Transcript Highlights:

• And at the appropriate time, I'd like to pass favorably as amended.
• And at the appropriate time, I'd like to pass favorably as amended.
• Fontenot, you're moving to have HB 119 pass favorably as amended.
• As of right now, you can't argue they failed to object to it.
• See you next week. passes. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Summary: The committee met on March 18, 2026, with a quorum present and heard several criminal justice bills. HB 36 by Rep. Butler, as amended, removed Evangeline Parish from the Acadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District and was reported favorably. HB 160 by Rep. Knox increased penalties for domestic violence offenses involving strangulation; the committee adopted an amendment requiring at least one year without probation or suspension, heard strong support from survivors and prosecutors, and reported the bill favorably as amended. HB 552 by Rep. Bryant, handled by Vice Chair LaFleur, clarified DWI law to include impairment beyond alcohol; a technical amendment was adopted and the bill was reported favorably as amended. HB 119 by Rep. Fontenot created and strengthened penalties for AI-generated sexual images, especially involving minors; after amendments, including a new possession offense and a name change to “Act Ivy Daniels,” the bill was reported favorably as amended. HB 171 by Rep. Spell corrected a citation in the personal surety provisions and was reported favorably without opposition. HB 140 by Rep. Cox drew the most debate. The bill lengthened juvenile delinquency filing and adjudication timelines and changed procedures for extensions and dismissals. Prosecutors and law enforcement supported the bill as a practical update to account for modern evidence gathering and case complexity, while public defenders, juvenile advocates, and other opponents argued it would prolong detention, undermine speedy-trial protections, increase costs, and harm children. After extensive testimony and discussion, the committee adopted amendments and reported HB 140 favorably as amended by a roll call vote of 8-3, with Representatives Knox, LaFleur, and Moore voting no. The committee also heard HB 68 by Rep. Schlegel, combined with concepts from Rep. Glorioso’s similar bill, to update disturbing-the-peace law to protect houses of worship from intentional disruption. An amendment clarified definitions of worship spaces and interruptions and increased the mandatory minimum jail time from 15 to 30 days, while enhancing penalties to a felony for more serious conduct such as battery, property damage, or carrying a dangerous weapon during the offense. Supporters framed it as a deterrent and protection for religious liberty, while opponents, including the ACLU, raised First Amendment concerns and asked for tighter language. The transcript cuts off during opposition testimony, and no final vote on HB 68 is shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill passes. Read the next message.
• The bill passes. Read the next message.
• Show the bill passes.
• I encourage you to pass this amendment. ...you to pass this amendment. All in favor, say aye.
• passed the House.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a quorum present, then moved into returning messages from the Senate. Early action focused on CS/CS/HB 1503 on computer science education and certification, which would add computer science and artificial intelligence content in high school and create a K-12 teacher certificate program; after adopting a House amendment restoring certificate language and adjusting implementation timing, the House concurred in the Senate amendment and passed the bill 105-0. The chamber then took up CS/CS/HB 1085 on local government cybersecurity, adopting a House amendment to allow local governments to buy into the cyber grant program and add a five-year sunset, then concurring in the Senate amendment shifting grant administration back to the Florida Digital Service; the bill passed 104-1. The House refused to concur in Senate amendments to CS/HB 351 on concurrent legislative jurisdiction over U.S. military installations and HB 6011 on reporting gifts or honoraria, sending both back to the Senate. It also refused to concur in the Senate amendment to CS/HB 851 on professional learning for instructional and school administrative personnel, saying the Senate version expanded the bill beyond its original autism-focused scope. After a recess, the House unveiled Speaker Daniel Perez’s portrait and heard extended remarks praising his leadership, institutional reforms, and the work of House staff and members. In the second returning-message list, the House debated CS/CS/HB 1471 on systems of law and terrorist organizations. The Senate amendment clarified the definition of “promote,” refined notice and timeline provisions for terrorist organization designations, and kept references to Sharia law as an example in the foreign religious law section. Supporters argued the bill was aimed at conduct beyond speech and was intended to protect the Constitution and public safety; opponents warned it would chill free speech, target Muslim Floridians, and give the governor and cabinet unprecedented power without adequate due process. After lengthy debate, the House concurred and passed the bill 80-25. The House then took up CS/CS/HB 1473, a public records bill tied to HB 1471, and moved to concur in a technical Senate amendment aligning the records exemption with the revised structure of HB 1471.

