Transcript Highlights:

• And we also developed the QR code. I'll show you that toward the end.
• Right after we talked about the last time, there's a case in Texas.
• This is exactly what we saw in Texas and Arizona.
• I just wanted to know the outcome of the case in Texas and Arizona.
• That is how Texas has decided to enforce their abortion laws.

Summary: The committee heard a lengthy presentation from Miami-Dade State Attorney Catherine Fernandez-Rundle on human trafficking, describing it as a major criminal enterprise in Florida driven by online recruitment, local victims, and organized traffickers. She outlined Miami-Dade’s task force, victim-centered prosecution practices, training efforts for schools, hotels, transit workers, and other partners, and community-supported services such as the Project Phoenix shelter and Thrive Clinic. She also urged better interstate communication about known traffickers and noted that prior legislative changes, including restrictions on tattooing minors, came from trafficking cases. Senators asked about school-based exploitation, technology and social media recruitment, and information-sharing with other states; Fernandez-Rundle said training and technology remain essential and offered to share materials and tour the facility. The committee then considered CS for SB 656, which Senator Bradley said would codify FDLE’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force funding program and rename/expand the online sting operations grant program to better support investigations, training, technology, and personnel. The bill was supported as a needed response to online child exploitation and was reported favorably by unanimous roll call. The committee also passed SB 892 by Senator Martin, which streamlines sentencing procedures for habitual felony offenders and related designations by reducing paperwork delays tied to clemency and requiring clearer notice before pleas; it too was reported favorably unanimously. The most extensive debate centered on SB 164, which would expand Florida’s Wrongful Death Act to allow civil damages for the death of an unborn child. Senator Graal said the bill uses existing statutory language defining an unborn child and is intended to let parents recover damages when negligence causes a pregnancy loss. Supporters argued it recognizes unborn life and should be strengthened; opponents warned it would function as a personhood measure, create liability risks for doctors, businesses, friends, and family members, chill miscarriage and abortion-related care, and worsen Florida’s OB-GYN shortage. Several speakers raised concerns about abuse by rapists or abusive partners and about impacts on IVF and emergency care. The committee heard extensive questioning about the bill’s scope and its relationship to existing criminal statutes, but no vote on SB 164 was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 437 by Representative Melarine is an act to amend the Code of Civil Procedure and Code of
• It is referred to Agriculture.
• It is referred to Agriculture.
• It is referred to Agriculture.
• It is an act to amend Title 18 relative to the Louisiana Election Code to make provisions to the code

Transcript Highlights:

• It is Agriculture Week this week.
• It is Agriculture Week this week.
• It is Agriculture Week this week.
• utility, or storm water codes.
• storm water code.

Transcript Highlights:

• this bill actually prohibits or supersedes local ordinance or, of course, our own health and safety code
• So any installation... ...our own health and safety code, any of our building standards.
• Projects in California take over 22 months longer to finish than in Texas, for example, which greatly
• They're out there every day, making sure our agriculture economy stays strong and thrives, and we all
• of more assisted living communities as defined by Section 1569.2 of the Health and Human Services Code

Committee: House Housing and Community Development

Transcript Highlights:

• The next one is in Carthage, Texas, and the other one is over near Timpson, Texas.
• What are building codes?
• in East Texas.
• I assume you were talking about Texas in general, not East Texas.
• Looking on the diagram, it looked like in South Texas and West Texas is water eye.

