Bills: HB117, HB228, HB250, HB260, HB393, HB400, HB446, HB534, HB551, HB576, HB842

Keywords: Department of State, statutory entities, re-creation, termination, Louisiana laws, Department of State Civil Service, Louisiana legislation, government re-creation, authority termination, financial disclosure, public servants, ethics, immediate family, transparency, legislators, transportation, foreign travel, cultural exchange, public service, HB393

Transcript Highlights:

• Candidates and voters. 670 effort on hand-counted paper ballots.
• We have the voting system ballots.
• I said, well, we got a notice here that you request a mail-in ballot.
• You can go home and find that ballot and bring it. here or we can give you a provisional ballot and they
• It was mentioned, the issue about bail-in ballots.

Bills: SB108, SB318, SB507, SB511, SB533, SB1026, SB1386, SB1433, SB1434, SB1596

Keywords: elections, Election Code, poll workers, election clerks, presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, polling place, central counting station, county chair, political party, gubernatorial election, vote counting, election administration, Texas elections, precinct officials, ballot counting, county election officials, election integrity, election fraud, Attorney General

Bills: SB108, SB318, SB507, SB511, SB533, SB1026, SB1386, SB1433, SB1434, SB1596

Keywords: elections, Election Code, poll workers, election clerks, presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, polling place, central counting station, county chair, political party, gubernatorial election, vote counting, election administration, Texas elections, precinct officials, ballot counting, county election officials, election integrity, election fraud, Attorney General

Bills: SB108, SB318, SB507, SB511, SB533, SB1026, SB1386, SB1433, SB1434, SB1596

Keywords: elections, Election Code, poll workers, election clerks, presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, polling place, central counting station, county chair, political party, gubernatorial election, vote counting, election administration, Texas elections, precinct officials, ballot counting, county election officials, election integrity, election fraud, Attorney General

Summary: The committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 1596, which would remove short-barreled rifles from the list of prohibited weapons in the Texas Penal Code. The author, Sen. Hagenbuch, said the bill would align state law with federal realities and argued that the current prohibition is arbitrary and unnecessary. Supporters, including representatives from Gun Owners of America and Texas Gun Rights, said the bill would reduce confusion, protect lawful gun owners, and preserve the ability to use shorter firearms for self-defense, hunting, and for smaller shooters. One supporter also described a recent case in which an AR pistol was mistaken for a short-barreled rifle and led to a state charge that was later dismissed. Public testimony was split. Supporters said stabilizing braces and shorter firearms can improve accuracy, safety, and accessibility for women, children, and smaller-statured shooters. Opponents, including Texas Gun Sense and two Santa Fe shooting survivors, argued that short-barreled firearms are more concealable and dangerous, and pointed to the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting as evidence of the risks of easier access. They urged the committee to keep the existing restrictions in place to protect public safety. After public testimony closed, the committee took up pending business. Senate Bill 1505, relating to the Compassionate Use Program, was reported favorably to the full Senate on an 8-0 vote. Senate Bill 17, relating to the acquisition of real property by certain aliens or foreign entities, was first amended by adopting a committee substitute and then reported favorably to the full Senate by a 7-1 vote. The committee then recessed until after the Senate’s adjournment or final recess.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we start processing and tabulating—well, we don't tabulate ballots until the 7 p.m. on Election Day
• Um, we start processing those ballots where we open them up, we count them. We don't tabulate.
• start processing and tabul well we don't<00:13:25.760> tabulate<00:13:26.240> ballots<
• don't tabulate ballots until the 7 p.m. don't tabulate ballots until the 7 p.m. on<00:13:28.160>
• They got to get their ballot. ballot. ballot.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The DS200 is a polling-place ballot scanner and vote tabulator where voters cast their paper ballots
• > vote<00:51:24.960> tabulator<00:51:25.839> where ballot scanner and vote tabulator
• as it takes to tabulate ballots as well as it takes to tabulate ballots as well as maintaining<00
• 33:56.639> scanner scan ballots through every scanner scan ballots through every scanner tabulator
• to<01:33:59.360> get tabulator with pre-marked ballots to get tabulator with pre-marked

