Bills: HB17, HB16, SB10, HB27, HB23, SB15, SB18

Keywords: property tax, school funding, enrollment changes, inflation adjustment, tax rate notice, judicial administration, court reform, juvenile diversion, court security, mental health services, drug offenses, constitutional amendments, property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, Texas Tax Code, nonprofit corporation, charitable organization, educational nonprofit, scientific nonprofit, agriculture support

Summary: The House convened, received a message from the Senate, and the chair announced the signing of HB 4 in the presence of the House. The clerk then read a large number of first-reading measures and referred them to committees. Among the notable bills, SB 1 by Senator Perry on campground and youth camp safety was referred to the Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. Several House resolutions dealing with House rules, quorum, attendance, and penalties for members who missed sessions or broke quorum were referred to the Committee on House Administration, including HR 5, HR 17, HR 18, HR 34, HR 41, and HR 58. The House also referred a broad slate of resolutions to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars, including measures by Riddell, Craddick, Toth, Leo Wilson, Schofield, Gehan, Bella Montgomery, Hinojosa, Schoolcraft, Little, Meyer, Luhan, Orr, Johnson, Harris Davila, Lopez, Cameron, Gonzalez of El Paso, Wharton, Flores, Dyson, and Harless. These referrals covered many individual House resolutions and concurrent resolutions, but no debate or votes were recorded in the transcript. At the end of the proceedings, the House recessed until noon pursuant to a previously adopted motion.

Bills: SB45, SB61, SB222, HB385

Keywords: athlete agents, commission, state regulation, Alabama, higher education, athletics, membership diversity, school psychologist, school psychology, interstate compact, licensure compact, license reciprocity, portable license, equivalent license, professional licensing, psychology board, school mental health, student services, educational services, interstate practice

Bills: HCR11, HCR181, HCR187, HCR47, HCR44, HCR161, HCR102, HCR107, HCR118, HCR42, HCR176, HCR84, HCR94, HCR195, HR14, HR171, HR177, HR43, HR40, HR151, HR94, HR99, HR110, HR38, HR166, HR76, HR86, HR185

Keywords: charter schools, facilities, school funding, education, Hawaii, student enrollment, policy change, HCR181, House Concurrent Resolution, Department of Education, DOE, temporary positions, position renewal, superintendent-level positions, legislative intent, statutory interpretation, budget accountability, fiscal oversight, government transparency, state employment

Transcript Highlights:

• He's still over in education.
• He's still over in education.
• Uh, but I think at the core of the bill is reducing the hours, the prerequisite for graduation. ...the
• prerequisite for graduation from 1,500 to 1,200 hours, and then it also allows the barbers to work 10
• Okay. uh the pre prerequisite for graduation uh the pre prerequisite for graduation from<00:17:21.039

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Licensing and Occupations Committee met with a quorum and heard several licensing and regulatory bills. House Bill 565, presented by Rep. Myron Dossett with support from the Kentucky League of Cities and the Paducah Fire Department, would clarify and broaden the authority of “fire protection officials” so local fire officials, along with the state fire marshal, can enforce final orders and seek court enforcement locally. The sponsor described it as cleanup language to streamline fire code enforcement and improve efficiency. The bill passed unanimously. The committee then considered House Bill 776, a modernization of Kentucky’s Dental Practice Act, presented by Rep. Derek Lewis and Jeff Allen of the Kentucky Board of Dentistry, with Rep. Chad Hall also speaking in support. The bill updates definitions and board authority, revises licensure and renewal provisions, clarifies supervision and training rules for hygienists and assistants, updates telehealth standards, and preserves dentists’ authority over diagnosis and treatment planning. Members also discussed a provision allowing the board to use excess licensing funds for a scholarship to attract dentists to Kentucky. After questions about Medicaid access and a promised amendment removing certain ownership-related provisions, the bill passed unanimously. House Bill 657, presented by Rep. Stephanie Deetsz and Michelle Sanborn of the Children’s Alliance, would give five licensing boards the statutory authority needed to obtain FBI fingerprinting/ORI numbers for interstate compact compliance. The boards named were counseling, speech-language pathology and audiology, occupational therapy, social work, and psychology. Supporters said the bill simply updates Kentucky law to match current FBI fingerprint language. It passed unanimously. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 273, presented by Rep. Mike Klein and the Kentucky Board of Barbering. A committee substitute was adopted first. The bill reduces barber training hours from 1,500 to 1,200, allows 10-hour school days, shortens out-of-state licensure experience requirements from three years to one year, and makes other cleanup changes, including moving board compensation to regulation. Supporters said it would reduce barriers to entry and help address workforce shortages. The amended bill passed unanimously, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Education and Employment Committee will now come to order. Kendall, please call the roll.
• Is there some type of prerequisite that these folks...
• We are not, with this bill, just educating towards a test.
• We are not with this bill just educating towards a test.
• We're number one in education, but we're not number one in nursing education. We need to be.