Transcript Highlights:

• Show the bill passes.
• The bill passes. Read the next message.
• The bill passes. Read the next message.
• The bill passes. Read the next message.
• passed the House.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, quorum calls, and introductory remarks, including recognition of former Representative Ardian Zika and law enforcement officer of the day Representative Chuck Brannan. Members also unveiled a portrait of Speaker Daniel Perez, with extended remarks praising his leadership and the institution of the House. The Speaker then explained the process for taking up returning messages from the Senate, noting that the House would consider Senate amendments to bills already passed by both chambers. The House first concurred in Senate amendments and passed CS/CS/HB 1503 on computer science education and certification, which adds computer science and artificial intelligence content to high school instruction and creates a teacher certification program, with implementation delayed to give the Department of Education time to develop curriculum. The chamber then considered CS/CS/HB 1085 on local government cybersecurity, adopting a House amendment to allow local governments to buy into the cyber grant program whether or not they receive a grant, add a five-year sunset, and keep the program under the Florida Digital Service rather than a university. The House concurred in the Senate amendment and passed the bill 104-1. Members also refused to concur in Senate amendments to CS/HB 351 on concurrent legislative jurisdiction over military installations and HB 6011 on reporting gifts or honoraria, sending both bills back to the Senate. The most extensive debate centered on CS/CS/HB 1471, which would create a process for designating domestic terrorist organizations and related restrictions. Supporters said the Senate amendment clarified the definition of “promote,” refined notice and timeline requirements, and aligned the bill with federal-style procedures; opponents argued it lacked due process, could chill speech, and gave the governor and cabinet unprecedented power without adequate evidentiary standards or judicial review. Members also debated a related public records bill, CS/CS/HB 1473, which would exempt certain records tied to the designation process; critics said the exemption would further reduce transparency and due process. Despite objections, the House adopted the amendments and passed HB 1471 by 80-25, while the public records measure was taken up as a technical companion to align with the newly amended bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Item 3, AB 1773 by Rubio, with a motion of due pass to appropriations.
• Unfortunately, it is failing us.
• The motion is do pass as amended to Appropriations.
• The motion is due pass to Higher Education Committee.
• The motion is due pass to Higher Education Committee.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If this bill passes, will there be any opportunities for you? Yes, sir. He never knows.
• I really do think it's important that we pass legislation like this.
• If a court fails to provide those findings, the order is presumed to lack a legal or factual basis and
• However, you can ask for findings of fact and conclusions of law without this bill passing.
• has passed it once, just not in the Senate... ...same session.

Bills: HB 115, HB507, HB1765, HB1847, HB2046, HB2239, HB2328, HB2309, HB2417, HB2728, HB2794, HB3206, HB3566, HB3694, HB3744, HB4254, HB4697, HB4733, HB4915, HB5465, HB2813, HB115

Keywords: habeas corpus, postconviction, criminal procedure, indigent defense, scientific evidence, legal representation, judicial power, capital felony, criminal law, death penalty, attorney qualification, training standards, law enforcement, no-knock warrant, search warrant, peace officer, attorney workload, criminal justice, caseload limits, fair representation

Transcript Highlights:

• And then there were some new revenues passed in the 2025 session and some fund balances that help make
• Outlined in the Climate Commitment Act as it was passed in 2021, and then similarly you would see we
• There's also $160 million to address other assets that fail, such as slope stabilization, culverts that
• fail that are maybe outside the culvert case area that are being corrected as part of the fish passage
• There's also $160 million to address other assets that fail, such as slope stabilization, culverts that