Keywords: Discussion of BR 25 (2026 RS) 04:15 Presentation on voting systems by ES&S 48:14 Presentation on voting systems by Hart InterCivic and Harp Enterprises 01:13:07, 958, all

Summary: The committee met to approve the October 21 minutes and then took up BR 25 for the 2026 regular session, a proposal relating to prohibited uses of tax dollars and public resources. The sponsors said the bill is intended to strengthen existing law by adding civil and criminal penalties for taxpayer-funded advocacy on ballot questions, especially in light of controversies during the 2024 election over school officials and districts using public resources to oppose a constitutional amendment. They also described related concerns about school districts hiring third-party lobbyists and public relations firms, particularly in Fayette County, and said the proposal was meant to keep tax dollars focused on public services rather than political persuasion. Committee members raised several concerns about scope and drafting. Some asked whether the bill should specifically mention schools, school boards, and school employees, and the sponsors said they would add that language. Others questioned whether the measure would also affect local government lobbying through groups like KLC and KCO, and the sponsors said they intended to focus narrowly on schools while exempting certain advocacy organizations and internal government lobbyists. Members also asked whether public employees could still speak as private individuals, and the sponsors said yes. Several members suggested splitting the lobbying and ballot-advocacy issues into separate bills, and the sponsors said they would consider that. Members also pressed for clarification on how the bill would apply in practice, including whether it would cover legal challenges to petition drives or only advocacy after a question is on the ballot. Counsel for the sponsors said the bill would not cover some petition-related litigation as drafted, though they believed it should. The sponsors and supporters argued the proposal was needed to give the existing prohibition real enforcement, while some members warned that the language could unintentionally limit legitimate public representation or be too broad if not carefully drafted. No final vote was taken during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• . ballot. ballot.
• The DS200 is a polling place ballot scanner and vote tabulator where voters cast their paper ballots
• card. ballot scanner and vote tabulator where ballot scanner and vote tabulator where voters<00:51:30.720
• ballot card. ballot card.
• as it takes to tabulate ballots as well as it takes to tabulate ballots as well as maintaining<00

Keywords: Discussion of BR 25 (2026 RS) 04:15 Presentation on voting systems by ES&S 48:14 Presentation on voting systems by Hart InterCivic and Harp Enterprises 01:13:07, 958, all

Summary: The committee met, approved the October 21 minutes, and then took up BR 25 for the 2026 regular session, a proposal to prohibit the use of tax dollars and public resources to advocate for or against ballot questions, including constitutional amendments. Senator Rawlings and the other presenters argued the current law already bars such advocacy but lacks meaningful enforcement, citing the 2024 school choice amendment campaign and other examples where public officials and school systems allegedly used taxpayer-funded resources to influence voters. They said the bill would add civil and criminal penalties, while preserving First Amendment rights for public employees acting in their personal capacities. Much of the discussion focused on whether the bill should be limited to school districts or broadened to cover other public entities, and on how to define terms such as “advocating in impartial terms.” Members raised concerns about possible effects on county and city lobbying through groups like KLC and KCO, on legitimate factual explanations by public officials, and on whether the bill could unintentionally restrict needed representation for local governments. The sponsors said the measure was intended to be narrow, would be vetted further, and would not bar individuals from speaking on their own behalf. Several members suggested revisions. Representative Lockett asked that schools and school employees be specifically named, and suggested separating the lobbying restrictions from the ballot-measure provisions into different bills. Representative Layman questioned the meaning of the bill’s language and whether it would cover factual testimony by officials. Representative Heen asked about a Jefferson County example involving legal fees used to challenge petition signatures; counsel said that situation would likely be allowable under the bill as drafted, though some members thought it should be covered. No final vote was taken on BR 25 during this discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• comes to the third round of tabulation, that voter's ballot is no longer under consideration and has
• round of tabulation that the third round of tabulation that voter's<01:02:05.599> ballot<01:02
• <01:02:35.000> of<01:02:35.200> the ballots it's not a tabulation of the ballots it's
• not a tabulation of the total<01:02:35.920> ballots<01:02:36.520> cast<01:02:37.520>
• cast it's a tabulation of total ballots cast it's a tabulation of an<01:02:39.119> everchanging

