Transcript Highlights:

• You'll see there are a myriad of things that are outlined that have to do with audits and reviews and
• It also outlines requirements and procedures for public auctions of state lands associated with those

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the banking background and so a lot of the processes<00:10:33.519> and<00:10:33.920> procedures
• <00:10:34.399> that<00:10:34.640> we<00:10:34.800> have processes and procedures
• that we have processes and procedures that we have set<00:10:35.200> up<00:10:35.680> have
• two-year audited financials at minimum. two-year audited financials at minimum.
• . procedures. procedures.

Bills: HF2986, HF3555

Keywords: virtual power plant, VPP, distributed energy resources, DER, demand response, load management, grid modernization, peak demand, peak shaving, battery storage, energy storage, solar photovoltaic, solar panels, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, heat pumps, aggregator, public utilities commission, PUC, rate recovery

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1099 amends Chapter 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by adding Article 42.01992.
• Chairman and members, Senate Bill 1667 relates to the procedures for the Mr.
• Chairman, Senate Bill 1667 relates to the procedures for the expunction of arrest records and files.
• So even though it's been reported to NICS, if NICS goes back and doesn't audit, If NICS goes back and
• does an audit, and they find that DPS does not have the order and the clerk doesn't have the order,

Bills: SB552, SB1099, SB1124, SB1208, SB1372, SB1506, SB1667, SB1804, SB1806, SB1870, SB1936, SB1937, SB2180, SB2405, SB2569, SB2570, SB1646

Keywords: community supervision, criminal justice, illegal alien, deferred adjudication, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, SB 1099, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized immigrant, immigration status, felony sentencing enhancement, criminal penalty increase, Texas Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, affirmative finding, judgment finding, deportation, public safety, immigration enforcement, sentencing reform, felony offense

Summary: The committee heard a series of criminal justice bills, beginning with SB 1870 and SB 1727, both of which were adopted as committee substitutes and reported favorably to the full Senate. SB 1870 would bar local governments from adopting policies that decriminalize controlled substances or direct officials not to enforce state drug laws, with civil penalties enforced by the Attorney General for violations. SB 1727 was described as a technical change to make the draft a formal Legislative Council version of a TDCJ-related assault bill; both bills were also sent to the local and uncontested calendar. The committee then took up SB 2405, the major Sunset bill for TDCJ, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, Windham School District, and the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee. Senator Parker explained that the bill continues and modernizes those agencies, requires a 10-year facilities and staffing plan, expands rehabilitation and reentry programming, improves parole-board consistency and training, and codifies various cleanup and inspector general recommendations. Sunset staff and agency witnesses discussed the bill’s data-sharing, program coordination, and projected savings from reducing delays in parole-voted programming; public witnesses generally supported the post-secondary education and reentry provisions, while some urged stronger statutory direction for Windham and more reform to medically recommended intensive supervision. The bill was left pending. SB 1804, SB 1099, SB 2569, and SB 2570 were also heard. SB 1804 would allow restitution for tattoo removal for human trafficking survivors and remove the age restriction so adult survivors can qualify; it was reported favorably and sent to the local calendar. SB 1099 would increase penalties for certain felony offenses when committed by a person determined to be unlawfully present in the country; immigration and civil rights witnesses opposed it as overbroad and difficult to administer, but it was reported favorably. SB 2569 would modernize unmanned aircraft reporting by requiring law enforcement agencies to post reports on public websites; it passed unanimously and was sent to the local calendar. SB 2570 would create a defense to prosecution for peace officers and correctional guards using less-lethal force weapons within the scope of their training; law enforcement witnesses supported it, civil rights and prosecutor witnesses raised concerns that it was too broad and could weaken existing use-of-force standards, and the bill was left pending for further work.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1321, misdemeanor expungement requirements procedure. SB 1322.
• SB 1321, misdemeanor expungement requirements procedure.
• SB 1333, SNAP error rate forensic audit. SB 34, SNAP work climate waivers exemption.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and an electronic roll call showing 30 members present. The body approved the previous journal and then paused for several memorial and guest recognitions, including a moment of silence for former Representative Noel Campbell, who died in a motorcycle accident. The chamber also welcomed visiting school district leaders, Grand Canyon University Government and History Club students, and Food Bank Day at the Capitol participants. Members then adopted a proclamation recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day, with remarks emphasizing the history of the Holocaust, the rise in antisemitism, and the importance of education and remembrance. A guest shared a personal family story about escaping Germany in 1938. Senator Bolick also read a proclamation for National School Choice Week, highlighting Arizona’s public, charter, private, homeschool, and microschool options and urging members to engage with schools in their districts. The Senate received numerous governor communications and introduced a long list of first- and second-reading bills covering topics such as education, water, energy, public safety, elections, health care, taxes, housing, and border issues. The chamber also received House Concurrent Resolution 2045 honoring the late Congressman Raul Grijalva; it was adopted unanimously, and the Senate observed a moment of silence. The session ended with committee announcements for the next day and adjournment until Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 1:15 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• and procedures by which child<01:15:59.000> care<01:15:59.200> programs<01:15:59.640><
• for a provider and a method to procedure for a provider and a method to determine<01:35:06.760> the
• DCYF didn't receive investigative or audit support from the federal government.
• c><01:37:37.280> support<01:37:38.200> um<01:37:38.280> from investigative or audit
• support um from investigative or audit support um from the<01:37:38.560> federal<01:37:38.960