Bills: SB6005

Keywords: transportation budget, transportation appropriations, capital budget, supplemental budget, Washington State Department of Transportation, WSDOT, Washington State Patrol, Department of Licensing, ferries, Puget Sound ferries, tolling, express toll lanes, highway safety, traffic safety, impaired driving, ignition interlock, speed cameras, transit funding, public transit, multimodal transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 7072 was passed in 2024 and established the Cancer Connect Collaborative and revised the
• She should have been allowed to pass away peacefully when her facility staff could not detect a pulse
• That burden has stayed with him to this day, years after her passing.
• As a nurse, I've also cared for many families facing the same trauma, not because they failed to plan
• The core problems: First, living wills, though well-intentioned, often fail to achieve their intended

Summary: The committee first received an update from the Department of Health on the Cancer Connect Collaborative, the Cancer Innovation Fund, and the new Cancer Connect Collaborative Research Incubator, created and expanded by recent legislation. The department reported that the Cancer Innovation Fund has awarded $80 million to 95 researchers to date, with $60 million available in the current cycle and 65 projects funded across 28 institutions in 16 cancer areas last year. The new pediatric cancer incubator received $30 million and awarded four Florida children’s hospitals $7.5 million each. Senators asked about outreach to oncologists statewide, peer review and accountability, funding for National Cancer Institute-affiliated institutions, and whether underserved and rural areas are being prioritized; the department said it uses website notices, listservs, collaborative outreach, and eligibility criteria favoring rural and high-cancer-care providers, and that it monitors projects through reports, expenditures, and contract provisions. The committee then heard Senate Bill 312 on patient-directed medical orders, which would create a voluntary, portable, physician-authorized electronic registry for patients to document end-of-life and serious-illness treatment preferences. Supporters, including nurses, hospice and emergency care advocates, and medical professionals, said the bill would help ensure patient wishes are accessible in emergencies, reduce unwanted interventions, and improve continuity of care. Opponents, including Florida Right to Life, argued the bill could broaden end-of-life decisions too far, raise privacy and coercion concerns, and allow withdrawal of care inappropriately. The sponsor said the measure is intended to support patient autonomy and is not anti-life, and noted she was open to amendments. After public testimony, the committee voted on SB 312 and reported it favorably. The roll call showed support from Senators Berman and Harrell, with the bill passing on the committee vote. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• 38-3088 as substituted be reported favorably to the full House with the recommendation that it do pass
• Bill 4187 as substituted be reported favorably to the full House with the recommendation that it do pass
• You're being 65 09 motion fails chair lays out HCR 6 by Representative Leo Wilson as pending business
• With that amendment be reported favorably to the full House with the recommendation that it pass and
• Beer poured favorably to the full house with the recommendation that do pass and be printed be sent to

Transcript Highlights:

• There's a lot of urgency to passing this bill.
• But again, California is... ...passed similar legislation to SB 868.
• The motion is do pass as amended to... ...Item number 10, SB 1138.
• The motion is do pass as amended to Appropriations. Petri Norris: Aye.
• The motion is do pass to Appropriations. Item number six, SB 925.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I move that House Bill 2115 and House Bill 1876 be voted do pass. Any discussion?
• It will be voted do pass. I move that it be voted do pass, House Bill 2776. Any discussion?
• zero tolerance policies was passed in House Bill 68.
• So this does tie in with the cursive bill that we just passed.
• But somewhere along the lines, the schools got to pass.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But it passed; it got in the water. My entire stance then and now is medical freedom.
• The price of even a failed amendment is now over $30 million.
• Sixteen of those bills have passed. What has happened to the initiative process?
• They take the ballot initiatives we do manage to pass with 60% of the vote and pass laws the very next
• They oppose and ultimately pass. Thank you very much. Sure.

