Transcript Highlights:

• In that these referendums that are being proposed at volumes that we're seeing this year.
• intentional; that was about stability, House Bill 4440 repeals those constitutional protections and replaces

Bills: HB4440, HJR1067, HJR1087, HJR1089

Keywords: Medicaid, low-income adults, healthcare, eligibility restrictions, constitutional amendment, Medicaid expansion, SoonerCare, health coverage, federal matching funds, FMAP, Article XXV-A, state question, special election, Title 63, public assistance, healthcare funding, federal-state match, Medicaid eligibility, Oklahoma Constitution, ad valorem

Transcript Highlights:

• You make a change: you strike 'commission on human rights' and replace it with 'the commission.'
• Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and we are a state with, I think, the highest volume

Bills: SB2007, SB2104, SB2543, SB2545, SB2926, SB2938

Keywords: military status, vehicle registration, veterans, Texas transportation, state records, discrimination, employment rights, spouses of service members, labor code, SB 2543, Texas veterans cemeteries, state veterans cemetery, Texas Veterans Commission, Veterans Land Board, Natural Resources Code, veterans land fund, veterans housing assistance fund, veterans burial, burial eligibility, cemetery location

Summary: The Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs heard several bills focused on veterans’ mental health, criminal justice coordination, cemetery expansion, housing, vehicle registration, and anti-discrimination protections. SB 2926 would transfer administration of veterans’ mental health initiatives from HHSC to the Texas Veterans Commission, create a community-based mental health grant program, require a statewide veteran suicide prevention action plan, and add annual reporting requirements. SB 2938 would require county jails to verify and report veteran status at intake, help veteran inmates apply for federal benefits, and provide access to county veteran services and free visitation with service coordinators. Both bills were described as joint or practical efforts to improve coordination and service delivery for veterans, and both were left pending after no public testimony was offered. The committee also heard SB 2543, which would give more flexibility to expand the Texas veterans cemetery system, and SB 2545, which would explore using manufactured homes as another affordable housing option for veterans through the Veterans Land Board. SB 2545 drew questions about how manufactured-home loans would work; a Texas Veterans Land Board witness said implementation would likely require closing at a title company rather than through a retail bill of sale, and the Texas Manufactured Housing Association testified in support. Both cemetery and housing bills were left pending. Members then heard SB 2007, which would let vehicle registration applicants voluntarily designate military status so the DMV could record it and help with benefits and towing/impound issues involving deployed service members. Witnesses from the towing industry and DMV supported the bill, saying the current system lacks enough identifying information to run military-status checks and that the indicator could help prevent vehicles from being sold while owners are deployed. SB 2104 would add military status as a protected class under state anti-discrimination laws for employment, housing, and utilities; the author said it would address ongoing discrimination against service members, veterans, and military families. The Texas VFW supported the bill, citing the Leroy Torres case as an example of why additional state protections are needed. After discussion about overlap with federal law and existing state protections, SB 2104 was also left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• The permit would be for the volume of water allowed under the IGFR and its associated water duty, and
• The permit would be for the volume of water allowed under the IGFR and its associated water duty, and
• Strategically removing salt cedar and replacing it with properly selected native plants can benefit not

Bills: SB1137, SB1176, SB1287, SB1335, SB1336, SB1445, SB1677

Keywords: underground utilities, utility locating, dig safe, call before you dig, 811, excavation safety, damage prevention, one-call center, locate request, white lining, large project coordination, buried infrastructure, subsurface utilities, utility marking, locator wire, locator strip, interactive positive response system, landlord duties, apartment community, mobile home park