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <03:11:11.760> which the plan and change the procedures which the plan and change the procedures
• There were procedural changes on how we built the containment. Okay.
• Um, and my first procedure for taking out the asbestos floor tile and mastic, which is the same procedure
• They asked me to change the procedures. Representative Sergeant. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
• By implementing notification procedures...

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It also includes forensic audit requirements. And with that, I'm available for any questions.
• This came about from a Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing where a principal testified that a school
• questions for staff seeing none bill sponsor madam whip members this came about from a joint legislative audit
• more than 5,000 students to provide the public with a live video feed of each meeting, and details procedures
• Madam Whip and members, House Bill 2532 directs the Auditor General to conduct a special audit on the

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The meeting covered a long series of bills, mostly in health, education, commerce, federalism, and government. In health, members discussed radiology technology updates (HB 2050), a tribal Medicaid waiver/drawdown measure with no state cost (HB 2177), an emergency medicine study committee (HB 2183), fetal death certificate and remains-transfer requirements (HB 2184), a physician assistant licensure compact (HB 2190), dementia care telemonitoring funding (HB 2202), SNAP error-rate reduction and fraud/eligibility oversight bills (HB 2206, HB 2442, HB 2797), child welfare protections like credit freezes and recorded interviews (HB 2321, HB 2322), and podiatric licensure compacts (HB 2438). Several of these were described as consent-calendar items, while HB 2206 and the SNAP-related measures drew discussion about fraud reduction, administrative burden, and work requirements. In commerce and finance, the committee heard bills on mobile food vendors and local permits (HB 2118), earned wage access services with fee caps and disclosure rules (HB 2309), CPA licensure changes (HB 2476), cash acceptance for retail purchases under $100 (HB 2555), drone delivery and unmanned aircraft guardrails (HB 2875), timeshare salesperson licensing (HB 2877), and a prohibition on state-mandated social credit scoring in lending decisions (HB 2903). The tax and retirement-related items included 529 plan conformity and Roth IRA transfer rules (HB 2477), annual tax conformity to the Internal Revenue Code (HB 2785), ASRS technical and disability-related changes (HB 2089, HB 2090, HB 2092), and a bill on employee health insurance definitions (HB 2089). The Arizona Commerce Authority bill (HB 2754) would add legislative members to the board and shift more control over trade offices and Arizona Competes Fund spending to the legislature. The education section focused heavily on school governance and finance. Bills included patriotic youth group presentations in schools (HB 2312), school board term limits (HB 2318), mandatory training for governing board members (HB 2379), independent municipal advisors for bond elections (HB 2320), restrictions on districts buying operating charter/private school sites to game enrollment formulas (HB 2376), conflict-of-interest limits for school facilities board architects and engineers (HB 2378), public meeting and travel transparency rules for districts (HB 2380), limits on long-term school property leases and reporting requirements (HB 2384), tighter bidding rules for school construction job orders using Building Renewal Grant funds (HB 2482), and a voluntary computer science proficiency seal (HB 2764). Sponsors repeatedly framed these as transparency, accountability, and anti-abuse measures, while some opposition centered on local flexibility, housing use, and existing training providers. In federalism and government, the committee heard bills to give counties more time to mail sample ballots (HB 2006), require courts to identify veterans at first appearance for possible veterans court referral (HB 2226), study veterans’ awareness of benefits (HB 2406), broaden military leave protections (HB 2663), require SAVE verification for voter registration and certain state services (HB 2806), require U.S.-sourced voting machine components by 2029 (HB 2901), affirm the Electoral College (HB 2902), and establish due process protections for justice of the peace courts against outside administrative action (HB 2976). Government committee items included a later deadline for library trustees’ annual reports (HB 2129), a two-year limit on certain adult protective services reports to the Attorney General (HB 2228), and an exemption for public and semi-public cold plunges from ADEQ spa rules (HB 2439). Several bills were reported as consent-calendar items, and a number of sponsors noted committee votes, fiscal neutrality, or favorable testimony in support of the measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's where they come out and certify us as having all the processes and procedures and staffing in
• I've got a CFO, an actual CPA CFO, in place to make sure our internal processes and audits won't allow
• make bad business decisions based on some of those things all about transparency we we we want to be audited
• Please write in an auditability requirement.
• so much better that now we have people living into their teens and 30s who Need follow-up heart procedures

