Transcript Highlights:

• If it's more than the cost of the certified mail, you have to get certified mail.
• If it's more than the cost of the certified mail, you have to get certified mail.
• If it's more than the cost of the certified mail, you have to get certified mail.
• If it's more than the cost of the certified mail, you have to get certified mail.
• People miss the mail. Sometimes you don't necessarily get the regular mail.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That $94.4 billion of current value that we've retained as we Looking 10 years forward, we consider the
• But again, we're continuing to move forward with a sense of urgency to get those dollars deployed.
• With the $100,000, we are going to be able to do two mailings this year.
• barcode system (IMB), and that's essentially a mail tracking system.
• I think I mentioned the intelligent mail barcoding.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, no, they are not allowed to mail order, refill, warm all up, or mail you your prescription if you're
• There are plenty of mail-order services available.
• They can't be the PBM and the mail-order pharmacy.
• going to use, so the mail-order system would still be there.
• Yeah, I mean, the mail-order part affects their mail-order businesses, and that's the whole vertical

Bills: HB3552, HB2984, HB4124, HB3934, HB3448, HB3131, HB4200, HB4201, HB3011, HB1912, HB3380, HB3881, HB3538, HB3851, HB3907, HB4430, HB4431, HB4457

Keywords: childcare, differential pricing, Department of Human Services, child care subsidy, licensed providers, emergency legislation, child care, subsidy program, annual report, program integrity, overpayments, ivermectin, over-the-counter medication, pharmacy immunity, healthcare access, FDA approval, prescription, public health, dentistry, licensing

Transcript Highlights:

• In the city known as the town of Randolph, this measure takes a substantial step forward to make Randolph
• So I know that town officials are eager to move this proposal forward.
• voting by doing what other states do, which is to provide a permanent mail voter option so you don't
• Ballots that are mailed in have a different color from those that are cast in person.
• So I guess the last thing was: it was the mail-in ballots that were spoiled, yes?

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Election Laws held a hearing on several election-related bills, with most testimony focused on voting access, ballot administration, and election procedures. Senator Driscoll testified for S. 509, a Randolph home rule petition to require bilingual ballots in English and Haitian Creole, and Randolph officials and community members strongly supported it, saying it would improve access, confidence, and participation for Haitian Creole speakers. Other speakers, including advocates and residents, described language barriers as a form of voter suppression and urged favorable action. Leader Donato testified on H. 822, which would remove the word “physical” from the absentee voting disability standard, and on a bill to raise the signature threshold for creating political designations and allow dormant designations to be dissolved. Senator Rausch testified on several bills, including one expanding the State Ballot Law Commission’s jurisdiction over presidential primary candidate placement and a broader elections infrastructure bill that would change registration deadlines, primary dates, reporting systems, ballot design, mail voting procedures, and voter outreach. Representative Cattelda also testified on a bill to rename the ballot title for governor’s councilor to “governor’s counselor.” The Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, through Tom Joyce and Ben Kaufman, said it supported a number of the bills and offered local election administration expertise. Former Representative Lenny Mera and Sandra Cato testified for S. 536, a bill on accountability for defective and spoiled ballots, citing a disputed 2022 Revere recount and arguing that spoiled ballots should be documented and publicly inspectable so improperly rejected ballots are not lost. Emma Chinman of Partners in Democracy supported multiple reforms, including the elections infrastructure bill and a bill allowing unenrolled voters to serve on boards of registrars. After testimony concluded, the committee accepted written testimony by email and then adjourned without taking any votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:05:41.440> that municipality via first class mail that municipality via first class mail
• <00:12:41.440> is postal receipts and certified mail is postal receipts and certified mail
• There are two were to go forward.
• some reason don't want to come forward. some reason don't want to come forward.
• . forward. forward.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I LOOK FORWARD TOKING -- WATCHING THEM AS THEY LOOK TO Mr.
• check by sending another one through the mail.
• THOSE WHO FILE BY MAIL.
• Electronically or through the mail.
• The question is, do we go forward in faith or go backwards in despair?

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, March 31, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But if requiring it all to be done by mail, that's a lot.
• And that's a mail piece you get that has that information?
• just stay on any paper mailings.
• So what percent do you think will reduce that mailing?
• That would be a welcome step forward for next session.

Bills: HB17, HB23

Keywords: property tax, school funding, enrollment changes, inflation adjustment, tax rate notice, property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, Texas Tax Code, nonprofit corporation, charitable organization, educational nonprofit, scientific nonprofit, agriculture support, youth programs, community education, county population threshold, large county, local government revenue, leasehold interest, possessory interest

Transcript Highlights:

• :40.880> to<00:58:41.040> the I'm bringing this forward to the I'm bringing this forward
• , conversation about that going forward, conversation about that going forward, both<00:59:11.359
• And now, if mail order pharmacies can use this, now we're giving the mail order pharmacy the additional
• > this, now we're giving the mail order this, now we're giving the mail order pharmacy<01:02:22.680><
• . forward. forward.