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill would expand the audit to include all ballots, including provisional ballots, early voting,
• Hand counts of specific contests in specific batches of ballots.
• , imprinting those ballots in the margins with identification numbers. ...ballots, imprinting those ballots
• So instead of hand counting thousands of ballots, you might be examining 50 or 100 ballots.
• But when you start going down ballot, if you're checking the validity of down-ballot, how does that look

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Committee on Election Laws held a hearing on election security bills, focusing first on S. 517 and H. 876, which would strengthen Massachusetts’ post-election audit process. Testimony from the Brennan Center, Common Cause Massachusetts, Verified Voting, and the League of Women Voters supported expanding audits to include all ballot types, increasing audit frequency from every four years to every two years, requiring statewide audit reports to be posted within 30 days and kept online for six years, and allowing municipalities to conduct audits under state standards. Witnesses also praised the bill’s creation of a work group to study risk-limiting audits and other improvements, emphasizing public confidence, transparency, and the ability of audits to detect errors or deter fraud. Committee members asked detailed questions about how Massachusetts compares with other states, how risk-limiting audits differ from current tabulation audits, how audits are selected and expanded if discrepancies appear, and what the costs and mechanics of different audit methods would be. Witnesses explained that current audits are typically random, hand-count-based checks of selected contests and batches of ballots, that risk-limiting audits use statistical sampling and can escalate to a full recount if needed, and that Massachusetts’ local-control structure makes a collaborative work group useful. They also noted that audits generally confirm results but can uncover errors that do not change outcomes, and occasionally more serious problems. The committee then heard testimony on H. 832, which would authorize the Secretary of the Commonwealth to take emergency actions affecting elections during declared emergencies. Supporters said the bill would create a clear statutory process for rescheduling or adjusting elections during severe weather or other crises, including allowing emergency absentee ballot accommodations for civilian responders, and would reduce the need for court intervention. No votes were taken on the bills during the hearing, and the meeting ended with adjournment after no additional testimony was offered.

Bills: HB97, HB455, HB97, HB455

Keywords: absentee ballot, voting, elections, voter registration, electoral process, defective affidavit, voting rights, HB455, Clarke County, coroner, coroner's office, county commission, local act, local legislation, mileage reimbursement, county vehicle, office expenses, operating expenses, retroactive ratification, remedial and curative

Transcript Highlights:

• No provisional ballot is required.
• It sure takes ballot harvesting to a new level.
• My question is regarding the mail ballots.
• Getting those mail ballots counted, all of the mail ballots that come in before Election Day, having
• But those statutes have no details on handling paper ballots.

Bills: AB534, AB562, AB595, AB597, AB600, SB74, SB226, SB422, SB488

Keywords: election reform, voter accessibility, conditional ballots, voter registration, mechanical voting systems, election audits, voter access grants, provisional ballot, voting technology, AB562, Nevada, Secretary of State, elections, elections management system, HAVA, Help America Vote Act, automatic voter registration, AVR, election technology, state appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a measure to ensure that the DS200 tabulators that process the paper ballots are working properly
• and tabulators.
• I was a poll watcher, and I took my absentee ballot and went and made... ...absentee ballot and went
• ...which means the DS200 cannot decipher between a copied ballot or a ballot that had already been put
• Just a copy, um, or a ballot once and just a copy or a ballot once and twice through.

Bills: SB245, SB246, HB30, HB30

Keywords: SB245, public assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, food assistance, Alabama Medicaid Agency, Department of Human Resources, eligibility verification, self-attestation, data matching, fraud prevention, improper payments, program integrity, benefit eligibility, income verification, residency verification, asset verification, electronic benefit transfer, EBT, cross-checks

Transcript Highlights:

• ballot ballot list<01:01:02.480> um<01:01:03.760> there<01:01:04.760> was<01:01
• Then when that ballot was returned, it was realized right away, hey, something's going on here.
• Then when that ballot was returned, it was realized right away, hey, something's going on here.
• Then when that ballot was returned, it was realized right away, hey, something's going on here.
• to voters instead of mailing an absentee application, then a ballot each election.

