Transcript Highlights:

• I call this meeting of the Committee on Public Safety, Finance, and Policy to order.
• It's a time and safety issue for police officers.
• Usually, I'm not in public safety a lot.
• Public safety does not start, nor does it end, with incarceration.
• the loss of a public safety officer killed in the line of duty.

Bills: HF1354, HF1901, HF2124, HF2130, HF2260, HF2099, HF104, HF134, HF1769

Keywords: public safety, school safety, active shooter, active shooter drill, violence prevention, threat reporting, anonymous tip line, See It, Say It, Send It, Minnesota Fusion Center, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA, officer-involved death, missing person, endangered missing person, criminal background check, national background check, FBI fingerprint check, adult entertainment license, massage license, correctional facilities

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> especially from a public safety especially from a public safety perspective<00:04:02.000><c> because
• </c><00:10:12.760><c> thank</c> for prevention and Public Safety thank for prevention and Public Safety
• </c> want to make sure that the public safety want to make sure that the public safety for<00:42:52.200
• </c><01:01:43.000><c> care</c> medical assistance and the child care medical assistance and the child
• </c> of the commissioner of Public Safety of the commissioner of Public Safety that<01:09:58.280><c>

Bills: HF1354, HF1901, HF2124, HF2130, HF2260, HF2099, HF104, HF134, HF1769

Keywords: public safety, school safety, active shooter, active shooter drill, violence prevention, threat reporting, anonymous tip line, See It, Say It, Send It, Minnesota Fusion Center, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA, officer-involved death, missing person, endangered missing person, criminal background check, national background check, FBI fingerprint check, adult entertainment license, massage license, correctional facilities

Bills: SB746, SB1404, SB1536, SB1559, SB1838

Keywords: guardianship, guardian ad litem, incapacitated person, proposed ward, ward, probate, Estates Code, Texas probate, elder abuse, adult protective services, capacity restoration, guardian removal, annual account, annual report, estate guardian, person guardian, civil immunity, court-appointed representative, judiciary, civil jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:

• I am Kate Murphy, director of child protection policy at Texans Care for Children.
• The parents working to get their services so they can get their child home.
• So to say that that statement is made at the beginning once a child is placed.
• Can they keep the child safe with or without support?
• We need better data to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.

Bills: SB 2041, SB 1777, SB 1681, SB 2311

Keywords: child welfare, foster care, Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS, Family Code, conservatorship, placement selection, contract residential care, kinship care, relative placement, designated caregiver, best interest of the child, least restrictive setting, placement stability, child protective services, residential treatment, group home, family reunification, Texas foster system, residential care

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you willing to keep the child that long? That's my understanding.
• When we remove a child or even when a child has been in foster care, our priority...
• Can they keep the child safe? Safe, with or without support.
• We need better data to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.
• Neglect, abuse, or exploitation increasing risk to health and safety.

Bills: SB2041, SB1777, SB1681, SB2311

Keywords: child welfare, foster care, Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS, Family Code, conservatorship, placement selection, contract residential care, kinship care, relative placement, designated caregiver, best interest of the child, least restrictive setting, placement stability, child protective services, residential treatment, group home, family reunification, Texas foster system, residential care

Transcript Highlights:

• 2200 is the bill that requires JLARC to conduct a review and report to the legislature regarding safety
• that those conditions are necessary to maintain that safety when the child is released or maintained
• to maintain the safety of the child, and identified by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families
• as consistent with and in compliance with the state and federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
• welfare cases, 72 hours after removal, or within 72 hours after removal of a child.

