Transcript Highlights:

• As a result of the 2005 workers' compensation reform, Chapter 504.053 of the Texas Labor Code created
• Chapter 405 of the Texas Labor Code requires the workers' compensation research and evaluation group
• Chapter 405 of the Texas Labor Code requires workers' compensation requires the workers' compensation
• The current damages caps under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code are the same as under federal law,
• Texas, for Texas. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Summary: The subcommittee heard testimony on a broad agenda of workforce, labor, and workers’ compensation bills. HB 4676 would require political subdivision workers’ compensation networks to follow the same notice, access, and complaint rules as certified TDI networks; supporters said public employees and first responders deserve equal access to care, while municipal risk pool representatives opposed added regulation and said existing 504 networks already perform well. HB 4479 would create a rural workforce development grant program at TWC to support college-and-career readiness and local workforce alignment, and HB 3844 would define “opportunity youth” in state law to improve data, coordination, and access to services for disconnected young Texans; both drew strong support from rural, education, and chamber witnesses. HB 5545 would clarify federal tax treatment for wage-replacement benefits in non-subscriber injury benefit plans, with proponents calling it a win for employers and injured workers. HB 5118 would direct TWC and DIR to study AI and automated employment decision tools in hiring, including bias and oversight concerns. HB 1667 would move existing PTSD workers’ compensation language into a broader Labor Code chapter so more first responders, including state and campus officers, could qualify for benefits; supporters called it a technical fix to extend coverage more evenly across agencies. The committee also heard several first-responder and workers’ compensation bills. HB 2369 would speed up claims handling for injured first responders by allowing a single medical evaluation, giving carriers 60 days to accept or deny a claim, and letting workers seek treatment while disputes proceed; law enforcement supporters said it would help injured officers return to work faster, while opponents warned it would revive extent-of-injury waiver problems and increase litigation. HB 4483 would reclassify certain workers’ compensation maintenance taxes as surcharges to reduce retaliatory taxes imposed by other states on Texas-domiciled carriers, and HB 875, as revised by committee substitute, would create a small-project exception to municipal workers’ compensation and bonding requirements for certain low-value construction contracts in small cities; both were presented as cost-saving measures for Texas employers and local governments. HB 4415 would extend anti-retaliation protections for workers’ compensation claimants from first responders to all public employees and expressly waive sovereign immunity for those claims, with supporters describing it as closing a loophole that leaves public workers without the same remedy available in the private sector. The committee also took testimony on HB 5400, which would expand remedies for sexual harassment victims by removing the requirement to first file an administrative charge, extending the filing deadline from 300 days to two years, clarifying retaliation, and eliminating current damages caps. Supporters, including employment lawyers and a parent of a victim, said the current deadlines and caps prevent many survivors from obtaining counsel or full relief, especially younger workers and those in small workplaces or franchises. Across the agenda, witnesses repeatedly emphasized access to care, fair treatment for injured workers, rural workforce development, and stronger protections for vulnerable employees. After each bill was laid out and testimony heard, the chair generally closed the public hearing and left the bill pending; no final votes were taken, and the subcommittee adjourned after completing the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• chapter 233 of the Texas Local Government Code.
• Uh, I'm a home builder in Houston, Texas.
• As we all know, Texas faces a critical shortage.
• We show you registered as Kenneth Flipping on behalf of the Texas chapter of US Green Building Council
• I am with the US Green Building Council Texas chapter and we are strongly for this bill. um, we think

Transcript Highlights:

• Before we release the grades, I invite ASE Texas President Mark Wood to provide an overview of the Texas
• Uh, today, ASCE Texas section is pleased, we're excited to present the results of our 2025 Texas infrastructure
• We hold the Texas legislative drive-in.
• The grades for the Texas.
• From the Texas Clear, from this Texas Clear Lanes initiative, 18 projects from the program have been

Transcript Highlights:

• You said Texas, but where in Texas? Yes, sir. So I was born and raised in Bridge City, Texas.
• I am with you all the way to get a chapter in every school. school in Texas, particularly our high schools
• While I am coming here as an individual, I'm also the current chapter president for Texas A&M's TPUSA
• chapter.
• Texas A&M as a whole has done a great job in supporting me and my chapter. as well.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Is deeply embedded in Texas law.
• I'm board certified in family law from Denton, Texas, and I'm here for the Texas Family Law Foundation
• I'm an attorney in Galveston, Texas, been practicing for 26 years, and I'm the president of the Texas
• 34 of the Family Code or a PCSP under Chapter 264 of the Family Code.
• Chapter 34 authorization agreements are like a power of attorney.

