Transcript Highlights:

• This bill focuses on jury instruction, mandated reasonable rules, and regulations with minimum standards
• for continuity of care, and provides essential legislative instruction.
• Uh, with that, I respectfully, uh, am happy to answer any questions and would like to write to close.
• We cannot speak, write letters, or have visitation.

Transcript Highlights:

• volunteer that has in-person instruction volunteer that has in-person instruction with<00:55:59.280
• He writes on Substack, which is an alternate news source.
• Why aren't we teaching reading, writing, math, arithmetic? What are we doing?
• who was taught him how to read and write who was taught him how to read and write and<06:26:56.040
• <06:27:06.080> anymore teach him how to read and write anymore teach him how to read and write

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee opened with House Bill 184, which would create a committee to study changing school start times. Members discussed Amendment 0394, which made the study committee’s duties more investigative and adjusted reporting recipients, including the Governor. Several members raised questions about whether the committee should review evidence-based studies, local district decisions, and existing district reports; supporters said the amendment would better allow the committee to gather information and recognize local control. The amendment passed 17-0, and the bill as amended also passed 17-0. Representative Litchfield noted that no one had testified in opposition and encouraged the future study committee to review an Oyster River School District report on school start times. The committee then took up House Bill 394, concerning cooperative school district budget committees and board member representatives. Amendment 0476 was adopted 17-0 after discussion that it clarified the bill’s language and reflected work with the School Boards Association. The committee then voted OTPA on the bill, which also passed 17-0. House Bill 738, requiring background checks for employees and volunteers at certain non-public schools or education service providers receiving public funds, was moved inexpedient to legislate. Supporters said the bill would create practical and legal problems for private citizens and homeschooling families, and the motion passed 15-2 with no minority report, placing the bill on consent. The committee next considered House Bill 235, which would amend the educator code of ethics and conduct to add responsibilities to parents. Supporters argued parents should be explicitly included in the code, while opponents said parents were already covered in existing ethics language and statute. The bill passed narrowly, 9-8. The committee then returned to House Bill 532 on alternate dispute resolution and individualized education plan team meeting facilitation. Amendment 0480H clarified that different rules would apply separately to neutral conference, mediation, and IEP facilitation; it passed 17-0, and the bill as amended also passed 17-0. Finally, the committee moved to House Bill 564, concerning adoption of school administrative unit budgets, and voted to retain the bill for further review because members said there was still confusion about how it would apply to single-district and multi-district SAUs.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll write them a letter.
• If you can't tell me today, I would like in writing from you.
• Can you give that to us in writing? We're happy to follow up with you.
• This is essentially an attempt to write into the law what currently exists.
• That someone comes up with and writes down.

Bills: SB30, SB517, SB1313, SB1314, SB1316, SB1541, SB1698, SB1845, SB1860, SB2420, SB2429, SB 30

Keywords: gambling, criminal offenses, penalties, defense, electronic devices, tobacco advertising, youth protection, public health, criminal offense, retailer regulation, e-cigarettes, nicotine products, health, public safety, regulation, advertising restrictions, health and safety, elections, election audit, county elections

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we have 2 motions in writing before us from Senate one from Senator Miles, I believe the other from
• should be here at some point, and I don't think unless you have other, uh, you know, something in writing
• think there's been Innumerable times that a senior federal officer has publicly stated and put in writing
• need to know what guidelines he used to draw these maps and if he drew the latest following the instructions

Transcript Highlights:

• I think there's ways to write them into grants, federal grants.
• The public's going to understand, and the media is going to write the story.
• Forty years ago, I had to write and ask for it and get it mailed and then send it off, but we do have
• Some even exploring writing that into contract expectations. Representative Sanford.
• Montpleasure talked about, perhaps using some collaboration on the shared services on the instruction

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Every jury is told at the instruction, "You are the sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses and
• This isn't just an instruction.
• The same providers, they have the same injuries, they go on the same dates, the write-up is the exact
• Currently, they are instructed on community values, and that is right and appropriate.
• Just because you get a big verdict doesn't mean that the defendant writes you a check.

Bills: SB 30, SB 517, SB 1313, SB 1314, SB 1316, SB 1541, SB 1698, SB 1845, SB 1860, SB 2420, SB 2429

Keywords: gambling, criminal offenses, penalties, defense, electronic devices, tobacco advertising, youth protection, public health, criminal offense, retailer regulation, e-cigarettes, nicotine products, health, public safety, regulation, advertising restrictions, health and safety, elections, election audit, county elections

Summary: The Senate Committee on State Affairs convened to discuss several critical pieces of legislation including SB30 and SB38. Senator Betancourt introduced a committee substitute for SB38 which underwent a smooth adoption process, moving it favorably toward the Senate. The meeting featured a mix of invited testimonies where both proponents and opponents took the floor. One notable highlight included a testimony from Melissa Casey, who criticized the current legal state as prone to fraud and detrimental to both insurers and the public at large, contending that it inflated insurance costs across the board. The discussions delved deeply into the implications of the bills on judicial processes and potential insurance ramifications, with spirited debates surrounding issues of non-economic damages and jury rights. The atmosphere remained engaged as committee members heard varied perspectives on the bills, showcasing a robust democratic process. The meeting underscored the importance of public testimony in shaping legislation, ensuring that multiple voices were considered as the committee pressed on towards making decisions that affect the legal landscape of Texas.