Bills: HB2200, HB2468, HB2660

Keywords: developmental disabilities, residential settings, data access, safety, stability, terminology correction, social services, healthcare, regulatory compliance, department reorganization, child welfare, court authority, shelter care, family law, court conditions, 904, all

Summary: The House Early Learning & Human Services Committee met in executive session on three bills. HB 2200, dealing with JLARC review of safety and stability outcomes for DSHS developmental disabilities clients and replacing a public dashboard with annual reporting, was amended with a technical fix and then reported out with a do pass recommendation on a 9-2 vote. Supporters said the substitute would reduce fiscal impact while still producing useful, comparable data; opponents raised concerns about how the data might affect providers and whether it could stigmatize difficult placements. HB 2468, which updates statutory references to DSHS divisions after agency restructuring and makes related technical changes, was advanced without amendment. The substitute restored two current-law provisions: the expiration date for the Dementia Action Collaborative and the requirement that DSHS employ two permanent full-time staff to review and maintain the no-paid-services caseload. The committee reported the bill out unanimously. HB 2660, authorizing courts to order parents to comply with safety conditions for children under age five after shelter care hearings, was amended with a tribal-requested change requiring the conditions to be the least restrictive necessary, reviewed every 30 days, and consistent with state and federal Indian Child Welfare Act requirements. Members said the bill responds to rising critical incidents and aims to improve child safety, while acknowledging broader system challenges. The committee then reported the substitute bill out on a 9-2 vote and adjourned after noting it had reached the end of its first half of work.

Transcript Highlights:

• Universal child care will maintain strong reserves.
• The early child care assistance...
• Senate Finance dedicated crucial funding to stabilize child care for the future of New Mexico and increase
• Public safety: Senate Finance ensured that law enforcement and the courts will have the resources needed
• We also provided startup funding for the Office of Child Advocate that this body created last year to

Bills: HB97, HB280, HB183, HB151, HB202

Keywords: Shaken Baby Syndrome, abusive head trauma, child safety, training and education, healthcare funding, youth internships, workforce development, education, grant funding, employment, drinking water, water quality, environment, public health, water filtration, private well testing, federal funding, childhood sexual abuse, time limitations, civil actions

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act, and reviewed the Senate Finance Committee substitute and amendments. Staff described the budget as balanced, with recurring growth of about 2.65% and reserves maintained at roughly 28% if the related disaster reform bill passes. Members discussed the bill’s major spending areas, including health care, child care, public safety, economic development, natural resources, and education, along with technical corrections, cleanup items, and where the public could find the revised bill online. There was also discussion of contingent appropriations that depend on other bills passing, and staff said a hot list of those items would be circulated. Several members asked about specific allocations, including university athletics and facilities funding for UNM and NMSU, tourism, the State Racing Commission, the Spaceport Authority, and school-related items. The committee also discussed reserve levels, oil and corporate income tax revenue assumptions, disaster and fire recovery funding, and concerns about fraud, waste, and abuse in emergency spending. Members raised questions about a Gallup DA funding issue, online school funding, and a personal care/health care item in the Health Care Authority budget. Staff clarified several line items and explained that some appropriations were tied to future legislation or temporary provisions. After debate, the committee adopted the Senate Finance Committee amendments and then voted on the committee report for House Bill 2. The motion to do pass House Bill 2 as amended passed 8-3. The chair noted that the committee would need to return later because of caucuses and the floor schedule, and staff thanked members for the process and preparation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Safety investigation.
• This change does not weaken child safety. It strengthens it.
• The way I read child abuse, there are two ways that child abuse can be charged.
• , staff safety, school safety overall perspective.
• staff safety school safety overall perspective and this is not just this is I think we need to instead

Bills: HB2205, HB2265, HB2413, HB2415, HB2418, HB2495, HB2589, HB2661, HB2720, HB2771, HB2833, HB2870

Keywords: criminal damage, trespassing, critical facilities, felony, Arizona Revised Statutes, court fees, public defender, criminal justice, legal aid, indigent defense, appeals, administrative assessments, sex offender, electronic monitoring, registration, public safety, youth protection, Kratom, narcotic drugs, regulation

