Transcript Highlights:

• From<03:17:36.760> Kevin<03:17:37.200> Block,<03:17:38.080> an<03:17:38.200>
• immigration From Kevin Block, an immigration From Kevin Block, an immigration attorney<03:17:39.120
• They're not blocking anyone from getting access to that health care facility.
• > from<04:35:04.680> getting They're not blocking anyone from getting They're not blocking
• Residents regularly raise concerns about streets, blocked driveways, and limited parking availability

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He noted that Belknap BDC has been awarded state tax credits that supported the Colonial Theatre block
• They could never compete; they just don't have the foot traffic that we do in a commercial hall.
• Most of your bingos rely on a large jackpot game to drive the foot traffic to their game.
• that we do don't have the foot traffic that we do in<00:48:32.480> a<00:48:32.599> commercial
• to their to their to the foot traffic to their to their to their<00:49:35.920> game<00:49:36.680

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We work the peak traffic hours.
• They’re not blocking and forcing people to the point of entries. And it really hasn’t affected us.
• We do about 1.7 million traffic stops per year. Last year we did 1.7 in 2024.
• We had 1,900 pursuits, so it's less than 1% of our traffic stops result in pursuits.
• When they came into Texas, a trooper made a traffic stop. They pulled over.

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard the Legislative Budget Board’s overview of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 2026-27 budget, followed by extensive testimony from DPS leadership. The LBB presentation covered funding and staffing changes across driver license services, facilities, troopers and recruit schools, crime labs, vehicle and aircraft operations, and border security. The recommendations included added support for customer service staffing and trooper hiring, but did not include several DPS exceptional items such as major driver license staffing and technology requests, new regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio, and other capital projects. Members also discussed proposed rider changes, including a new rider to lapse unused trooper funding and require reporting after recruit schools. Much of the committee’s questioning focused on driver license operations, where senators criticized long call wait times, low call-answer rates, appointment delays, and what they viewed as an overreliance on adding staff rather than improving processes. DPS and LBB witnesses said the agency is pursuing some technology upgrades, including automation, online pre-population of applications, and appointment-system improvements, but acknowledged that the driver license division remains a major problem area. Senators also raised concerns about whether the 2019 efficiency study led to meaningful changes and whether the agency should consider broader process redesign or even a different administrative structure. Colonel Freeman and other DPS officials then defended the agency’s broader law enforcement and border-security work, emphasizing the need for the Williamson County training academy, the 500 additional troopers funded in prior sessions, and continued support for Operation Lone Star. They described DPS’s role in border interdiction, threat-to-life investigations, oilfield theft cases, Capitol and Alamo security, and highway safety, and said the agency is stretched thin by deployments and overtime. Members asked about border reimbursement possibilities, regional staffing differences, pursuit safety, fleet and aircraft replacement needs, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame museum. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• a ground infrastructure to create an accurate surveillance interface between an aircraft and air traffic
• ground infrastructure to create an accurate surveillance interface between an aircraft and an air traffic
• This legislation will prohibit an aircraft, an aircraft and an air traffic control.
• The Blue Envelope creates a blue envelope to support effective communication during traffic stops or
• This amendment does not block the renaming. It does not take a position on the president's legacy.