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Summary: The Senate Committee on Jurisprudence heard several family-law and probate bills. Senate Bill 2052 would codify a rebuttable presumption that a parent acts in the best interest of a child and require clear and convincing evidence to overcome that presumption in disputes involving non-parents; the author and several witnesses supported the bill as a clarification of existing case law, while one witness suggested refining the modification language. Public testimony was closed and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1923, which would allow child support to follow a child placed temporarily with kin or fictive kin under a parental child safety placement or authorization agreement; the bill’s author and a grandparent caregiver testified in support, while one witness suggested the Attorney General could handle the change administratively. That bill was also left pending. Senate Bill 1838 would standardize fee schedules and compensation rules for attorneys ad litem and related court-appointed counsel in DFPS child-protection cases. The author said the bill would clarify unclear current law, and witnesses from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and family-defense bar supported it, though one asked that expert-witness expenses be expressly included. Senate Bill 387 would raise the bond requirement for county judges handling guardianship proceedings to at least $500,000; the author described it as a refiling of a prior bill that passed unanimously but was vetoed, and a statutory probate judge testified in support. Senate Bill 1839 would require original or paper wills to be delivered to the transferee court when probate proceedings are transferred; the committee substitute broadened the delivery methods, and the district clerk witness supported the change. All three bills were left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 1536, which had previously been voted out with the wrong committee substitute; members reconsidered the vote, adopted the corrected substitute, and then voted 3-0 to report the bill favorably to the full Senate, with local and contested calendar certification. Finally, Senate Bill 1940 would create a transfer-on-death mechanism for manufactured homes classified as personal property, similar to existing tools for real property and vehicles; the author and an estate-planning attorney testified that it would streamline transfers and reduce probate costs. A non-substantive committee substitute was still being prepared, and the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill passed with broad stakeholder support, including Texas Association of Health Plans and Texas
• In the Texas chapter of the American College of Physicians, you got a bunch of things, OK, we show you
• So for Texas to encourage, uh, more prescribed burning on private lands, uh, Texas needs more certified
• In the entire state of Texas that meets the Texas financial liability requirements of 1 million per occurrence
• to the state of Texas.

Bills: HB139

Keywords: ad valorem tax, tax rates, voter-approval, taxing unit, property tax, local government

Transcript Highlights:

• 49 of the Texas Education Code, also known as recapture districts.
• I'm the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
• We have a big shortage of officials in Texas. If we don't...
• We have a big shortage of officials in Texas.
• And that just doesn't seem like the right thing for Texas.

Summary: The Committee on Education K-16 heard testimony on SB 1635, which would give certain coastal, recapture-paying school districts a credit against recapture payments for mandatory windstorm and hail insurance costs. Senator Hinojosa said the bill is intended to offset unusually high insurance expenses for districts in Tier 1 or Tier 2 coastal zones, and he estimated about a $12 million impact to state revenue. Witnesses from Port Aransas ISD and Gregory-Portland ISD described sharp premium increases, reduced coverage, higher deductibles, and the effect on teacher pay and classroom spending. Senators asked about the number of affected districts, the accuracy of the fiscal estimate, and whether the bill might encourage districts to maintain coverage. Public testimony was closed and SB 1635 was left pending. The committee then took up several other bills and committee substitutes, adopting and reporting favorably SB 2786, SB 2623, SB 646, SB 843, SB 2392, SB 1998, SB 1418, SB 2788, and SB 2076, with most votes unanimous or near-unanimous. SB 2392 was amended to add improper relationship between educator and student to mandatory reporting offenses and to authorize an attorney general civil penalty for failure to report. SB 2623 was revised to clarify duties and exemptions related to the Safe Schools and Neighborhood Task Force and school proximity restrictions. SB 843 would create a TEA database of school district bonds and related projects, and SB 2788 would exempt certain PSAT scorers from the Texas Success Initiative assessment. The committee also heard SB 2929, which would allow referees and other officials at school athletic events to immediately eject disruptive spectators. The Texas Association of Sports Officials testified in support, citing abusive spectator behavior and a shortage of officials. SB 2929 was left pending. Finally, the committee heard a substitute for SB 2927 on 1882 partnerships and a substitute for SB 2619, which would require more transparency and accountability for failing school districts, superintendent hiring, trustee training, and takeover timelines. Testimony on SB 2619 was mixed, with one witness from Texas 2036 supporting parts of the bill’s accountability provisions. The committee adopted the substitute for SB 2619, left it pending, and then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• As Texas goes once again, so does the nation. We are Texas strong. We are Texas proud.
• I am with you all the way to get a chapter in every school in Texas, particularly our high schools.
• While I am coming here as an individual, I'm also the current chapter president for Texas A&M's TPSA
• chapter.
• Texas A&M as a whole has done a great job in supporting me and my chapter as well.