Bills: HB85, HB94, HB276, HB323, HB374, HB586, HB656, HB998, HB1204, SB42, SB46, SB51, SB87, SB110, SB154

Keywords: animal abuse, registry, law enforcement, felony offenses, public notification, firearms, due process, confiscation, law-abiding citizen, government funding, self-defense, bail, contradictory bail hearing, Gwen's Law, pretrial detention, criminal procedure, child sexual abuse, child rape, sexual battery, oral sexual battery

Transcript Highlights:

• And this bill, HB 2995, strengthens child safety, judicial clarity, and victim protection in determining
• There were no police reports for child abuse, no Department of Child Safety findings, nothing that would
• Domestic violence against a partner is a child safety issue.
• Families are required to rely on these supervisors for child safety while simultaneously paying substantial
• I respect... ...to ensure that supervised visitation actually means child safety.

Bills: HB2495, HB2557, HB2594, HB2615, HB2800, HB2861, HB2862, HB2931, HB2995, HB4042, HB4070, HB4117, HB4136

Keywords: vulnerable adults, sentencing, felonies, criminal justice, enhanced penalties, medical records, patient rights, healthcare access, privacy, healthcare providers, timeliness, address confidentiality, domestic violence, privacy protection, voter registration, court proceedings, parenting time, supervised visitation, family court, high-risk cases

Transcript Highlights:

• of the child.
• And it allows for A child just wants to be a child.
• , to your child?
• your child.
• the safety.

Bills: HB 2646, HB 3941, HB 5153, HB 5155, HB 5394, HB 1106, HB 426, HB 4529, HB 3984, HB 4273, HB 1097, HB 3940, HB 1941, HB 4377, HB 3153

Keywords: child care, task force, high-quality care, affordability, prekindergarten partnerships, foster care, transitional living, Medicaid reform, youth assistance, independent living, services for youth, employment training, educational support, mental health services, health care, public health, child health program, reimbursement, local health entities, maternal health

Transcript Highlights:

• And one is a licensed social worker with expertise in child abuse and neglect.
• We want to be sure that we have some legal advice moving forward with folks who have dealt with child
• On page eight, line three, the person has not received any remedy for child sexual abuse to a civil judgment
• One is a licensed social worker with expertise in child abuse and neglect.

Bills: HB97, HB280, HB183, HB151, HB202

Keywords: Shaken Baby Syndrome, abusive head trauma, child safety, training and education, healthcare funding, youth internships, workforce development, education, grant funding, employment, drinking water, water quality, environment, public health, water filtration, private well testing, federal funding, childhood sexual abuse, time limitations, civil actions

Transcript Highlights:

• plan was in place or if that safety plan failed.
• And our child care providers are stretched.
• You need a prediction: did the tool say the child was safe, and an outcome: was the child actually safe
• safety.
• And basically, in my opinion, screen out child safety. So we need this safety valve.

Bills: HB1544, HB2099, HB2185, HB2219, HB2253, HB2317, HB2318, HB2319, HB2350

Keywords: child welfare, risk assessment, investigation, child abuse, neglect, military families, early childhood education, access, assistance program, education equity, homelessness, youth programs, advisory committee, prevention, protection, HB 2219, child care licensing, early learning, DCYF, Department of Children Youth and Families