Summary: The committee first took up CS for CS for CS for SB 462 on transportation, adopting a substitute amendment that would require counties receiving transportation surtax proceeds to report how the money is used, prohibit certain airport fees tied to collegiate flight training, create a Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority pilot program, and fund a traffic signal modernization program with $10 million annually from the State Transportation Trust Fund. The amendment also removed several provisions from the bill, including a sales tax transfer to the trust fund, a bid protest-related contracting requirement, and repeal of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council. A late-filed amendment was tabled, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee then heard CS for CS for SB 628, “Lucy's Law,” on boating safety, which would strengthen penalties for leaving the scene of a vessel accident and reckless vessel operation. Lucy’s parents gave emotional testimony in support, describing the fatal 2022 boating crash and urging stronger accountability. The sponsor withdrew pending amendments, and the bill was reported favorably. CS for CS for SB 700, the Florida Farm Bill, was next; the strike-all amendment covered a broad range of agriculture-related changes, including water fluoridation restrictions, labeling rules, drone restrictions over farmland, disaster recovery programs, an honest services registry, FFA-related provisions, and agricultural land preservation. Testimony included support from agricultural and gun-rights groups, opposition from banking, dental, and local-government advocates, and a lengthy public debate over fluoridation and financial discrimination. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably. SB 796 on general permits for distributed wastewater treatment systems was reported favorably with little debate. The committee then took up CS for SB 1618 on K-12 education, adopting a delete-all amendment that combined a wide range of education provisions, including VPK flexibility, agriculture education, financial literacy, reading intervention requirements, teacher assignment reporting, restrictions on spending public funds on political or social activism, postsecondary and workforce-related changes, and other school and college system updates. Several speakers opposed the activism-related funding restriction, while the sponsor said the bill was intended to keep publicly funded schools focused on education; the bill was reported favorably. Finally, the committee considered SB 7016 on initiative petitions, adopting a strike-all amendment that would sharply tighten petition circulation rules and increase penalties. The proposal would require circulators to be Florida residents and U.S. citizens, impose training and registration requirements, shorten petition submission deadlines, require more identifying information on petition forms, limit sponsors to one amendment per election cycle, and create new enforcement and investigation triggers, including a 25% invalid-signature threshold. Sponsors argued the changes were needed to address fraud and protect the integrity of constitutional amendment petitions, while senators raised concerns about due process, public-records issues, burdens on volunteers, and the impact on voters and sponsors. The bill was not reported in the portion provided, and the discussion remained ongoing at the end of the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• It meant more rules, more chances to fail.
• We've got to make sure that justice doesn't fail.
• Measure passes. Item 31, AB 2636 by Assembly Member Pacheco, the motion is do pass. Alonese: Aye.
• Measure passes. Item 31, AB 26, 36 by Assembly Member Pacheco, the motion is due pass. Alonese.
• That bill fails in committee. Item 36, AB 1968 has been a motion. That bill fails in committee.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm begging you today, please pass SB 1212. It is imperative to save our children.
• Because the jail guards failed to perform the required routine checks on Mr.
• I think it's important to reiterate the Sandra Bland Act and how it came to pass.
• When House Bill 1399 was initially passed, it was just 24 enumerated felonies.
• I would urge y'all to pass this.

Bills: SB614, SB872, SB1199, SB1212, SB1278, SB1573, SB1588, SB1602, SB1660, SB1704, SB1723, SB1833, SB1858, SB1946, SB2009, SB2146, SB2177, SB2373, SB2460, SB2785

Keywords: forensic science, capital writs, criminal justice, case review, Texas Forensic Science Commission, SB 872, burglary of a vehicle, vehicle burglary, theft of a firearm, stolen gun, firearm theft, Penal Code Section 30.04, third-degree felony, Class A misdemeanor, criminal penalty enhancement, gun theft, vehicle break-in, property crime, sentencing enhancement, Texas criminal law

Transcript Highlights:

• Please pass this bill.
• That's not contingent on passing this bill.
• Most providers do not fully pass on 340B savings. Most providers do not fully pass on 340B savings.
• And passing this bill would help us do that.
• H.B. 2145 fails that test.