Bills: HF484, HF483, HF1447, HF1496, HF554

Keywords: natural gas, gas hookups, residential construction, energy policy, local control, state preemption, municipal regulation, county ordinance, electrification, climate policy, housing development, building codes, energy source, utility infrastructure, Minnesota Statutes chapter 326B, propane, utility service, building permits, local government, energy choice

Transcript Highlights:

• Tabulators, ballot-on-demand printers, and poll books are targets nowadays for interference, sabotage
• through a tabulator into the ballot box.
• They actually... ...the voter place those ballots through a tabulator into the ballot box.
• Well, once ballots go into the tabulator and ballot box, there's no way to identify them.
• We would not tabulate those and put them in a bag that says provisional ballots.

Summary: The Committee on Ethics and Elections met with a quorum present and took up Senate Bill 62 by Senator Errington, which would create an enforceable requirement that partisan candidates meet the 365-day party affiliation or no-party registration requirement before qualifying. The committee adopted an amendment changing the effective date to upon becoming law, heard no opposition, and then approved the bill. The committee also approved a slate of 15 gubernatorial nominees en bloc and recommended them to the floor. The Florida Supervisors of Elections presented their 2026 legislative priorities. Their requests included automatically updating voter records when DHSMV changes driver license numbers, treating verified petition signing by inactive voters as voter activity that restores active status, adding election equipment and ballots to the state’s critical infrastructure protections, clarifying public-records treatment of election worker names and addresses, allowing more flexibility for early voting sites when a supervisor’s office is not suitable, eliminating the need for provisional-ballot envelopes when polling hours are extended by emergency order, and allowing vote-by-mail voters to remain on the list for the next general election unless they opt out. Senators asked questions about inactive voter status, security implications, early voting site requirements, and vote-by-mail renewal, and several members expressed support or interest in the supervisors’ proposals. During public testimony, several speakers urged stronger election-integrity measures, including proof of citizenship, tighter chain-of-custody controls, more hand-counting or manual audits, quarterly list maintenance, and reduced reliance on vote-by-mail and voting machines. They also criticized current audit systems and cited outside reports and research they said showed vulnerabilities in Florida’s election process. No additional committee action was taken after public testimony, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• signature on the ballot.
• The ballot. Exactly. It's just the application.
• With Harris County ballot security and yourself?
• First, the voters mark the ballots. Second, scanners at polling locations count these ballots.
• Including the tabulators and how they scan ballots and record votes, I believe a meaningful manual count

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just those ballots that 5% of ballots that went through tabulating equipment that is selected by
• ballots those ballots that that 5% of ballots that<01:15:51.840> went<01:15:52.000> through
• So, we will take the equipment that's tabulating ballots on election day and really we're auditing the
• So, we will take the equipment that's<01:19:00.800> tabulating<01:19:01.440> ballots<01
• :19:01.840> on<01:19:02.000> election that's tabulating ballots on election that's tabulating

Bills: SF0102, SF0113

Keywords: energy transmission, load growth, Wyoming energy authority, transmission planning study, public utilities, regional cooperation, hand count audit, ballots, election integrity, transparency, voting system, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The amendment requires that voters be provided with the option to tabulate their ballot at voting locations
• no matter how a voter votes in person so that their ballots will be tabulated... ...at the polls instead
• ballots on site.
• to have ballots tabulated at every voting location?
• Support timely and accurate election results, including allowing voters to tabulate their ballot at their

Bills: HB2109, HB2168, HB2198, HB2226, HB2415, HB2440, HB2665, HB2805, HB2811, HB2825, HB2857, HB2874, HB2966, HB4067, HB4117, HCR2001, HCR2016, HCR2051

Keywords: distracted driving, portable wireless communication devices, motorcycles, traffic safety, civil penalties, public nuisance, nuisance abatement, abatement action, injunction, superior court, attorney general, county attorney, city attorney, board of supervisors, obscenity, obscene materials, adult materials, pornography, schools, parks

