Transcript Highlights:

• I call this meeting of the Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee to order.
• that appointment must come from a pool that appointment must come from a pool of<00:58:10.960>
• ,<01:01:46.120> you<01:01:46.200> know, about having a wider pool, you know, about
• having a wider pool, you know, restricting<01:01:47.040> the<01:01:47.120> governor<01:
• With us that he may not consider race or limit the pool of qualified applicants for appointments.

Bills: HF1323, HF4266, HF4413, HF3101, HF4572, HF4698, HF3650, HF2634

Keywords: undocumented, financial aid, state policy, higher education, noncitizen eligibility, state grants, college affordability, Office of Higher Education, Minnesota State Grant, need analysis, expected family contribution, student aid, grant formula, living and miscellaneous expense allowance, dependent student, independent student, parental contribution, student contribution, surplus appropriation, biennium

Transcript Highlights:

• moves that Senate File 4067 as amended be recommended to pass and sent to the Senate Committee on Finance
• Motion prevails and is on its way to Finance. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys.
• Uh, Nancy Haas, on behalf of Pool Haas myself, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention my clients,
• ,<01:07:46.280> on<01:07:46.400> behalf<01:07:46.680> of<01:07:46.800> Pool
• <01:07:47.000> Haas Uh Nancy Haas, on behalf of Pool Haas Uh Nancy Haas, on behalf of Pool

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Within the Department of Management Services, there is $66 million for the Florida facilities pool to
• I understand finance really well.
• It helps one billionaire who got his water park at 18,000 square feet on a floor plate of a pool this
• I'd also like to thank the entire Finance and Tax staff, everyone that's here in Azar, Steve, Marina,
• ... ...correctional facilities, financing, and capital improvements.

Summary: The Senate took up the conference report on House Bill 501E, the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026-27, with Chair Hooper and the appropriations chairs walking through the $114.5 billion budget. Major highlights included pay increases for state law enforcement, firefighters, park rangers, and correctional officers; funding for teacher salary increases and K-12 enrollment stabilization; workforce and university funding in higher education; major Medicaid, nursing home, waiver, and opioid-related investments in health and human services; corrections and prison-capacity funding; transportation, housing, and emergency management spending; and large environmental appropriations for Florida Forever, Everglades restoration, and water quality projects. Members then asked detailed questions about specific items. Senators pressed on the Hamilton Center at UF, the difference between assistant state attorney and public defender pay, declining student enrollment funding, private school scholarship vouchers, mental health funding in schools, the lack of preeminence funding, APD’s iBudget waiver wait list and provider rates, ADAP premium assistance and the return of Biktarvy to the formulary, prison staffing and air conditioning, Florida Forever land-buying versus easements, SNAP and Sun Bucks funding, Hope Florida, election audit funding, and the IDD managed care program. Chairs generally explained the negotiated compromises, noted where funding was flat or omitted, and in several cases said items would be revisited next year or depended on agency implementation. Several senators used debate to praise the budget while also criticizing major policy choices. Leader Berman argued the state should have expanded Medicaid, invested more in public schools instead of vouchers, and accepted federal summer EBT funds. Other senators highlighted local wins such as Biscayne Bay restoration, Tri-Rail, housing assistance, ADAP funding, and declining enrollment support. The transcript ends with debate remarks thanking Chair Hooper for his work on the budget; no final vote is shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• are you not aware of the study that was done on the rising interest costs of a contracting financial pool
• HB 42 to Finance, HB 198 to Local Government, HB 247 to Local Government, HB 367 to Education K-16, HB
• HB 1781 to Finance. HB 1868 to Education K-16. HB 2017 to Criminal Justice.
• HB 2788 to Economic Development, HB 3010 to Finance, HB 3069 to Business and Commerce, HB 3112 to Business
• HB 3464 to Criminal Justice, HB 3474 to Finance, HB 3505 to Local Government, HB 3512 to Business and

