Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Cook. Representative Lewis. >> Present. Representative Lockett. >> Here.
• Representative<00:19:40.240> Cook.
• /c><00:19:41.240> Explain<00:19:41.680> my<00:19:41.760> vote, Representative Cook
• Explain my vote, Representative Cook. Explain my vote, please. please. please.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee met to consider House Bill 534, an elections bill sponsored by Representative D.J. Johnson. The committee first adopted a committee substitute, and Johnson explained that the substitute removed the emergency clause, deleted provisions on craft member appointments and cast vote records, changed language on memoranda of understanding with the Department of Justice from mandatory to permissive, and removed a section on election-day procedures for voters flagged as non-citizens. He said the changes were made in response to concerns from county clerks and to improve the bill before floor consideration. Members asked about the bill’s purpose, cost, and effects. Johnson said the measure was not aimed at a widespread fraud problem but was intended to improve election security, accuracy, and fairness, and he said he had not been told it would create a significant cost increase. Questions also focused on a provision allowing certain federal officeholders to run for president or vice president while retaining their current office; Johnson said the language was meant to apply only to federal offices decided by the Electoral College and to avoid penalizing voters who elected those officials. Representative Roberts supported that provision, while Representative Gooch objected to it and said he would vote no if it remained. The committee also discussed voter-roll maintenance and whether the bill would improperly remove people whose voting rights had been restored by pardon or other legal means. Johnson said the administrative process should account for restored rights through coordination with the governor’s office and the Administrative Office of the Courts. Several members praised the Secretary of State’s work but raised concerns about the clerks’ opposition, the bill’s cost, and whether it solved a real problem. After debate, the committee voted 12-4 to pass the bill as amended by the committee substitute, then adopted a title amendment, and reported House Bill 534 favorably to the House floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if we could have Tristan Allen, Tim Cook, and Alyssa Taparo come on up, and we will enjoy hearing
• And why don't we go ahead and have Tim Cook? Let's hear from you. Okay.
• And why don't we go ahead and have Tim Cook. Let's hear from you. My name is Tim Cook.

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on the effects of tariffs on Washington’s economy, agriculture, and small businesses, followed by updates on emergency management, cybersecurity, disaster resilience, tsunami preparedness, and World Cup security planning. Office of Financial Management economist Abdelamintrawe Trieri said tariff increases are expected to raise prices, reduce output and employment, and lower state revenue over a four-year horizon, with the hardest-hit sectors including aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, and agriculture. Members asked about updated tariff scenarios, crop-specific impacts, inflation versus deflation in different goods, and whether some manufacturing sectors could benefit; staff said updated numbers would need to be rerun as tariff rates changed. Washington Department of Agriculture representative Ryan Hamm described how tariffs raise costs for farm inputs such as equipment, parts, packaging, and fertilizer, while also affecting exports of key commodities like wheat, potatoes, apples, cherries, dairy, and wine. He said some sectors support tariffs on competing imports, but retaliation and market restrictions have hurt exports, especially to China and, in the wine sector, Canada. Department of Commerce representative Andrea Chartock outlined export assistance, business finance, recruitment, and industry-sector development programs, and proposed expanding tariff-resilience support through market diversification, supply-chain optimization, and efforts to attract investment and federal funding. She also noted uncertainty around delayed federal STEP funding for small business export assistance. Emergency Management Division Director Robert Ezell warned that federal disaster and mitigation funding is becoming less reliable, citing the denied bomb cyclone disaster declaration, delays in FEMA grant processing, and possible restructuring of FEMA that could shift more responsibility to states. He said Washington may need stronger state-funded public assistance, individual assistance, and mitigation programs, along with broader coordination among state agencies and local governments. Cybersecurity staff described state efforts to support local governments through the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, threat intelligence sharing, vulnerability assessments, and a proposed volunteer incident response team, while noting the loss of MS-ISAC funding and the importance of continued state matching funds for cybersecurity grants. Hazard mitigation and tsunami staff emphasized the need for sustained investment in flood, wildfire, earthquake, lahar, and tsunami resilience, including vertical evacuation structures and language-access outreach. Ezell also briefed the committee on World Cup security preparations and federal grants for counter-unmanned aircraft systems, explaining that the state can buy mitigation capabilities but current authority to use them remains largely federal; the committee asked follow-up questions about fan zones, training, and the meaning of drone mitigation. No votes were taken, and the meeting ended with adjournment after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Who don't know how to cook, and so understanding portions and how to cook is super important.
• individual with a disability, especially if you're in a group home situation, you're not always allowed to cook
• And so that means you're only cooking for yourself in a microwave, which means you're eating processed

