Transcript Highlights:

• So in war, when you are at war with a country where you follow Geneva Conventions...”
• “You are at war with a country where you follow Geneva Conventions, you wear a uniform, you shoot at
• That's what a conventional war is. A non-conventional war is when you cowardly commit terrorism.

Bills: HB1016 , HB1453 , HB1992 , HB2015 , HB2940 , HB2959 , HB2997 , HB3037 , HB3045 , HB3053 , HB3087 , HB3267 , HB3301 , HB3453 , HB3495 , HB3521 , HB3581 , HB3584 , HB3586 , HB3587 , HB3662 , HB3691 , HB3695 , HB3697 , HB3742 , HB3743 , HB3845 , HB4058 , HB4125 , HB4198 , HB4227 , HB4425

Committee: House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight

Summary: The committee heard and advanced a large number of bills covering tort claims, criminal law, child protection, licensing, housing, and public transparency. Early measures included HB 3037, adding students in curricular activities to the Government Tort Claims Act definition of employee; HB 3581, revising riot statutes and removing a no-bail provision; HB 458, allowing voluntary blood type notation on driver’s licenses; HB 2929, tightening mandatory child abuse reporting by school employees; and HB 3087, extending garnishment notice and objection timelines. All of those bills received unanimous or near-unanimous due-pass recommendations. Several bills drew more substantial discussion. HB 4227, the Cindy Clemishire Act, was amended to allow minors to discuss sexual abuse with health care providers and was named after a survivor; it passed 13-0. HB 4125, restoring Second Amendment rights to certain nonviolent felons, passed 13-1 but members raised concerns about federal law and asked for further explanation before floor consideration. HB 1453, which would criminalize hostile foreign nationals and entities owning Oklahoma real property and agricultural land, generated extensive debate over indirect ownership, foreclosure timelines, logrolling, and constitutional concerns, and it ultimately failed 3-10. HB 3521, modernizing money transmission regulation and adding payment processors and digital asset kiosks, passed 13-0. Other measures advanced after questions or minor amendments, including HB 3691 on self-certifying medical fitness for a Class D license, HB 2015 on landlord-tenant repair and tenant remedies, HB 2940 on recording public meetings, HB 1016 on trust protections for minors appearing in monetized online content, HB 3267 making breaking and entering an occupied dwelling a felony without needing proof of another intended crime, HB 3695 expanding the definition of great bodily injury for DUI cases, HB 3453 shifting the burden in eminent domain cases to the condemning authority, and HB 3053 creating parole review criteria for older eligible inmates. The committee also advanced bills on self-defense definitions, straw purchasing of land for prohibited foreign parties, human trafficking parole guidelines, child welfare/adoption terminology, outpatient treatment, child support-related license revocations, workplace violence protective orders, and protections for charities reporting sexual misconduct. The meeting ended with several bills laid over and the committee adjourning, with a note that it would meet again Thursday.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, there's a constitutional convention.
• </c> journal of the constitutional convention journal of the constitutional convention of<03:28:31.439
• I didn't hear any mention convention.
• So, constitutional convention of 1968.
• It came into the convention as Proposal 39. It was preceded.

Committee: House Education Policy and Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• The Southwest Food Business Center operates alongside 11 other regional food business centers, totaling
• The Food Business Center focuses...
• The Food Business Center operates alongside 11 other regional food business centers, totaling $420 million
• The Food Business Center focuses...
• It is the call center. It is the call centers.