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, heard an invocation, adopted the prior day’s journal, received House messages, and adopted several resolutions and recognitions, including Senate Resolution 496 honoring Leadership Garland and resolutions 503 and 504. The chamber also recognized guests, including a North Dakota senator and the Doctor of the Day, and received gubernatorial nominations for the Texas Economic Development Corporation Board and the Nueces River Authority Board. The Senate then took up and passed a series of bills, often by suspending the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule. Measures approved included SB 614 on Texas Forensic Science Commission referrals to the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs; SB 250 on municipal annexation across railroad rights-of-way; SB 1660 on toxicological evidence retention and destruction procedures; SB 2586 requiring property owners associations to file governing documents with the Texas Real Estate Commission; SB 1588 increasing penalties for certain failures to report child sexual abuse; HB 912 on compensation for distributed renewable generation outside ERCOT; SB 1957 setting eligibility standards for civilian oversight boards; HB 2525 clarifying a charitable property tax exemption; SB 1525 limiting repeated prior authorization for neurodegenerative disease drugs; SB 865 requiring CPR/AED training and cardiac emergency response planning in schools; SB 1212 elevating human trafficking penalties; SB 2690 on solicitations for Secretary of State documents; SB 1802 on landlord repair duties for ramps, elevators, and handrails; SB 905 on licensing rules for speech-language pathologists and audiologists; SB 2929 allowing removal of disruptive spectators at school athletic events; SB 2675 creating a narrow McAllen-specific parkland conveyance exception; SB 872 increasing punishment for burglary of a vehicle involving firearm theft; and SB 1113 clarifying sales rules for certain converter-license holders. Several bills drew extended debate. SB 2487, dealing with crisis and mental health services for homelessness, was amended to make the county model permissive rather than mandatory and to remove state funding/assistance requirements before passing 28-3. SB 2138, barring higher education funds from contracting with firms that boycott fossil fuels through ESG policies, also passed after questions about fiscal effects and First Amendment concerns. SB 2615, restricting remote work at public institutions of higher education, advanced 22-9. The Senate also began consideration of SB 3016, which would expand enforcement tools against local governments that fail to comply with state law, but the transcript cuts off before action on that bill is completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• It establishes the ADU dwelling unit financing and deed restriction program.
• Lise Salivia, Department of Budget and Finance, with comments. Kamakana Kimu, Laa Upw, in support.
• Most of these development schemes, as you know, are layered with layers of financing that are provided
• Louis Salivaria, Department of Budget and Finance, with comments.
• <01:36:42.480> with Department of budget and finance with Department of budget and finance

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Housing held a public hearing and moved quickly through a long agenda, beginning with HB 606 on the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. DHHL and several community testifiers strongly supported the bill, describing it as a way to fulfill long-standing promises to Native Hawaiians, reduce the DHHL waitlist, keep families in Hawaii, and support housing production and the broader economy. Testifiers emphasized the cultural and economic importance of stable housing and noted the large number of people still waiting for DHHL homes. The committee then heard HB 1086, also relating to DHHL, which would allow the department to use a $75 million appropriation from the dwelling unit revolving fund as collateral for loans. DHHL, HHFDC, and other supporters said the measure would help DHHL obtain better loan terms and preserve trust funds for other uses. Members asked detailed questions about how the collateral would work, whether other agencies use similar structures, and what would happen if the collateral were drawn upon; staff explained that the funds would be encumbered for the loan and that a similar model had been used for a HUD-backed project. The committee also heard HB 739, which would create the COM homes program to fund counties to buy voluntary deed restrictions from eligible homeowners or buyers. Supporters said the program could help keep local workers in Hawaii by using existing housing stock and cited examples from places like Aspen and Vail. The Attorney General’s office recommended amendments to remove duration requirements to avoid right-to-travel concerns, and the Tax Foundation suggested clarifying the conveyance tax exemption so it also covers the instrument imposing the restriction. Members asked whether tax dollars would be used to buy homes, who would be eligible, and how enforcement would work; supporters said the program is voluntary and income-blind, with restrictions tied to living and working in the state. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• I hope we can better understand some of their lessons: how did Maine structure and finance a system that
• My first bill, Chapter 19 in the Act of '93, created tax incremental financing and economic development
• My first bill, Chapter 19 in the Act of '93, created tax incremental financing and economic development
• His business finances proved that he lacked the funds and was not able to apply for a loan large enough
• These little farms can provide training and a pool of young farmers who might ultimately go into farming