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a standard procedure because it's already in house. Okay.
• That's the audit bill that we tabled. I'll second. That's the audit bill that we tabled. Mm-hmm.
• The audit? Mr. Chair, the audit bill, we tabled permanently. That was the motion.
• And so the bill helps the state of New Mexico doing a single audit, and it really clarifies that.

Bills: SB241, SB145

Keywords: child care, child care assistance, child care subsidy, early childhood education, early childhood care, daycare, preschool, pre-K, Head Start, Early Head Start, Children's Code, early childhood education and care department, ECECD, child care facilities, licensed child care, registered child care, copayments, waitlist, subsidy, federal poverty level

Transcript Highlights:

• If they have to have an audit finding to learn their lesson as they move forward, maybe each agency is
• Otherwise, we leave them with an audit. Finding, which in some cases may be a good thing.
• In conclusion, I do want to state for the committee's purposes that we do intend to audit those agencies
• Have requested deficiency appropriations, and we will expand our annual financial compliance audit to
• One of the issues, to be brief, is that we have an independence required as an audit firm.

Transcript Highlights:

• the entities so that they can have a documented policy—a standardized set of policies that will meet audit
• It would be like any standard operating procedures. For example, what's our password policy?
• To give you a sample, the restricted information could be something like our tax audit algorithm or our
• OCS standard operating procedure on how we conduct certain activities.
• Procedure, but it does provide a value that can be utilized to assess the risk level of this bull having

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, I don't know why they would ever speak directly to DHS auditing staff.
• Um, I don't know why they would ever speak directly to DHS auditing staff.
• They did not do this from 2019 to March 4th of 2024 for their 2019 audit.
• March 4th of 2024 for their 2019 audit.
• what's just first want to procedurally what's just first want to verify<01:18:36.239> that.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The legislature would set the uniform procedure for this provision.
• The legislature would set the uniform procedure for this provision.
• Again, that would be within the processes and procedures that those future Legislatures would put in
• And this goes back to the procedure, the uniform procedure that the Legislature would put together for
• I signed the paper this session to have them audited, and we are finding a lot of problems.