Summary: The joint Senate and House Select Committee on Civil Discourse and Freedom of Speech in Higher Education convened for its first public hearing, adopted its proposed rules without objection, and framed the hearing as an organizational, invited-testimony-only session. Members repeatedly condemned political violence and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, saying the committee was created in response to concerns about civil discourse, intimidation, and hostility on college campuses. Several members emphasized that the goal was not to suppress speech but to protect open expression while maintaining order, due process, and institutional accountability. The first witness, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Commissioner Wyn Rosser, outlined implementation of Senate Bill 37. He described the General Education Advisory Committee, which is reviewing broad core-curriculum knowledge and skills and may recommend reducing the current 42-hour core, while leaving review of specific courses to individual institutions. He also explained the new Office of the Ombudsman, the board’s role in supporting it, and existing training and certification requirements for governing board members. Members asked about enforcement tools, transparency, and whether the ombudsman would investigate complaints involving censorship, retaliation, or political bias; Rosser said some enforcement exists in certain laws, but he deferred on the exact scope of the ombudsman’s investigatory authority and on issues outside the agency’s role. University of Texas at Austin President Jim Davis testified that UT Austin supports free speech, academic freedom, and civil discourse, and he described three areas of focus: speech on campus grounds, classroom discourse, and how people treat one another. He said the university enforces time, place, and manner rules, expects professors to present alternative views on controversial topics, and has created internal reporting and appeal processes for students and faculty. Members questioned him about heckler’s veto incidents, protests, off-campus participants, complaints about professors, hate speech, and whether the university would protect speakers and students from disruption or unfair targeting. Davis said the university would not tolerate disruptions, would use due process and factual review, and is working to align campus practices with the new law and regents’ expectations. Ricky Adam Jr. of Turning Point USA’s Club America described the group’s campus and high-school organizing, praised Charlie Kirk’s approach to open debate, and said the organization is expanding in Texas. He raised concerns about school administrators and a counselor at an Early College High School in Killeen allegedly interfering with a student club and withholding footage, and committee members said they would seek information and, if necessary, use legislative process to investigate. Members from both chambers reiterated support for free speech, criticized political violence and campus suppression of viewpoints, and stressed that future hearings would continue examining implementation and enforcement issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Administrative Code Title 16, Part 4, Chapter 73, Rule 73.51C states that the design of an electrical
• Chapters 73.51C of the Texas Administrative Code.
• I make 100% Texas wine. And I grow 100% Texas grapes.
• Texas grown.
• of Texas.

Transcript Highlights:

• Leave our Texas water alone.
• So first on water use in Texas, you know, population in Texas and the state water plans projected to
• In East Texas, God didn't design East Texas to run four head of cows per acre, more like one cow per
• water or Texas groundwater.
• fee provisions of Chapter 36.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And now our beloved state, honor the Texas flag.
• Today we are joined by the Texas Police Chiefs Association and police chiefs across Texas. Mr.
• Metcalfe: ...and police chiefs across Texas.
• The Texas chapter of the American Public Works Association are here in the gallery today.
• of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm on the Texas side. I pledge allegiance to the state of Texas, one state under God.
• Cody Johnson a big Texas Welcome to the Texas House. Thank you. Thank you. Mr.
• Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. and Lubbock Christian University
• Texas FFA.
• Members, I ask you to join me in welcoming the Northeast Texas Regional Alliance. to the Texas House,

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On behalf of the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to the flag of Texas, one state under God.
• Cody Johnson a big Texas Welcome to the Texas House. Thank you. Thank you. Mr.
• Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. and Lubbock Christian University
• Texas FFA.
• Texas Advocacy Day.

Keywords: legislation, testimonies, committee meeting, public interest, bills

Summary: The committee meeting was conducted with several discussions surrounding various proposed bills, addressing both public interests and legislative concerns. Specific bills were presented, and members debated the implications of each, emphasizing their potential impact on the community and state regulations. Notably, several testimonies were heard from stakeholders, which enriched the conversation and provided different perspectives on the bills being reviewed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Does this present a conflict between chapter 33 and chapter 72? I don't believe it.
• 32 and chapter 72.
• I'm also with TBLF and sit on the Texas Business Organization's Codes Committee of the State Bar of Texas
• 87, the Government Code Chapter 406, and the Civil Practices and remedies Code Chapter 121, and also
• This bill addresses the lack of actionable prosecution data by requiring the Texas Texas Judicial Council