Summary: The committee met on May 26, 2026, and first approved the minutes from the May 22, 2025 meeting. The main topic was the Northwest Louisiana earthquake cluster, with testimony from Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy staff, LSU and Tulane geoscientists, and later LSU law professor Keith Hall. Witnesses said the cause of the swarm has not been definitively identified, but induced seismicity from wastewater injection or hydraulic fracturing remains a concern. They described 50 earthquakes reported by the USGS in Red River, Bienville, DeSoto, and Natchitoches Parishes, including a magnitude 4.9 event on March 5, 2026, and explained that Louisiana’s sparse seismic network limits detection and depth/location estimates. C&E said it inspected Class II injection wells within 12 miles of the events, found no violations, now requires more frequent injection reporting, and is working with researchers and LSU on a possible state monitoring network and future policy changes. Committee members asked about injection depths, fault locations, whether the activity could be natural, and whether Louisiana should adopt stronger monitoring or a traffic-light regulatory system like other states. The witnesses said more data is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn, but that denser monitoring can detect smaller quakes and help identify patterns. Professor Hall summarized responses in other states, including more frequent reporting, increased monitoring, injection reductions, moratoria, and traffic-light systems in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois. Members also discussed whether operators should share more seismic and geologic data, and several said the state should avoid jumping to conclusions while still improving oversight. The committee then heard from William Berger, a Texas geoscientist, who described using AI and operator data to model wastewater injection and seismic risk, and said broader data sharing would improve forecasting and siting decisions. He and another witness emphasized that many earthquakes arise from clusters of wells rather than a single well, and that proprietary concerns limit voluntary disclosure. The committee also received a brief update from GOSEP and the Louisiana National Guard on the Barksdale Air Force Base drone incursions. GOSEP said it logged the incident in WebEOC and shared releasable information, while State Police and the FBI said they were limited in what they could disclose. Officers said a task force has been formed, some personnel have received federal drone-mitigation training, and House Bill 940 is intended to mirror the task force MOU. Finally, Major General Thomas Friloux and Brigadier General Jason Maffus updated the committee on the merger of GOSEP into the Louisiana Military Department. They said the merger has reduced GOSEP from seven divisions to three, brought back employees to in-person work, modernized the state’s common operating picture, and produced about $10.5 million in first-year cost avoidance through staffing and contract changes. They also noted the planned transfer of the Louisiana Center for Safe Schools to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, ongoing hurricane preparedness, and continued coordination with parish emergency managers. No votes were taken on the substantive topics, and the meeting ended with the committee moving through its agenda items and receiving informational testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's still the Texas Water... All of these decisions are within the Texas...
• Yes, from the perspective of the engineers of Texas.
• In February, ASCE Texas released the 2020 report.
• Rural groundwater needs to stay in rural Texas.
• to implementation. at the Texas State Water Plan.

Bills: HB3077 , HJR2 , HJR7 , HJR7

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Rise for the invocation, which will be offered by Ron Joy of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
• Lead us in the pledges of allegiance to the United States and Texas flags.
• Now our Texas flag. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas.
• A quorum is present and it's time to resume the work of the people of Texas Senate.
• I, Greg Abbott, Governor of the State of Texas, by the authority vested in me by Article 3, Sections

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> agriculture or their respective design. agriculture or their respective design.
• </c> gentle from Texas is recognized. gentle from Texas is recognized.
• </c> gentle from Texas is recognized. gentle from Texas is recognized.
• </c> saying I was from Texas. Um, Mr. saying I was from Texas. Um, Mr.
• </c> gentle from Texas is recognized. gentle from Texas is recognized.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Texas Press Association? Yes, sir.
• The great state of Texas safe.
• Texas Public Policy Foundation.
• I represent the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
• In Texas, you have that data mapped out for you.

Bills: HB17 , HB23 , SB 10

Committee: House Ways & Means

Transcript Highlights:

• President, your Committee on Finance, having had under consideration SB 1291 relating to agricultural
• So in this case, this is about agricultural properties.
• If one property owner, farm, ranch, whatever the agricultural business is, makes an improvement, and
• Builders must comply with state building and electrical codes in this bill.
• And all of those things are also under the purview in the Texas family courts.

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, I'll talk a little bit about building code reform, which in Idaho is primarily a matter
• And I'll close with some thoughts on building codes.
• Over the last decade, building codes have gotten much more expensive.
• Right now, going from just a duplex to a triplex would mean a jump up to the commercial building code
• So Texas and Florida both serve as model policies for this. Florida is the pure shot clock.

Committee: House Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• In an ideal world, all employers would create safe environments for their employees, with clear codes
• There are about 14,000 farm workers engaged in agricultural labor across the Commonwealth, working to
• There are about 14,000 farm workers engaged in agricultural labor across the Commonwealth, working to
• For agricultural workers, however, the grand bargain proved to be somewhat of a raw deal.
• At a time when the agricultural workforce... ...the agricultural workforce remains extremely vulnerable