Summary: The committee first received a presentation from the Arizona Water Banking Authority by Dr. Rebecca Burnett. She explained the authority’s role in storing Colorado River water as long-term storage credits, its funding sources, and its obligations to provide backup supplies for CAP municipal and industrial subcontractors, the Hualapai River Indian community, and Nevada. Members asked about future firming for CAP users, recovery of credits, water quality issues, and whether municipalities banking water themselves affects the authority’s supply. Burnett said the authority has no current firming policy for CAP M&I subcontractors, is waiting on Colorado River guidelines, and does not have excess water to bank because no surplus is available. No action was taken on the presentation. The committee then heard and voted on several bills. SB 1445, as amended, allows small municipalities to test bacteriological samples on site with EPA-approved equipment; the sponsor and a rural mayor argued it would save money and improve responsiveness, while some members questioned whether the change was already possible under existing law. The bill passed 6-4. SB 1137, with a Taylor amendment, modernizes Arizona’s 811 call-before-you-dig system by adding large-project coordination meetings, an interactive positive response system, and related procedures; it passed unanimously 10-0. SB 1287, which expands an existing groundwater use allowance for irrigation grandfathered rights from initial AMAs to all AMAs, passed 9-1. The committee also considered SB 1335, as amended, which in its final form addressed a temporary continuation of irrigation tied to the Ag-to-Urban program and groundwater savings credits; DWR said the amendment was still a placeholder and needed cleanup, while supporters said it would help manage timing issues for farmers and developers. It passed 5-4. SB 1336 reauthorized the State Land Department through 2030 and added oversight, reporting, and planning requirements; the department was neutral but raised concerns about the proposed oversight committee and implementation details. After debate over the need for another board and the length of reauthorization, it passed 5-4. Finally, SB 1677 appropriates $3 million to the Department of Forestry and Fire Management for salt cedar mitigation along the lower Gila River corridor. Supporters from Audubon Southwest, the City of Buckeye, and local landowners said the invasive trees increase flood and wildfire risk, consume large amounts of water, and crowd out native habitat; some members raised concerns about herbicide use and wanted more detail on the mitigation plan. The bill passed 9-0. The chair then thanked staff and members, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Actually, he can replace you. I don't know what your day job is, but think about it.
• That gives us some sense of what kind of volume we're going to have for projects and also allows them
• You'll see more when I know more, but just wanted to give you a sense of what kind of volume we were

Transcript Highlights:

• probably aware that the alliance did send letters to this committee expressing our concerns about the volume
• right now, they are going to be determinative of whether or not we have a generation of scientists to replace
• Again, in our letter that we sent to this committee, we did express our concerns about the volumes of

Transcript Highlights:

• mean, obviously, we're trying to do a thoughtful process here about determining what things have replacement
• Older power plants are being retired, and they're not being replaced quickly enough with replacement
• What we're seeing here is that we are retiring resources faster than we're replacing them.
• So we're replacing resources, but we're not replacing them in kind.
• We will listen very attentively and have the folks on our side crank up the volume. Okay.

Summary: The committee held a work session covering PFAS regulation and impacts, no-cost allowance allocation for emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries (EITEs), and regional resource adequacy and data center load growth. Senator Victoria Hunt was welcomed as a new member. The Department of Ecology reviewed Washington’s Safer Products for Washington PFAS work, including completed restrictions on PFAS in outdoor furniture, carpets, rugs, stain/water-resistant treatments, and newer rules adopted in November restricting PFAS in most apparel, cleaning products, and automotive washes, with reporting requirements for some other products such as cookware and firefighting gear. Ecology also described Cycle 2 PFAS reviews now underway, including artificial turf and paints, and answered questions about compliance, online sales, sell-through periods, and how Washington’s approach differs from broader bans in states like Maine and Minnesota. The Department of Ecology also presented on PFAS in biosolids, describing a 2024 sampling study, limitations in testing methods, and a 2025 statutory amendment requiring additional sampling between 2027 and 2028 and a report to the legislature in 2029. The Department of Health then updated the committee on PFAS in drinking water, reporting that most Group A public water systems have completed sampling, that 317 sources and 188 systems are expected to exceed new contaminant levels, and that treatment costs for public systems are estimated at about $970 million, leaving a large funding gap; members also asked about private wells, health effects, bathing exposure, and home filters. The Board of Health’s new state action levels are being aligned with federal MCLs, and the department said it expects to continue monitoring and notification under state rules. Ecology also briefed the committee on no-cost allowance allocations to EITEs under the Climate Commitment Act, explaining the leakage-mitigation rationale, the current allocation schedule through 2034, and a forthcoming report on policy options for 2035-2050; members asked about industry barriers, competitiveness, and whether facilities might leave the state. Finally, E3 presented a regional resource adequacy study showing rising load, retirements outpacing additions, limited winter reliability value from wind, solar, and batteries, and a projected shortfall beginning in 2026 that could grow to about 9,000 MW by 2030 if planned projects are not built. The presentation emphasized winter cold-weather events, hydro variability, the importance of permitting and transmission, and longer-term options including nuclear, geothermal, hydrogen, carbon capture, and long-duration storage. EPRI then introduced its DC Flex initiative, which is studying how data centers can provide flexible load through workload shifting, cooling optimization, and on-site backup or bridging resources to reduce grid stress and protect ratepayers.

