Video & Transcript Research : 'disaster response'

Page 6 of 500
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Education K-16 (Part I) May 22nd, 2025

Education K-16

Transcript Highlights:
  • Again, this bill is in response to what happened in 2023 when TSBEP amended the rules to allow for the
  • Chairman, members, we all recognize that our state has been and continues to be responsible for our foster
  • youth, and we should work to ensure that they can do... ...and continues to be responsible for our foster
  • In recognition of that responsibility, we’ve granted current and former foster youth in the state tuition
  • And anything we can do to have more labor available and be responsive to the homeowner when they make
Bills: HB4, HB20
Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 heard a series of higher education and K-12 bills, initially without a quorum and with several measures left pending subject to the call of the chair. Early bills included HB 1868, which would direct a study on lowering the dual-credit funding threshold for public junior colleges from 15 to 9 semester credit hours; HB 2598, which would replace statutory references to “licensed specialist in school psychology” with “school psychologist”; HB 3629, which would bar registered sex offenders from serving on independent school district boards of trustees; and HB 4361, which would require the Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules for timely emergency notifications at public institutions of higher education. Each received brief sponsor explanations, no opposition testimony, and was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4848, requiring public higher education systems to ensure at least one institution offers affordable competency-based bachelor’s degree programs in high-demand fields, and HB 1211, which would remove the age 25 deadline for former foster youth to use public college tuition waivers. HB 1211 drew extensive supportive testimony from Texas CASA, a former foster youth who benefited from the waiver, and a current student headed to medical school, all arguing the change would better match the realities faced by youth aging out of care. Members discussed the bill’s fiscal uncertainty and the argument that the waiver is an investment in workforce participation; the bill was left pending. Later, the committee heard HB 20, creating an Applied Sciences Pathway Program to let high school students earn certificates in targeted industries such as welding, plumbing, electrical work, manufacturing, and oil and gas while in school. Industry and workforce groups strongly supported the bill as a way to address labor shortages, while Texas 2036 raised concerns about allowing applied versions of core academic courses to substitute for traditional instruction. HB 4687, which would extend governmental immunity protections to certain campus/district charter schools and adult charter high schools, also received support from a charter-school attorney who said it would align statutes with existing case law and not expand charter rights. HB 4236, as substituted, would create a study group to examine the property value study’s effect on school finance and alternative valuation methods; it was adopted as a committee substitute and left pending. The committee also heard HB 824 on civics instruction in high school government courses and HB 2243, which would create a commission on teacher job satisfaction and retention; the latter prompted debate over removing “ethnic diversity” language from the commission’s makeup. After adopting the substitute for HB 2243 by roll call, the committee recessed subject to the call of the chair.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Education K-16 (Part II) May 22nd, 2025

Education K-16

Transcript Highlights:
  • So she was warm and responsive on Sunday? Yes.
  • schools are teaching just to that effect, and they're telling students that they're going to be responsible
  • feedback collected through the pilot program, but also ensures Texas teachers help grade written responses
  • You just have to... and it's not for a response, it just sounds easy.
  • You just have to, you just, and it's not for a response, it just, it sounds easy.
Bills: HB4, HB20
Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 2853, which would allow the UT System Board of Regents to adjust the University of Texas at El Paso student union fee above the current statutory cap, subject to student approval, to help fund a new student union building. Senator Blanco explained the bill and the committee substitute, there were no questions or witnesses, public testimony was closed, and the committee adopted the substitute and left the bill pending subject to the call of the chair. The committee then heard House Bill 610, which would limit severance payments for terminated independent school district superintendents to six months’ salary and benefits. Senator Paxton described large severance payouts and said the bill had passed the House overwhelmingly. There were no witnesses, public testimony was closed, and the bill was left pending. A lengthy hearing followed on House Bill 4623, which would waive school district immunity in certain cases involving negligent hiring, supervision, or employment of professional school employees who commit abuse or related misconduct against students. Senator Paxton and several witnesses, including survivors and parents, argued the bill was needed to address cover-ups, delayed reporting, and repeated failures to remove dangerous employees; some members raised concerns about liability caps, litigation, and how the bill would interact with the Tort Claims Act. The committee also heard from TEA staff and employee-group witnesses who discussed possible injunctions and stronger no-hire protections. Public testimony was then closed and the bill was left pending. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 4, an accountability and assessment bill that would restore A-F ratings, change the state testing system, and replace STAAR with shorter, more instructionally useful assessments. Senator Bettencourt explained the committee substitute, including annual ratings, limits on taxpayer-funded lawsuits, and a phased-in testing redesign with beginning, middle, and end-of-year assessments. Testimony was generally supportive from education and business groups, though some witnesses favored norm-referenced testing while others emphasized criterion-referenced, TEKS-aligned assessments; one witness noted social studies assessments were restored in the bill. The hearing concluded with additional invited testimony and no final vote reported in the transcript.
AL

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama House Local Legislation Committee Mar 5th, 2025

Local Legislation

Transcript Highlights:
  • So, we want the right kind of immunity because there is an expanded scope of responsibilities, obviously
Bills: HB325
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • We believe that this is a good, responsible approach to increase it to $100,000.
  • This is for a more timely response to those local issues that come up, like road construction.
  • versatile as it relates to dollars and stuff, wouldn't you agree that the Office of OMB has that responsibility
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • would include an analysis of the overall cost of implementing a more efficient, geographically responsive
  • Department's. streamlined procurement for timely military construction, protecting readiness and emergency response
  • The State Guard has played a key role in disaster response, emergency management, and state security
Bills: HB101, HB290
TX

Texas 89th 2nd C.S.