Summary: The Committee on Appropriations took up SJR 2-F, a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes by lowering assessment caps on non-homestead property, expanding homestead exemptions over time, and allowing local governments to increase exemptions further. The sponsor argued the measure would provide broad property tax relief while requiring revenues to be directed to core services such as public safety, education, infrastructure, and natural resource projects, with a trust fund intended to help local governments transition. Senators raised concerns about the lack of a fiscal score, the effect on counties, cities, school districts, and special districts, and whether the proposal would shift costs to fees or other taxes. Several amendments were debated. Senator Polsky’s amendment to explicitly authorize user fees and non-ad valorem assessments to offset lost property tax revenue failed. Senator Avila’s amendment broadening permissible uses of ad valorem revenue to include county constitutional officers and other expenditures approved by local governing bodies was adopted after debate over whether the bill would otherwise underfund essential functions. Senator Smith’s sunset amendment, which would have made the constitutional changes expire after five years, failed. Senator Smith’s amendment to allow tourism development tax revenue to support public safety and education also failed. Senator Graal’s amendment removing the constitutional trust fund language was adopted, with supporters arguing the Constitution should not promise an unfunded account. Additional late-file amendments were considered. Senator Berman’s proposal to change the ballot title to more neutrally describe the measure as affecting property taxes and local community service reductions failed. Senator Trumbull’s amendment removing school board ad valorem taxes from the proposal was adopted, preserving school taxes. Senator Smith’s amendment narrowing the non-homestead assessment cap reduction to small businesses only failed. The committee then returned to the bill as amended and continued questioning the sponsor about eligibility, fiscal impacts, and whether the proposal could lead to local governments offsetting lost revenue through special assessments or other charges.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:29:10.159> the with a third-party auditor to audit the with a third-party auditor to audit
• Their audit wasn't finished or something, right? So liquor's audit is so...
• Association and an Actuarial audit Association and an Actuarial audit involves<02:16:09.040>
• We go to the facility and observe that they're compliance with procedures.
• We go to the facility and observe that they're compliance with procedures.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Department of Administrative Services presented an overview of its budget and operations, emphasizing that it is the lowest-spending agency in state government and that its general fund allocation has declined since 2019. Commissioner Arling House explained that DAS also handles back-office functions for several administratively attached boards, which has affected staffing and spending comparisons. He said the department’s current general fund spending is roughly split between retiree health and other operations, and that the presentation was based on adjusted authorized spending rather than the original budget figures. A major portion of the meeting focused on retiree health benefits and the long-term effort to control costs. Deputy Commissioner Cassie Keane described how the state moved from a projected deficit in retiree health to savings through a series of changes, including higher premium contributions, co-pay adjustments, and shifting Medicare retirees into Medicare Advantage arrangements to capture federal reimbursement. She said the state has about 12,500 retirees and spouses on the plan, with roughly 10,906 Medicare retirees and 1,580 non-Medicare retirees, and that the savings have depended heavily on federal funding and procurement decisions. She also noted that Medicare retirees pay Part B premiums and that the state has grandfathered older retirees from some premium contributions. Members asked about what the expenditures cover, why the state offers retiree health instead of simply giving retirees a payment to buy coverage themselves, and whether out-of-pocket costs changed under Medicare Advantage. Keane said the plan covers actual health claims or insurance premiums, that co-pays and maximum out-of-pocket limits remain in place, and that the state has no authority to change benefit details without legislative action. She explained that retiree health is a long-standing employee benefit that wraps around Medicare and is not collectively bargained in the usual sense, though its eligibility rules and cost-sharing have been tightened over time to better target the benefit to long-term state service. The discussion also covered vendor performance problems. Keane said Anthem recently won the contract back from Aetna, but its pharmacy subsidiary, Caroline, caused serious service disruptions. DAS responded by withholding payments, assessing more than $2 million in performance guarantees, and hiring a third-party auditor to review the pharmacy processes. The current contract runs through the end of calendar year 2026, and officials said they are watching federal Medicare Advantage reimbursement changes closely because future savings are uncertain.

Transcript Highlights:

• It relates to procedures for a commissioner's court to close, abandon, or vacate certain county roads
• The bill includes strong accountability measures, annual audits, and public review. reports to state

Bills: HB112, HB117

Keywords: county regulation, impervious cover, land use, unincorporated areas, environmental management, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Not if the law was followed with regard to the procedures and process around that emergency procedure
• Because as you and I... ...emergency procedure. And how would that be determined?
• You don't think that some of the bad actions that have been taken could be resolved with the audits and
• So why can't we use the tools that we have for auditing rather than getting rid of all the CRAs across
• And we did a study by the Joint Auditing Committee, and that city has since corrected their errors, and

Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard Senate Bill 1272 on guardianship, which would limit a guardian’s ability to isolate an adult ward from family and require notice of major events such as a ward’s death or relocation to a more restrictive setting. Senator Jones and supportive speakers said the bill was intended to protect wards from abuse and isolation by bad actors, while still preserving good-faith guardianship. With no opposition testimony or debate, the committee voted 8-0 to report the bill favorably. The committee then considered CS for Senate Bill 1284, which would expand Florida’s Wrongful Death Act to allow civil claims for the death of an unborn child. An amendment was adopted to define “unborn child” as a member of the species Homo sapiens carried in the womb and to state that the act does not authorize claims against the mother or against health care providers acting within the lawful standard of care. The bill drew extensive debate and testimony. Supporters argued it would give parents parity and fuller damages, including economic losses and mental anguish, when negligence causes the death of an unborn child. Opponents, including the ACLU, medical professionals, and reproductive rights advocates, warned it could be used to target abortion care, increase malpractice exposure, worsen physician shortages, and create speculative damages. The committee approved the bill 6-4. Finally, the committee took up Senate Bill 1288 on parental rights, with a strike-all amendment that would strengthen parental control over minors’ medical decisions, surveys, and biofeedback devices, while adding exceptions for emergencies, court orders, certain legal statuses, and situations involving abuse or out-of-home placement. Supporters said the measure restores parents as primary decision-makers and protects children from inappropriate questioning or treatment without consent. Opponents argued it could block minors from confidential care for STIs, mental health, or abuse-related issues, and could chill school and medical screenings. The transcript ends during testimony and debate on this bill, before any final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Their policies and procedures are very well evolved, and I couldn't be more proud of the people that
• They needed to be audited—wasteful spending, diversion of funds—and I'm too am really pleased that, with
• I've been on the Internal Audit Committee since 2021, and I've been chair of the Audit Committee at TxDOT

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the general manager for approximately four years, and I joined as our first ever Sunset Commission audit
• The general manager for approximately four years, and I joined as our first ever Sunset Commission audit
• We successfully completed our first ever Sunset Commission audit in 2023, and one of those recommendations
• mechanisms that result in cost containment while allowing for the deferral of costly administrative procedures

Bills: HB16, HB16, HB1618, HB2692, HB2712, HB2970, HB3609, HB3628

Keywords: judicial administration, court reform, juvenile diversion, court security, mental health services, drug offenses, constitutional amendments, water infrastructure, Texas Water Development Board, financial assistance, water supply projects, rural municipalities, water access assessment, aquifer storage, Edwards Aquifer, water injection, environmental regulations, groundwater management, San Antonio River, pollution control

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 85, sponsored by Management Audit, Postelection Audit Procedures, an act relating to elections
• House Bill 86, sponsored by Management Audit, Removal of County Officers, election code violations, an
• ,<00:39:47.920> Postelection<00:39:48.720> Audit<00:39:49.119> Procedures,<00:39
• :49.760> an Audit, Postelection Audit Procedures, an Audit, Postelection Audit Procedures, an
• , removal of county officers, Audit, removal of county officers, election<00:40:07.440> code<00

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, the New Hampshire Insurance Department keeps track of all the cost of all procedures, and
• it can calculate the average cost of all procedures.
• So would you—does the department also know what the cost per procedure is and what the average cost and
• you that if you do look at those categories on our end, federally, we need to have policies and procedures
• you that if you do look at those categories on our end, federally, we need to have policies and procedures

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The work session focused on special education, especially the differentiated aid component and special education aid, which members noted is still often called “catastrophic aid.” The chair said the committee was trying to better understand how special education costs are growing, how districts are delivering services through SAUs or internally, and how reimbursement formulas affect local costs. Members also discussed the need for better data before making decisions on several education funding bills, and Representative Brown was tasked with capturing questions for follow-up information from the department or elsewhere. Testimony from the state special education director, Becky Fad, centered on why student counts in various disability categories have shifted over time. She said the categories themselves have not changed much, but autism has increased because of greater understanding and identification, developmental delay has grown because it applies to children under age 10 who may not yet have a clear diagnosis, and some students previously classified under speech/language or other health impairment are now identified in more specific categories such as autism. She emphasized that the IEP is based on a child’s individual needs, so a change in category would not necessarily change services, though it may help educators support the student differently. Members asked about whether the shifts reflect better diagnostic capability, whether the department should gather more data on the reasons for the changes, and whether autism-spectrum data could be broken down further. Fad said the department does not currently have data on the causes of the shifts or on where students fall within the autism spectrum, but that collecting and analyzing such data is on its list of priorities and a new data manager had recently been hired. She also explained that each child is counted only once on the chart by primary disability, that the IEP or eligibility team determines the primary category based on evaluations, and that any child can be referred for special education by a parent, teacher, or doctor, after which the district must meet within 15 days to decide whether to evaluate. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.