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer, pledge, and a series of introductions recognizing guests, visiting groups, and special honorees in the galleries. The chamber then took up committee and executive appointment business, adopting a report confirming 42 gubernatorial appointments by a vote of 36-0. The Senate next considered a long special-order calendar of bills, most of them passing with little or no opposition. Measures included public-records sunset reviews and trade secret/cybersecurity exemptions; a child-abuse reporting statute of limitations bill; commercial driving school oversight; human trafficking training for nurses; a new injunction for protection against serious violence and its related public-records exemption; nature-based coastal resiliency and mangrove protection; a chiropractic trust-funds cap repeal; specialty license plates; a waiver of late financial disclosure fines; public school personnel compensation; the Florida Farm Bill with multiple agriculture, biosolids, and enforcement provisions; homestead exemption clarification for long-term leases; disability presumption clarifications for first responders; reinsurance intermediary manager conformity; patriotic displays in public schools; ADS-B aviation fee restrictions; autism-related law enforcement training and the Blue Envelope program; campus safety reporting procedures for public postsecondary institutions; and veterinary prescription disclosure. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including local vessel restrictions, temporary critical-need practice certificates, and domestic animals. The floor debate featured the most discussion on the farm bill, the HCSM/nonprofit religious organizations bill, the autism law-enforcement bill, and the school athletics bill. The HCSM bill drew extended debate over whether licensed insurance agents should be allowed to market faith-based health care sharing ministries, with supporters emphasizing consumer choice, free speech, and religious liberty, and opponents warning about unregulated products and commissions; it passed 32-5. The athletics bill, prompted by the Teddy Bridgewater/Miami Northwestern situation, would let coaches provide good-faith support to student-athletes while requiring reporting and FHSAA oversight; it passed 38-0. Most other measures passed overwhelmingly, including the autism bill 38-0, the campus safety bill 37-0, the public school patriotic displays bill 36-2, and the farm bill 38-0 after amendments addressing Everglades lands and biosolids timing were adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• Beach Pier proposed in SB 241 has little local support, will create significant parking and travel traffic
• 57.120> travel create significant parking and travel create significant parking and travel traffic
• <00:28:58.240> issues,<00:28:59.120> have<00:28:59.360> negative traffic issues,
• have negative traffic issues, have negative environmental<00:29:00.399> impacts,<00:29:00.720
• In densely packed residential areas, visitors would end up circling the block or parking far away, creating

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• pieces of the Texas Government Code that allow for assessments to, if you're going to be creating more traffic
• of the Texas government code that allows for assessments to, if you're going to be creating more traffic
• If you're going to be creating more traffic to, you know, get the developer to actually pay for some
• It blocked our outfalls.

Summary: The committee heard testimony first from the Texas General Land Office and School Land Board. GLO officials described the agency’s role in managing more than 13 million acres of state lands and mineral interests for the Permanent School Fund, overseeing the Alamo, coastal programs, veterans’ services, and federal disaster recovery. They said the agency has generated about $6 billion for the Permanent School Fund since Commissioner Buckingham took office, and that its disaster recovery portfolio is about $14 billion across multiple events, with more than 22,000 housing units rebuilt or reconstructed since Hurricane Harvey. Members asked about land purchases such as Brewster Ranch, rare earth mineral leasing, SpaceX-related beach access, and whether the lands are public access lands; GLO staff said the holdings are managed to maximize revenue for education, that most land is leased rather than open to public access, and that they are coordinating on coastal access and compliance. On the School Land Board, members sought clarification on the difference between GLO-managed lands and the Permanent School Fund Corporation’s investment role, and staff explained that GLO generates the revenue while the separate corporation invests it. No votes or formal actions were taken. The Board for Lease of University Lands then testified. University Lands officials explained that they steward 2.1 million acres of surface and mineral interests in West Texas for the Permanent University Fund, which supports UT and Texas A&M institutions. They said a 2025 lease sale produced about $50 million in bonus revenue from 28,000 acres, and described the Board for Lease’s role in approving lease forms, lease sales, and development agreements. Members asked about the size and use of the PUF, how distributions work through UTIMCO, whether PUF money can be used for athletics, and how the land is managed; the witness said the fund is a constitutional endowment, the land is largely leased rather than sold, and distributions are generally used for buildings, labs, and other permanent structures, with some institutions also using a portion for operations. No votes or formal actions were taken. The committee then took up municipal utility districts. Testimony from a law firm, the Texas Municipal League, Fort Bend County Commissioner Vincent Morales, and Johnson Development largely supported MUDs as a financing tool for infrastructure tied to growth. Witnesses said MUDs help fund water, sewer, drainage, roads, parks, and related infrastructure, allowing development to proceed without shifting costs to existing taxpayers and helping keep housing affordable. They emphasized that MUDs are created with disclosure to homebuyers, are subject to the Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act, and are overseen by TCEQ for bond issuance and related financial stress tests. Members questioned whether MUDs are taxing entities, whether they can be created inside city limits or ETJs, how much control cities and counties retain, and whether MUDs are becoming permanent local governments; witnesses acknowledged they levy taxes and debt, can exist within city limits with city consent, and often function as long-term local entities. The committee did not take any formal action during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Amanda Spencer said the plan is to go to construction in 2027 and be complete and open to traffic in
• Uh, US 41 bridge or bridges will remain open for local traffic. >> Okay.
• US 41 bridge or bridges will remain open for local traffic. >> Okay.
• what happened was our county clerks had a code that they could put in the system when the PVA had a block