Summary: The Education and Employment Committee met with a quorum and considered one bill, HB 121 by Representative Overdorf, relating to nursing education programs. The sponsor said Florida’s nursing shortage is projected to worsen and argued that low NCLEX passage rates show some programs are not adequately preparing students. The bill would tighten probation for underperforming programs, require program directors to be accountable, authorize Department of Health on-site inspections, require admission criteria and public posting of NCLEX passage rates, and require tuition reimbursement and free remediation for students at programs with passage rates below 30 percent. Members asked about how the bill would interact with the Board of Nursing, the Commission for Independent Education, and other agencies, and whether it would address fraudulent or low-quality schools. An opponent from the Florida Association of Independent Nursing Schools said current law already requires Board of Nursing and commission review, institutional accreditation, and provisional status for programs on probation, and argued the bill could reduce the supply of nurses. He also said Florida’s NCLEX results had recently improved. A representative of the Florida Nurses Association supported the bill, saying weak programs waste students’ time and money and do not produce licensed nurses. During debate, several members described concerns about diploma mills, fraudulent programs, student debt, and the need for stronger screening and accountability. Others emphasized that raising standards would improve patient safety and help ensure better-prepared nurses. The chair noted the importance of private nursing colleges in the state’s nursing pipeline. The committee then voted 19-0 to report HB 121 favorably and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, members, by way of background, the State Board of Education must require all health education
• part of physical health education.
• Education institutions are not mental health—they are education institutions.
• That is not education; that is failure.
• of Education must consult with the Arizona Department of Education to determine the amount of training

Bills: HB2093, HB2370, HB2376, HB2380, HB2381, HB2383, HB2423, HB2481, HB2621, HB2895, HB4005, HB4043, HB4109

Keywords: mental health, school curriculum, education policy, instruction requirements, statute repeal, charter schools, education, weapons detection, public safety, school administration, school districts, real estate transactions, school property, bond issuance, land use approval, capital improvements, school governance, board meetings, education funding, parental notification