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 2437, which would put the Department of Health’s authority to accredit opioid treatment programs into statute and allow the department to set a fee to cover the cost of those services. The prime sponsor and DOH said the bill would preserve a service that is especially important to tribal and rural providers and would be self-sustaining rather than supported by the general fund. Members asked about the relationship between DOH and HCA and whether the bill would duplicate existing authority; staff and the department said DOH already performs the accrediting role and the bill mainly formalizes that authority and fee-setting power. Public testimony on the bill was then closed. The committee then held an extensive work session on the federal 340B drug pricing program and later opened public testimony on House Bill 2145, which would prohibit manufacturers, distributors, and third-party logistics providers from restricting 340B drug acquisition or delivery and from requiring claims or utilization data as a condition of access. Committee staff and NCSL gave background on how 340B works, recent growth in the program, contract pharmacy issues, and state efforts in other jurisdictions. Testimony on HB 2145 was sharply divided: hospitals, community health centers, tribal representatives, contract pharmacies, and labor groups said the bill would protect safety-net providers, rural access, HIV and behavioral health services, and tribal programs from manufacturer restrictions; business groups, pharmaceutical companies, and employer coalitions argued the program has expanded beyond its original intent, lacks transparency, shifts costs to employers and taxpayers, and should be addressed through federal reform instead. No vote was taken in the excerpt. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2155, which would bar non-human entities from using nursing titles such as RN, APRN, or LPN or otherwise implying they are licensed nurses. The prime sponsor said the bill is intended to protect patients from being misled by AI systems and to preserve transparency and public safety as health care technology expands. The Washington State Nurses Association testified in support, saying AI can be useful but should not replace nurses or be presented as a licensed professional. A member asked about enforcement and liability, and staff said they would follow up on those details.

Transcript Highlights:

• So in 2022, I took over and passed the House.
• So in 2022, I took over and passed the House.
• The experiment has already failed.
• The current legislation has failed our rural communities, and this proposed legislation will fail all
• I need to point out one thing in the original bill that we passed.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 663, which would allow Idaho Agriculture in the Classroom to redesign its specialty license plate and shift plate design authority from Food Producers of Idaho to the organization’s board of directors. The sponsor and Cassidy Plum, the state director, said the plate provides about 75% of the program’s funding and supports teacher workshops, grants, and ag-literacy curriculum. Samantha Parrott also testified in support, saying the redesign could help increase sales and that Food Producers of Idaho supports the bill. Representative Harris raised the idea of involving students in the design, and Plum said the organization may hold a student competition. The committee voted to send HB 663 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee then heard House Bill 628, which revises Idaho’s driver’s education law to expand parental instruction options and remove the prior rural-only limitation, while also adjusting language related to approved online course providers. Representative Mendive said the bill is the latest step in a multi-year effort to give families more flexibility and to allow school districts to offer driver training if they choose. Robert Scoville, a Caldwell science teacher and driver’s ed instructor, testified in opposition, arguing that removing school-based instruction would reduce safety and increase teen crash risks, citing crash and fatality statistics and the value of professional instruction. In response, supporters argued parents are already responsible for much of the training, that private instruction remains available, and that the bill increases freedom and reflects what is already happening in many districts. After discussion, the committee debated whether the bill would improve parental choice or weaken driver safety. Several members supported the measure as a matter of local control and family discretion, while others expressed concern about urban safety and the loss of professional instruction. The committee ultimately voted to send HB 628 to the floor with a due pass recommendation, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• There's lots of history of things failing, lots of plane crashes.
• But that recent Colorado bill through the AG has passed.
• You're failing,' and make that case.
• So legislation passed well into implementation.
• Connecticut passed in 2023, one of the very first kind of state-level AI bills.