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries held a public hearing on 19 legislative proposals, with testimony limited to three minutes per speaker and seven minutes per panel. The hearing opened with testimony on bills promoting urban agriculture and vacant-lot conversion, including H.121/S.61, which Green Roots staff and community members supported as a way to turn vacant lots in environmental justice communities into urban farms and gardens that improve food access, health, community cohesion, and climate resilience. Rep. James Arena-DeRosa also spoke in support of H.109/S.56, the PFAS bill, describing it as a measure to protect soil and farms from contamination and to create relief for affected farmers. A major portion of the hearing focused on H.109/S.56, which would ban land application of sewage sludge/biosolids, provide liability protection and relief funds for farmers, and address PFAS contamination in soil, water, crops, and animals. Testimony came from environmental groups, farm organizations, and individual farmers, including the Mass Food System Collaborative, Conservation Law Foundation, Clean Water Action, CEMAP, NOFA, Sierra Club, and several farmers who described contamination in Maine and Massachusetts and urged the committee to act. Witnesses emphasized that PFAS poses serious health risks, that farmers should not bear responsibility for legacy contamination, and that the bill should be paired with funding for testing, remediation, and assistance. Committee members asked questions about farm liability, the scope of the bill, contamination in different ownership situations, and the costs and timelines of remediation, with Senator Comerford and others clarifying that the bill is intended to protect farms and farmers rather than non-agricultural landholders. The committee also heard strong support for H.416, a farm-to-institution pilot program, from Rep. Lee Davis, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, and Berkshire Bounty. They said the pilot would connect Massachusetts farms to schools, hospitals, correctional facilities, and other institutions, creating new markets, strengthening local supply chains, and supporting food-is-medicine efforts. Members discussed whether the model could be statewide and referenced existing programs such as Island Grown Initiative and local hospital and insurance partnerships. Another agricultural bill, H.1058, was supported by Rep. Mark Sylvia and the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association as a way to allow unused cranberry water rights to be transferred within the same watershed for municipal mitigation while helping growers retire or consolidate bogs. The hearing also included testimony on the broader farm omnibus bill H.112/S.55 and related measures, with the Massachusetts Farm Bureau and others praising the committee’s work on agricultural resilience, food security, agritourism, workforce development, and farmland access, while suggesting additional transportation-related fixes for farmers. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to convene the Committee on Finance for our continued informational briefings.
• This has yielded enough interest to a qualified pool of candidates.
• This has yielded enough interest to a qualified pool of candidates.
• <01:06:40.000> info the tail end of our finance info the tail end of our finance info briefing
• Reconvening the Committee on Finance to continue with the Department of Health.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's one general TIF law change, six local bills, and the public finance bill.
• Schultz has his annual pool bill.
• /c><00:56:04.400> has<00:56:04.720> his<00:56:05.200> annual<00:56:05.760> pool
• Schultz has his annual pool bill. Rep. Schultz has his annual pool bill.
• to be used for certified swim pools to be used for certified swim classes<00:56:13.359> for<00

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House took up House File 719, the capital investment/bonding bill, and members spent much of the debate praising committee staff and describing the bill as a bipartisan product shaped by statewide bonding tours and negotiations. Supporters highlighted major infrastructure and public facility projects, including water and sewer work, transportation projects, housing, natural resources, and specific local needs such as Grand Marais, the Manomomen County hospital/nursing home, and airport tower funding. Several members emphasized that the bill was a “Team House” effort and argued that infrastructure funding should not be treated as partisan. During debate, members also focused on the bill’s water infrastructure investments and the need for broader, dedicated funding to address lead pipes, PFAS contamination, and rising wastewater costs. Representative Lee noted that more than $400 million in the package went to water infrastructure, while other speakers pointed to transportation funding and a one-time reduction in tab fees as important elements of the bill. Representative Franson and others urged support, saying the package reflected statewide needs and was a down payment on larger asset-preservation needs. The House adopted three technical amendments to House File 719, then gave the bill its third reading. After floor discussion, Representative Niska moved to lay House File 719 on the table, and the motion prevailed, tabling the bill. The chamber then moved on to House File 2484, the cash portion of the infrastructure package, where members again described the measure as a small but important funding bill and discussed a Lower Sioux Indian Community Dakota language item and the limited size of each caucus’s cash allocation.

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like finance. There are no amendments at the finance.
• I was on the ed finance deficit.
• able to hit this this this finance bill. able to hit this this this finance bill.
• be a part of the education finance be a part of the education finance committee<03:10:38.800>
• We're in finance, right, of financing. And so I was glad that their testimony was well received.