Summary: The joint oversight hearing focused on food insecurity in California and how state and federal nutrition programs, agricultural production, and food distribution systems intersect. Assemblymembers emphasized that many Californians, including farmworkers, seniors, children, and communities of color, remain food insecure despite California’s agricultural abundance. Panelists and members discussed CalFresh, WIC, school meals, Sun Bucks, food banks, and the impact of federal policy changes, including possible nutrition cuts, tariffs, and immigration enforcement, on access to food and the agricultural workforce. Secretary Karen Ross described CDFA programs aimed at improving access to fresh food and supporting local agriculture, including the senior farmers’ market program, California Nutrition Incentive Program, Healthy Refrigeration Grant Program, Community Food Hubs, Farm to School, urban agriculture, and a proposed tribal food sovereignty program. She said these efforts help connect local producers to consumers, expand healthy food access, and build infrastructure such as refrigeration, mobile markets, and aggregation hubs. Department of Social Services Deputy Director Alexis Fernandez Garcia outlined CalFresh, CFAP, Sun Bucks, CACFP, emergency food programs, and tribal nutrition assistance, noting that CalFresh and related programs significantly reduce poverty and food insecurity, but participation gaps remain for non-English speakers, some Asian American communities, and undocumented households. PPIC researcher Tess Thorman presented data showing that 13% of California households experienced food insecurity in 2023, with higher rates among households with children and Latino, Black, and other households. She said nutrition programs reduce poverty and food hardship, but federal rules, income thresholds, immigration restrictions, and high living costs limit their reach. Members asked about simplifying applications, improving call center access, increasing outreach in multiple languages, and adjusting benefits for inflation. Officials said the state has used available federal options to streamline enrollment, improve customer service, and target outreach, but many core rules and benefit levels are set federally. The second panel shifted to food production and market access. A farmer, a UC food systems leader, and a produce distributor described efforts to connect small and medium farms with food banks, schools, universities, and Medi-Cal food-as-medicine programs. They highlighted programs such as Farms Together, the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center, Farm to School, food hubs, and climate-smart infrastructure grants as ways to create stable markets for local growers while improving food access. Speakers also raised concerns about land tenure, consolidation, regulatory burdens, labor constraints, and the loss of federal funding, and members discussed whether state investments and Prop. 4 funds could help sustain and expand these efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• Within the health pod, trained professionals focus on recovery-centered care support, offering individuals
• It also addresses unreported outages, so 911 call centers and first responders aren't left in the dark
• And above all, let us keep our faith at the center of all we do, just as Gary did every day.
• Kellogg Arabian Horse Center in Pomona, California, founded in 1925 by Will Keith Kellogg.
• Kellogg Arabian Horse Center on a century of excellence and impact, and cheers to the next 100 years.

Transcript Highlights:

• I was in private practice, retired at UCLA Medical Center, and my son, who currently practices there,
• We have it in public hospitals, FQCs, academic medical centers. It's already there.
• When a patient calls our office, they don't get routed to a call center or an AI chatbot.
• They don't get routed to a call center or an AI chatbot.
• He said, 'Everyone knows that emergency services and trauma care centers are slipping away.

Committee: House Health

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, the Civil Commitment Center is located in Lamb County.
• center project, to Economic Development.
• and large data center projects, to Finance.
• and large data center projects, to Finance.
• center project, to Economic Development.

Bills: SJR12 , SJR81 , SCR39 , SB22 , SB32 , SB241 , SB393 , SB414 , SB458 , SB464 , SB568 , SB583 , SB609 , SB660 , SB693 , SB731 , SB732 , SB746 , SB783 , SB785 , SB897 , SB993 , SB996 , SB1008 , SB1029 , SB1035 , SB1036 , SB1120 , SB1122 , SB1147 , SB1163 , SB1188 , SB1197 , SB1209 , SB1227 , SB1245 , SB1267 , SB1307 , SB1321 , SB1332 , SB1386 , SB1394 , SB1396 , SB1470 , SB1494 , SB1537 , SB1596 , SB1598 , SB1610 , SB1664 , SB1814 , SB1822 , SB1841 , SB1948 , SB2065 , SB2155 , SB2406 , SB2407