Summary: The committee first approved the March 18, 2026 minutes and then considered the nomination of John Snyder to the State Board for Charter Schools. Snyder described his background in municipal finance, charter school financings, and prior service with Arizona charter school organizations and the Arizona School for the Arts. Members asked about how his finance experience would help the board’s oversight role, and the committee voted 6-0 with one not voting to recommend his confirmation to the full Senate. The committee then heard HB 2093, which would remove the statutory requirement that health education include mental health instruction tied to multiple dimensions of health and would repeal related consultation requirements in 2037. The sponsor argued the bill would remove social-emotional learning from schools and return mental health matters to parents, while opponents, including students, a suicide-loss parent, and youth mental health advocates, said school-based mental health education saves lives and should remain available with parental opt-out. After debate, the committee voted 4-3 to give the bill a do pass recommendation. Several school safety and education bills followed. HB 4043, requiring at least one campus employee trained in CPR, first aid, and AED use where applicable, passed unanimously after testimony from the sponsor and school administrators. HB 4005, requiring instruction on ethical and educational uses of artificial intelligence in school districts beginning in 2027-28, passed 4-3 despite opposition from the Arizona Education Association over unfunded mandate concerns. HB 2895, allowing Native American language proficiency to satisfy a world language requirement and adding language clarifying districts are not required to offer such courses, passed unanimously as amended. HB 2383, renaming trampoline court safety legislation as Ty’s Law, also passed unanimously as amended. The committee also advanced HB 4109, a school public safety and notification bill requiring district safety policies, parent and law enforcement notification after life-threatening violence or weapon incidents, annual public safety reporting, and misdemeanor penalties for noncompliance. Testimony was sharply divided: supporters cited delayed or inadequate notification in serious incidents, while opponents argued the bill was too broad and criminalized administrators. The bill passed 4-3. The committee then approved HB 2376, appropriating $40 million for the school safety program and prioritizing school resource officers and school safety officers, and HB 2380, requiring greater public access to governing board meetings, materials, video, and out-of-state travel approvals; both passed 4-3. Finally, the committee began considering HB 2381, a major strike-everything amendment on career technical education district governance and funding, along with a follow-up amendment, but the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Bills: HB387, HB388, HB468, HB548, HB827, HB848, HB921, HB924, HB953

Keywords: engineering, land surveying, construction, state fire marshal, plan review, contracting services, unsolicited contact, homeowners, penalties, regulations, wholesaling, real estate, earnest money, cancellation rights, residential properties, Louisiana Real Estate Commission, certified public accountant, CPA, accounting board, Louisiana State Board of Certified Public Accountants

Transcript Highlights:

• This was recognized at the top of the legal change, so maybe you can educate me on... ...recognized at
• the top of the legal change, so maybe you can educate me on something, sir.

Bills: SB1039, SB1061, SB1068, SB1069, SB1099, SB1127, SB1148, SB1271, SB1426, SB1448

Keywords: attorney discipline, legal costs, reputation damage, state bar, court costs, fentanyl, drug offenses, narcotic drugs, criminal penalties, Arizona Revised Statutes, educational institutions, public order, disruption, concealed weapons, safety regulations, firearms, muffling devices, weapon regulations, Arizona law, public safety

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several bills dealing with attorney discipline, bar licensure, drug sentencing, campus firearms, suppressors, defamation, emergency-service calls by businesses, mandatory child-abuse reporting, eviction procedure, and protections for utility workers. SB 1039 would allow attorneys who prevail in disciplinary matters to recover lost earnings and seek compensation for reputational harm from the State Bar; SB 1148 would require the Arizona Supreme Court to directly license attorneys rather than delegate that function. Both bills were supported by the sponsor as restoring accountability and limiting delegation, and both received due-pass recommendations despite some opposition votes. Members also heard SB 1061, which lowers the fentanyl trafficking threshold from 200 grams to 9 grams; opponents from the ACLU and defense bar argued the threshold would sweep in personal-use cases and increase incarceration, while supporters said it targets traffickers. The bill was recommended do pass. SB 1068, barring public colleges and universities from prohibiting lawful concealed carry by permit holders, drew strong opposition from gun-safety advocates and campus representatives who cited suicide and campus safety concerns, and support from gun-rights groups who argued campuses are not exempt from constitutional rights; it also received a due-pass recommendation. SB 1069, removing suppressors from Arizona’s prohibited-weapons definition, was opposed by Moms Demand Action and supported by gun-rights advocates as aligning state law with federal law and protecting hearing; it likewise passed out of committee. The committee also advanced SB 1099, which would codify statutory defamation elements and add an internet-related limitation period; the ACLU warned it could chill speech and conflict with evolving First Amendment law, while the sponsor said it would clarify existing case law and address online defamation. SB 1271, prohibiting cities from penalizing businesses for legitimate emergency-service calls, passed unanimously after testimony that some municipalities had discouraged 911 calls for theft and other incidents. HB 1127, requiring mandatory reporters with direct knowledge of child abuse or neglect to report immediately and personally, passed after Phoenix Children’s Hospital and DCS said they supported the intent but wanted implementation language clarified for medical emergencies. SB 1426, changing forcible-detainer procedures by removing the written-demand requirement, passed despite concerns from the multi-housing industry that the current language could disrupt holdover-tenant evictions. Finally, SB 1448, as amended, expanded aggravated-assault protections to utility, telecom, video-service, and related workers; supporters cited threats and assaults against field crews, while opponents argued existing assault laws already cover the conduct and the bill is overly broad. The amendment and the bill as amended were adopted, and the committee gave SB 1448 a due-pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator, they're just processing the paperwork and the license, and verifying that you've got whatever education
• 29:03.440> whatever verifying that you've got whatever verifying that you've got whatever education
• 04.520> you've<00:29:04.640> got<00:29:05.520> a<00:29:05.560> clear education
• and you've got a clear education and you've got a clear criminal<00:29:06.240> background<00:

Bills: HB163, HB344, SB11, SB92, SB164, HB22, HB89, SB227, SB6

Keywords: income tax, research expenditures, economic development, tax deductions, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Alabama tax law, educational intervention, State Superintendent, local boards of education, subpoena, accountability, state control, electric vehicles, registrations, license tax, public transportation, funding infrastructure, K-12 education, wireless communication devices, digital safety

Bills: SB2043, SB2044, SB2004, SB2143, SB2411, SB2455, SB2519, SB2661, SB2665, SB2731, SB2737, SB2767, SB2794, SB2830, SB3334

Keywords: insurance, captives, examination, regulations, policyholders, dormant captive, tax exemption, Hawaii revised statutes, financial reporting, outdoor advertising, billboards, public safety, penalties, community pollution, elections, chief election officer, vacancy, order of succession, election commission, campaign finance

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a last dollar program and a median education rate for students remains the same.
• Uh there Commission on Higher Education.
• Roberts, Senator Smitherman. educational dollars. educational dollars.
• Thanks to the Higher Education Partnership, we were added under Innovate Alabama.
• . education. education.

Bills: SB342, HB379, HB326, HB233, HB388, SB342, HB379, HB326, HB233, HB388

Keywords: land bank, land bank authority, local land bank authority, Alabama Land Bank Authority, tax delinquent property, tax sale, tax lien, redemption period, quiet title, blight remediation, vacant property, foreclosure, ad valorem tax, property tax exemption, intergovernmental agreement, county government, municipal government, redevelopment, brownfields, floodplain management

Transcript Highlights:

• If everyone sees a quorum, the Senate Education Committee will come to order. Welcome, everyone.
• As is the tradition in this committee, we like to welcome a wide variety of people in the education space
• guys would stand so we can recognize you, we are so excited that you're going into the field of education
• Senate Bill 514 provides clarification in regards to alternative education programming through charter
• On the new language on page two, I see that it is designated by the State Department of Education, can

Bills: SB514, SB346, SB1593, SB1782, SB1366, SB1497, SB366, SB1895, SB2048, SB2005, SB2006, SB710, SB1480

Keywords: SB514, school choice, charter school, virtual charter school, OSSAA, extracurricular activities, interscholastic activities, athletics, homeschool, other means of education, alternative education, student eligibility, student transfer, district policy, public school district, adjacent district, blended learning, virtual learning, school sports, academic eligibility

Transcript Highlights:

• Grow Your Own is the on-ramp, introducing future education. educators to the profession as early as high
• And now, when education is a.
• Education has been important to me.
• SB 451 strengthens the role of the State Board of Education in safeguarding educational quality.
• So this body, the work of this body, the State Board of Education. education.