Bills: HF4712, HF4801, HF3756, HF4860, HF4931, HF4289, HF4460

Keywords: residential pools, swimming classes, certification, private business, health safety, health care, prior authorization, managed care, medical assistance, mental health, substance use treatment, chronic conditions, health insurance, insulin, healthcare access, pharmacy regulations, patient assistance, affordable medication, healthcare, pharmacy

Summary: The committee met at 1:00 p.m., confirmed a quorum, and approved the April 8, 2026 minutes. The first bill heard was House File 4712, which was laid over after the committee adopted a DE2 amendment. Representative Schultz said the bill would create a narrow additional exception to public pool limitations so highly certified swimming instructors could use certain pools for specialized infant, youth, and developmental-disability swim instruction. The only testifier, Tessa Seppelt, described ISR instruction as water-safety and drowning-prevention training for very young children and children with developmental delays, and said access to appropriate facilities is the main barrier. Members raised questions about emergency egress, public safety, and insurance coverage, and the author said he would follow up on those concerns. The committee then took up House File 4801, a bill by Representative Nadeau aimed at health care program integrity. He said it would align commercial and Medicaid partners to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse by changing prior authorization and retrospective review processes, improving data sharing on suspected fraud, addressing conflicting or duplicative services, allowing managed care organizations to verify provider credentials, and making risk corridors in MCO contracts permanent. The Minnesota Council of Health Plans supported the bill, saying it would help detect fraud and improve coordination, while the Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed it, arguing that expanded prior authorization would delay care, increase physician burden, and harm children with chronic conditions. Members debated patient safety, fraud detection, and whether the bill would undermine recent prior-authorization reforms. The bill was laid over. House File 3756, a technical update to the insulin safety net program, was also laid over. Representative Backer said the bill clarifies that a hospital-use intravenous insulin product is not part of the program because it is sold only to health care institutions and infused by practitioners, not dispensed to patients for self-use. The Board of Pharmacy testified that the language was drafted to avoid affecting future legitimate uses, and members asked whether the definition could limit new uses if treatments change. The committee then began House File 4860, but the transcript cuts off before the bill’s presentation is completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• forward to seeing Lackey when he gets here.
• election, even if they were mailed in on time.
• vote-by-mail acceptance periods that were updated in AB 37 in 2021.
• vote-by-mail acceptance periods that were updated in AB 37 in 2021.
• And so we will continue those discussions as the bill moves forward. Thank you.

Summary: The Assembly Elections Committee met on April 30, 2025, beginning as a subcommittee until a quorum was established. The committee first approved six bills on consent, including AB 950, AB 953, AB 1214, and three committee bills. It then heard several measures dealing with election administration, ballot transparency, and campaign finance, with most authors accepting committee amendments and several bills being held on call for absent members. AB 930 by Assembly Member Ward would extend the deadline for counting timely postmarked vote-by-mail ballots from three to seven days after Election Day and update recount procedures, including online posting of recount results and clearer rules for recount requests. The bill was supported by county election officials and passed out of committee with a due-pass recommendation, though it was initially held on call. AB 459 by Assembly Member DeMaio proposed allowing electronic signatures for initiatives, referenda, and recalls; the Secretary of State and labor groups opposed it over security, implementation, and cost concerns, and the committee ultimately rejected the bill after reconsideration. AB 699 by Assembly Member Stephanie would change how local tiered tax and bond measures are described on ballots by allowing more detail to be placed in the voter guide; housing, school, and local government groups supported it, while taxpayer and realtor groups opposed it as reducing ballot transparency. AB 1188, presented on behalf of Assembly Member Ortega, would list the top three funders supporting and opposing statewide initiatives and referenda directly on the ballot; transparency advocates and labor supported it, while county election officials and business groups raised concerns about ballot length and processing costs. Both AB 699 and AB 1188 passed out of committee with amendments and were held on call. The committee also heard AB 827 by Assembly Member Berman, which would standardize and extend the deadline for curing vote-by-mail signature problems, add a link to cure forms in ballot-tracking notifications, and make other changes to improve ballot curing. It drew no opposition in the hearing and passed with a due-pass recommendation. AB 351 by Assembly Member McKenna would raise the Levine Act contribution threshold for local officials to $1,500 and add CPI adjustments; supporters said it would reduce administrative burdens and reflect modern campaign finance realities, while good-government groups and the League of Women Voters opposed it as weakening anti-corruption protections. The committee initially failed AB 351, then granted reconsideration, but the transcript ends before a final disposition is clearly completed. Finally, AB 1079 by Assembly Member Farías would eliminate the automatic appellate stay in California Voting Rights Act and Fair Maps Act cases; it was supported as a way to prevent delayed remedies in voting rights cases, opposed by the City of Santa Monica over impacts on ongoing litigation, and passed with amendments. After taking up the held items, the committee recorded final votes on the bills, including passage of AB 930, AB 699, AB 1188, AB 827, and AB 1079, and rejection of AB 459.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you so much for coming forward.
• In the mail in the mail. It's a little card like a postcard or what? It's an envelope.
• Thank you, ma'am, for coming forward.
• Thank you, ma'am, for coming forward.
• Thank you, sir, for coming forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• So essentially they're going to not send them first-class mail in the mail.
• > be<01:01:44.559> used So electronic mail may be used So electronic mail may be used >
• So essentially they're going to not send them first-class mail in the mail.
• So essentially they're going to not send them first-class mail in the mail.
• <01:21:09.040> So, we're ready to move it forward. So, we're ready to move it forward.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But if we're requiring it all to be done by mail, that's a lot of mailing.
• All your notices get out of snail mail.
• Um-hum, in any paper mailing, and those ought to just stay on any paper mailings. Agreed.
• So what percent do you think will reduce that direct mailing?
• That would be a welcome step forward for next session.