Summary: The Senate opened with a quorum call, invocation, approval of routine motions, and the reading of gubernatorial nominations and several honorary resolutions. The chamber adopted resolutions recognizing Jack and Jill of America Day and DJ Daniel Day at the Capitol, with multiple senators offering remarks praising youth leadership, perseverance, and public service. The Senate also introduced the Doctor of the Day and then proceeded to a long series of floor actions on bills. A major focus was Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 568, which overhauls special education funding and services in public schools by moving from a placement-based model to an intensity-based system tied to student needs and IEPs. Senators Bettencourt, Creighton, and Menendez emphasized transparency, parent input, evaluation funding, dyslexia services, and better alignment of funding with actual services; Senator Hinojosa shared a personal story about dyslexia and the importance of early intervention. The bill was advanced on second and third reading and finally passed 30-0. The Senate also passed SB 1396 to prohibit national sex education standards in public schools, SB 2065 on the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System, SB 1664 requiring clearer public disclosure of transmission and distribution utility rate changes, SB 1029 on advertising certain used motor vehicles, SB 1120 expanding rights for family violence victims, SB 1036 regulating residential solar retail transactions, SB 464 creating school-proximity restrictions and penalties for tobacco and vaping sales, SB 1035 giving farmers and ranchers equitable relief from certain local agricultural regulations, SB 1610 addressing civil commitment facility safety and prosecution issues, SB 1197 extending drone restrictions to spaceports, and SB 1386 changing legislative witness immunity from transactional to testimonial immunity. Another major bill was Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1188, which updates electronic health record requirements. Senator Kolkhorst said the bill builds on Texas medical privacy law by requiring U.S.-based storage of EMR data, prohibiting recording of voter registration status and credit score information, requiring provider verification and disclosure for AI-assisted diagnosis or treatment recommendations, preserving parental access to minors’ records until age 18, and ensuring EMRs can capture metabolic health and biological sex information. A floor amendment clarified the bill’s scope and enforcement, and the bill passed 23-7. Several measures drew debate, especially SB 414 on bond ballot transparency, where Senators Eckhardt and Menendez questioned whether requiring estimated interest and total debt cost on ballots could be misleading or difficult to implement because interest rates and financing terms can change before issuance or over time. The transcript ends during that discussion, with no final action shown on SB 414.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're excited to integrate Air Transportation Research Center that's already impresses per portfolio.
• And we have a brand new campus new headquarters training Center hotel garage.
• We have stood up a center for advanced air mobility in support of what FDOT is done and we could not
• So they lift up like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, 9 cedars or more conventional.
• We did with the partnership with Kennedy Space Center UCF UF.

Transcript Highlights:

• The next is data centers. This is a pretty big variability right now.
• And as we've talked about, there's a lot of uncertainty with data centers.
• My second question is data centers.
• Maybe you want a baseload resource for a baseload data center.
• customer demand or adding new data centers.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Summary: The committee first heard AB 1026 by Assembly Member Wilson, a bill aimed at reducing delays in utility energization applications that can hold up approved housing projects. Supporters, including the Housing Action Coalition, Mission Housing, and several housing and local government groups, said investor-owned utilities should follow clearer timelines and disclosure requirements so projects can move forward predictably. Opponents from PG&E and Southern California Edison argued the bill was unnecessary, could conflict with CPUC efforts already underway, and should wait for the ongoing energization rulemaking to conclude. After discussion of the bill’s amendments and timelines, the committee passed AB 1026 on a 15-0 vote, and also dispensed with the consent calendar on a 15-0 vote. The hearing then shifted to the committee’s annual oversight hearing on electric reliability. Representatives from the CPUC, CEC, CAISO, and DWR reviewed lessons from the 2020 rolling outages and 2022 heat events, emphasizing improved planning, better coordination, and the role of strategic reserves. They reported that California enters summer 2025 in a stronger position, with no expected shortfalls under traditional planning conditions and a surplus under standard reliability analysis, though they cautioned that wildfire and extreme heat could still create risk. They also highlighted major additions of battery storage, new procurement, and transmission and market reforms that have improved reliability and flexibility. Members asked about data center load growth, the future of Diablo Canyon, the strategic reliability reserve, wildfire costs, regional market expansion, and the balance between affordability and reliability. Witnesses said data center demand remains a major variable, Diablo Canyon should be planned for as if it may retire on schedule unless policy changes are made, and demand response and energy efficiency remain important tools. CAISO described the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the upcoming extended day-ahead market as major sources of savings and reliability benefits. The panel also said the new slice-of-day resource adequacy framework is working so far, with high compliance and ongoing monitoring.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> child care centers. child care centers.
• </c><00:25:56.280><c> where</c> immersion child care center where immersion child care center where Spanish-speaking
• </c> lost conventions that we got thereafter. lost conventions that we got thereafter.
• Louis Park and Brooklyn Center. was St. Louis Park and Brooklyn Center.
• </c> child care centers here in Minnesota. child care centers here in Minnesota.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• And again, I point to data centers as, you know, the most recently evolving discussion that we've been
• having because many of the data centers coming in have hundreds of megawatts of backup power that they
• Fertilizer, data centers, industrial uses—anything that gets the molecules flowing through the economy
• It could be for a data center.
• I represent the Calistoga Resiliency Center, the result of all the work that we've done here.

