Transcript Highlights:

• Today on the dais, I have County Judge Sam Jones, Commissioner Buddy Hobbs, Mayor Jason Harper, County
• Bell for a motion. Mr.
• Bell to explain the resolution.
• The county was carved out of Cook County by a legislative act and named in honor of Henry A.
• Yeah Chairs Garcia Bear County.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Barfett, Senator Beasley, Senator Bell, Senator Carley, here.
• Senator Senator Bell, Senator Carley, here. Senator Chestine, here. Senator Cavan, here.
• All right, motion by Senator Bell. Second by Senator Kelly. Any objections?
• Maran County who married right before Jake went into the Navy.
• Freddy Ward of Geneva County, who was in Vietnam in '69 and '70.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Bell. All right, Senator Bell.
• from county and municipal government. from county and municipal government.
• from county and municipal government. from county and municipal government.
• amendment regarding Colbert County. amendment regarding Colbert County.
• Walker County. Walker County. >> Mr.<00:36:23.920> Mr.

Keywords: 920, all

Summary: The Senate began with a resolution honoring Special Agent Senior Josh Taylor for his long service in state law enforcement, including work as a traffic homicide investigator, field training officer, SBI major crimes investigator, and later on the Lieutenant Governor’s protective detail. The resolution was adopted by voice vote. The chamber then received a series of gubernatorial confirmations and House messages, including multiple Alabama Army National Guard promotions, appointments to state boards, and several House bills referred to Senate committees. Committee reports followed, with favorable reports on a number of bills from Finance and Taxation Education, Judiciary, State Governmental Affairs, County and Municipal Government, Agriculture, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development, Children and Youth Health, and Local Legislation. The Senate confirmed Leon M. Nash to the Board of Pardons and Paroles by a 33-0 vote, and also confirmed several State Textbook Committee appointees by unanimous votes. The chamber also adopted several resolutions, including memorials for John David Williams and William Grant Lynch Jr., a commendation for Sandra Thompson, and a resolution urging federal action on sextortion and child exploitation. During local legislation, the Senate passed or certified several county-specific measures, including bills involving Pickens, Colbert, Marshall, Blount, Fayette, Franklin, and Walker counties; one Marshall County bill was later indefinitely postponed after word that its House companion had passed. In the special order calendar, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 30 and then passed Senate Bill 95 extending the sunset on the “call before you dig” law, Senate Bill 42 addressing municipal election tie situations, Senate Bill 9 adding vaping to the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act, and Senate Bill 41 on elder abuse and exploitation after adopting two amendments. The session ended with adjournment until 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 2nd.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Bell here. All right. SB 297 by Senator Gudger. SB 297 by Senator Gudger. Thank you, Mr.
• Senator Bell. Aye. Senator Bell. Aye. All right. Next bill will be SB 316 by Senator Singleton.
• Just want to make sure that for Birmingham and Jefferson County, it doesn't adversely impact what we
• I've been a farmer and managed the finances of my Dallas County farm since 1817 for over 200 years.
• I hear my colleague from Jefferson County over here. But again, I Jefferson County over here.

Bills: HB1

Keywords: DUI, driving under the influence, ignition interlock, interlock device, driver license suspension, restricted license, motor vehicle, alcohol offense, first offense, repeat offender, blood alcohol concentration, BAC, license revocation, Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, ALEA, public safety, traffic safety, chemical dependency, substance abuse, court referral program

Transcript Highlights:

• > don't<01:03:36.880> have jurisdictions, counties that don't have jurisdictions, counties
• Chair recognizes the gentleman from Bell Chair recognizes the gentleman from Bell for<01:14:18.560
• Gentleman from Bell. Thank you, Mr. Gentleman from Bell. Thank you, Mr.
• mathematics department at Spencer County mathematics department at Spencer County Middle<01:32:07.600
• School<01:32:10.400> girls Spencer County High School girls Spencer County High School girls