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from its June 3 meeting and received an opening update on transportation revenues. Leadership noted that the gas tax formula dropped 4.1 cents on July 1, reducing road fund revenue by about $125 million, and warned that city, county, rural, and secondary road funding will be affected. The chair said the committee would likely have to be selective about transportation project requests given the reduced revenue outlook. The main presentation was an update on the I-69 bridge project. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials said the project is the missing link in the Henderson-Evansville corridor and is being delivered in three sections, with Kentucky leading section two. They said section two is a $933 million project, with Kentucky’s share described as $58 million and the balance Indiana’s, and that toll revenue will be used to finance the project through a TIFIA loan and Garvey bonds. Officials said Kentucky and Indiana have executed an agreement under House Bill 546 to use tolls, are working on a broader bi-state development agreement, and will ask the General Assembly next session to carry forward $150 million in general funds without conditions and to ratify the agreement. Members asked about the timeline, toll sharing, whether tolls would sunset, and whether US 41 bridges would remain open for local traffic; officials said construction is planned for 2027, tolling would begin in 2031, toll revenue would be shared 50/50, and at least one US 41 bridge would remain open for local use. The committee then heard a combined update from the Department of Vehicle Regulation and the Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing on implementation of several recent changes. Officials reported that the new registration category for special-purpose vehicles is fully operational statewide, with all counties enrolled and 292 vehicles processed so far; they also said counties received at least five plates each and that the program is permissive, not mandatory. They described implementation of Senate Bill 43’s medical review board reforms and third-party driver’s license issuance framework, saying the medical review process has been updated and that third-party partners may eventually handle easier transactions such as renewals, name changes, and address changes, while initial issuances would remain at KYTC regional offices. They also reported that the sheriff’s inspection process has been integrated into CAVIS, reducing paperwork and fraud and improving tracking. Members asked about communication to counties and cities with differing local rules, the number of counties participating, and how to coordinate multiple policy changes; officials said all counties are enrolled, though not all have submitted applications, and that they are still finalizing the scope of third-party services.

Transcript Highlights:

• Truck traffic, noise, operation, new...
• So it usually ranges, but a lot of it is focused. focused around truck traffic, noise, light pollution
• We do not have any authority over. noise, light nuisance, truck traffic, those sorts of things are outside
• Blame me you don't need to blame the block district.

Bills: HB1520, HB1525, HB1530, HB1535, HB2068, HB2091, HB2347, HB2372, HB2805, HB2815, HB2867, HB3154, HB3482, HB3483, HB3663, HB3781, HB3901, HB3915, HB4135, HB4153, HB4158, HB4329, HB4331

Keywords: Angelina and Neches River Authority, river authority, Sunset Advisory Commission, Texas Sunset Act, Special District Local Laws Code, local government, natural resources, board of directors, director training, board governance, public testimony, open meetings, public information, conflict of interest, ethics, complaint system, general manager, board president, staggered terms, removal of director

Transcript Highlights:

• He traffics in debunked conspiracy theories that serve or benefit his political beliefs.
• Now, earlier, I urged then-Chairman Durbin to subpoena those records, and I ended up being blocked by
• But don't forget there's traffic moving in the opposite direction.
• The only people responsible for human trafficking are the criminals that intentionally traffic in humans

Transcript Highlights:

• John Block, State Representative for House District 51 in beautiful Otero County.
• And so we're highly confident that it's a short-term solution, and we're going to 100% block the PFAS
• Chairman and Representative Block. Yeah, you're exactly right.
• Chair and Representative Block for the great question.
• Chair and Representative Block, thank you.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I look at state traffic records, traffic tickets, right? I don't know. Maybe.
• But now you want to pass a bill that blocks the very athletes who boost your brand.
• We're going to... ...why you want to pass a bill that blocks the very athletes who boost your brand.
• You can't brag about being pro-business while blocking property rights for law-abiding people.
• Sixteen years ago, when I first knocked on the doors, doing the block walking, I had people shut the