Transcript Highlights:

• elementary school without a navigation center in the vicinity.
• The bill does not eliminate homeless navigation centers.
• Since 1907, the Center for Transforming Lives, formerly the YWCA, has served as the center for transforming
• I am the Director of Public Policy for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
• We're a convention of over 5,000 churches across the state of Texas.

Bills: SB604 , SB843 , SB1636 , SB2395 , SB571 , SB1224 , SB1832 , SB2392 , SB747 , SB2623 , SB2624 , SB2185

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16

Transcript Highlights:

• General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission? Yes. And you are in favor of the bill?
• We're a convention of about 53...
• And the Baptist Convention, they said, you know we can have more housing.
• The street from the Austin Zen Center.
• After four years, their interest in the city is primarily centered around what the city can do for them

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

Committee: House Land & Resource Management

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:

• pilot in Long Prairie, a high-efficiency motor making beer more efficient at Summit Brewing, a data center
• pilot in Long Prairie, a high-efficiency motor making beer more efficient at Summit Brewing, a data center
• pilot in Long Prairie, a high-efficiency motor making beer more efficient at Summit Brewing, a data center
• Geothermal systems have a lower total cost of ownership than conventional HVAC systems, with payback
• HVAC systems geothermal conventional HVAC systems geothermal systems<00:22:38.799><c> also</c><00:22

Bills: HF1013 , HF1598 , HF1656 , HF2162

Committee: House Energy Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• are holding it hostage in exchange for an unrelated process issue, an agreement to hold a joint convention
• process issue, an agreement to hold a process issue, an agreement to hold a joint<00:09:47.279><c> convention
• <c> on</c><00:09:48.080><c> the</c><00:09:48.240><c> election</c><00:09:48.560><c> of</c> joint convention
• on the election of joint convention on the election of University<00:09:49.279><c> of</c><00:09:49.440

Transcript Highlights:

• I am the Director of the Center for American Education, the Idaho representative for the National Association
• the United States' republican form of government, including the proceedings of the Philadelphia Convention
• He coined the term the vital center, right? This notion that America is in-between...
• The vital center, right?

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• my state, from local speaking days, state competitions, and getting to attend the National FFA Convention
• my state, from local speaking days, state competitions, and getting to attend the National FFA Convention
• my state, from local speaking days, state competitions, and getting to attend the National FFA Convention
• c> has</c><00:44:34.680><c> a</c><00:44:34.800><c> question</c><00:44:35.400><c> Mr</c> openening Center
• given has a question Mr openening Center given has a question Mr chairman<00:44:35.920><c> thank</c>