Transcript Highlights:

• Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flood.
• Senator Cook, what purpose? Thank you.
• And Senator Cook you did raise something that I meant to say on the front end Mr.
• All these conversations as I told Senator Cook, we can debate statistics and polls and data and studies

Bills: SB5, SB11, SB12, SB9, SB42, SB15, SB5, SB11, SB12, SCR1

Keywords: hemp regulation, consumable products, cannabinoids, occupational licenses, criminal offenses, SB 11, Texas attorney general, election crimes, election law enforcement, criminal prosecution, Election Code, Government Code Chapter 402, local prosecutors, county attorney, district attorney, grand jury, probable cause reports, state election offenses, voter fraud, election integrity

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair calls Stephanie Cook. Thank you, and good morning, Stephanie. Good morning, Senators.
• My name is Stephanie Cook. I am for the bill. I am here on behalf of the AGC Texas Building Branch.
• Cook. And we do have the PUC here as well. Can they come up and have a seat? Mr. Gordon.
• My name is Lance Cook, and I am the Chief Technology Officer for SAGE Systems.

Bills: HB111

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lines 1.3 to 1.6 require the property tax exemption for tribal-owned property in Cook County shall not
• 02:58.800> in exemption for tribal owned property in exemption for tribal owned property in Cook
• 00.879> shall<00:03:01.200> not<00:03:01.440> exceed<00:03:02.400> five Cook
• County um shall not exceed five Cook County um shall not exceed five parcels.<00:03:03.440> I

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton. Being 19 ayes and 12 nays, the rules are suspended.
• Alvarado, Benton, Court, Burdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook.
• Alvarado, Benton, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flores, Schwertner, Edis, Hagan
• Alvarado, Bentonk, Bergwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton. 19 ayes, 12 nays.

Summary: The Senate first adopted a motion to move the intent calendar deadline to 4 p.m. and then took up several bills by suspending the regular order of business. Senate Bill 2031, concerning removal of high fences around breeder deer release sites, passed after an amendment shortened the testing period from five years to three, tied visible identification requirements to the date Parks and Wildlife began requiring them, and made the bill effective immediately. Senate Bill 1490, a cleanup to adult charter high school funding, and Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2227, creating a process for delayed birth certificates and renamed the Charles E. Barton Act, both passed unanimously after floor amendments. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1964, regulating artificial intelligence systems used by state agencies, also passed unanimously after the author described guardrails for high-risk AI and disclosure requirements. The Senate then considered Senate Bill 2877, which increases penalties for election fraud and related attempts; after debate over whether existing law already covers some conduct and whether the bill was necessary given the small number of convictions, it passed to engrossment and later final passage on a 21-10 vote. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2658, on brackish groundwater production and study, passed after four amendments, including one giving water districts authority to stop production if monitoring shows harm to freshwater supplies or subsidence and another returning a portion of transported water revenue to districts. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 648, strengthening recording requirements for real property instruments to help prevent deed theft, also passed on a 26-4 vote. Other measures approved included Committee Substitute Senate Bill 401, making it easier for homeschool students to participate in UIL activities through local district opt-in/nearest-district participation rules; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 407, requiring health care facilities to honor conscience or religious vaccine exemptions for employees, despite extensive questioning about patient safety and immunocompromised patients; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2117, creating a Texas Committee on Foreign Investment to review risky foreign acquisitions; Senate Bill 1718, adding the NRA annual meeting to the major events reimbursement program after a failed amendment seeking equal space for gun-control advocacy; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1626, clarifying limits on censorship and interference with digital expression by social media platforms; and Senate Bill 2206, updating the state R&D franchise tax credit and related sales tax treatment, which passed 31-0. The chamber also debated Senate Bill 1395 on school health advisory councils. An initial amendment to restore voting seats for teachers and school employees failed, but a later amendment by Senator West added students back in an advisory, non-voting capacity. The Senate then handled routine motions, committee scheduling, first-reading referrals, and adjourned until April 29, with the session ending in memory of two constituents.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, uh, the chair lays out House Bill 4802 and recognizes Representative Cook to explain the bill.
• Members, are there any questions for Representative Cook?
• If not, the chair recognizes Representative Cook to close on the bill. Thank you, Chairman.
• Thank you, Representative Cook. If there's no objection, the bill will be left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• And recognizes its author, Representative Cook, to explain it. Thank you, Chairman Dutton.
• Any questions of Representative Cook, members?
• I appreciate that Representative Cook laid out the bill very well. It does two major things.
• To answer any questions, Representative Cook is correct; it ran through the House very easily last session