Transcript Highlights:

• Vehicles and the type of vehicles, whether it's volume, speeds, occupancies, or classifications, are
• We worked with them on a project that involved some fiber replacement.
• We have approximately $12 million in expenditures needed just to replace what is necessary. to bring
• And having to replace it every five years, we do not come back and ask for more fees.
• So this table on page 9 shows an approximate average rate required for each vehicle category to replace

Transcript Highlights:

• It replaces old references to the Commissioner of Conservation and the Office of Mineral Resources with
• it's a sixteenth or more, you're going to start getting revenue, and it's going to grow by actual volume
• And it's going to grow by actually volume.
• The only thing is, I think now she's been replaced, so we've got to hope and pray that somebody comes
• added for if you go and get your deer tested and test positive, we're going to issue you a new replacement

Keywords: 965, house, all

Summary: The committee heard a series of natural resources and environmental measures, mostly local property transfers and Wildlife and Fisheries bills. It reported favorable on Senate Bills 229 and 71, which authorize property transfers in Bossier and Lafayette parishes, and on several department bills dealing with fishing and boating rules: SB 203 on possession of catch during multi-day trips, SB 429 on registration of lapsed or “orphan” boats, SB 204 on commercial fishing gear licenses for nonresidents, SB 205 reducing duplicate registration for federally documented boats, SB 213 on titling certain vessels and outboard motors, SB 257 removing Social Security number requirements from certain tags, and HB 662, a substitute bill setting a hierarchy for handling seized sick, injured, or orphan wildlife. The committee also adopted amendments and reported favorable SB 379, a technical cleanup bill tied to the Department of Conservation and Energy reorganization, though an opposition witness warned it could reduce minimum oil and gas royalties and asked for a fiscal note. Members also advanced several measures aimed at coastal and flood-related concerns. HCR 62, by Rep. Domangue, urges FEMA to review flood maps every five years instead of every ten and to better account for local flood-protection projects; members broadly supported it and discussed the burden of flood insurance in coastal parishes. SB 214 would give the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District authority to stop pumping during immediate flood risk events identified by the National Weather Service or GOSEP, and it was reported favorable. SB 274, as amended, requires lead hazard risk assessments and remediation for certain child care and pre-kindergarten facilities, with DEQ and LDH testimony supporting the update. HCR 78 memorializes Congress to pass the American Seafood Competitiveness Act of 2026, which supporters said would help Louisiana’s seafood industry and access federal loans and grants. The committee also debated broader policy resolutions. HCR 216, by Rep. Owen, sought to repudiate the Louisiana Climate Action Plan of 2022, but after extensive discussion about its purpose, possible effects on existing projects, and whether the legislature should instead hold a hearing, the resolution was voluntarily deferred. Finally, the committee took up SCR 24 on chronic wasting disease rules, adopted amendments raising the prevalence threshold from 1.5% to 2.5% and adjusting zone and baiting provisions, and continued discussion of the bill’s reset of management rules for deer disease control.

Transcript Highlights:

• funding for undergrounding projects could provide significant long-term relief for customers by replacing
• We can't securitize the volumes of capital that are required.
• We can't securitize the volumes of capital that were required.
• Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells as a source of electricity, but it can also replace molecules like
• natural gas, Fuel cells as a source of electricity, but it can also replace molecules like natural gas

Summary: The committee heard several energy and utilities bills, with testimony largely focused on wildfire mitigation, affordability, clean energy planning, and utility accountability. AB 706, by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry, would create a fund to support projects that use forest biomass waste from wildfire mitigation and forest restoration; supporters said it would reduce open burning and emissions while providing reliable renewable power, and the bill later passed 13-0. AB 39, by Assembly Member Zbur, would require larger cities and counties to adopt electrification planning strategies for transportation and buildings; it drew broad support from clean energy, labor, environmental, and local government advocates and passed 9-0. AB 1167, by Assembly Member Berman, would restrict investor-owned utilities from charging ratepayers for lobbying, promotional advertising, and similar shareholder-benefit expenses; supporters framed it as an affordability and transparency measure, while utilities argued the bill was overly broad and already covered by existing rules. It passed 7-0, with some members not voting and the roll left open. The committee also considered AB 1417 on offshore wind community funding transparency, which was amended to remove new fees and instead require reporting on developer support for local and tribal community capacity-building; opposition was withdrawn and the bill passed 9-0. AB 367, by Assembly Member Bennett, would require water districts in high fire-risk areas of Ventura County to have backup power, full tanks during red flag warnings, and hardened facilities; water agencies opposed unless amended due to cost and liability concerns, but the bill passed 10-0. The consent calendar, including multiple additional measures, was approved 11-0. Other bills drew more divided testimony. AB 745 would allow securitization to finance utility undergrounding and prohibit a return on equity for undergrounding projects; supporters said it would lower ratepayer costs, while utilities warned it would effectively discourage undergrounding and could raise other rates. The bill passed 7-4 and was left on call. AB 1423 would apply reliability standards to publicly funded EV chargers installed before 2024; supporters said taxpayers should get functioning chargers, while charging-network representatives objected to retroactive requirements and possible conflicts with existing agreements. It passed 13-0. AB 388 would create a narrow exception to utility regulation to facilitate green hydrogen projects using private power lines; supporters said it would unlock low-cost renewable hydrogen and jobs, while utilities raised concerns about customer protections and grid planning. It passed 12-0. The committee also began hearing AB 825, which the author said would address the high cost of financing major transmission and generation buildout, but the transcript cuts off before the full presentation and action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'd like to see that CO2 replaced by captured CO2 instead of using mined.
• about is permeability—that's the ability of fluid to move from one pore to the next pore—and then the volume
• You're instead pushing water out of the way to replace it. with CO2, and in part, you're dissolving the
• So it's one of those things where the volumes are so large that it doesn't matter how small the incremental
• Otherwise, it is simply, once again, replacing the Roman numerals.