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on AI risks and mitigation, beginning with automated decision systems and then moving to frontier models. The chair emphasized that California has already passed some targeted AI bills, but broader regulation has stalled, and argued that a federal 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation would be reckless. The hearing was framed as a way to distinguish between narrow predictive systems used in areas like hiring, health care, and criminal justice, and more powerful frontier models with broader capabilities and potentially catastrophic risks. On the first panel, Professor Arvind Narayanan described automated decision systems as often relying on historical data that reflects past bias, producing only limited predictive accuracy and sometimes arbitrary or harmful outcomes. He cited examples including welfare fraud, criminal risk tools, hospital discharge estimates, and job-candidate scoring, and said policymakers should require effectiveness standards, explanation, contestability, impact assessments, and public inventories of government systems. Alondra Nelson focused on algorithmic discrimination as a spectrum of harms, including allocative discrimination, surveillance and privacy harms, targeting and profiling, and cultural misrepresentation. She gave examples involving IRS audits, data sold through apps and brokers, facial recognition misidentification, and biased employment and health-care systems, arguing that harms often compound across multiple systems. Cathy O’Neill described her auditing work as building a “cockpit” for AI—identifying who could be harmed, measuring disparities, and setting thresholds for action—and said audits, consent decrees, and public accountability can push companies toward better practices without banning innovation. Members of the committee asked about international competition, especially China, whether AI is more biased than humans, the cost of compliance for businesses, and whether California should move ahead despite federal uncertainty. The panelists said regulation should focus on high-stakes uses rather than all AI, that transparency and third-party auditing can be low-cost or cost-effective, and that good actors are already using impact assessments. They also noted that state-level action in places like Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, New Jersey, and others is helping set standards. The chair and members stressed that the goal is not to stop innovation but to build trust and reduce discrimination in consequential decisions. The second panel turned to frontier models. Joshua Bengio warned that model capabilities are improving rapidly, especially in reasoning and planning, while alignment and safety are not keeping pace. He cited recent research suggesting models can behave deceptively, including attempts to avoid shutdown, fake compliance during training, and even blackmail in simulated scenarios, and said companies must measure and disclose these risks before deployment. The discussion underscored the committee’s broader concern that California should continue leading on AI safety and accountability while preserving beneficial uses of the technology.

Transcript Highlights:

• And Carl Trujillo actually passed the bill in 2018.
• Please pass the mic to the next person. Thank you. Please pass the mic to the next person.
• It's not because the families failed. It's the access that failed. The system failed New Mexico.
• finally passed it and got it signed.
• Madam Chair, I move a do pass. Okay.

Bills: SB38, SB46, SB18

Keywords: SB38, pet food, registered pet food, registration fee, fees, sunset repeal, repeal of repeal, revenue, state fee, business regulation, animal feed, pet food registration, New Mexico, SB46, organic waste, solid waste, waste diversion, composting, compost feedstock, waste characterization study

Transcript Highlights:

• , Ochoa Bogh, due pass to the Committee on Appropriations.
• The motion is due pass to the Committee on Appropriations.
• The motion is do pass to the Committee on Insurance.
• The roll of the motion is do pass to the Committee on Insurance.
• The motion is do pass as amended.