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, Chairman Bell.
• Thank you, Chairman Bell. Thank you, Chairman Bell, and members of the committee.
• Dallas County was troubling municipal jails and their county jail both.
• just has those two counties.
• Do you utilize that process in terms of county and Williamson County? Yes.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do not register until they hear the bell. The House will now proceed to register.
• Do not vote until you hear the bell. The House will now proceed to vote.
• Do not vote until you hear the bell. The House will now proceed to vote.
• Do not vote until you hear the bell. The House will now proceed to vote.
• Do not vote until you hear the bell.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The House opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, guest introductions, and a proclamation honoring the future USS Arizona, SSN-803, and the USS Arizona Legacy Foundation. Members also announced committee assignments and several bills were read for first and second reading. The chamber then moved into Committee of the Whole to consider HB 4034, HB 2444, HB 2992, and HB 4027, with amendments adopted on each measure. HB 4034 drew comments about career and technical education funding and district disputes; HB 2992 prompted debate over a pilot sexual abuse prevention program, with supporters calling it a resource for students and opponents criticizing it as an opt-out pilot and a burden on classrooms; HB 4027 generated discussion about a highway naming amendment involving Charlie Kirk and Ed Pastor. All three bills were reported out as amended and sent to engrossing and third reading. On third reading, the House passed HB 293, HB 2502, HB 2750, HB 2999, and H.C.M. 2009. HB 293 dealt with school curricula and passed 31-22. HB 2502 related to the Arizona State Retirement System and passed 37-16. HB 2750, concerning mining and legislative department provisions, passed 44-9. HB 2999, creating special taxing districts tied to housing development, drew supportive remarks about affordability and private financing and passed 32-21. H.C.M. 2009 urged federal action to streamline access to minerals on federal land withdrawals and passed 31-22. HB 2229, relating to maternal services and funding for pregnancy resource centers, failed initially by a 26-27 vote after extended debate over abortion-related implications and taxpayer funding. Members then moved to reconsider that failure, and the motion to reconsider passed 27-21, placing the bill back on the calendar. The House also heard a proclamation for March as Sleep Apnea Awareness Month and a Women’s History Month reflection on Mexican-American and Mexican-Irish heritage. The chamber adjourned until 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Joseph Bell from the Texas Historical Commission. Thank you, Mr. Bell, for being here today.
• Bell, for being here. I appreciate what you do for our state. The chair calls Dr.
• How could the local governments, the city, and the counties act for future preparedness?
• The county I live in is 79 miles long.
• So I get an alert for something that's 79 miles away because I'm in that county.

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Joseph Bell from the Texas Historical Commission. Thank you, Mr. Bell for being here today.
• Um, the Mason County Courthouse, for example, is one which was severely damaged by arson.
• And I, I've looked it up actually on the GIS for Kirk County.
• I have found the hunt community, the Kerr County to be incredibly responsive and willing.
• in that county.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so whether it be a bell-to-bell policy or if some districts decide they want to let them use their
• , they went with a bell-to-bell policy.
• Excuse me, bell-to-bell policy.
• Excuse me, bell-to-bell year doing it.
• I'm a parent here in Laramie County 1. I'm a parent here in Laramie County 1.

Bills: HB0159

Keywords: student rights, free expression, K-12 education, speech protection, religious views, political speech, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair calls Jeb Bell with the Legislative Budget Board. Mr. Bell.
• My name is Jeb Bell, and I'll be laying out the summary of our budget recommendations for the public.
• Bell. Any questions? Thank you, Chip. Chair now calls Connie Corona, Executive Director, and Haley.
• Obviously, we live in my county, there's about five.
• Five million people that live in Harris County, about two plus mill live in the city of Houston.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Bell, Representative Blujan, Representative Bojani A quorum is present.
• Chair lays out HB 5008 and Chair recognizes Chairman Bell to explain the bill. Thank you, Mr.
• Members, any questions for Chairman Bell? No, we'll proceed to testimony.
• If not, the chair recognizes Chairman Bell to close on HB 5008.
• They've, they've gone to counties outside my district and, uh, much larger counties, uh, to show them

Transcript Highlights:

• Austin's Old 300, Rosario County is where Texas began.
• Today, Brazoria County is a leader in the economic miracle that is Texas.
• But from Harris County, we have Judge Pamela DeMedina.
• League of Women Voters Collin County and welcome to your state capitol.
• The clerk will ring the bell. The clerk will ring the bell. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Mark Bell, Association of Electric Companies, please come up.
• county.
• Harris County—I work with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
• Harris County—I work with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
• I'm the chief medical examiner for Travis County.