Transcript Highlights:

• the insurance companies have no zero legal requirement or regulatory obligation, none whatsoever, to write
• These new filings will also include insurers' commitments for the first time ever to expand new writing
• Our filing instructions are now complete for insurers to include their net cost of reinsurance in their
• And we're going to be able now to have the technology to show you where insurance companies are writing
• see what characteristics in this specific zip code or county that you still feel you can't go in and write

Summary: The Assembly Insurance Committee held its fifth oversight hearing on the California Department of Insurance’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy (SIS), with Commissioner Ricardo Lara providing an update on implementation. Lara said the department has finalized major reforms, including new catastrophe modeling tools, faster rate review procedures, use of forward-looking data tied to mitigation, and modernization of the FAIR Plan. He argued the strategy is intended to improve insurance availability in wildfire-prone areas, increase transparency, and stabilize the market, while also criticizing consumer intervenor groups and saying the department will tighten rules on intervener compensation and relevance. Members questioned Lara about when the SIS would begin producing visible market changes, how long rate filings would take to approve, and what the FAIR Plan modernization would mean for consumers’ costs. Lara said catastrophe model approvals should be completed by the end of the month, insurers are expected to begin submitting SIS filings in the coming weeks, and rate reviews have already been reduced from 281 days to 71 days. He also discussed a new market conduct investigation into State Farm’s handling of wildfire claims, ongoing complaints about smoke-damage claims, and a newly created smoke claims and remediation task force to develop standards. Lara said the department has helped more than 12,000 wildfire survivors, with over 38,000 claims filed and more than $17 billion paid, and that it is also working with other western states on underinsurance issues. Public commenters from the insurance industry, homebuilding, and insurance brokerage sectors largely supported the SIS and the department’s efforts, saying the reforms are needed to restore availability and stability. They emphasized the importance of timely rate approvals, FAIR Plan solvency, and greater transparency, and several noted that member companies are preparing to use the new filing process. The hearing ended without a vote or formal action, though members and the commissioner discussed ongoing legislative needs, including AB 226 and possible future FAIR Plan transparency measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• Section 14 relates to the Online Instruction Act.
• Finally, section 17 on page 16 is a revisor instruction again relating to the PSO statutes, directing
• <00:23:06.120> on districts to provide instruction on districts to provide instruction on
• This is the third time we're going to write this.
• I don't think the High School League can just write a check for $2 million.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• educator from Jins, Oklahoma, with more than 17 years of clinical experience and 11 years in academic instruction
• , I see her, a friend of mine. 21 individual awards, outstanding photograph, photography, design, writing

Bills: HB3312, HB3700, HB2981, HB2961, HB3016, HB4478, HB4326, HB3025, HB3710, HB4125, HB2951, HB3082, HB4142, HB4106, HB1752, HB3268, HB4440, HJR1067, SB1144, SB1145, SB1146, SB1147, SB1148, SB1156, SB1157, SB1158, SB1159, SB1161, SB1162, SB1163, SB1164, SB1165, SB1166, SB1149, SB1167, HJR1024, SB1174, SB1175, SB1176, HB3419, HB3748, HB4335, HB3057, HB3279, HB4428, HB3420, HB3040, HB4140, HB1638, HB3298, HB4113, HB1082, HB4301, HB3269, HB3587, HB4226, HB4324, HB4339, HB4342, HB3278, HB3996, HB4236, HB4352

Keywords: firearm safety, public schools, education policy, student safety, gun control, opt-out option, grading system, student assessment, academic integrity, state funding, opinion conduct, open meetings, school boards, transparency, public access, education governance, HB2961, TSgt Marshal Dakota Roberts Gold Star Survivor Act, Gold Star family, Gold Star recipient

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:19:19.039> up power of attorney which you can write up power of attorney which you can
• And this is again through rules writing authority, not through legislation.
• <01:50:16.239> And instructed to put back into place?
• And instructed to put back into place?
• ><01:52:44.880> authority, again through rules writing authority, again through rules writing