Bills: HB17, HB23

Keywords: property tax, school funding, enrollment changes, inflation adjustment, tax rate notice, property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, Texas Tax Code, nonprofit corporation, charitable organization, educational nonprofit, scientific nonprofit, agriculture support, youth programs, community education, county population threshold, large county, local government revenue, leasehold interest, possessory interest

Transcript Highlights:

• , the ability to have notice by regular mail.
• for it and provided a valid mailing address or email address.
• , the ability to have notice by regular mail.
• move the bill forward. move the bill forward.
• mailing or email address. mailing or email address.

Bills: SF0050, SF0084, HB0133, HB0116, HB0011, HB0044

Keywords: groundwater, water resource management, state engineer, aquifer study, corrective controls, monitoring wells, public reporting, water conservation, Colorado River, drought, irrigation, water rights, voluntary program, interstate agreements, conservation districts, supervisors, elections, agriculture, local governance, beneficial use

Transcript Highlights:

• I can see the letters that they mail.
• Is it a quicker system than through the mail process?
• By telephone, and we also offer it for mail-in address changes.
• the person to complete it and mail that back to their local registry.
• We look forward to building upon that success.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And if it's something that we need to relook at as this moves forward, I'm happy to do that.
• I will also verify that to make sure as this moves forward.
• This is Basically, this is a bill that we're looking to move forward related to drones.
• Wouldn't it be better to take and do this more as a two or three-year look forward rather than putting
• It directs Service Oklahoma to implement a system that allows applicants to track the mailing status

Bills: SB1220, SB1221, SB1239, SB1309, SB1349, SB1434, SB1516, SB1531, SB1538, SB1861

Keywords: memorial designation, interchange, Terry Walker, transportation, Oklahoma, driver license, tracking system, expedited delivery, Service Oklahoma, REAL ID, public safety, apportionment, state revenue, funding, vehicle registration, infrastructure, state roads, bridges, economic development, highway construction

Transcript Highlights:

• They sent mailers through the same mailing house and spent $7,438 on them.
• Uh, a check was mailed, but was never received. It reverted to $500.
• Uh, staff is sympathetic to not receiving the mail.
• Um, we had a lot of the check is in the mail.
• , my mailed notice that it was due.

Transcript Highlights:

• replace the method by which courts are required to notify personal representatives from certified mail
• There wasn't an approach in '23 in our session to bring a bill forward, or was there?
• With no public testimony coming forward on Senate Bill 1975, public testimony will close.
• Applications for ownership transfer must also be mailed by certified or registered mail, return receipt
• Applications for ownership transfer must also be mailed by certified or registered mail, return receipt

Bills: SB302, SB1335, SB1734, SB1760, SB1975, SB2127

Keywords: probate court, statutory judge, reimbursement, court costs, court proceedings, judicial assignments, judge assignment, cost reimbursement, judicial expenses, estate management, statutory requirement, court expenses, estates, inheritance, representative duties, court authority, personal representative, real property, deed fraud, title fraud