Transcript Highlights:

• budget for the Department of Highway, Safety, and Motor Vehicles provides $7.1 million for the replacement
• the budget provides $5.8 million for additional expenses for troopers, including $4.0 million to replace
• Within the Florida Gaming Control Commission, there are eight positions in $43.1 million to continue replacing
• That was part of the department's ask—to keep up with that volume of work too, because we still have.
• And as I was reviewing again last night, I'm trying to determine, is that funding replacing the funding

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• IT DOES NOT REPLACE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS NEEDS FOR HUMAN INTERACTION.
• HOPEFULLY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPLACING A BELT AND REPLACING A CHILLER.
• POINTS AND WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT KNOWING THE BELL SCHEDULE TO INTEGRATE THAT APPROACH AND BRING DOWN THAT VOLUME
• HOPEFULLY IT FREES THEM UP TO DO THAT. >> Chair: CONTRARY TO SOME POPULAR BELIEF THAT WE ARE TRYING TO REPLACE

Transcript Highlights:

• I've never been challenged with market value being not appropriate and maybe replacement value.
• something you'd entertain because when you do market value, we know they're not going to be able to replace
• You all about changing it to look at replacement value? Not me personally.
• consumption, I would say the number one thing that a utility does is having rates that increase with volume
• Coming and replacing your St.

Bills: HB24, HB2015, HB2149, HB2559, HB2701, HB2797, HB3172, HB24

Keywords: zoning, public notice, local government, residential development, protests, water conservation, municipal utility districts, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, environmental regulation, groundwater management, nonconforming uses, zoning regulations, land use, property rights, municipal authority, municipal moratorium, development moratorium, property development, subdivision, site plan

Transcript Highlights:

• Why not consider replacing those with a single statewide standard can be agreeable for all stakeholders
• state's plastic pollution crisis, especially when the sponsor of this bill has not proposed a single replacement
• Local governments and the state are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of plastic.
• Having waived close senators choose to adopt Substitute Amendment bar code 6, 9, 6, 2, 4, 6, It will replace
• Let's go find land that is actually environmentally sensitive and replaced them with the other. >> Thank

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• about you can't replace that money. about you can't replace that money.
• So it's $24 million for that and $3 million to public libraries to replace some federal money, but that
• That tragedy resulted in a very high volume of public calls into the governor's office, Aaliyah, and
• That tragedy resulted in a very very<00:57:41.920> high<00:57:42.240> volume<00:57:42.880
• of public calls into very high volume of public calls into the<00:57:44.720> governor's<00:57

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <02:58:39.399> therapy even start hormone replacement therapy even start hormone replacement
• I am currently 17 and in, uh, seeking hormone replacement therapy.
• therapy I've been in hormone replacement therapy I've been in the<03:00:08.319> process<03:00
• <03:30:13.960> therapy banning hormonal replacement therapy banning hormonal replacement therapy
• Yeah, I'm happy to get numbers for patient volumes for this committee.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• transmission asset replacement projects. transmission asset replacement projects.
• asset replacement project.
• asset replacement project.
• And when I say replacement, it is simply, you know, replacing in kind.
• condition or asset replacement projects. condition or asset replacement projects.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Bonner, to your bill as amended. the word 12 and replacing it with 13 the word 12 and
• replacing it with 13 okay<00:37:09.560> represent<00:37:10.079> Barner<00:37:10.480>
• More patient volume simply means more prescriptions filled below cost. The math just doesn't work.
• colleagues that have talked to across the state in some rural areas that maybe don't have quite the volume
• colleagues that have talked to across the state in some rural areas that maybe don't have quite the volume

