Transcript Highlights:

• Four, create a COG-wide emergency operations plan to streamline regional coordination and improve response
• I know it goes out to emergency management partners as far as just for our COG, for ACOG, or I'm sure
• , you know, by... ...as just for our COG, for ACOG, or I'm sure, you know, by region.
• there for years and has done a fantastic job of being well trained and well in tune with our region and COG

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness and flooding hearing opened with quorum calls, prayer, testimony time limits, and remarks from legislative leaders emphasizing decorum, respect, and the goal of learning from the July 4 flood to prevent future loss of life. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dustin Burrows said the special session and hearings were intended to hear directly from local officials and residents, and that the state would pursue immediate and longer-term legislation and continue working beyond the current session. The committee then heard invited testimony from Kerr County, Kerrville, Kendall County, Real County, and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, followed by member questions. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, and emergency management coordinator William B. Thomas described the flood as a sudden, unprecedented event that overwhelmed local systems before many officials or residents understood the danger. They said the county received multiple National Weather Service and IPAWS alerts, but the rain fell in remote upstream areas with limited gauges, and the flood rose too quickly for normal response. They detailed the emergency response, including dispatchers handling heavy call volumes, deputies and volunteer firefighters conducting rescues, and state and federal partners assisting. County officials said 108 people died, including 37 children, and two remained missing. They called for better real-time flood detection, stronger rural emergency management resources, improved broadband and cell coverage, and more funding for swift-water rescue and warning systems. Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring and City Manager Dalton Rice said the city had floodplain rules, emergency plans, and prior preparedness efforts, but the event exposed gaps in communications and regional warning capacity. They urged the Legislature to fund a flood warning system, whether sirens, automated alerts, or a hybrid, and asked for support for predictive weather modeling, broadband expansion, a hazard mitigation fund, and disaster recovery resources. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority said it had long funded gauges and pursued flood-warning and mitigation projects, including a new software-based flood prediction system and possible retention dams, and planned to dedicate reserve funds to feasibility studies and infrastructure improvements. Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk said his county’s emergency action plan and early alerts helped prevent deaths there, and he recommended easier access to alerting tools, a river-wide warning system, simpler grant applications, and regional coordination. Real County Judge Bella Rubio said rural counties face major challenges because of limited cell service, broadband, staffing, and funding, especially for camps and visitors along the Frio and Nueces rivers, and argued that reliable alert systems should be treated as a necessity, not a luxury. Members asked about the timeline of the flood, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and funding, and several witnesses said the key lessons were better communications, better warning systems, and more investment in rural flood mitigation and emergency response.

Transcript Highlights:

• To hear some people tell it, the value of education only extends as far as students can be cogs in a
• as<00:09:39.279> students<00:09:39.920> can<00:09:40.160> be<00:09:40.320> cogs
• as students can be cogs in a machine. as students can be cogs in a machine.

Keywords: 1183, house

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• The Eastern Plain COG, if we.

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• Water Trust Board, and we'll help you do that grant writing, which we did grant writing through the COGS

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• , the, the results of the capacity building funding that was awarded in House Bill 2, and, um, the cogs

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• Cog in Dunjaba. Um, greetings relatives.

Keywords: 1183, house

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• these regions; they'll coordinate the regional meetings with help from local stakeholders, be it the COGs

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• Four, create a COG-wide emergency operations plan to streamline regional coordination and improve response
• I know it goes out to emergency services. management partners, as far as just for our COG, for ACOG,
• there for years and has done a fantastic job of being well trained and well in tune with our region and COG

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

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• choose these solutions as a way to meet their insane RINA obligations that they are handed down by COGS