Bills: SB17, SB1569, SB2420, HB5138, HJR161, HB1937, HB3334, HB5444, HB5137, HB361, HB321, HB5447, HB464, HB678, HB2294, HB4172, HB3225, HB1769, HB5394, HB1837, HB1787, HB2271, HB2440, HB5134, HB5149, HB2151, HB2073, HB2186, HB2025, HB1936, HB1777, HB1663, HB 1306, HB 1290, HB1527, HB4802, HB3462, HB2963, HB2462, HB2560, HB644, HB2725, HB2621, HB2588, HB1443, HB1403, HB3032, HB1557, HB1664, HB2811, HB2088, HB2598, HB3062, HB3134, HB3940, HB4027, HB4097, HB4862, HB4170, HB4157, HB4205, HB4279, HB4377, HB4838, HB5424, HB5294, HB4870, HB4763, HB5639, HB4112, HB2275, HB1677, HB5014, HB3848, HB3797, HB3727, HB3709, HB3177, HB3057, HB4176, HB4202, HB2180, HB3528, HB3658, HCR76, HCR127

Keywords: foreign ownership, real property, national security, criminal penalties, civil penalties, personal information, higher education, privacy protection, governing board, institutional security, software applications, mobile devices, age verification, parental consent, data protection, app store regulation, HJR 161, Texas constitutional amendment, voting rights, non-citizen voting

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, received the invocation and pledges, and heard several announcements and recognitions before moving into floor action. Members honored the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley chess team for winning a share of the 2025 President’s Cup, recognized educator Jessica Lopez, and paid memorial tribute to Jennifer Maddenly, along with recognitions for Jeanette Valdez Duran’s food pantry work, TAMACC’s 50th anniversary, and Bernardine Steptoe’s retirement from WFAA. The House also granted permission for committees to meet while the House was in session, set a local consent calendar, and suspended posting rules for a Public Health Committee hearing on SB 2721. The chamber then considered a long series of Senate and House bills, with many passing on record votes. Measures addressed local law enforcement authority (SB 906), veterans highway designation (SB 1229), foster care medical billing (SB 855), massage therapy trafficking safeguards (SB 703), tax ballot language (SB 1025), occupational licensing for people with convictions (SB 1080), lien deadlines (SB 929), liquor sales complaints (SB 1355), higher education application fee waivers (SB 2231), utility data access (SB 1877), pediatric preceptorships (SB 1998), and several House bills on bond forfeiture notice, health workforce coordination, indigent civil commitment representation, consumer transaction cancellations, bird dispersal rules, theft venue for digital property, military grant applications, AI cancer-detection grants, cybersecurity contract language, in-state tuition for military-related programs, utility capital recovery, energy waste advisory oversight, gas utility rate recovery, psychedelic therapy study, teacher retirement funding transparency, pension changes, tax payment plans, and voter registration security. Some measures drew notable debate or amendments, including HB 5247, where a ratepayer-credit amendment failed, and HB 2298, HB 4014, HB 510, HB 561, HB 1128, HB 1904, HB 30, HB 200, HB 3045, and HB 5111, which all passed after recorded votes with varying margins. A major point of contention was SB 2420, the app store age-verification bill, which prompted extended debate over whether the bill should also require app developers to verify users’ ages. Representative Bryant offered an amendment to preserve developer verification obligations, arguing the bill would otherwise shift responsibility away from app makers; the author opposed it, saying the bill’s approach was more workable and raised concerns about First Amendment issues. Multiple points of order were raised and withdrawn during the debate, and the amendment discussion remained unresolved in the excerpt. The House also postponed further consideration of SB 17, SB 552, and SB 2420 at different points, and recessed for lunch after completing a large block of third-reading votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:39:25.760> studies, would go through the traffic studies, would go through the traffic
• like a traffic stop? like a traffic stop?
• So traffic disruptions to the neighborhood, those things can should still be in the zoning.
• <04:24:32.000> So, the traffic study said they had to.
• So, the traffic study said they had to.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Was it unusual for Edmondson Creek, Bubblegum Creek, to block their way back to their cabin?
• after that, when you were trying to evacuate the girls, any communication with them—did they hear the traffic
• and it looks like it meets the test of muster and the other deficiencies are checked off, is there a block
• still left to be checked that, based on death... ...there a block still left to be checked that, based
• I mean, like, we're talking—I always talk to my staff about blocking and tackling.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• election misinformation and policy that's just going to disenfranchise some of the most vulnerable blocks
• of voters. ...policy that's just going to disenfranchise some of the most vulnerable blocks of voters
• no vote on this amendment. policy that's just going to disenfranchise some of the most vulnerable blocks
• AB 499's amendment would make that a major hurdle and unnecessarily block voters from having their voices
• and it's not getting you to the place you need to get, and not usually on time, just because of the traffic

