ombudsperson, Department of Human Services, county social services, active efforts, reasonable efforts, child protection, placement, out-of-home placement, Northstar kinship assistance, data disaggregation

Summary: The Children and Families Committee adopted the April 8 minutes and then took up House File 4407, as amended by the A1 amendment. The amendment, explained by nonpartisan staff, incorporated much of the Senate version of related legislation and made a series of changes: it revised the definition of “disproportionately represented child,” shifted that determination to the Commissioner of Children, Youth, and Families, made technical cross-reference and terminology updates, adjusted training requirements, set the working group to expire December 31, 2027, and added an appropriation for statewide implementation. The committee adopted the A1 amendment and then referred the bill to Ways and Means. Representative Gilman said the bill is intended to preserve the goals of the Minnesota African American Family Preservation Act while addressing operational, legal, and fiscal problems before statewide implementation. He argued for delaying the effective date by one year, shifting case review responsibilities to the state, and providing funding so counties are not left with an unfunded mandate. He also said the bill adds safety measures related to synthetic opioids and other imminent-harm concerns, and that the delay would allow the working group to finish its recommendations and give counties time to prepare. County officials Steve Schmidt of Meeker County/Minnesota Rural Counties and Jenny Mojo of Clay County testified in support of the bill as amended, emphasizing that counties need clearer responsibilities, staffing, training, technology, and dependable funding to implement the law successfully. Rebecca St. George of DCYF said “active efforts” is not absolutely defined and is determined case by case, often with court involvement. Members raised questions about the meaning of active efforts, the bill’s synthetic opioid language, and whether the proposal should apply more broadly rather than within this specific act. A citizen also cautioned that the opioid language should not unintentionally affect families in treatment programs. Representative Hicks warned that the fentanyl provisions could lead to broad removals and create placement problems for teens with substance use disorder, while Representative Gilman responded that the bill includes a rebuttable presumption and is meant to protect children from imminent harm.

Transcript Highlights:

• Among the bills that we will consider is one involving the right to transport firearms in public, and
• She used a semi-automatic firearm to dispatch Mr. Skinner with two effective shots to the throat.
• The last amendment to be considered is Amendment Number 14, relating to possession of firearms in public

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a quorum present. Members received introductions of Pastor Ralph S. Hodge of Second Baptist Church in Richmond and students from the 26th District and surrounding areas. The House also adopted House Resolution 2195 honoring Robert Stouffer, with a request that adjournment be in his memory. During personal privilege remarks, members spoke on Pride Month and LGBTQ+ rights, and another member delivered a lengthy floor speech opposing firearm restrictions and defending self-defense rights. The chamber then adopted memorial and commending resolutions in blocks, including additional commending resolutions added by the clerk. The main item of business was House Bill 30, the budget, on which the House considered the governor’s 14 amendments. Amendments 3, 4, and 5 were taken up together and adopted, followed by adoption of Amendment 1 on referendum costs, Amendment 2 on Atlantic research support, Amendment 6 expanding REGO utility credit to cooperatives, Amendment 7 clarifying law-enforcement facial covering restrictions, Amendment 8 creating a firefighter cancer screening grant program, Amendment 9 funding a digital services team, Amendment 10 relating to acquisition of Oak Hill Farm, Amendment 11 on data center electricity tax technical changes, Amendment 12 on local sales tax referendum timing, Amendment 13 on paid sick leave, and Amendment 14 on firearms in public areas and delayed enactment. Most amendments passed by substantial margins, with Amendment 8 adopted unanimously. The House completed work on the calendar and then agreed to a motion to stand in recess pursuant to House Resolution 2069.

Transcript Highlights:

• or a firearm with ammunition to fit it, that qualifies them for night hunting under the statute.
• or a firearm with ammunition to fit it, that qualifies them for night hunting under the statute.
• or a firearm with ammunition to fit it, that qualifies them for night hunting under the statute.
• <01:25:48.159> And firearm while the vehicle is moving.
• And firearm while the vehicle is moving.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So if I shoot a civilian with a firearm and injure and paralyze them, that's a third-degree felony.
• If I ...shoot a civilian with a firearm and injure them, that's a third-degree felony.
• Speaker, gentlelady, you can't have a firearm enhancement, but also remember that you could be stabbed
• So while a firearm, there is an enhancement, could be a one-to-five-year enhancement, depending on the
• crime, for any type of firearm enhancement, any type of crime with a gun.

Bills: HB111, HB61, HB43, HB156, HB70, SB3, HB103, HB109, HB128, HB247, HJM2, HJM3, HM7, HM17, HM4, HM22, HM23, HM24, HM26, HM2, HM16, HM32, HM11, HM14, HM21, HM34, HM50

Keywords: water law, state engineer, civil penalty, compliance order, water rights, overdiversion, illegal diversion, groundwater storage and recovery, well license, permit violation, water enforcement, New Mexico water code, irrigation district, conservancy district, water diversion, unauthorized water sales, measuring device, district court appeal, water resources, water compliance

Transcript Highlights:

• I didn’t know if I liked the access to other people’s firearms.
• Most gun crimes also come from illegally obtained firearms.
• This will be ineffective against that because this is only going to take legal firearms away.
• people's Firearms I'm thinking you're people's Firearms I'm thinking you're affecting<01:35:21.280>
• <01:35:41.080> this from illegally obtained Firearms this from illegally obtained Firearms

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• deals fishing license cannot be this deals fishing license cannot be this deals this deals with Firearms
• being purchased this deals with Firearms being purchased this deals with Firearms being purchased with
• of ID people were using that as a form of ID people were using that as a form of ID to purchase firearms
• and this is to stop to purchase firearms and this is to stop to purchase firearms and this is to stop
• basically you cannot purchase firearms basically you cannot purchase firearms with a I think this needs

Bills: SB82, SB78, SB4, SB6, SB62, SB66, SB77, SB63, SB79, SB53, SB55, HB14

Keywords: SB82, warrant recall, outstanding warrants, stale warrants, misdemeanor warrants, Class B misdemeanor, Class C misdemeanor, municipal magistrate, circuit court clerk, criminal procedure, court administration, docket cleanup, warrant audit, law enforcement notification, domestic violence, sex offense, weapons offense, deadly weapon, dangerous instrument, felony-related charges

Transcript Highlights:

• You don't need to demonstrate that you know how to shoot a firearm.
• You don't need to demonstrate that you know how to shoot a firearm.
• would be their their parents firearm would be their their parents firearm that<00:57:48.960>
• <00:58:00.480> So, to be the owner of that firearm. So, to be the owner of that firearm.
• And then Roman at 9 is any firearm into.

Keywords: 916, all