Summary: The Assembly convened, established a quorum, offered prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then moved through a long floor file with many Senate bills. Early procedural actions included unanimous-consent motions, a successful roll-call to rescind prior action on SB 351, and a 54-vote suspension of Joint Rule 61(a)(3) to allow floor amendments on SBs 80, 351, and 415. The chamber also made several referrals, moved one item to the inactive file, and welcomed new Assembly Member Natasha Johnson and other guests. The bulk of the meeting consisted of concurrence and third-reading votes on a wide range of measures, many of them passing with little or no opposition. Topics included tribal gaming grants (AB 221), State Bar fee and bar exam changes (SB 253), AI guardrails in community colleges (SB 241), consumer arbitration clauses (SB 82), due process for law enforcement in Racial Justice Act cases (SB 734), dental payment fee disclosures (SB 386), HOA balcony inspection reports (SB 410), farmland protection and EIFD rules (SB 5 and SB 516), emergency shelter zoning (SB 340), HIV confidentiality (SB 504), election signature-cure reforms (SB 3), contractor workers’ compensation compliance (SB 291), fire training funding (SB 345), wage theft enforcement (SB 355 and SB 261), food allergen disclosures (SB 68), ride-share insurance coverage (SB 371), housing and disaster recovery measures (SB 233, SB 625, SB 21), midwifery education (SB 520), mobile home insurance access (SB 525), epinephrine in schools (SB 568), health facility emergency licensing (SB 582), hair relaxer enforcement (SB 236), wastewater surveillance (SB 317), and several tax, transportation, and public health bills. A number of bills drew brief policy debate or opposition. SB 388, creating a California Latino Commission, prompted criticism from some members who argued the money should go directly to community needs rather than a new commission; it still passed. SB 50 on digital safety for victims of abuse, SB 20 on silicosis prevention, SB 306 on prior authorization reform, SB 373 on oversight of out-of-state special education placements, and SB 437 on reparations descendant-status verification were among the more substantive and discussed measures. Most bills passed by wide margins, often unanimously, and several urgency or tax-levy measures required 54 votes and were approved. The session ended with continued passage of remaining file items and multiple items retained or passed temporarily for later action.

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• had trainings already in Albuquerque, Silver City, Gallup, and Clovis, and so we reached out to the Cogs

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• Four, create a cog-wide emergency operation. plan to streamline regional coordination improve response
• to you and who else I know it goes out to emergency man management partners, as far as just for our cog
• years and has done a fantastic job. job of being well trained and well in tune with our region and COG

Keywords: 997, house, all

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• As a former COG chair, I participated in 100 years of sustainable community strategies by doing four

Keywords: 988, house, all

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• Recognize Cog for a follow-up. Could you see them being used in immigration enforcement?

Keywords: 914, all

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• Because we know the cogs are not all created the same. And then that is.

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• So once they on cog that back up and we get to 67, ah, duh. 67 is this bill requires then really a lot

Keywords: 999, senate, all

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• And without a vision, it's really hard for people to understand how do those little cogs fit into the
• And without a vision, it's really hard for people to understand how do those little cogs fit into the
• And without a vision, it's really hard for people to understand how do those little cogs fit into the
• And without a vision, it's really hard for people to understand how do those little cogs fit into the