Bills: AB49, AB169, AB188, AB284, AB296, AB306, AB356, AB366, AB467, AB499, AB515, AB540, AB542, AB595

Keywords: educational personnel, teacher licensing, reciprocal licensure, provisional teaching, school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, state education standards, health insurance, speech-language pathology, stuttering, rehabilitative services, habilitative services, coverage requirements, health plans, retired public employees, subsidy, Medicare, health reimbursement arrangement, Public Employees' Benefits Program

Transcript Highlights:

• If contract pharmacy arrangements are blocked or reimbursement is reduced, patient adherence and outcomes
• Unfortunately, HB 3265 blocks transparency, makes it more difficult to evaluate whether the program is
• Um, so you said that this bill blocks transparency. How does this bill block transparency?
• He was sitting still obeying traffic laws, and in a split second, his life was changed.

Transcript Highlights:

• But because at the traffic stop, if it rings up or pulls up in the system, it will have an identification
• Shelby and President Barack Obama, we were able to get millions of dollars of community development block
• specifically to community<01:02:04.320> uh<01:02:04.400> development<01:02:04.840> block
• <01:02:05.080> grant community uh development block grant community uh development block grant
• We narrowed the grants down from all other grants only to community development block grant dollars because

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When they blocked courthouse doors, people registered anyway.
• So their only recourse is to send traffic tickets to their county courts, which we don't want.
• I don't want there to be a stumbling block to resolution of a dispute.

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then approved the House Journal by roll call vote, 120-0. Members also suspended House Rule 98 to allow hats on the chamber floor, approving that motion 87-32. The chamber then recognized several special guests and personal introductions, including the Eugene High School basketball team, family members of members, and other visitors. One member delivered a lengthy personal privilege speech responding to a U.S. Supreme Court voting-rights decision and urging protection of democracy and voting access. In committee reports, the House received favorable reports on substitute House Bill 2426 and Senate Bills 866 and 863. The chamber then agreed to a conference on the property-tax omnibus package, Senate Bills 1066 and 1088. On third reading, House Bill 3329 passed 142-0, repealing expired tax credits, and House Bill 3405 passed 138-0, cleaning up SALT deduction language and clarifying it as a deduction rather than a credit. House Committee Substitute for House Bill 2426, a parental-rights bill, was debated at length with opposition focused on its school reporting and financial-ledger provisions, but the motion to pass it failed 70-60. The House then took up Senate Bill 1233, a licensure bill dealing with CPA licensing and other professional licensing provisions. One amendment removing compacts and related language was adopted, a nursing-home physicals amendment was withdrawn, and the bill passed 129-6. Senate Bill 1408, originally a highway-speed bill, was heavily amended to remove some Department of Revenue and other provisions, while adding or revising items including vehicle inspections, motorcycle lighting, hands-free enforcement, driver education, and specialty plates for women’s professional sports; it passed 82-53. The final bill of the day, Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill 863, creating a five-member interscholastic athletic oversight commission for appeals from statewide activities associations, was introduced and debated, with questions raised about its relationship to MSHSAA.

Transcript Highlights:

• What happens if the officer is involved in a shooting during a traffic stop, and related records are
• For the past few years, the ratings have been intentionally blocked by repetitive taxpayer-funded ISD
• In the 3rd of this year, and then recently the 15th Court of Appeals has ruled against these blocking

Bills: SB8, SB4, SB43, SB1, SB2, SB13, SB6, SB10, SB16, SB14, SB3, SB8, SB4, SB43, SB1, SB2, SB13, SB6, SB10, SB16, SB14, SB3

Keywords: education, accountability, public school assessment, state law, transparency, intervention, performance ratings, Texas congressional redistricting, U.S. House districts, congressional map, redistricting, gerrymandering, 2020 Census, census tracts, block groups, voting districts, election law, Texas House of Representatives districts, federal congressional districts, 2026 elections

Transcript Highlights:

• Next, we have Senator O'Malley (member_20875), then Representative Block (member_14069) and Representative
• Representative Block. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Secretary.
• General public, because anything that can increase traffic increases revenue and actually makes your

Transcript Highlights:

• They want to block financial managers from even considering environmental risks like flooding and wildfires
• They want to block financial managers from even considering environmental risks like flooding and wildfires
• They want to block financial managers from even considering environmental risks like flooding and wildfires
• They want to block financial managers from even considering environmental risks like flooding and wildfires

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 1012, house, all