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development

Summary: The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hybrid public hearing with testimony on a wide range of labor, workforce, unemployment insurance, apprenticeship, disability services, farm labor, hospital staffing, and workplace harassment bills. Chairs Jake Oliveira and Paul McMurtry outlined hearing procedures, limited testimony to two minutes, and noted written testimony would be accepted after the hearing. Committee members and staff were introduced throughout the session as witnesses arrived in person or remotely. A major portion of the hearing focused on unemployment insurance legislation. Greater Boston Legal Services, the AFL-CIO, and Rep. Joan Meschino supported bills to adjust UI eligibility for workers with fluctuating schedules and to streamline waivers and write-offs for non-fault overpayments, arguing the current system unfairly denies benefits or burdens workers who were not at fault. They also backed bills calling for more oversight and resources for the Division of Unemployment Assistance, citing persistent delays in benefit payments. NFIB opposed the UI changes, warning that the trust fund is headed toward insolvency and arguing the bills would worsen the system’s finances. Rep. Meschino and committee members emphasized that the proposals were meant to protect good-faith claimants and did not apply to fraud. Another large set of bills addressed wages, workforce development, and working conditions. Testimony supported raising and modernizing direct care wages to address severe staffing shortages in human services and disability services, with advocates from the Massachusetts Developmental Disability Council, The Arc of Massachusetts, parents of adults with disabilities, and a direct care worker describing how low pay and turnover harm people needing support. The committee also heard support for apprenticeship-related bills from the AFL-CIO and the Carpenters, while Associated Builders and Contractors opposed mandatory apprenticeship ratios and urged changes to align them with licensing laws. Farm worker advocates supported a bill to raise farm labor standards, including minimum wage, paid breaks, and paid time off, while the Farm Bureau opposed parts of it beyond the minimum wage increase. The hearing also featured testimony on workplace harassment training, overtime protections, hospital mandatory overtime, suicide prevention signage on construction sites, and a proposal to update the Massachusetts Medical Society’s mission language from “citizens” to “people.” Labor groups, educators, and compliance trainers strongly supported mandatory annual sexual harassment training, saying it would improve workplace culture and reduce harm. SEIU 1199 supported extending the hospital nurse mandatory overtime ban to the broader hospital workforce. Witnesses on the suicide prevention bill described personal losses in construction and recovery work and urged posting 988 information on job sites. The committee took no votes during the hearing; witnesses repeatedly asked for favorable reports, and members asked follow-up questions on UI calculations, apprenticeship ratios, small-business impacts, and emergency exceptions for hospital staffing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Farm workers are essential to the county's productive agricultural industry, which we all know is very
• Specifically, the bill contains this exemption for the experimental program from the Water Code, which
• So rather than those companies investing somewhere where they might get a larger return, say in Texas
• In both cases, orchards and vineyards that is generated in California's agriculture.
• Thank you. ...budget process and associated fee rules, which the Health and Safety Code already caps

Committee: House Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• State University's Ferguson College of Agriculture, representing all majors in the college.
• Whereas Bob Wills, born in 1905, began' playing fiddle in his youth before moving with his band, the Texas
• We have up in the gallery with us today, Bandmaster Jason Roberts of the Texas Playboys and the lovely
• Does that match the criminal code?
• I don't believe I'm uncertain if it does mesh with the criminal code or not.

Bills: SB1238 , SB1277 , SB1304 , SB1378 , SB1423 , SB1484 , SB1501 , SR32 , SB1502 , SB1721 , SB1735 , SB1832 , SB1847 , SB1859 , SB1876 , SB2170 , SB2182

Transcript Highlights:

• I was born in Abilene, Texas. On my birth certificate, it says Mary Angela Brown.
• Crop agriculture is in a crisis not seen since the 1980s.
• If I want to get a birth certificate, I have to request it from Hall County, Texas.
• I was born in Abilene, Texas. On my birth certificate, it says Mary Angela Brown.
• Crop agriculture is in a crisis not seen since the 1980s.

Bills: SB65 , SB248 , SB330 , SB378 , SB844 , SB1330 , SB1410 , SB1475 , SB1476 , SB1565 , SB1618 , SB1623 , SJR39 , SJR47 , SB2084 , SB1655 , SB1679 , SB2174 , SB1775 , SB1873 , SB1204 , SB1884 , SB1916 , SB1937 , SB1447 , SB1500 , SB2007 , SB2074 , SB1944 , SB2018 , SB1984 , SB2026 , SB2045 , SB2049 , SB2062 , SB2112 , SB2118 , SB2127 , SB2134 , SB2135 , SB2139 , SB2154 , SB1195

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas, the state of Texas, has a similar program, and it looks like they are paying even more money right
• now than the state of Texas program.
• We have one late filed them in a bar code 866752 you.
• The recent opinion by The Legislature to revise the Trust Code if the Legislature in fact intended for
• Without objection, we move to Amendment Bar Code 568678 by Senator Yarborough.

Transcript Highlights:

• Code Section 1326 is if you remain in the country illegally, you have committed a crime.
• Domestic farm workers are the backbone of California's agricultural industry.
• Getting the code right matters. Getting these definitions matters.
• It was contaminated with chemicals that were used in the agricultural context.
• Yesterday this chamber took up ...negative impacts to agriculture.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a tenured professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M.
• operations, even though they're lawful agricultural operations.
• Thank you. ...to Mexico and to South Texas during the colonial days.
• And, in fact, we had a good amount of scrapie in Texas.
• In Texas, 75 percent of the wild deer carry at least one S. So the...