Keywords: 1183, house

Bills: HR11, HB1872, HB2171, HB2161, HB2416, HB2518, HB2617, HB2159, HB2606, HB2362, HB2385, HB2476, HB1923, HB2444, HB1608, HB1967, HB1968, HB2502, HB1782, HB2357, HB2445, HB1870, HB1838, HB2137, HB2208, HB2458, HB1972, HB2007, HB2160, HB2343, HB2315, HB2505, HB1857, HB469, HB1452, HB814, HB1621, HB1880, HB1831, HB1572, HB2119, HB2139, HB2459, HB2194, HB2561, HB2017, HB1931, HB1700, HB1719, HB1726, HB1737, HB1742, HB2049, HB2383, HB2116, HB2446, HB2249, HB2255, HB2320, HB2360, HB2581, HB2443, HB1531, HB2622, HB9, HB2290, HB2291, HB2235, HB2263, HB2498, HB1579, HB1728, HB1900

Keywords: 808 Elite, youth football, American Youth Football National Championships, AYF, Hawaii football, youth athletics, sports recognition, commendation, House resolution, student-athletes, sportsmanship, teamwork, state pride, Hawaii youth sports, national championship, early learning, apprenticeship, child care, education funding, workforce development

Transcript Highlights:

• We are changing the method of financing for these six and adding 17 new FTEs for a total of 23.
• Proximity to the border also affects our peace officer workforce because the same pool of people who
• So your workforce pool is bigger, right? And so there's that difference.

Bills: HB 1065, HB2929, HB2956, HB3009, HB3420, HB3626, HB3649, HB4956, HB4993, HB5293, HB5308, HB5528, HCR118, SB36, HB4023, SB 36

Keywords: employee classification, private security, misclassification, workforce regulations, Texas Workforce Commission, autism, peace officers, training program, law enforcement, intervention, communication, developmental disability, family violence, central database, criminal offense, registration, public safety, violent offenses, criminal database, Department of Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• based on our nation's educational focus on space research, building our sought-after Texas talent pool
• This change strengthens the work... state workforce, broadens the candidate pool, and promotes upward
• Today, quantum computing promises even more revolutionary breakthroughs in energy, finance, medicine,

Bills: HB3146, HB3719, HB3895, HB3923, HB4748, HB4751, HB4936, HB4952, HB4990, HB4991, HB5061, HB5196, HB5238, HB5246, HB5487

Keywords: State Office of Administrative Hearings, SOAH, administrative hearings, contested case, contested case hearing, administrative law judge, ALJ, final decision, proposed decision, agency hearing, hearing continuance, rescheduling, Texas administrative law, Government Code Chapter 2001, workers' compensation, Department of Human Resources, Texas Labor Code, Transportation Code, Agriculture Code, Insurance Code

Transcript Highlights:

• And if you look at demographics in the United States, the pool of candidates applying to universities
• tailored education to a subset of students to make the university more competitive in a shrinking pool
• And during my time on this board have chaired a number of committees, including the Finance Committee

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now that's sort of the beauty of being able to maximize the limited, it's a limited talent pool—people
• So there's a limited pool of that talent.
• Senator West, been on the Finance Committee, how much does this cost to set up?

