Transcript Highlights:

• They just can't go below the statutory floor, and they can't offer a discount above a dollar per gallon
• It would add some language to provide that this part not be interpreted to prohibit activity required
• Amendment number 19 would add two uncodified sections: one clarifying the legislature’s intent in interpreting
• Amendment number 19 would add two uncodified sections: one clarifying the legislature’s intent in interpreting

Bills: HB1163, HB1168, HR252, HR253, HCR103, HCR108, SB80, SB131, SB251, SB254, SB279, SB384, SB414, SB468, SB469, SB496

Keywords: fireworks, retail sales, fire safety, legislation, holiday celebrations, construction standards, precast concrete, DOTD, building regulations, minimum requirements, public projects, private projects, consumer protection, credit card fees, cash transactions, rounding practices, transparency, low-income, economic impact, residential construction

Transcript Highlights:

• They just can't go below the statutory floor, and they can't offer a discount above a dollar per gallon
• would change the rule of construction on page two and add language providing that the part not be interpreted
• It would add some language to provide that this part not be interpreted to prohibit activity required
• Amendment number 19 would add two uncodified sections: one clarifying the legislature's intent in interpreting

Summary: The House Committee on Commerce met on May 18, 2026, with a quorum present and the chair noting it was the committee’s last meeting of the session. The committee first considered Senate Bill 254, which would prohibit certain excess debit card surcharges and authorize enforcement by the Attorney General. After adopting technical amendments and a committee amendment requiring written notice before a private right of action, the bill was reported favorably as amended. The committee then took up Senate Bill 80 on broadband administration fees and GUMBO program closeout. Members questioned the proposed increase in administrative and contractor fees, the timing of project completion, and how withheld reimbursements would work for utility damage. After adopting several amendments, including cleanup language and a provision to restore the reimbursement process, the bill was reported favorably as amended, though the Louisiana Telecommunications Association voiced concerns about the withholding language and lack of a clearer fault-determination process. The committee next considered Senate Bill 469, updating the Louisiana Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law. Technical amendments were adopted, along with amendments clarifying that the bill’s 30-day notice to utility owner-operators is separate from existing GUMBO notice requirements and creating a rapid dispute-resolution process involving the Office of Broadband, the utility operator, and the local governing authority. Testimony from broadband and municipal stakeholders emphasized the need for quicker responses to excavation damage and better enforcement, while some witnesses raised concerns about the late amendment and the need for clearer recourse and standards. The bill was reported favorably as amended. Senate Bill 468, dealing with fuel rewards programs and fuel discount limits, was also amended to allow such discounts while capping them at $1 below the advertised price; it was reported favorably as amended. Senate Bill 131, concerning attorney’s fees and costs in professional licensing disciplinary proceedings, drew testimony from a cosmetology board representative and the Pelican Institute. Supporters argued the bill would curb incentives for boards to generate revenue through enforcement and give licensees a fairer opportunity to resolve cases; board testimony noted that some boards already have fee caps and that enforcement actions are relatively limited. After adopting an amendment clarifying when a licensee is the prevailing party, the bill was reported favorably as amended. Senate Bill 251 on critical infrastructure protection also received technical amendments and several substantive changes, including adding ports and airports to the definition of critical infrastructure, clarifying “significant access,” adding a knowledge requirement, and adjusting exemptions and enforcement timing; it was reported favorably as amended after testimony from State Armor representatives about foreign adversary threats. Finally, House Resolution 253 was introduced to create a task force to study how post-2005 building code additions and inspection requirements affect residential construction costs, with the sponsor explaining the goal was to gather industry input and return recommendations next session.

Transcript Highlights:

• since we could get a smaller one that could actually function in the panhandle, um, it could be interpreted
• not in a position to discuss any proposal specific information, including things like pricing, interpretation
• what you're suggesting to the committee and to the legislature in general that we may need some statutory
• plane, like how I, I, I guess I'm I'm not understanding why it's, um, I guess how other people are interpreting

Transcript Highlights:

• In these settlements, there is usually a monetary award in the form of statutory damages, but there are
• and civil rights officers report that the current language in the Education Code is difficult to interpret
• And in fact, if that interpretation were the case, that means all the students, people who are here on
• Well, and I think if I was interpreting your question correctly, it was more broad than that.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills. AB 416 would allow emergency room physicians to initiate 5150 mental health holds, with supporters saying it would reduce emergency room bottlenecks and speed care for patients in crisis. County and behavioral health representatives opposed the bill, and some members raised broader concerns about the 5150 system and juvenile placements. The bill was ultimately approved on a do-pass as amended vote. AB 446, the Surveillance Pricing Act, drew extensive testimony. The author and supporters argued it would prohibit businesses from using personal data to charge different prices for the same product or service, describing the practice as discriminatory and exploitative. Business and industry groups opposed the bill, warning that its language was too broad, could affect discounts and loyalty programs, and would create litigation risk through a private right of action. After discussion about enforcement and possible amendments, the bill passed on a do-pass motion. AB 632 would give local governments a faster way to collect penalties for serious code violations, including unsafe housing, fire hazards, and illegal cannabis activity, by allowing certain fines to become money judgments and clarifying lien authority. It had support from county and city groups and no opposition was voiced in the hearing; the bill passed as amended. ACA 7, a constitutional amendment intended to clarify and limit misuse of Section 31A, also moved forward after brief support testimony. The committee then took up AB 649, which would extend protections for businesses that proactively obtain certified access specialist inspections and fix accessibility violations; the author, a small business owner, and others testified in support, while disability rights groups moved to neutral after amendments. Members discussed the balance between access enforcement and reducing predatory litigation, and the bill was still under consideration as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Line 359, you include, it's not existing statutory language, you actually include parole.
• Our state courts are simply not equipped or authorized to interpret complex federal immigration statutes
• If that's your position and the interpretation of these words, how do I reconcile: “who knowingly enters
• I will proudly, loudly vote for this bill if you just honor the sentiment and spirit and your interpretation

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Committee took up SB 2-C, a major immigration enforcement bill sponsored by Senator Gruters and co-introduced by Senator Fine. Gruters described the measure as a broad crackdown on illegal immigration that would replace a single immigration officer with a State Board of Immigration Enforcement, create a $250 million grant program for local law enforcement, fund additional Department of Agriculture interdiction staff and facilities, expand pretrial detention for certain unauthorized immigrants, increase criminal penalties, require more cooperation with ICE, and eliminate in-state tuition eligibility for undocumented students. He and supporters framed the bill as a way to support law enforcement, deter illegal immigration, and align Florida with federal enforcement efforts. Committee questioning focused heavily on the bill’s education, detention, and enforcement provisions. Senators pressed Gruters and Fine on why the bill did not address employer sanctions or E-Verify, whether the tuition changes would affect students who had grown up in Florida, how sanctuary-policy enforcement would work, and whether the bill would create practical burdens for prosecutors, jails, and local officials. Gruters said he was open to working on E-Verify in regular session but not to amending this bill, and Fine argued the tuition repeal would apply to undocumented students who had qualified under existing law. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri testified in support, saying ICE bed capacity was still insufficient and that county jails needed more resources to honor detainers. Mark Schlachman of FSU Law offered historical context, noting prior state-federal cooperation efforts and warning of unintended consequences, while several public witnesses opposed the bill as unconstitutional, costly, and harmful to immigrant families and the economy. Opponents from the Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU of Florida, Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, Florida Policy Institute, AFL-CIO, and immigrant advocacy groups argued the bill would invite litigation, encourage racial profiling, harm the workforce and higher education, and punish law-abiding immigrants and their families. They emphasized that immigration is a federal matter, that K-12 education must be provided regardless of status, and that removing in-state tuition would reduce access to college and hurt Florida’s economy. Some speakers urged the committee to grandfather current students if the tuition waiver is repealed. The meeting ended with continued public testimony and no final vote reflected in the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh I don't think it does much good and doesn't serve its statutory purpose.
• Uh I don't think it does much good and doesn't serve its statutory purpose.
• Uh I don't think it does much good and doesn't serve its statutory purpose.
• Uh I don't think it does much good and doesn't serve its statutory purpose.
• Uh but that serve its statutory purpose.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, with the broad discretion we've seen in the courts for interpreting legislative intent
• <01:33:26.960> as that it could easily be interpreted as that it could easily be interpreted
• <01:33:42.080> legislative<01:33:42.719> intent, interpreting legislative intent, interpreting
• by um the courts here um interpretation by um the courts here um and<02:03:55.440> what<02:03
• <02:32:24.960> I the law is interpreted correctly. I the law is interpreted correctly.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, it was the charge of it to discuss the processes and procedures and any statutory recommended changes
• The original introduced version had a statutory reference to 21-8-115.228115, which is the oath that
• So it was just a cleanup for that statutory reference.
• changes which would beef about statutory changes which would beef up<00:19:55.520> this<00:19
• Additional representatives to be there, but the statutory change was mandating that witnesses shall be