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• c><00:16:03.680> be companies and there's going to be companies and there's going to be instructions
• > placed<00:16:04.880> on<00:16:05.520> donated<00:16:06.040> eggs instructions
• placed on donated eggs instructions placed on donated eggs on<00:16:07.560> how<00:16:07.680>
• I do not, in studying for today, I was writing down all the differences.
• <01:02:44.760> in put it that way, who are writing in put it that way, who are writing in

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ,<01:39:54.800> and self-control, instru instruction, and self-control, instru instruction
• Representative McDonald was asked to write that up. >> yes. >> yes.
• And represent McDonald, you write >> Great.
• And represent McDonald, you write that. that. that. >> Thank<05:55:12.240> you.
• Madam Clerk, do you have a motion for this when you finish writing? >> Yes.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The House Education Policy and Administration Committee met to hear a non-germane amendment to House Bill 131, which concerns bullying and cyberbullying prevention. Representative Glenn Cordelli, the prime sponsor, said the amendment was intended to revise and improve language from last year’s SB 210 and to incorporate measures from a cyberbullying bill previously passed by the House. He described changes to school communication requirements, mandatory reporting of bullying and retaliation, stronger investigation and collaboration requirements for cross-district cases, added safety and remediation language, a required conference with the alleged perpetrator and parents if available, updated reporting deadlines, and disciplinary consequences for harassment, intimidation, retaliation, and false reports. He also noted a later amendment would be needed to insert the words “the perpetrator” in one section, and he explained that some changes were meant to align with prior legislation and legislative drafting suggestions. Committee members raised several concerns. Representative Murray questioned the treatment of private and parochial schools, the change from gross negligence to negligence, and the removal of a definition of bullying based on imbalance of power and perceived characteristics. Representative Damon also objected to deleting that definition, arguing it would narrow the scope of bullying too much. Representative Han spoke in opposition, saying the amendment was too broad, unnecessary in parts, and not ready for final action; he criticized the removal of the imbalance-of-power language, the conference requirement when parents may not participate, and the reporting obligations for bus drivers and others. Cordelli responded that some issues were already addressed in prior law or SB 210 and that private schools have their own policies. Michelle Wongran of New Hampshire Legal Assistance testified in opposition, saying the bill was being heard without enough notice and that it does far more than the committee analysis suggests. She said the amendment adds undefined retaliation language, imposes reporting duties on school vendors and contractors, may conflict with FERPA and other federal privacy rules, and includes provisions that could have serious implications for schools and students. She said she supports parental involvement and some conference provisions in concept, but urged the committee to reject the amendment or at least send it through the normal legislative process for fuller review. No vote was taken during the hearing portion described in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Secretary, instruct the record to transmit the bill to the House.
• Secretary, instruct the record to transmit the bill.
• Secretary, instruct the record to transmit the bill to the House.
• Secretary, instruct the record to transmit the bill to the House.
• Secretary, instruct the record to transmit the bill to the House.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Whenever you're trying to write education law, it's always important to remember how you're going to
• measurement um whenever you're<00:09:26.839> trying<00:09:27.040> to<00:09:27.200> write
• <00:09:27.360> education<00:09:27.800> law you're trying to write education law you're
• trying to write education law It's<00:09:28.200> always<00:09:28.360> important<00:09:
• So the next one is supporting effective instruction, so that's known as Title IIA.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Department of Education’s Bureau of School Finance provided an adequacy-funding training for Division II, led by Mark Mello. He walked the committee through the adequacy formula using Albany, Allenstown, and Alton as examples, explaining average daily membership, base adequacy aid, and differential aid for free/reduced-price meals, special education, and English language learners. He also noted a recent change requiring home-education differential aid and emphasized that these aid streams are generally unrestricted district funding rather than money tied to specific students or programs. A major focus was the ongoing litigation over the adequacy base amount and the statewide education property tax, or SWEPT. Mello explained the historical basis of the current base amount, the 2008 legislative report that set the original methodology, and the later court ruling that the adequacy amount should be $7,356, which is now before the Supreme Court. He also described how SWEPT currently raises a fixed statewide amount of $363 million and how that revenue is used to offset the state’s adequacy obligation. For the example towns, Albany and Allenstown receive state adequacy grants because their SWEPT revenue is below their calculated adequacy cost, while Alton is an excess SWEPT community because its local SWEPT revenue exceeds the cost of adequate education. The discussion then turned to the pending “excess SWEPT” issue in the Supreme Court and what would happen if excess collections had to be remitted to the state. Mello said the Department is preparing a hypothetical walkthrough and explained that, if the court upholds the Superior Court ruling, DRA would likely be directed to collect excess SWEPT. Members raised concerns about whether SWEPT must be used for educational purposes and about the cash-flow burden on towns if money had to move from municipalities to the state and then back to districts. Mello and members discussed possible administrative workarounds, such as credits against other state aid distributions, and noted that the committee would continue reviewing the mechanics if the court decision comes down during budget work.