Bills: HB557, HB732, HB1892, HB1954, HB2301, HB3180, HB3405, HB3650, HB3758, HB4035, HB4621, HB4795, HB4870, HB5069, HB5137, HB5149

Keywords: child support, arrears, court enforcement, contempt, legal protections, healthcare, insurance, cost reduction, accessibility, regulations, impotency, marriage annulment, Family Code, Texas law, family law, Texas legislation, dissolution of marriage, annulment, marriage, child custody

Transcript Highlights:

• OK, Cook is not here. Curry is laying off.
• The chair lays out House Bill 1936 by Cook and Representative Curry.
• Representative Cook asked me to help him with this that he, as he had to leave the building for a personal
• So I would appreciate your support on this bill, and, and we will ask Representative Cook if he gets

Bills: HB 767, HB 1242, HB 1373, HB 1404, HB 1708, HB 1936, HB 2041, HB 2198, HB 2270, HB 2315, HB 2415, HB 2427, HB 2455, HB 2457, HB 2522, HB 2523, HB 2686, HB 2763, HB 2775, HB 2944, HB 3034, HB 1683, HB 1695

Keywords: highway designation, memorial, Montgomery County, Paul P. Mendes, transportation, HB 1242, Texas Transportation Code, U.S. Highway 281, Brooks County, Ernesto Soliz Cantu, memorial highway, road naming, TxDOT, road signage, commemorative resolution, memorial markers, county road 304, Huppergate Road, Los Robles Trail, Farm-to-Market Road

Transcript Highlights:

• , not Cook, Lake Superior School District, that wouldn't have been covered under this.
• <00:46:33.760> one<00:46:34.520> county<00:46:35.440> um<00:46:35.640> Cook
• <00:46:35.920> County<00:46:36.520> or uh at least one county um Cook County or uh
• ><00:46:38.440> um uh one school district um uh one school district um not<00:46:39.760> Cook
• Louis, Lake, and Cook County are treated the same as similarly situated rural districts.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Campbell Cook Creighton Eckhart Lourdes Gutierrez Hagenboo How Hancock, you know, host of Nasis, Hinojosa
• Senator Cook. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator, for bringing this resolution forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• a lot of stores are now doing pizzas where you actually say you're buying the ingredients and they cook
• a lot of stores are now doing pizzas where you actually say you're buying the ingredients and they cook
• you're buying the ingredients<00:18:24.799> and<00:18:25.039> they<00:18:25.280> cook
• <00:58:14.880> a maybe bring the parents in and cooking a maybe bring the parents in and cooking
• They also have programs where they bring families in and teach them to cook, their cooking classes.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee approved the minutes unanimously and then heard extended testimony from Senator Jimmy Higdon, who reflected on Kentucky’s 2011 childhood obesity task force and said the state’s childhood obesity problem has worsened since then. He described prior recommendations from that task force, including more physical education, nutrition education, classroom-based physical activity, complete streets, bike lanes, sidewalks, and safe routes to school. Higdon also argued that government programs have contributed to obesity and drug abuse, focusing especially on SNAP and Medicaid, and said he has long advocated for a waiver to distribute SNAP benefits twice a month rather than once a month. Higdon said SNAP fraud and abuse are significant, claiming some recipients sell benefits and some retailers bend the rules on eligible purchases. He also said spreading benefits through the month could help families keep fresh food in the home and stabilize grocery store business, especially in food deserts and rural areas. In response to questions, he said he would not support allowing hot prepared foods under SNAP, though he said a grocery-store produce incentive similar to the farmers market match could be beneficial if structured separately. He also said the WIC program is a model for how SNAP could be better administered. Members thanked Higdon for his service and discussed whether the issue is food insecurity or poor nutrition. Senator Douglas emphasized adding stronger guardrails to nutrition-related programs, and Representative Proctor asked about the challenges of operating grocery stores in rural areas and food deserts. Higdon said independent grocers face thin margins, competition, and cyclical market pressures, and that SNAP distribution patterns can worsen those challenges. After Higdon’s testimony, the committee heard from Ann Cressilious, a registered dietitian with the Kentucky Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, who began a presentation on the profession and on efforts to improve nutrition and access to nutrition information in Kentucky.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sometimes the bills we get aren't as what we call fully cooked, but clearly yours is.
• providing that direction can be helpful, but I trust, you know, the bill, as I said, is very well cooked
• providing that direction can be helpful, but I trust, you know, the bill, as I said, is very well cooked
• It's Theresa Cook with the California Hydrogen Coalition. Thank you.
• Chair and members, Theresa Cook on behalf of the California Hydrogen Coalition, very pleased to sponsor