Bills: HB0085, HB0086

Keywords: elections, audit procedures, ballot integrity, political party observation, transparency, county officials, election code, misconduct, removal, government accountability, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• PILS may have a different perspective on what that data means and how the state should interpret it.
• So I'll just comment that I think that's extremely hard to interpret because...
• So I'll just comment that I think that's extremely hard to interpret because we don't have a system of
• I'm not making that as an assertion of fact, but that's a very, very plausible interpretation of this
• So we can have different data sets, and depending on how you interpret them, they can mean very different

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission on correctional consolidation and collaboration heard testimony focused on how Massachusetts uses custody levels, staffing, programming, and medical release tools, with Prisoners’ Legal Services arguing that the system is overusing expensive high-security settings and underusing step-down options. Dave Rainey said the incarcerated population has dropped substantially over the last several years, but spending and staffing have not fallen in proportion. He argued that DOC overclassifies people into medium and maximum security, relies too heavily on behavioral assessment units that function like segregation, and keeps people in restrictive settings such as Souza-Baranowski and Shattuck Hospital longer than necessary. He also said medical parole is underused and that many people with serious chronic illness or advanced age pose little public-safety risk and should be released through existing legal pathways. Sheriffs and other commission members pushed back on some of those points, emphasizing that staffing needs are driven by the acuity of the current population, that corrections is not overstaffed, and that classification decisions involve serious public-safety judgments. They also stressed that some high-cost medical placements are necessary because people remain under sentence and require care, and that furloughs and other release tools can create security risks if contraband or substance use is involved. The discussion also covered the role of county sheriffs versus DOC in reentry, with several members saying county systems tend to do more day-to-day step-down and release planning, while DOC has more difficulty moving people through lower-security settings before release. Ben Foreman of MassINC offered a more systemwide, data-focused perspective, praising the state’s transparency and arguing that Massachusetts has made major progress in reducing incarceration and increasing public safety. He said the state still has an opportunity to improve by right-sizing facilities, investing in community-based mental health treatment, and using the commission to better understand the capital and operating costs of the current system. In response to questions, he said he was aware of DOC studies on programs like furlough but had not reviewed recent ones, and he noted that total-control facilities like Souza-Baranowski have long been criticized in the research literature for poor outcomes. Nora Wassel of the Women and Incarceration Project then testified that the commission should issue an interim report and scrutinize the planned new women’s prison, which she said is not justified by current population trends or available data. She argued that women are overclassified under DOC’s own tools, that reentry beds and minimum-security placements are underused, and that the system may be failing to account for women’s distinct medical and reentry needs. The meeting ended with continued discussion of reentry, furloughs, day reporting, and whether consolidation should mean fewer facilities, better step-down pathways, or both.

Transcript Highlights:

• :17:11.360> section proposed statutory change within section proposed statutory change within
• This is a good statutory tool for law enforcement like me to have.
• This is a good statutory<01:20:02.400> tool<01:20:02.640> for<01:20:02.880> law<
• 01:20:03.040> enforcement<01:20:03.600> like statutory tool for law enforcement like statutory
• I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, was a crime committed under any interpretation of existing

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Hoyt, a supervisory interpretive park ranger, first encountered the plant while on a hike in the park's
• Authority for DSHS to interpret its own statute is Crum v. Houston Municipal Employee System.
• Court affirmed that the legislature is permitted to grant governing authorities the authority to interpret
• This amendment eliminates the statutory requirement that the office must accept business filings by fax
• these review committees will establish and make recommendations to the regents based on their interpretations