Transcript Highlights:

• Andrew Brown, Texas Public Policy Foundation, in support of Senate Bill 2052.
• Texas Family Law Foundation, and we are neutral on Senate Bill 2052.
• I'm an attorney in Galveston, Texas.
• And chapter 264 the family code or an authorization agreement was an adult care under chapter 34 and
• I'm an attorney in Galveston, Texas, and president of the Texas Association of Family Defensives. attorneys

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Transcript Highlights:

• To make this a good policy for Texas.
• In Texas, implicit bias training is required for new police officers.
• So I've also had implicit bias before coming to the University of Texas.
• Chapter 49 of the Code of Criminal Procedure relates to death inquests and Chapter 50 of the Code of
• So we've taken these smaller bites of chapters.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Resolution 456 by Hall and Paxton, recognizing the Texas chapters of Blue Star Mothers of America
• right here in Texas.
• Educators Association, Texas Arts Education Association, Texas Thespians, Texas Educational Theater
• Texas women will be reliant on Texas doctors and Texas courts. Texas women will not have a say.
• Texas women will be reliant on Texas doctors and Texas courts. Texas women will not have a say.

Summary: The Senate began with a quorum call, prayer, approval of the previous journal, and messages from the House, then moved through several recognitions and resolutions honoring visiting groups. Members adopted resolutions recognizing the Texas chapters of Blue Star Mothers of America, Fine Arts Education Day, Donate Life Texas Day, Baha’i Capitol Day, County Government Day, Jack County Day, Crockett County Day, and a recognition of Navy Petty Officer Simon Urbanik for service during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The chamber also heard remarks from visiting doctors, students, county officials, and community groups, with multiple senators speaking in support of military families, arts education, organ donation, and local government service. The Senate then took up Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2779, relating to the allocation and use of certain hotel occupancy tax revenues. Senator Birdwell said the bill would stop local governments from conditioning HOT funds on race- or class-based priorities and would require Galveston to transfer the full state rebate for beach cleaning and maintenance to its park board. After questions, the Senate suspended the rules, passed the bill to engrossment, suspended the three-day rule, and finally passed it, though the final vote showed significant opposition. The chamber also passed Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2322, described as a cleanup bill removing the compelling-factor test for dispatchable generation from the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act. A major debate centered on Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2253, which would phase out uncertified teachers in core classrooms and strengthen educator certification requirements. Senator Creighton argued the bill responds to a teacher pipeline crisis, adds parent notification, creates multiple preparation pathways, and provides financial incentives for certification; Senator West and Senator Sparks pressed for rural flexibility and implementation details. An amendment from Senator Gutierrez to add a teacher student-loan repayment program failed on a 11-17 vote, while other technical and fiscal amendments were adopted. The bill then passed to engrossment, the three-day rule was suspended, and it was finally passed. The Senate also passed Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2371, updating skimmer-reporting rules to cover electronic terminals beyond fuel pumps, and Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2351, relating to the construction of certain concrete plants under a standard permit. Senate Bill 619, a conscience-protection bill for health care workers, drew extended questioning from Senators Cook, Eckhardt, and Menendez about patient abandonment, scope, and whether it could allow refusals of legal services such as vaccines, antibiotics, contraception, or personal care; despite those concerns, the Senate suspended the rules and passed the bill to engrossment. Finally, the chamber began consideration of Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1169, which would allow public entities to form public utility agencies to cooperate on water and wastewater projects without eminent domain or cross-collateralization, with Senator Hinojosa explaining it as a tool for small and rural communities facing utility infrastructure problems.

Transcript Highlights:

• And now our beloved state, honor the Stan Kitzman: Texas flag.
• We're joined by the Texas Police Chiefs Association and police chiefs from across Texas. Mr.
• The Texas chapter of the American Public Works Association are here in the gallery today.
• of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.
• Society of Professional Engineers South Plains chapter.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh The Texas State Association of Firefighters.
• Workers' Compensation Act, uh, under Texas Labor Code Chapter 410.
• Uh, for example, Texas Labor Code Section 410 allows.
• Chapter 410.
• Of the Texas Healthcare Workforce Task Force October report hosted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Transcript Highlights:

• The Texas chapter of the US Green Building Council has sent thousands of delegates all around the country
• Girls Club of Texas.
• Thank you for coming to the Texas Capitol, your Texas capital. Chair, recognize Ms. Bowers.
• Sigma Gamma Rho has 45 chapters in Texas, including the Epsilon Ta Sigma alumni chapter in my district
• of Texas.