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The next person, who I believe is joining us remotely, Jim Anderson Cook from Grant County, if you could
• My name is Jim Anderson Cook. I'm the director for Grant County Development Services.
• Anderson Cook about the tightness of timelines and appreciate that some counties have enacted 30-day
• Anderson Cook about the tightness of time. I appreciate the comment that was already made by Mr.
• Anderson Cook about the tightness of timelines and appreciate that some counties have enacted 30-day

Summary: The committee held a work session on state environmental policy act (SEPA) implementation and carryout bags. Ecology staff Diane Buterak described the Clean Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (PEISs) completed for utility-scale solar, onshore wind, and green hydrogen, plus a new PEIS underway for sustainable aviation fuel. She explained that PEISs provide broad planning-level analysis to help developers and agencies avoid or mitigate impacts, but do not replace project-level review. Members asked about permitting timelines, greenhouse gas emissions from different hydrogen production methods, water use, agricultural land conversion, battery fire risk, and tribal consultation. Buterak said the PEISs identify potentially significant impacts and mitigation measures, including fire response planning, early tribal outreach, and agrovoltaics as an option for solar projects. EFSEC’s Amy Hofkimer then presented the transmission-facility programmatic EIS required by SB 5165 for 230 kV and higher transmission projects. She said the statewide review covers new lines and certain upgrades/modifications, analyzes impacts to water, cultural and tribal resources, habitat, and other areas, and uses general measures, design considerations, avoidance criteria, and sensitivity maps to guide siting and corridor planning. She said the final document would be issued in early October. Questions focused on reconductoring, tribal lands, scenic areas, and whether the review could affect existing lines crossing tribal lands. A Grant County planning director, Jim Anderson Cook, said Ecology’s PEIS would help with cumulative impacts for clustered solar projects, but noted tight local review timelines and the need for strong pre-application coordination, especially on cultural resource studies and decommissioning plans. Yakama Nation attorney Shona Leverett argued SEPA is only an assessment tool and said tribes face barriers from short comment periods, limited confidential tribal input, weak cumulative impact analysis, and challenges in the FSEC process; she urged better upfront developer diligence and more effective tribal coordination. Puget Sound Energy’s Sarah Leverett said the utility needs efficient and predictable permitting to meet clean energy mandates while maintaining reliable service and aging infrastructure. She described the scale of needed clean energy and transmission buildout, including a 10-year process for the Energize Eastside transmission rebuild, and said more consistent SEPA and PEIS processes could help. Members asked about future generation sources, reliability, and hydropower as a firming resource; she said PSE is pursuing an “all of the above” approach and would welcome more firm, dispatchable clean energy options. The committee then shifted to carryout bags. Staff Jacob Lipson and Tracy Taylor reviewed Washington’s bag law, its preemption of local ordinances, the current 8-cent charge, the scheduled increase to 12 cents, and the 2025 change delaying the 4-mil thickness requirement until 2028 while adding a temporary 4-cent penalty for thicker bags. Ecology’s Peter Lyon said the agency emphasizes education and complaint-based enforcement, has received 872 reports, and has not yet imposed any fines. Commerce’s Kirk Esmond summarized a WSU study finding fewer plastic bags distributed but more plastic by weight, and said Commerce and Ecology support keeping the 2.25-mil standard and not allowing thinner single-use bags again. Retail industry testimony from Brandon Housekeeper said grocers comply with the law but oppose the added 4-cent penalty and thicker-bag requirement, citing higher costs and confusion in the policy changes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair offers up committee substitute to House Bill 3675 and recognizes, uh, Representative Cook to explain
• Chairman Cook, seeing none, we'll call you back. There's 11 witness that was registered this time.
• I appreciate the opportunity to visit with you today and thank you to Chairman Cook for bringing this
• Um, as Chairman Cook stated, House Bill 3765 provides the opportunity for people with a criminal record
• Saying none, Chair recognizes Chairman Cook to close on his bill. Thank you, Chairman.