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 met with a quorum and announced a full agenda, including combined public testimony for two bills related to student personal communication devices. The committee first took up Senate Bill 1262 by Senator Nichols, a school safety cleanup bill following House Bill 3. The bill would allow TEA to commission peace officers for school safety purposes, require annual renewal of good-cause exceptions to armed guard requirements, create a new report based on intruder detection audits and vulnerability assessments, and require behavioral threat assessment teams to include someone with specific knowledge of a special education student’s disability. Committee members asked about the difference between TCOLE licensing and TEA commissioning, the scope of the officers’ authority, and how the good-cause exception would work. The committee substitute was adopted, and public testimony included support from school safety and drone-response advocates, Disability Rights Texas in favor of the special education provisions, and a student witness raising concerns about the mental health impact of repeated lockdowns and the need for immediate, reliable school safety responses. The bill was left pending after testimony, then the committee briefly recessed and later reopened testimony to hear the student witness. The committee then laid out Senate Bill 2252 by Senator Creighton, a major early literacy and numeracy bill for kindergarten through third grade. Creighton said the bill builds on prior literacy efforts by funding teacher stipends for literacy and math academies, providing free and clearly administered screeners and assessments, expanding screening options, clarifying how results are used, supporting high-quality pre-K, and increasing the early education allotment. He emphasized low reading performance and the need for early intervention. Members discussed how the bill differs from earlier academy models and whether the assessments are diagnostic or high-stakes; Creighton and witnesses said the tools are intended to identify students needing support, not to serve as punitive testing. The committee adopted the substitute. Witnesses for SB 2252 largely supported the bill. A Uplift Education representative described strong gains from small-group literacy tutoring and said students receiving targeted support can make more than a year of growth in a year. An education specialist explained that the bill aligns general education screening with existing dyslexia and special education practices and helps districts identify students who need intervention before a disability evaluation is required. A Commit Partnership witness cited statewide reading data, the importance of high-quality pre-K, and the need for transparent, consistent progress monitoring and parent engagement. Members asked about the meaning of the growth data, how dyslexia screening works, and how the bill would help identify struggling students earlier. Before finishing all questions, the committee recessed subject to the call of the chair after the floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• tip pooling.
• tip pooling.
• tip pooling.
• Is pool are engaging in the tip pool.
• ." pool." pool."

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am joined here today by my esteemed colleagues Jennifer Wade, who is the finance director from the
• using that pool of resources to provide services.
• cited like at the government finance cited like at the government finance officers<00:26:03.440>
• , created the storm water, those financed, created the storm water, um,<00:54:33.520> utility,
• Um, which again swimming pools of water.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I feel like we just jumped into the deep end of the pool.
• I was surprised to see the variation in the way CCRCs report their finances, in so much as is it just
• You don't see them being built anymore because the financing alone is so incredibly challenging.
• That financing has been put in place and that setup has been put in place for years.
• Well, I raised the question of finances. What if we had more staffing for age?

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission met to review its draft final report on continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), with most of the discussion focused on whether recommendations required unanimous consensus and how to handle disagreements in the report. Members agreed that consensus meant no stated opposition, and several participants argued that unresolved issues should still be described in the report rather than omitted. The chairs said the report would include agreed-upon recommendations, note areas without consensus, and preserve written comments or dissent letters submitted by members. The draft report’s findings and slides were reviewed charge by charge, including CCRC definitions, financial condition, entrance fee refunds, regulatory oversight, advertising practices, and closure/change-of-ownership procedures. Members suggested several factual and wording edits, including clarifying financial data sources, correcting a presenter’s name, refining language about entrance fee use and refund timing, and revising statements about Attorney General authority and CCRC advertising. There was also discussion about the need to distinguish nonprofit and for-profit CCRCs and to better explain how different care levels and licensing structures are described. On recommendations, the commission kept the proposal to advance the disclosure bill (S. 478) and update the consumer guide, but removed a recommendation for annual open board meetings after objections that it was inadequate. The group spent considerable time debating whether to recommend resident representation on CCRC boards, timely refund requirements for entrance fees, and possible state registration or definition changes for CCRCs, but no consensus was reached on those items. The chairs said the final report would be completed by the statutory August 1 deadline, with final written comments due before then and the report and meeting materials posted on the legislature website.

Transcript Highlights:

• But, and this is the economists with both the executive, so at the Department of Finance and Administration
• and at the Legislative Finance Committee, we Collaborate and talk.
• Every year for the fiscal year, the Department of Finance and Administration has to adjust these appropriations
• So, you always see in all the documents that come out of the Legislative Finance Committee, we always
• The FDA can't be everywhere at all times, and now with all of the funding pools, it's even harder to

Transcript Highlights:

• Family's finances.
• Throughout this job, I've been able to learn a lot about insurance pools, schools, Medicaid, Medicare
• people out of that insurance pool, which is going to increase costs. for everybody.
• I understand the finances of it. I know how that works.
• As Co-Chair Hurst said, we had a very good bill coming off the House floor, both policy and finance,

Transcript Highlights:

• We'd like to call to order this meeting of the Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee
• It's just really a core part of how we finance our healthcare, and Madam Chair, I think in a way it's
• And now, as we're losing like UK care and shrinking the pool of people available to serve, um, it just
• And now, as we're losing like UK care and shrinking the pool of people available to serve, um, it just
• shrinking the pool of people available<00:56:51.839> to<00:56:52.079> serve.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all