Summary: The House Early Learning and Human Services Committee took up possible executive session on nine bills, first briefing amendments and proposed substitutes before voting. House Bill 2099, expanding eCAP access and prioritization for children of military families, was amended to include NOAA and Public Health Service commissioned corps members and broader deployment criteria, then passed unanimously. House Bill 2185, which strengthens the advisory committee for homeless youth services, also passed unanimously without amendments. House Bill 2219, addressing mixed-ratio time in child care centers and waiving repeat pre-service orientation in limited cases, adopted an amendment adding conditions for the waiver and then passed unanimously. House Bill 2253, a broad licensure and regulatory bill affecting child care and residential programs, saw several amendments considered; one report amendment was rejected, and an amendment restoring state monitoring and health/safety reviews at the Washington School for the Deaf was adopted. The committee then passed the amended bill unanimously. House Bills 2317 and 2318, both expanding flexibility for ECEAP and Head Start providers, passed without amendments and with unanimous support. House Bill 2319, renaming residential habilitation centers in statute, adopted a technical correction amendment and passed unanimously. House Bill 2350, requiring notice when a residential habilitation center is out of compliance with CMS requirements, was amended to emphasize posted notices, email options, preferred-language notices, and plain-language summaries, then passed unanimously. The committee then returned to House Bill 1544, which directs DCYF to study and improve its risk, strengths, and needs assessment tool and certify its validation. Four amendments were considered: one requiring domestic violence to be included in the study was adopted; amendments on defining “safe,” auditing missing data on near-fatalities and safety-plan failures, and prohibiting use of an unvalidated tool to screen out referrals were rejected. The amended second substitute bill passed on a 9-0 vote, with Representatives Burnett and Penner voting “no without recommendation.” The committee adjourned after reporting all nine bills out of committee, most with do pass recommendations and several with adopted amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• It allows child care operators and at-home child care facilities to provide assistance or to provide
• child care without additional regulations.
• But we can't look at zoning and child care in a vacuum.
• Finally, child care is a revenue generator.
• For every dollar invested in child care, states realize about $2 in local spending because child care

Bills: HB303, SB96, HM6

Keywords: public utility, certificate of public convenience and necessity, certificate of need, Public Regulation Commission, PRC, utility regulation, ratemaking, energy storage, battery storage, grid reliability, renewable energy, transmission, distribution, generation plant, utility expansion, service territory, mutual domestic water consumer association, economic development department, clean energy, fossil fuel reduction

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1521 is a child protection bill focused on conversational AI systems that are designed to

Bills: SB1521

Keywords: artificial intelligence, AI, generative AI, chatbot, conversational AI, companion AI, AI companion, virtual companion, chatbot regulation, minor safety, child online safety, parental controls, content moderation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, crisis intervention, mental health claims, romantic AI, emotional dependence, app store

Summary: The Government Modernization and Technology Committee met with quorum and heard Senate Bill 1521, presented by Representative Maynard. The bill is a child-protection measure aimed at conversational AI systems that simulate human companionship or emotional attachment. Maynard explained that, unlike a related House bill that bars minors from social AI companion systems entirely, SB 1521 would allow minors to use broader AI systems but require disclosures that they are interacting with an AI, not a human, and require safeguards against sexual conversations and encouragement of self-harm, including suicide prevention features. Representative Alonso Sandoval asked how the bill would interact with the earlier House-passed measure. Maynard clarified that the House bill applies narrowly to social AI companions, while SB 1521 applies more broadly to general-purpose systems such as ChatGPT or Gemini. He emphasized that the bill does not prohibit minors from using those systems, but requires reasonable protections and notice to minors. After the presentation and brief discussion, the committee moved to a due pass recommendation, with no further questions or debate. The vote was opened and closed, and the bill passed the committee 7-0. The meeting then adjourned with no other agenda items.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is about whether every child in our state has equitable instruction and the support they need to learn
• Um, it is about<01:51:59.920><c> whether</c><01:52:00.239><c> every</c><01:52:00.480><c> child</c><01
• :52:00.639><c> in</c><01:52:00.880><c> our</c><01:52:01.040><c> state</c> about whether every child in
• our state about whether every child in our state has<01:52:01.440><c> equitable</c><01:52:01.920><c>

Bills: HB0076, HB0102, HB0115

Keywords: annexation, landowner rights, municipal law, city planning, property, local government, artificial intelligence, synthetic sexual material, child protection, self-harm, criminal liability, cardiac emergency, defibrillator, school safety, training, public health, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and then use that picture to upload it for child pornography or child sex abuse materials to then be
• 21:39.360><c> pornography</c> to upload it for um, child pornography to upload it for um, child pornography
• as child pornography.
• The latest findings child pornography.
• And your commitment to student safety.