Bills: HB 106, HB144, HB145, HB252, HB1732, HB2221, HB2467, HB2468, HB2517, HB2518, HB2963, HB3016, HB3689, HB3960, HB4386, HB4490, HB4751, HB5247, HJR175, HB2213

Keywords: HB 106, oil and gas, Railroad Commission of Texas, overhead electrical lines, electrical distribution system, power line maintenance, administrative penalty, Natural Resources Code, oil and gas lease, well operator, energy safety, utility infrastructure, regulatory compliance, cleanup fund, oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund, production safety, leasehold operations, electric utility, distribution poles, inspection

Summary: The committee first handled pending business, including reconsidering SB 715 and then voting out several measures. The committee substitute for SB 1978 was reported favorably, and HB 431, HB 1522, HB 1922, HB 3228, HB 3229, HB 3803, HB 3804, HB 3805, HB 3806, HB 4219, HB 4238, HB 434, HB 1584, and HB 4739 were all reported favorably, many with objections sent to the local and uncontested calendar. HB 1522 and HB 4238 were adopted as committee substitutes before passage. The committee then moved into public testimony on HB 2963, a right-to-repair bill for consumer electronics. Supporters argued it would reduce waste, lower costs, and help independent repair shops by requiring manufacturers to provide parts, tools, and information on fair terms, while opponents said the bill was too broad and the automotive MOU exemption was problematic. The bill was left pending after testimony. The committee also heard HB 2467, which would align State Fire Marshal Office investigators’ pay with other commissioned peace officers at TDI; testimony was strongly supportive, emphasizing the office’s arson-investigation role, and the bill was left pending. HB 252, a bill allowing certain state agencies flexibility to pay Schedule A employees twice monthly, was laid out and left pending after limited testimony. HB 2468, dealing with public improvement district notice in real estate transactions, would let buyers terminate within seven days if required PID notice was not provided before contract execution; it drew no public testimony and was left pending. HB 4386, an annuity exchange and surrender process bill, was presented as a consumer-protection measure with deadlines and penalties for insurer delays; it received support from industry witnesses and was left pending. The committee then heard HB 4751, creating the Texas Quantum Initiative within the Governor’s Office to coordinate quantum research, workforce, industry partnerships, and possible future grant funding. Witnesses from universities and industry supported the bill, while several senators questioned whether a new state structure was necessary; the bill was left pending. HJR 175 proposed a constitutional amendment protecting Texans’ right to use mutually agreed forms of exchange, including cash, bullion, digital currency, or private script, and was discussed at length in the context of central bank digital currency and barter; it was left pending after testimony. HB 2221, updating insurance anti-rebating laws to allow wellness and value-added services, drew supportive testimony from the insurance industry and discussion about incentives versus monitoring; it was also left pending. Finally, the committee heard a series of utility wildfire and infrastructure bills: HB 106, requiring oil and gas operators to maintain certain electrical infrastructure near well sites; HB 144, requiring electric utilities to submit pole inspection and management plans to the PUC; and HB 145, requiring wildfire mitigation plans and allowing self-insurance under certain conditions. Utility, insurance, and cooperative witnesses generally supported the wildfire-related bills while asking for clarifications and less burdensome reporting, and the bills were left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• Clerk, please call the roll: Senator Barfett Senator Beasley Senator Bell Senator Carley Senator Chestine
• Clerk, if you will please call the first bill, SB241 by Senator Bell. Mr.
• Let's call the roll: Senator Barfett, aye Senator Beasley, aye Senator Bell Senator Carley Senator Chestine
• It has worked in those cities, but the counties do not allow it.
• Motion, Senator Bell. Second, Senator Chestine. Any objections to using the previous roll?

Bills: SB241, HB304, HB295, HB361

Keywords: criminal enterprise, database, law enforcement, crime management, Alabama law, impoundment, driver licenses, vehicle redemption, local identification cards, HB295, Alabama National Guard, military punishment, non-judicial punishment, Article 15, court-martial, special court-martial, disciplinary measures, commanding officer, Adjutant General, Governor

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, any questions for Chairman Bell?
• If I just want to divide the rules of the county of the county, yes, and, and, and a lot of those are
• counties in the state, subchapter A counties and subchapter B counties which are border counties.
• Counties have different rules. Some counties have different rules. Does this apply just to this?
• Counties, Travis County has a third-party review based on the parameters that were put in place last

Transcript Highlights:

• And I do represent Palm Beach County, so which is the county where this library most likely will go.
• We're a large county, but we have a very rural area.
• And there's a lot of counties, and not all rural counties are the same.
• are fiscally constrained, unfortunately, poor counties.
• And the county that Senator Burgess and I reside in, we are blessed to have a wonderful county commission