Summary: The Senate Education Committee met with a quorum and heard a presentation from Parker Keys, Northern Kentucky State Vice President for Kentucky FFA, on the value of career and technical education (CTE). He highlighted enrollment of more than 143,000 secondary students in CTE, work-based learning, dual credit, industry certifications, and the role of student organizations such as DECA, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, Educators Rising, TSA, and SkillsUSA. Senators praised CTE as important for workforce readiness and resume building, and encouraged continued engagement with the committee. The committee then considered Senate Concurrent Resolution 43, sponsored by Senator Steve West, supporting a Southern Regional Education Board initiative to expand crisis counseling and recovery support for schools and colleges after tragedies and disasters. Dr. Steven Puit and Linda Tyrie described a regional network of trained counselors modeled on Kentucky’s response after Marshall County, emphasizing long-term recovery, psychological first aid, and deployment support for up to a year after an event. Members spoke in strong support, citing the lasting impact of Marshall County and Heath, and the resolution passed 13-0 and was reported favorably. Finally, the committee took up Senate Bill 77, a cleanup bill relating to the Education Professional Standards Board. Senator Matt Deneen and Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities representative Mr. Dyer explained that the bill clarifies that small independent colleges and universities may designate a qualified education department representative, not only a chief academic officer, to serve on the board. The committee adopted a committee substitute by voice vote, and the substitute was approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• The governor vetoed H. 3558, Commissioner criteria for Convention of States, and I would ask that the
• The Freedom Train came to Greenville out at Donaldson Center, and my grandparents took me out there.
• H. 3558, a bill amending the code relating to calls or applications for constitutional amending conventions
• President, this is a bill that we passed earlier this year that doesn't call for a convention.
• What this does is set up the process to appoint the delegates for the convention.

Transcript Highlights:

• that it's subdivision 4720, subdivision 4a, that governs the maximum interest rate charged for conventional
• ><00:04:02.680><c> for</c> maximum interest rate charged for maximum interest rate charged for conventional
• 03.360><c> loans</c><00:04:04.239><c> and</c><00:04:04.959><c> the</c><00:04:05.079><c> third</c> conventional
• loans and the third conventional loans and the third provision<00:04:05.959><c> is</c> provision is
• And finally, there is one provision in here for the Springfield Community Center.

Bills: HF2601 , HF2607 , HF2027 , HF2608

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for the nice walking tour of the Convention Center.
• Did you get to do a tour of the convention center as well?
• Our efforts today are centered... January 1, 2027, effective date.
• Our efforts today are centered on governance, development, organizational readiness, legal and policy
• Management Center, all the acronyms.

Committees: Joint Transportation , Joint Joint Transportation Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• According to research by scholar Lisa Geller of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions..
• According to research by scholar Lisa Geller of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions,
• We were delegates to the 1996 Democratic Convention, and the California delegation went up the basketball
• And so it is just hard to imagine that there is a time that Bob won't be at the center of whatever it
• in San Jose, an organization that we referred to as IRCC, the Indo-Chinese Resettlement Cultural Center

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, offered prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and handled routine announcements and motions, including a request by Senator Arreguín to remove SB 239 from the inactive file for second reading. The chamber then took up SJR 9 by Senator Durazo, a resolution concerning immigration rates, which was debated briefly and placed on call before later amendments were adopted by a 29-10 vote. The Senate next considered SR 70 by Senator Pérez, commemorating the third anniversary of the Monterey Park tragedy. Senator Pérez and Senator Rubio spoke about the 11 lives lost, the injuries, the heroism of Brandon Tsay, and the need to remember the victims and support the community. The resolution passed unanimously, 39-0, after which Senator Pérez introduced Monterey Park Mayor Elizabeth Yang on the floor. The remainder of the session was devoted largely to adjournment memories honoring Mary Gutierrez Hunter, labor activist Bob Mulholland, former Yolo County Supervisor Betsy Marchand, and Vietnamese American community leader Vu von Locke. Senators described each person’s public service, organizing work, and lasting impact on labor, veterans, local government, refugee resettlement, and community institutions. The Senate also announced the Appropriations Committee would meet shortly after adjournment and noted the next floor session would be held Monday, January 26, 2026, at 2 p.m.