Bills: HB0076, HB0102, HB0115

Keywords: annexation, landowner rights, municipal law, city planning, property, local government, artificial intelligence, synthetic sexual material, child protection, self-harm, criminal liability, cardiac emergency, defibrillator, school safety, training, public health, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Beyond the economic toll, these crimes pose a public safety risk.
• Under Section 1022 of the Health and Safety Code.
• . ...child abductions and sex trafficking.
• I'm for the bill and representing my children and their safety.
• of a child.

Bills: HB316, HB353, HB 1160, HB1414, HB1422, HB1443, HB1713, HB1789, HB1902, HB2073, HB2666, HB2695, HB316

Keywords: motor fuel, criminal offense, metering device, organized crime, Texas Penal Code, trespassing, school safety, day-care centers, education, trespass, public safety, utility employees, criminal penalties, assault, harassment, public duties, safety, law enforcement, driving offenses, license regulations

Transcript Highlights:

• My wife, Donna, and I adopted a special-needs child in 2009.
• It directly affects my children's safety, education, and future.
• And he's a child who was constantly bullied in Albuquerque and beaten up.
• In the words of my child, they have found their people.
• What does that mean for their child? What does that mean for the charters?

Bills: HB2, SB204, SB241, HB34

Keywords: general appropriation, budget, Medicaid, education funding, public safety, higher education, research funding, federal funding, New Mexico, appropriation, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, child care, child care assistance, child care subsidy, early childhood education, early childhood care, daycare, preschool

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 253, as substituted, which would create a framework for full-time virtual/distance learning programs in New Mexico. Sponsors and agency witnesses said the bill is intended to preserve virtual options while adding approval, reporting, and compliance requirements, including definitions for distance learning programs, annual reporting, renewal every three to five years, and a pause on new programs while existing ones are grandfathered for a period. They also said the bill addresses budget concerns by limiting enrollment growth units and excluding distance-learning students from certain funding calculations, including rural population units, to prevent unexpected losses in the state equalization guarantee. Public testimony was sharply divided. Supporters included district superintendents and education officials who said the bill is needed to protect school funding, improve accountability, and gather basic data that the state currently lacks. Opponents included parents, students, teachers, charter-school representatives, and business and advocacy voices who argued virtual education has been lifesaving for medically fragile, bullied, rural, neurodivergent, and working students, and that the bill’s caps, geographic limits, and approval authority would reduce school choice and could eliminate some programs. Several witnesses stressed that virtual charter schools such as Pecos Cyber Academy and New Mexico Connections would not be affected, while others said the bill still reaches too broadly. Committee members raised extensive questions about the 10% enrollment cap, the adjacent-district requirement, the denial-and-appeal process, the treatment of charter schools versus district programs, and the effect on rural or small districts. Witnesses explained that the bill is meant to be temporary, with an interim study in 2026 to develop longer-term policy, but some members said they remained concerned about overreach and unintended consequences. No final vote or action on the bill was shown in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• It creates a commission to take a look at this whole issue of child... care in Texas and private child
• a child of your own.
• We put the child in a which allows them to sit, and we scan the child.
• My friend, this is her first child, she waited for this child, she prayed for this child.
• . safety to Medicaid clients.

Bills: HB2646, HB3941, HB5153, HB5155, HB5394, HB 1106, HB426, HB4529, HB3984, HB4273, HB 1097, HB3940, HB1941, HB4377, HB3153

Keywords: child care, task force, high-quality care, affordability, prekindergarten partnerships, foster care, transitional living, Medicaid reform, youth assistance, independent living, services for youth, employment training, educational support, mental health services, health care, public health, child health program, reimbursement, local health entities, maternal health