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a series of introductions recognizing FSU Day at the Capitol, Catholic lay leaders, seniors advocates, Broward County school officials, and veterans-related guests. The chamber then moved through its special order calendar, beginning with several Florida Statutes revision bills. SB 36 adopted the 2025 Florida Statutes and prior session law; SB 38 conformed statutory terminology for the Division of Criminal Investigations; SB 40 removed repealed provisions; and SB 42 cleaned up obsolete language, cross-references, and typographical errors. Each passed unanimously or nearly unanimously after brief explanations and no substantive debate. The Senate also passed CS/SB 50 on nature-based coastal resilience, as amended to strengthen the Florida Flood Hub’s role under USF and clarify research and modeling responsibilities; CS/SB 116 on veterans, which expanded veteran awareness and coordination efforts, added mental health training, and authorized adult day health care; SB 118 on presidential libraries, which preempted local regulation to give a future Florida presidential library maximum flexibility; CS/SB 126 on prescription hearing aids, allowing mail distribution for adults after appropriate professional evaluation; SB 150 on abandoning restrained dogs during natural disasters, amended to conform to the House; SB 294 limiting collaborative pharmacy practice from being expanded to certain serious cardiac conditions; and SM 314 urging Congress to increase Florida National Guard force structure. Most of these measures passed with strong bipartisan support, though SB 118 drew questions about local zoning, parking, and safety and passed 36-3, with one senator later changing to a no vote over local control concerns. Later, the Senate approved CS/CS/SB 322 creating a nonjudicial process for removing unauthorized persons from commercial property, and CS/SB 348 on ethics, which would penalize false claims of military rank or honors for material gain and require paycheck withholding for delinquent ethics fines owed by public employees. The chamber also passed CS/CS/SB 7012 on child welfare, which included a CPI/case manager recruitment program, a treatment foster care pilot in two judicial circuits, and improved data collection and capacity analysis for commercially sexually exploited children. CS/SB 108 on administrative procedures was adopted after a detailed explanation of rule review, transparency, and rulemaking deadlines, and CS/SB 160 on public accountancy passed after an amendment clarifying contracted services and discussion of CPA licensure pathways. The longest and most celebratory debate centered on CS/SB 110 for rural communities. The bill created an Office of Rural Prosperity, a Renaissance grant program, housing and road funding, school and health care investments, and related rural support measures. Amendments refined transportation priorities in the Everglades agricultural area and clarified the FARM road program. Senators from across the chamber praised the bill as a long-awaited investment in rural Florida, agriculture, broadband, health care, and quality of life. After extensive debate and emotional closing remarks from the sponsor and leadership, the bill passed overwhelmingly.

Transcript Highlights:

• , just like a county fire marshal for compliance checks on county-owned or leased buildings.
• -Mexico border plus Nueces County.
• The multi-county configuration does not correspond with the current single-county appointment process
• It's going to be the individual counties, right? The individual counties, right?
• But I think this is going to have to be county-coordinated rules, maybe by the top counties.

Bills: HB103

Summary: The Senate Committee on Local Government heard a series of local and special-purpose bills, mostly with brief sponsor explanations and little or no public opposition. Topics included fireworks sales near the Texas-Mexico border for Cinco de Mayo (HB 1629), allowing larger counties to use their own inspectors for county buildings (HB 3234), updating governance and financial rules for the Wood County Central Hospital District (HB 5664), clarifying firefighter collective bargaining and impasse procedures (HB 3171), and exempting certain Fort Worth ETJ properties from release rules to protect infrastructure investments (HB 2512). The committee also heard bills on border subdivision rules in Cameron County (HB 3680), extending a property tax exemption to surviving spouses of certain veterans affected by the PACT Act (HB 2508/HJR 133), drainage district election timing and procedures (HB 5693, HB 2694), utility transparency for municipally owned systems (HB 1991), and management district and hospital district election or appointment changes (HB 5698, HB 2293). Another major bill, HB 1449, would expand a food truck permitting pilot program to counties over one million population; witnesses supported the concept but asked the committee to coordinate it with related fee and standards bills, and the bill was left pending for further work. The committee also heard HB 3732, which would let fire departments obtain extensions to comply with new NFPA protective equipment standards, and HB 5431, which would clarify that mayors and at-large council members do not need new elections after reapportionment; both were left pending after questions about their scope. Several transparency and tax-related bills were also discussed, including HB 103, creating a statewide database of local bond and tax election information, and HB 851, requiring reporting on homestead tax ceiling properties; both drew support and were later voted out. After testimony, the committee reported multiple bills favorably, often unanimously, and recommended many for the local and uncontested calendar. The committee also used procedural swaps to substitute House companions for Senate bills on several measures, then recessed with plans to return later to process additional bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• Have the Board of County Commissioners of Palm Beach County voted on this issue?
• discussed with the county administrator of Palm Beach County, as the Trump family has.
• I represent Palm Beach County, the county in question.
• in Palm Beach County.
• , municipality, or county.