Intergovernmental Affairs Apr 22nd, 2025

Intergovernmental Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • change will facilitate the creation of more affordable housing in Texas and increase government responsiveness
  • I fully understand the move forward with the project if the local governing entity is not being responsive
  • They should be responsive, and I'm fine with them losing their opportunity to weigh in if they're not
Bills: HB164
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

County and Municipal Government Feb 18th, 2026 at 03:00 pm

County and Municipal Government

Transcript Highlights:
  • liability protection for local governments that follow recognized cybersecurity frameworks, encouraging responsible
  • Encouraging responsible governance and protecting taxpayer resources. Move for adoption.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Assay misdemeanors for, one, the authority responsible for procuring the election.
  • And the authority responsible for procuring the election supplies for an election commits an offense
  • Any business interruptions, such as a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina or Harvey, highlight the
  • Judge, do you have any responses to some of the things he brought up? I agree with Mr.
  • However, since letters often state that the attorney is not responsible for the bills, that situation
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs Apr 9th, 2025

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • Whenever there's a disaster and the president declares a disaster isn't there federal funds that are
  • available to help with the disaster? Well, that's a tricky question.
  • Last year, we had two disasters, one come in April, one come in...
  • When TETM comes, they can actually see the disaster that you're doing.
  • That comes with responsibilities. You have to go to the range every 90 days.
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • So not only is the disaster itself going to be expensive and tough, now they're starting to be concerned
  • The disaster itself is going to be expensive and tough.
  • 00:41:22.119> the community and uh so not only is the community and uh so not only is the disaster
  • 23.599> going<00:41:23.720> to<00:41:23.839> be<00:41:24.040> expensive disaster
  • itself going to be expensive disaster itself going to be expensive and<00:41:24.800> tough<00
Summary: The committee met for its third meeting of the session and received an update on the Capitol renovation project from Finance and Administration Secretary Holly Johnson and State Budget Director John Hicks. They reported the project budget remains $291.52 million, with Messer Construction as construction manager, and said the temporary legislative chamber completion has slipped into 2025 because of wiring, voting machine, KET camera, and canopy work. They outlined the current bid schedule: site and utility bids due February 27, 2025; roofing and fourth-floor structural work due April 24; major renovation bids due May 23; bid review in late May and early June; roofing and fourth-floor work beginning in late June; and overall construction starting July 7, 2025. A major focus of the discussion was the project contingency, which officials said is only $10.8 million for an older building with significant unknown conditions. They explained that earlier investigations led to about $60 million in value engineering cuts, including more than $40 million tied to unexpectedly extensive terrace damage on the north, south, and east sides. The terraces were originally expected to need only minor work, but officials said investigations showed reconstruction would eventually be necessary and could not be handled by simple restoration. They also said the mechanical equipment plan changed from a basement location to a vault under the east parking lot, and that the west terrace will still see some ADA-related work. Committee members questioned why the terrace work was not included in the current budget, whether doing it later would cost more, and why bids and construction planning had taken so long. Officials said the terraces were left out because of cost, that future work would likely be more expensive because of market escalation, and that the timing reflected extensive investigation needed to produce reliable bids. Members also raised concerns about scaffolding and the temporary chambers; officials clarified that the scaffolding discussed was for the separate Capitol Dome project, not the chamber project, and said the Dome scaffolding is part of that project cost and is expected to come down in early 2027. They said the temporary chambers are expected to be used for three sessions, through the 28th session, with a return to the Capitol planned for the 29th session, and that public tours of the Capitol would likely end around June depending on the bid results and construction schedule.
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

CPC Public Hearing - Thu Apr 16, 2026 @ 2:00 PM HST

Consumer Protection & Commerce

Bills: SCR118, SCR173
Summary: The Committee on Consumer Protection heard two resolutions. SCR 118 SD1 would urge the Insurance Division and the Attorney General to convene a working group on climate change impacts on insurance availability and affordability. The Insurance Division deferred to written testimony, while the Attorney General opposed the measure because of an ongoing lawsuit, asking that references to legal recovery and the AG’s role in convening the group be removed. Members questioned how the resolution might relate to the state’s climate damages litigation and whether it could inform damages calculations. The committee later recommended passage with amendments, including removing the Attorney General as co-convener and changing certain membership references to board chairs; the motion passed unanimously with one excused member. The committee also heard SCR 173 SD1, which would create a task force on event ticket scalping. The Office of Consumer Protection supported the concept but asked to be added as a task force member and said the draft left its role unclear. Supporters, including the National Independent Venue Association and D-BAT, described high resale prices, fraudulent or speculative tickets, and harm to consumers and local businesses. StubHub and the Ticket Policy Forum supported the task force but urged broader scope to include the primary ticket market and ticket sellers, and StubHub also sought inclusion on the task force. Members discussed whether the task force should focus on the secondary market or the broader ticketing ecosystem, and whether the Office of Consumer Protection should be part of the task force or only consulted. The vice chair recommended passage with amendments adding the Office of Consumer Protection as a member and clarifying the consultation language, and the committee adopted that recommendation unanimously with one excused member.