Transcript Highlights:

• It seems to me that the intention of the bill itself, in writing in as expressed by the handler, that
• This bill will clarify that language to ensure that the counties have good, proper instruction on how
• This is a clarifying bill on that line, which to make sure their instruction is there.
• of town, do you think the houses would assess at the same value according to the way that you're writing
• Do you think the houses would assess at the same value according to the way that you're writing this?

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Miles site is probably my in writing. Good afternoon chair and members of the committee.
• virtual school oversight is reduced, student performance suffers and achievement gaps widened virtual instruction
• So as a school leader, instructional leader, when you come into the school and you have PTO Booster Club

Transcript Highlights:

• We also blend in academic instruction into that.
• So, this is high-stakes measurement, high-stakes instruction.
• I’ll read the list of states that allow parents to, in writing, provide to the school directly.

Bills: HB266, SB85, SB166, HB266, SB85, SB166

Keywords: education, diploma, adult education, dropout prevention, nontraditional high school program, driver's license eligibility, vaccination exemption, religious exemption, medical exemption, vaccine mandate, testing requirement, public schools, K-12, students, parents, guardians, higher education, college enrollment, university attendance, public institutions of higher education

Transcript Highlights:

• private property, if they won't write private property, if they won't write you<01:16:14.080>
• I think with all to write you a ticket.
• We are maintaining abstinence-based instruction.
• <02:36:08.240> that that owner can do to write that that owner can do to write that situation
• I really don't care if we write many tickets.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• other nonprofits, provided that they comply with federal regulations, that rentals are outside instructional
• other nonprofits, provided that they comply with federal regulations, that rentals are outside instructional
• Is writing a research paper?
• It requires careful, sensitive, and accurate instruction to foster empathy and critical thinking.
• establish accountability measures so that schools report on how and when they are delivering Holocaust instruction

Summary: The Senate Education K-16 Committee heard several bills before recessing to the floor, with most measures left pending subject to the call of the chair. SB 2986 would allow public schools and universities to permit after-hours facility use by religious groups on the same terms as other nonprofits, and SB 1032 would open the Governor’s University Research Initiative to private and independent universities; both had committee substitutes adopted and were left pending after brief testimony. Supporters of SB 1032 from Rice and Baylor said the change would help Texas recruit top researchers and strengthen the state’s research economy. The committee also heard SB 2058, which would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to publish annual data on nursing clinical training sites to improve placement coordination, and SB 2683, which would bar public colleges from giving benefits or recognition to student organizations that receive support from foreign entities of concern; both were left pending after testimony. A large portion of the meeting focused on SB 2233, which would require public institutions of higher education to adopt policies prohibiting students or employees on nonimmigrant visas from publicly supporting terrorist activity or organizations, with enforcement through investigations, reporting to Homeland Security, and possible Attorney General action and fines. The author said the bill was intended to reinforce existing federal definitions and campus safety, while senators questioned the bill’s scope, the definition of terrorist activity, and the clause tied to U.S. policy or practice. Public witnesses, including civil rights advocates, law students, and others, argued the bill was vague, overbroad, unconstitutional, and likely to chill protected speech and increase surveillance of international students and Black and brown communities; several Jewish witnesses also said the bill misused Jewish safety concerns and could be used for viewpoint discrimination. SB 2233 was left pending after public testimony. The committee then took up SB 735, which builds on prior Holocaust education legislation by funding optional age-appropriate and bilingual curriculum, museum field trips, teacher preparation partnerships, annual reporting, and regional collaboration with Holocaust museums and education service centers. The author and invited witnesses said the bill responds to survey findings showing uneven Holocaust instruction and a need for better teacher training and accountability. A fifth-grade teacher and the director of the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio testified in support, emphasizing the need for accurate, age-appropriate instruction and professional development. The committee recessed before finishing the agenda, and SB 735 was set to resume after the floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill instructs TCEQ to prioritize the investigation of a complaint about a concrete batch plant.
• Again, as a reminder, if an affected it submits in writing a request for the investigation.
• If TCEQ declines to perform an inspection of the plant, they must provide an explanation in writing to
• I think one of the things that we want them to do is respond in writing, so I think that's why we have
• that in the bills, that they respond in writing.

Bills: HB573, HB1499, HB1768, HB3071, HB3249, HB3866, HB4112

Keywords: environmental enforcement, legislative oversight, inspection, concrete plants, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, environmental product declaration, grant program, ready-mixed concrete, manufacturers, sustainability, concrete plant, concrete batch plant, wet batching, dry batching, central mixing, standard permit, TCEQ, environmental regulation, air quality, construction permit