Bills: HB 1951, HB 2715, HB 3092, HB 3237, HB 3278, HB 3511, HB 3592, HB 3675, HB 3778, HB 3782, HB 3826, HB 3970, HB 4016, HB 4049, HB 4341, HB 4344, HB 4406, HB 4427

Keywords: collective bargaining, public works, government contracts, labor agreements, state funding, removal from office, political subdivisions, local government, judicial proceedings, administrative judicial region, electric transmission, public convenience, landowner consent, utility regulation, energy infrastructure, energy consumption, higher education, governmental entities, sustainability, electricity reduction

Transcript Highlights:

• there should be on-site backup power. to a certain degree and level that can power refrigerators, cooking
• As we look at what we're going to require for different facilities around the state, Senator Cook, I'm
• Thank you, Senator Cook, for following up. Senator Miles.
• You're correct, thank you, Senator Cook.
• Senator Cook: Thank you, Chair.

Bills: SB397, SB481, SB596, SB760, SB855, SB1195, SB1196, SB1233, SB1257, SB1318, SB1368, SB1388, SB1398, SB1524, SB1558, SB1589, SB1677, SB1792, SB2034

Keywords: SB 397, telemedicine, telehealth, teledentistry, remote care, virtual care, consent documentation, patient consent, data collection, data sharing, audio-only telehealth, in-person examination, irreversible medical procedure, health professional regulation, Occupations Code, Texas Health and Human Services, medical records, provider compliance, data privacy, consumer rights

Transcript Highlights:

• My local TDC chair in Leon is actually the executive director of the Natural History Museum.
• My local TDC chair in Leon is actually the executive director of the Natural History Museum.
• We would hurt small businesses, the hotel housekeeper, the line cook, the rideshare driver who are working

Summary: The House opened with prayer, a moment of silence for fallen Oviedo Officer Jimmy Serrano-Torres, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Chief Joseph Tuminelli as law enforcement officer of the day. The Rules and Ethics Committee report setting the special order calendar was adopted, and the Speaker announced schedule changes for the following week, including canceling the floor session on Monday and starting Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The main floor action centered on CS/HB 7033, the House tax package. Sponsor Rep. Duggan described broad tax changes, including reducing the state sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25%, exempting certain bullion sales, repealing the aviation fuel tax, delaying the natural gas fuel tax, changing corporate income tax treatment for charitable trusts, reducing the pari-mutuel tax on card rooms, and major changes to tourist development tax (TDT) use. The bill would redirect most TDT revenue toward property tax relief, dissolve tourist development councils, and include related property tax and local tax administration changes. Several amendments were debated: a Driscoll amendment to preserve local TDT flexibility failed; Duggan’s amendment giving local governments 25% discretion over TDT revenues was adopted; Eskamani’s combined-reporting amendment failed; and a Duggan amendment requiring audit certification of compliance with the TDT/property tax relief provisions was adopted. After debate, CS/HB 7033 passed 78-29. The House then took up CS/CS/HB 1221 on local option taxes, which was presented as a companion-style measure to give local governments more flexibility while redirecting TDT revenues toward property tax relief. Supporters argued the bill would provide immediate relief to property owners and restore accountability in local tax use, while opponents warned it would undermine tourism funding, infrastructure, and local services. An amendment allowing local governments to retain 25% of TDT revenues for general purposes was adopted, and the bill passed 62-45 after floor debate. The final item shown was the reading of CS/CS/HJR 1257, a proposed constitutional amendment related to property tax exemptions and assessment limits, but the transcript cuts off before debate or action on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm James Cook and I'm the committee legislative assistant with Representative Rarick.
• I'm James Cook and I'm the committee legislative assistant with Representative Rarick.
• I'm James Cook and I'm the committee legislative assistant with Representative Rarick.
• I'm James Cook and I'm the committee legislative assistant with Representative Rarick.
• I'm James Cook and I'm the committee legislative assistant with Representative Rarick.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• and cooking. Thank you uh Mr. Chair. and cooking. Thank you uh Mr. Chair.
• Louis and Cook County trail systems in 2023, with a positive economic impact of more than $35 million
• Louis and Cook County trail systems in 2023, with a positive economic impact of more than $35 million
• ,<01:14:11.600> Bike, communities of Crane Lake, Cook, Bike, communities of Crane Lake, Cook
• I don't know if you guys have cooked with the cultivated version, but it is a lot different and it is

Keywords: 1187, senate, all