Bills: SB451, SB762, SB1490, SB1262, SB1459, SB1750, SB1962, SB2252, SB2253, SB2365

Keywords: instructional materials, public schools, Education Code, adoption, rejected materials, local funds, open educational resources, Texas Education Code, school districts, open enrollment charter schools, funding restrictions, environmental regulation, business compliance, local authority, economic development, state preemption, local control, open education resources, SB 762, Texas public schools

Transcript Highlights:

• And now, when education is a.
• Students and educators.
• SB 451 strengthens the role of the State Board of Education in safeguarding educational quality.
• So this body, the work of this body, the State Board of Education. education.
• special education teacher.

Bills: SB451, SB762, SB1490, SB1262, SB1459, SB1750, SB1962, SB2252, SB2253, SB2365

Keywords: instructional materials, public schools, Education Code, adoption, rejected materials, local funds, open educational resources, Texas Education Code, school districts, open enrollment charter schools, funding restrictions, environmental regulation, business compliance, local authority, economic development, state preemption, local control, open education resources, SB 762, Texas public schools

Transcript Highlights:

• >> Higher Education Budget Subcommittee will come to order.
• education programs.
• of the workforce development, education programs.
• Department of Education.
• She which is the state Higher Education.

Transcript Highlights:

• Committee on Higher Education will come to order. The clerk will call the roll.
• They're required to clearly list course prerequisites and prerequisites and non-course requirements such
• education in this state.
• First, it enhances reporting requirements of the education code.
• code than the other public higher education institutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• She chaired the Higher Education, Environmental Regulation, and Local and Consent Calendar committees
• The only prerequisite in statute is a vote of six commissioners to make a referral.
• The only prerequisite in statute is a vote of six commissioners to make a referral.
• I mean, the people that are regulated by us may not be educated enough on our rules.
• Well, and to your point, CLE isn't going to capture those... ...educated enough on our rules.

Summary: The Texas Ethics Commission met on March 11, 2025, first in executive session and then in open session. The chair announced that, in light of Texas Attorney General Opinion KP-484, the commission would conform its practices to the opinion and move to repeal tolling rules for sworn-complaint deadlines. The chair also said the commission would dismiss 36 pending sworn-complaint cases in which the 120-day settlement deadline had been exceeded, even though the delay had been tolled under prior TEC rules. The commission then set future meeting dates for June 12 and September 17 and approved prior meeting minutes. The commission adopted a new criminal-referral rule clarifying that, once jurisdiction over a complaint is accepted, commissioners may vote to make a criminal referral. It also adopted revised advisory-opinion rules, with a clarifying amendment from a commenter, and republished proposed changes to the definition of “principal purpose” for political committees after staff recommended a 49 percent political-activity threshold and further public input. The commission published for comment proposed changes to ethics training rules, facial-compliance review procedures, late-filing waiver and reduction rules, and sworn-complaint procedures, including tighter discovery limits, a default-order set-aside process, and removal of tolling language inconsistent with KP-484. It also republished Chapter 28 rules on Speaker-candidate reporting. The commission adopted several advisory opinions. It declined to give an affirmative defense on whether certain school-district communications were political advertising because related litigation had already addressed the issue. It reaffirmed that a House member may use donated district-office space if it is not reimbursable with public funds and was accepted before the contribution moratorium. It also concluded that a judge may use political funds for travel to a Navy-hosted event as a local dignitary, that legislators’ use of a corporate aircraft for a border-region fact-finding trip could be permissible but would likely trigger reporting obligations, that a TCEQ commissioner’s revolving-door restrictions apply only to matters actually placed before the commissioner, and that a part-time legislative staffer may not take outside employment assisting a registered lobbyist. The commission then heard and acted on numerous fine-waiver appeals, granting several full waivers or reductions and approving staff recommendations on others, and terminated a number of inactive campaign treasurer appointments. Finally, the executive director briefed the commission on the 2025 legislative session, noting that staffing requests are tied to Sunset recommendations and that the House had preliminarily recommended about half of the commission’s appropriations requests.