Bills: HB3270 , HB3145 , HB3056

Committee: Senate Agriculture and Wildlife

Summary: The committee heard a lengthy presentation from Texas A&M professor Chris Seaberry on chronic wasting disease (CWD) genetics in deer and elk. He argued that susceptibility to CWD is polygenic, that genomic prediction can identify more resistant animals with high accuracy, and that selecting for resistant breeding values plus the PRNP codon 96 S allele could reduce disease prevalence. He said his work has been used in USDA/APHIS programs, that some facilities have been cleaned up using these methods, and that concerns about inbreeding, increased shedding, or harm to hunting quality are overstated. Committee members questioned the science, the risk of releasing potentially infected animals, the financial incentives for breeders, and whether wildlife agencies were resisting the program for philosophical or institutional reasons. The witness and senators also discussed the Department of Wildlife’s role, the Attorney General’s opinion, and whether the state should act more quickly or wait for more data. The committee then took up House Bill 3270, which would shift rulemaking authority for the deer-release/CWD program from the Department of Wildlife to the Department of Agriculture after members said Wildlife had failed to promulgate rules for two years. The Department of Wildlife testified that it believed it had complied by collecting native deer samples and that it had been operating under a different understanding until the Attorney General’s March 5 opinion clarified the original law. After debate over agency inaction, the adequacy of the science, and the impact on deer breeders and hunters, the committee voted 3-9 against the bill, and HB 3270 failed. The committee also confirmed Jessica Wilcox to an executive nomination by a 12-0 vote. It then advanced House Bill 3145, which clarifies tagging rules for commercial hunts by making $10 tags apply only to male native wildlife and $0 tags apply to female, feral swine, and exotic wildlife; the bill passed 12-0. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 3056, which would allow unpasteurized cow, goat, and sheep milk to be sold at feed stores and farmers markets with labeling; members questioned gallon limits and whether the bill included adequate warning language, but no final action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is work done in tandem with the Department of Agriculture.
• Rider 8, agricultural and livestock entry point inspection stations.
• veterinarian for the state of Texas.
• We strive to protect the $22 billion animal industry, agriculture industry in Texas.
• We can do better in Texas. Thank you.

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI, VII, & VIII

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present to hear Article VI Natural Resources agency budget recommendations, beginning with the Railroad Commission. LBB staff summarized the commission’s 2026-27 base recommendation at $458.7 million, down from the prior biennium, with an increased FTE cap. The presentation highlighted reduced federal IIJA funding, volatility in oil and gas regulation account 5155, continued support for IT modernization, and rider changes. The commission’s major exceptional items were then presented, including requests for produced water and injection data reporting, an authorized pit registration system, regulatory filing/permitting upgrades, an underground injection well investigation team, site remediation support, and especially $100 million for orphan well plugging. Members asked about biennium-to-biennium comparisons, salary biennialization, the scale of orphan well risks, federal funding delays, bonding, and whether the state should rely more on industry or general revenue for plugging costs. Commission leadership explained that orphan wells can threaten water and public safety, that plugging costs have risen sharply, and that current funding is insufficient to keep up with emergency wells and the backlog; they also said the agency is moving to cloud-based systems with cybersecurity protections and that the proposed performance measure may need adjustment if funding does not increase. The Railroad Commission testimony was followed by LBB and agency testimony for the Texas Animal Health Commission. LBB described a $42 million recommendation for 2026-27, an increase overall, but with a reduced FTE cap due to turnover and salary reallocation. The recommendation maintained funding for cattle fever tick work, chronic wasting disease, lab testing through an MOU with Texas A&M’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and a new $5 million spay-and-neuter pilot program, while deleting a capital budget rider and adjusting riders tied to entry point inspection stations and clinical trials. Agency leadership then outlined the commission’s mission to protect livestock health and the state’s $22 billion animal industry, and described major disease threats including highly pathogenic avian influenza, cattle fever ticks, New World screwworm, and chronic wasting disease. Their exceptional items focused on recruiting and retaining veterinarians, replacing fleet vehicles, creating an ectoparasite identification lab, adding field staff and IT support, improving records and epidemiology reporting, strengthening central administration, supporting secure food supply planning, expanding chronic wasting disease work, and staffing the new spay-and-neuter program. Members asked about field identification of ticks, the use of disinfectants and PPE, fleet management, the scale of cattle fever tick risk, and chronic wasting disease; the agency explained its current inspection and lab-confirmation process, its reliance on field disinfecting and biosecurity, and the need for more staff and better data systems to keep pace with growing workloads and disease threats.

Transcript Highlights:

• Further, the Committee on State Affairs, HB 552 by Gonzalo Zopasso, relating to the study by Texas A&
• Permitting of Texas authorizing a fee, referred to the Committee of State Affairs, HB 554, by Leo Wilson
• Relating to the improvements to the Texas Information and Referral Rant Work, refer to the Subcommittee
• , tax revenue, and oil natural gas Texas strong defense fund, dedicating the money to fund the benefit
• Tuesday in memory of James S Edward Cook of Eustis, Texas. Is there objection?