Summary: The committee heard several probate, family law, judicial, property, and contract-related bills. Senate Bill 1335, relating to decedents’ estates, would remove outdated references to a clerk’s certificate, allow courts to remove personal representatives on their own motion with notice by qualified delivery method, and add independent administrators to provisions that referenced only independent executors; an estate-planning attorney testified in support, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 1760, concerning guardianship transfer fees and procedures, was described as setting a $45 filing fee for transferred guardianship cases and clarifying completion and dismissal procedures; it received no testimony and was left pending. Senate Bill 2127 would shorten the eligibility period for retired judges to serve as visiting judges from eight years to six, restrict practice in their assigned region for two years, and require conflict-related certification; it also was left pending without testimony. Senate Bill 302 would shift the cost of a traveling probate judge to the requesting estate or parties rather than the county; one witness registered in favor, no one testified, and the bill was left pending. The committee then considered a committee substitute for Senate Bill 252, which would clarify the parental presumption in conservatorship cases, require non-parents seeking relief against a parent to file an affidavit showing significant impairment to the child if relief is denied, require courts to state specific findings when overcoming the presumption, confirm the clear-and-convincing standard, and clarify that agreed prior orders do not defeat the presumption. The substitute was explained as consensus language from a work group, public testimony was reopened, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 1734, on deed fraud, would create a streamlined ex parte process for property owners to have fraudulent deeds declared void, modeled on the fraudulent lien statute; county clerk and title association representatives testified that it would provide a low-cost self-help remedy for a growing problem, and the bill was left pending subject to the chair. Senate Bill 1975 would prevent Texas contractors from being forced to litigate disputes in foreign jurisdictions and require disputes to be handled in the county where the project is located; it was presented as a repeat of a previously vetoed bill and was left pending. Finally, the committee took up a substitute for Senate Bill 1940, concerning transfer-on-death style beneficiary designations for manufactured homes. The substitute would allow one or more beneficiaries instead of only one, transfer the interest to surviving designated beneficiaries who survive by 120 hours, extend the application period for transfer to 365 days, void the designation if not timely filed, and require mailing by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested. The substitute was adopted without objection. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:19:44.520> um the ones received by mail um the ones received by mail um additionally<00
• <00:30:29.440> so better processes for moving forward so better processes for moving forward
• municipalities conduct elections by mail municipalities conduct elections by mail um<00:41:04.960
• Thank you. look forward to continuing that look forward to continuing that conversation<00:44:45.960>
• <01:24:52.639> to final stop for it so look forward to final stop for it so look forward to

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I think it's not clear and concise that this is for mail-in ballots.
• Members, there's a motion brought forward. Members, there's a motion brought forward.
• I think you're still— And it kills vote by mail; it also kills vote by mail. All right, hold on.
• And yes, I see to your point that some going forward they do also do that.
• So there are two points as to why this amendment is being brought forward.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, I've been pretty adamant about mail.
• <00:14:10.400> voting our online voter our mail-in voting our online voter our mail-in voting
• We don't promote any candidates in our mailings or anything like that.
• We don't promote any candidates in our mailings or anything like that.
• We don't promote any candidates in our mailings or anything like that.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard Governor’s Message 572, the nomination of Kirsten Walker to the Commission on the Status of Women, and received testimony in strong support from representatives of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the Hawaii State LGBTQ+ Commission, and others. Walker described nearly a decade of community advocacy focused on women, gender-diverse people, homelessness, domestic violence, substance use, reproductive and gender-diverse health care, and support for criminalized communities. Members asked about the commission’s past work and future priorities, and Walker said it should continue supporting community initiatives, studies on violence, and women-led efforts. The committee voted to recommend advise and consent, with the measure adopted unanimously by the members present. The committee then considered Governor’s Message 685, the nomination of Arielle Castillo to the Board of Registration of the Island of Oahu. Testimony from supporters emphasized her civic engagement, volunteer work, and willingness to serve in uncompensated state work. Castillo said she had worked in local politics and voter engagement, including with Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, and explained her background in voter registration, election rules, and good-government efforts. Members questioned her on how she would handle close voting issues and whether her activism could affect her service; she said she would apply the law fairly, protect voting rights, and that her organization is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The committee again recommended advise and consent, and the nomination was adopted. Finally, the committee heard Governor’s Message 686, the nomination of Jonathan Simons to the Board of Registration of the Island of Hawaii. Supporters described him as thoughtful and analytical, and Simons said he is a Hilo civil engineer with a strong interest in civics and good governance. He said his role on the board would be to protect the franchise by preventing improper disenfranchisement and ensuring votes are counted appropriately, citing his mother’s work enforcing the Voting Rights Act. Members asked whether he would apply election laws fairly and without partisan bias; he said he would. The committee voted advise and consent on GM 686 as well, and all three nominations were adopted before adjournment.