Transcript Highlights:

• the plans, anything, but make sure they can re plans to still have two appraisals, which is a prerequisite
• ><00:03:08.480> a have two two appraisals which is a have two two appraisals which is a prerequisite
• prerequisite to selling it. prerequisite to selling it.

Keywords: Public Property - Room 210, 30 January, 2026; 10:30 A.M., 925, all

Summary: The Public Property Committee met for its second meeting and considered one bill presented by Senator Dupre on behalf of the University of Southern Mississippi. The bill would streamline the sale of a USM-owned parcel in North Mississippi by allowing the Department of Finance and Administration to continue reviewing the transaction and ultimately approve it without having to open the property up through the usual process, while still requiring the standard due diligence and two appraisals. Senator Dupre said the change would speed development of the property, which has a master plan involving local governments and the city of Hattiesburg, and could help attract complementary industry for the existing innovation park. Committee members noted that the proposal was double-referred to Public Property and Universities and Colleges and that it was similar to a prior Mississippi State University arrangement, suggesting it was not new precedent. The chair emphasized that DFA would not be removed from the process, only allowed to review and then step back once the transaction could proceed. After no further questions, the committee adopted a motion for title sufficient and do pass, with no opposition recorded. The bill was then referred out, and the committee subsequently approved a motion to rise and report.

Transcript Highlights:

• The financial curriculum supports young people throughout the continuum of education.
• I think many of us in this chamber, and myself, wish I had this education.
• There was, and still hasn't been, any education.
• It's about ensuring that everyone in our... ...education system can read.
• This bill gives our students and teachers the education...

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House took up several procedural orders early in the session, including extending the reporting deadline for the Housing Committee on H.4655 and suspending Joint Rule 12 for a petition seeking to rescind prior Article 5 constitutional convention applications. It then advanced three Ways and Means bills on education-related topics: personal financial literacy education (H.4670), expanded access to the state seal of biliteracy (H.4671), and teacher preparation and student literacy (H.4672), each moving through amendment adoption and third reading or engrossment procedures. A major portion of the meeting focused on H.4670, which would require personal financial literacy instruction in middle and high school and establish a financial literacy trust fund for curriculum and teacher training. Members spoke in support, emphasizing budgeting, credit, student loans, and long-term financial planning, and the bill passed to be engrossed by a 154-0 roll call. H.4671, which broadens access to the seal of biliteracy for students in public and private schools, also drew support and passed to be engrossed 155-0. The most extensive debate centered on H.4672, a literacy bill requiring evidence-based reading instruction, DESE-approved curricula or approved local alternatives, screening and progress monitoring, professional development, and related implementation measures. Members described concerns about declining reading scores and argued for a shift away from three-cueing toward phonics-based, science-of-reading approaches. Several amendments were considered: a proposal to change intervention language from “significantly” to “at risk of falling behind” failed, while amendments adding funding language, stakeholder collaboration, and other implementation details were adopted. One amendment clarifying that pictures may be used as a supplement in literacy curricula was also adopted, and the bill ultimately passed to be engrossed 155-0. The House also observed moments of silence for former Judge Leslie Harris, former Representative Mark Carron, and former Representative Dennis Rosa, and adjourned to meet the next day at 11 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• the RAISE Act money, and some of that goes to poverty, some of that goes to schools with special education

Bills: SB342, SB342, SB159

Keywords: land bank, land bank authority, local land bank authority, Alabama Land Bank Authority, tax delinquent property, tax sale, tax lien, redemption period, quiet title, blight remediation, vacant property, foreclosure, ad valorem tax, property tax exemption, intergovernmental agreement, county government, municipal government, redevelopment, brownfields, floodplain management