Summary: The committee approved the minutes and announced several bills would be held at the sponsors’ request, including HB 4117, HCR 2016, HCR 2051, and HB 2415. It then took up HB 2811, which would expand obstructing governmental operations to include knowingly interfering with a lawful arrest and make that conduct a felony. Supporters, including a county attorney representative, argued the bill closes a loophole and protects officers from third-party interference during arrests, while opponents from criminal justice and civil liberties groups said existing laws already cover the conduct and warned the bill could chill First Amendment activity such as filming police or protesting. The committee debated whether the bill duplicated resisting arrest and hindering prosecution statutes, then passed HB 2811 on a 3-2 vote with one member not voting. The committee next heard HB 2665, which would create a manslaughter offense for an adult who intentionally gives advice or encouragement through a directed communication to a minor to die by suicide, including via social media or text. Representative Carter and family members of suicide victims described the bill as a response to online encouragement and a way to hold people accountable when minors are clearly urged toward suicide. The committee then passed HB 2665 unanimously, 6-0 with one not voting. It also approved HB 2857, allowing the Department of Corrections to store inmate medical records electronically and dispose of paper copies, by a 5-1 vote. The committee then passed HB 2226, which requires courts to ask about veteran status at initial appearance, notify prosecutors, and connect veterans to services and possible treatment court referrals; an amendment shifted the service-notice duty from prosecutors to the court. Supporters said the bill helps identify veterans with PTSD or other needs and can reduce recidivism, and it passed 6-0. HB 2168, which would require county board approval before the Attorney General could bring a public nuisance action in superior court, drew sharp disagreement over the AG’s use of nuisance litigation against businesses such as dairies, industrial plants, and rail projects; supporters framed it as local control and opposition to overreach, while opponents said it would weaken accountability and protect corporate interests. The committee passed HB 2168 on a 3-2 vote with two not voting. Finally, the committee heard HB 2966, which would bar early termination of lifetime probation for dangerous crimes against children and apply that restriction retroactively. Supporters argued it would keep serious child offenders on supervision and protect victims, while opponents, including survivors and defense advocates, said DCAC is a sentencing enhancement rather than a standalone offense, that the bill removes judicial discretion, may raise ex post facto concerns, and could sweep in lower-level online conduct. The bill passed 4-2 with one not voting. The committee then began hearing HCR 2001, a voter referral to end early voting the Friday before Election Day, require government-issued ID for voting, and restrict mail ballot procedures; the sponsor said it would improve election integrity and speed results, while opponents argued it would burden voters and reduce access. The transcript cuts off during testimony and debate on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we provide the voting devices on which voters cast their ballots, as well as the tabulation. systems
• So it means that the election system, the voting devices you cast your ballot, as well as the tabulation
• We manufacture voter verifiable. paper-based vote tabulation systems, electronic poll books, ballot on
• When a voter checks in, they're handed a ballot or a ballot card.
• see that... ...that that ballot has been passed through a tabulator.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 3323 requires the tabulation supervisor to ensure that ballots are counted continuously until
• It took over a week for them to manually sort a bunch of ballots and And properly count those ballots
• That way you keep all the ballots secure and the pauses when the ballots come in, that's continually
• by ballots by mail.
• Chair calls Ed Johnson with the Harris County ballot with Harris County ballot security and himself.

Bills: HB304

Keywords: franchise tax credit, food desert, grocery store, healthy corner store, nutrition assistance, economic development, public health

Transcript Highlights:

• the processing of ballots through the tabulation<00:18:05.039> system<00:18:05.600> for
• a recount of a ballot proposition. a recount of a ballot proposition.
• a ballot audit.
• recounts, and perform a ballot audit. recounts, and perform a ballot audit.
• , not these simple test ballots.

Bills: SF0028, SF0030, SF0031, SF0032

Keywords: voting, elections, electronic voting systems, transparency, public testing, voter registration, qualified elector, residency requirements, voting rights, mortgage modification, priority, electronic signatures, real property, financial covenants, 911 services, emergency response, grant funding, next generation technology, government accountability, public safety