Summary: The committee met to hear seven Senate bills, first approving two consent items, SB 352 and SB 804, on motions to do pass to Appropriations. SB 542 (Limón) would require public notice and comment before issuing a financial responsibility certificate for an oil pipeline and require hydrostatic testing before restarting pipelines idle for five years or more; it was supported by the Center for Biological Diversity and passed the committee on a due-pass motion to Appropriations. SB 616 (Rubio) would create an independent community hardening commission within the Department of Insurance to coordinate wildfire mitigation and insurance-related recommendations; it drew support from the Department of Insurance and several local and industry groups, while water agencies, special districts, and the building industry raised concerns about water infrastructure standards, and it passed on a due-pass motion to Insurance. SB 429 (Cortese), which would establish a public wildfire catastrophe model and related university-based research and education program, received support from the Department of Insurance and outside groups and passed as amended to Appropriations. SB 256 (Perez) would strengthen wildfire mitigation and emergency response by expanding planning, improving PSPS communication, requiring utility coordination with emergency centers, and directing removal of permanently abandoned electrical facilities; utilities and business groups were generally neutral after amendments, while the author emphasized the bill’s connection to recent wildfire losses, and it passed as amended to Appropriations. SB 509 (Caballero) would require specialized training for local law enforcement on transnational repression targeting diaspora communities; it received support from the California Police Chiefs Association and immigrant-rights advocates, but drew extensive opposition from Hindu and civil-rights organizations concerned about bias, implementation, and First Amendment issues. Committee members discussed amendments to clarify cultural competency, diversity, and constitutional protections, and the bill passed as amended to Appropriations. After the hearing, the committee took final roll-call votes on the bills, with the consent items and SB 429, SB 256, and SB 509 moving forward, while SB 542 and SB 616 were also reported out on earlier motions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please don't pass it. Thanks for your testimony. I'm about to call.
• want to see it fail.
• So I encourage you to pass this legislation. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. George.
• And then, you know, we did pass that in the legislature.
• I do believe that passing Senate Bill.

Bills: SB 18, SB 19, SB18, SB19, SB666, SB688, SB707, SB888

Keywords: Texas Water Code, TCEQ, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, water permit, water appropriation, dam permit exemption, reservoir, flood control, floodwater control, erosion control, sediment control, watershed protection, flood prevention, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, USDA, local sponsor, district, authority, water infrastructure

Transcript Highlights:

• That actually came from our good friend that passed away last night.
• That actually came from our good friend that passed away last night.
• Public safety is failing. Something has to happen.
• 60 percent in order to pass, or in a county election, it has to pass by two-thirds.
• That is to send House Bill 842 to the floor with a due pass.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The House Revenue and Taxation Committee heard House Bill 842, sponsored by Representative Moyle, as a follow-up to House Bill 389 and Idaho’s property tax framework. Moyle said the bill was intended as a compromise to address growth-related tax shifts, especially in fast-growing areas, by raising the budget growth cap from 8% to 15% for taxing districts in communities of 30,000 or fewer, allowing fire and EMS districts in those areas to use the higher cap, ending the use of foregone balances as a continuing “bank account,” increasing the foregone recapture limit from 1% to 2%, reverting to the previous year’s mill levy rate, and allowing local voters to use the initiative process to lower budgets as well as raise them. He argued the bill would help existing homeowners, give local districts more flexibility, and better align new construction with the cost of services. Testimony was split. The Idaho Association of Counties objected mainly to the initiative provision, warning it could conflict with existing case law holding that county budget adoption is administrative rather than legislative. The Idaho Fire Chiefs Association supported the bill, saying the current cap has left fast-growing districts like Star Fire District unable to keep up with public safety needs and that the bill would help public safety funding. The Association of Idaho Cities opposed the bill, saying the 15% cap would still leave many cities unable to accommodate even small amounts of growth and that eliminating foregone would remove an important fiscal tool; it also raised concerns about the initiative language and said the bill did not go far enough to fix the impacts of House Bill 389. The Idaho Farm Bureau supported the initiative provision, arguing it gives taxpayers a way to seek lower property taxes when local governments can seek higher ones. After public testimony and closing remarks, the committee debated whether to hold the bill for one day or move it immediately. A substitute motion to send House Bill 842 to the House floor with a due pass recommendation prevailed on an 8-6-1 roll call vote. The committee then adjourned, with members noting they might meet again the next day.