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, heard an invocation, received a House message announcing passage of H.B. 500, and a gubernatorial nomination for the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority Board. The chamber adopted several resolutions, including SR 409 recognizing Blue Ribbon Lobby Day, SR 402 honoring the discovery of the woolly devil plant at Big Bend National Park, and recognitions for Operation Christmas RGV and Wilson County Day. The Senate also heard an announcement that the Committee on Senate Nominations action report had been placed on members’ desks. The body then took up and passed several bills. SB 2365 was passed to prohibit personal wireless communication devices by public school students during instructional time, with exceptions for health, special education, and safety needs. SB 1869 was passed to reaffirm the DSHS commissioner’s authority over controlled-substance schedule changes without rulemaking or judicial review. SB 1124 was passed to revise criminal discovery procedures in response to the Heath decision, with supporters saying it preserves exculpatory evidence protections while limiting suppression of inculpatory evidence when the defense already knew of it. SB 1758 was passed to create a Grayson County pilot study and temporary permitting hold concerning a cement kiln/quarry near a semiconductor wafer facility, and SB 2078 was passed to regulate composting in certain counties, after a clarifying amendment. The Senate also passed SB 33, barring governmental entities from transactions that support abortion assistance or out-of-state abortion procurement; SB 34, expanding wildfire preparedness measures, studies, equipment databases, and rural fire department funding; SB 1208, increasing the penalty for interference with public duties from a Class B misdemeanor to a state jail felony; SB 1030, removing the maintenance, repair, and overhaul tax for general aviation; SB 505, creating processes to address election irregularities; SB 2411, updating the Business Organizations Code and changing filing-method requirements; and SB 1333, addressing unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, or conveyance of real property. Most measures advanced on voice vote or recorded roll call after motions to suspend the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule, with several members raising questions or objections, especially on the criminal justice, abortion, and public duties bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• The legal department had trouble interpreting what they needed from the applicants, and it was really
• :41:14.720> our really we're charged with within our really we're charged with within our statutory
• jurisdiction<00:41:16.400> that<00:41:16.800> we're<00:41:17.040> were statutory
• jurisdiction that we're were statutory jurisdiction that we're were frankly<00:41:17.920> inefficient
• of the results careful interpretation of the results all<01:44:39.119> of<01:44:39.280> which

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• National Guard Sergeants William Nathaniel Howard and Edgar Brown Torres Tovar, and a civilian interpreter
• are remembered by Moaz interpreter are remembered by Moaz Mustafa<02:10:31.599> of<02:10:31.760
• requirement that milk options statutory requirement that milk options served<02:31:33.680> must
• The tribe wishes to reacquire its ancestral lands and eventually build an interpretive center there.
• build, as mentioned, an interpretive build, as mentioned, an interpretive center<05:29:50.878>

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, December 15, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it does this without increasing the credit's statutory caps, meaning New Mexico can better leverage
• It clarifies the existing interpretation that the tobacco products tax on closed vape liquid cartridges

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• concern is with some of the broad language that's in the current bill right now, that it may be interpreted
• century-old pillar of law enforcement, and something that the DNR does rely on when it needs to within its statutory

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This proposal aims to adapt the food licensing statutory structure to better fit current food business
• If I'm interpreting everything correctly, the way I see that is that is their participation in the program

Transcript Highlights:

• WE SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO LAWSUIT BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE INTERPRETATIONS. IT IS MY RIGHT.
• ALTERNATIVE CONTAINERS TO PRESERVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCT THEY CANNOT SELL WINE IN QUANTITIES OF THE STATUTORY

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But this emanates from a statutory requirement that the Legislature created a number of years ago directing
• And that's where we're able to track how many and interpreting events to we have in the trial courts.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• statutory authority up to 12%. statutory authority up to 12%.
• authority of section the statutory authority of section 4731425.
• /c><01:03:43.200> open like maintaining the statutory open like maintaining the statutory open
• Uh, which then has a statutory appropriation from the special revenue fund here.
• Uh, which then has a statutory appropriation from the special revenue fund here.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's really a bill that would add various statutory provisions to protect personal information of the
• going<00:12:20.720> to<00:12:20.840> add<00:12:21.120> various<00:12:21.480> statutory
• going to add various statutory going to add various statutory provisions<00:12:22.640> to
• President, no, but I would say my interpretation, my expectation is that this could indirectly create

Keywords: 927, senate, all