Bills: S0092, S0110, S0192, S0212, S0260, S0350, S0394, S0422, S0434, S0442, S0484, S0546, S0556, S0684, S0696, S0706, S0748, S0786, S0820, S0824, S0838, S0840, S0848, S0856, S0962, S1000, S1014, S1036, S1050, S1054, S1080, S1118, S1134, S1338, S1480, S1500, S1506, S1622, S1724

Keywords: employee protections, whistleblower, retaliation, public trust, ethics complaint, Commission on Ethics, Public Employees Relations Commission, public employee, local government attorney, public officer, adverse personnel action, protected disclosure, whistleblower retaliation, state agency, independent contractor, public employment, civil service, reinstatement, back pay, front pay

Summary: The Committee on Rules met with a quorum and considered a long agenda of bills, many of them retained from the prior week. The most debated measure was CS for SB 706, which would preempt naming of major commercial service airports to the state and designate Palm Beach International Airport as the Donald J. Trump International Airport, subject to FAA approval and a trademark agreement. Amendments were offered and rejected, including proposals to prevent private financial benefit from the naming. Several senators spoke in opposition, citing concerns about naming an airport after a sitting president, lack of local input, and the trademark/licensing arrangement; supporters argued there was no cost to the airport and that the bill simply set a state naming policy. The committee reported the bill favorably after a roll call vote. The committee also reported favorably CS for SB 546 on conservation land notice requirements, CS for CS for SB 1014 on municipal utility service to properties outside city limits, CS for SB 1500 on uncontested probate proceedings, SB 962 on excluding farms from certain zoning definitions, and CS for SB 820 on problem-solving court reporting requirements. The committee then approved several bills from Senator DiCeglie and Senator Arrington. SB 840, addressing land-use regulations for local governments affected by natural disasters, was supported by local-government and environmental advocates who said it would restore local control after SB 180’s hurricane-related restrictions; the sponsor said it was intended to correct unintended consequences of last year’s law. CS for SB 856, requiring online listing platforms to show estimated ad valorem taxes on residential listings, was amended to exclude social media platforms and broaden liability protections; the sponsor and a county property appraiser described it as a consumer-transparency measure. CS for SB 110, clarifying homestead exemption treatment for long-term leases that end at death, was also reported favorably. The committee took up a controversial strike-all amendment to SB 212, which focused on public swimming pools and added residency and related restrictions for certain sex offenders and offenders on community control or probation. The amendment drew strong opposition from advocates and affected families, who argued it would worsen homelessness, impose broad geographic restrictions, and lack evidence of improving child safety; supporters said it was a targeted public-safety measure. Despite the objections, the committee reported the bill favorably. The committee also approved SB 684 on electronic signatures for total-loss vehicle and vessel titles, SB 394 on reinsurance intermediary managers, SB 434 on property tax assessment treatment for wind-hardening improvements, CS for CS for SBs 658 and 608 on water-safety requirements for rental properties with pools or nearby water, SB 748 on adding voting-rights restoration information to sentencing score sheets, and CS for SB 824 requiring school districts to inventory unimproved real property. The meeting ended while the committee was beginning SB 848 on stormwater treatment, with an amendment being introduced as the transcript cut off.

Bills: SB1423, SB1426, SB1502, SB1377, SB1983, SB1466, SB1645, SB1647, SB1847, SB1565, SB1562, SB1329, SB1383, SB1833, SB1555, SB1344, SB1839, SB1280, SB1832, SB2001, SB1405, SB2143, SB1989, SB1393, SB1392, SB1395, SB1400, SB1220, SB1516, SB1239, SB1531, SB1349, SB1221, SB1538, SB1309, SB1434, SB2108, SB2121, SB2171, SB2061, SB2112, SB2138

Keywords: Oklahoma Hospital Advisory Council, hospital licensure, public health, State Department of Health, State Board of Health, hospital regulations, healthcare regulation, hospital standards, hospital construction, hospital operations, stroke care, stroke system, emergency medical services, EMS transport, psychiatric treatment, chemical dependency treatment, substance use disorder, drug storage, pharmacy, quality indicators