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Stokes baskets, for instance, last, you know, that's not something you have to replace that often, but
• They have to be replaced. Fifteen sounds like a lot, but we teach a rescue class.
• So if somebody gets in trouble, uh, you know, they're kind of replacing like the Garmin inReaches for
• like the Garmin in kind of replacing like the Garmin in reaches<01:04:43.359> for<01:04:43.520
• <01:20:57.600> Blackhawk aircraft that replaces the Blackhawk aircraft that replaces the Blackhawk

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the August minutes, and heard a brief announcement from Senator Richardson about the Missing in America Project interring unclaimed veterans’ remains at the Western Kentucky Veterans Cemetery in Hopkinsville. He read the names of several veterans being laid to rest with military honors, and the chair thanked the volunteers involved in the effort. The main presentation was an update on Kentucky’s urban search and rescue program from the Department of Military Affairs and Kentucky Emergency Management. Officials said the program is being built around two regional task force hubs, a helicopter aquatic rescue team, an incident support team, and a rescue aid fund for local search and rescue units. They reported that the $8.3 million appropriated for the program in the 2025 budget was fully executed, that $482,670 of the rescue aid fund went to 29 local teams, and that $493,592 has already been allocated in the current year to 36 teams. They also described warehouse and equipment purchases, staffing with full-time and part-time personnel, and a new training site on state property for collapsed-structure and multi-agency exercises. Officials said the program has already been used in recent disasters, including flood response and urban search and rescue operations in several parts of the state, and claimed the effort has impacted more than 1,500 citizens through rescues, evacuations, and related assistance. They said the helicopter aquatic rescue team is fully operational, the task force roster should be finalized by January, incident support should be online by April, and the full program should be deployable by June 30 or July 1, 2026. Members asked about statewide response times, K-9 search capabilities, and the long-term cost of the program, including concerns about reliance on federal matching funds. The presenters said K-9 assets will be part of the task force, that pre-positioning during forecasted storms can reduce response times significantly, and that they would provide more detailed budget information later.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:45:21.239> the she's giving it back and replacing the she's giving it back and replacing
• It would replace general fund money.
• It would replace general fund money.
• been doing it um it would replace been doing it um it would replace general<03:17:56.080> fund
• to consider as a way of um replacing to consider as a way of um replacing general<03:19:56.000><

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2 retirement provisions, focusing on Group Two/Tier B changes in pages 25-39. Jan Goodwin of the New Hampshire Retirement System and deputy chief counsel Mark Kavanaugh explained that the 2025 bill is largely similar to prior versions, but it restores certain pre-2011 benefit rules for Tier B members, including changes to average final compensation and earnable compensation, and it also addresses the annuity multiplier for years of service. Members discussed the tier structure, with Tier A referring to vested members, Tier B to those hired before 11/1/12 who were not vested, and Tier C to later hires. Several members expressed concern that the bill’s purpose was to restore Tier B benefits, not to change Tier A rules or create broader changes affecting newer hires. The retirement system flagged two likely drafting problems. First, it said a provision appears to omit a special-duty/earnable-compensation limitation in the Group Two section, which they believed was a scrivener’s error caused by moving language out of the Group One definition without adding it back for Group Two. Second, they noted the bill’s multiplier language overlaps with changes already enacted in HB 1647, which increased the multiplier for service beyond 15 years for Group Two and carried an estimated $26 million cost. The committee discussed that HB 1647 was originally broader in the House, but the Senate narrowed it to Tier B only. The actuary’s comparison of the 2023 and 2025 HB 2 versions showed the bills are close, but the 2025 version differs in funding and timing. Staff said the 2025 bill appropriates $2.5 million more per year for 10 years, and that, together with updated actuarial assumptions and a larger share of the affected tier having already retired or otherwise left service, results in a larger reduction in unfunded liability than the 2023 bill: about $98.2 million versus $68.5 million. Employer contribution impacts were described as small overall, though the 2025 bill was said to be somewhat more favorable than the 2023 version. Members also questioned why House Bill 1 only funds $5 million in the first year, and staff said that was tied to the governor’s revenue estimate and that the full funding does not begin immediately. No votes were taken in the portion provided; the committee mainly received testimony, asked clarifying questions, and noted that some issues would be addressed in the fiscal note worksheet.