Keywords: 916, all

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• I think this is just another cog in that wheel of EMS reform in Massachusetts.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Financial Services held a lengthy public hearing with more than 70 people signed up to testify, focusing mainly on health insurance and health care access bills. Early testimony centered on H.1257/S.712, which would require insurance coverage for medically necessary treatment of genetic craniofacial conditions. Supporters included legislators, dentists, and medical experts who said these conditions are not cosmetic, can severely affect eating, speech, pain, and social functioning, and often create major financial hardship because insurers deny coverage. A related dental bill, H.1262/S.676, drew technical testimony from the Life Insurance Association of Massachusetts about implementation issues with the 2022 dental loss-ratio law, while the Massachusetts Dental Society supported H.1306/S.696 on transparency in dental network leasing and opposed H.1262. Representative Gentile also testified for H.4013, which would ban for-profit acute care hospitals and for-profit health insurers in Massachusetts, arguing that profit incentives undermine patient care. A major portion of the hearing was devoted to H.1261/S.799, a bill to protect patients from surprise ambulance bills. Municipal fire chiefs, Boston EMS, nonprofit ambulance providers, and the bill’s Senate sponsor said the measure would require insurers to pay ambulance providers directly and promptly, cap patient out-of-pocket costs, and reduce confusion caused by out-of-network billing. Witnesses described ambulance services as essential public health infrastructure and said current billing practices can discourage people from calling 911 or leave municipalities and nonprofits unable to recover costs. Committee members asked about unpaid debt, municipal billing burdens, and how the bill would affect rates and reimbursement. No votes were taken during the hearing. The committee also heard extensive testimony on H.1249/S.805, which would require screening for PANS/PANDAS in medical and clinical settings. Legislators, clinicians, parents, a teen with the condition, and educators described PANS/PANDAS as an infection-triggered inflammatory illness that can present as sudden psychiatric symptoms and is often misdiagnosed as a mental health disorder. Supporters said routine screening at well visits, emergency rooms, and other clinical settings would help identify children earlier, reduce unnecessary psychiatric treatment and hospitalizations, and improve outcomes. Testifiers repeatedly urged favorable action, emphasizing the personal and financial toll on families and the potential for early treatment to prevent long-term harm. The hearing concluded with continued testimony on these bills; no committee action or votes were announced.

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• Then we have COG academies or councils of governments, like the Alamo Area of Governments and South Plains
• COG.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

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• In his acceptance speech, he remarked, "I am but one of many cogs in the United Nations, the greatest
• am but<01:20:35.280> one<01:20:35.440> of<01:20:35.600> many<01:20:36.000> COGS
• <01:20:36.400> in<01:20:36.560> the<01:20:36.719> United but one of many COGS
• in the United but one of many COGS in the United Nations,<01:20:37.920> the<01:20:38.159>

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, June 26, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Four, create a COG-wide emergency operations plan to streamline regional coordination and improve response
• As far as just for our COG, for ACOG, or I'm sure, you know, by region, I couldn't tell you exactly who
• there for years and has done a fantastic job of being well trained and well in tune with our region and COG

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness hearing convened in Kerrville with quorum, public testimony limited to three minutes and invited testimony to 10 minutes. Leaders from both chambers, along with the lieutenant governor and speaker, framed the hearing as an unprecedented joint effort focused on learning from the July 4 flood, honoring victims, and identifying actions to reduce future loss of life. The committee also heard opening remarks about decorum, logistics, and the intent to continue work in future sessions. The first panel included Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, Emergency Management Coordinator William B. Thomas IV, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, Upper Guadalupe River Authority representative William Rector, Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk, and Real County Judge Bella Rubio. They described the flood as sudden and catastrophic, with Kerr County reporting 108 deaths and two missing. Local officials emphasized that they received no timely warning of the scale of the event, that responders and volunteers acted heroically under extreme conditions, and that communications, cell coverage, and rural emergency resources were strained. Several witnesses said the county’s existing alert systems were limited by geography, sparse broadband, and the speed of the flood. Testimony focused on possible improvements, including real-time flood gauges and predictive monitoring, stronger rural emergency management staffing and training, better interoperability and alerting tools such as IPAWS, CodeRED, WENS, and sirens, and expanded broadband and radio coverage. Kerrville asked for a flood warning system before next summer and state help for stormwater, floodplain, and disaster recovery funding. UGRA described its past and current flood-warning and mitigation efforts, including gauge funding, a new software-based flood prediction project, and consideration of additional retention dams. Kendall and Real counties highlighted successful or needed alerting and evacuation practices, while also stressing the difficulty of funding and maintaining such systems in small rural counties. Members asked detailed questions about the timeline of the flood response, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and whether regional consolidation or additional infrastructure could improve future preparedness.