Bills: SB271, HB511

Keywords: SB271, Alabama, municipalities, city fees, town fees, franchise fees, utility franchise, natural gas, manufactured gas, gas utility, public streets, public places, right-of-way, municipal consent, gross receipts tax, license tax, privilege tax, Public Service Commission, PSC, utility regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• The must franchise fee issue and any comments from the committee? Mr.
• Cities are seeing less and less support...
• And just to my fellow members, you know, the city of Birmingham came here; they appealed.
• If you had concerns from your cities, I just hate that you all chose to not support my city and my district
• Um, and I just hate that you all took the position that you took on one of my cities.

Bills: HB323, SB271, SB295

Keywords: electric utility, transportation, oversize vehicles, transport permits, state highway system, SB271, Alabama, municipalities, city fees, town fees, franchise fees, utility franchise, natural gas, manufactured gas, gas utility, public streets, public places, right-of-way, municipal consent, gross receipts tax

Transcript Highlights:

• from cities, and those fees are passed through to our customers.
• from the city of Birmingham.
• No, they are franchise fees that are set separately by the cities.
• Counties do not have franchise fees, just cities.
• We currently collect no franchise fee from our customers for the city of Birmingham until their agreement

Bills: SB271, SB295, SB309

Keywords: SB271, Alabama, municipalities, city fees, town fees, franchise fees, utility franchise, natural gas, manufactured gas, gas utility, public streets, public places, right-of-way, municipal consent, gross receipts tax, license tax, privilege tax, Public Service Commission, PSC, utility regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• This basically gives the employees of the city coming into the RSA.
• Let's see, members of the governing body of the city of Montgomery...
• How are the other employees of the city...
• I mean, are we just like every other city? I think all cities have an option to come into the RSA.
• This is only for the city council... This is only for the city council members. Okay, optional.

Bills: SB208, SB216, HB187

Keywords: Montgomery, retirement system, employees, constitutional amendment, city council, retired law enforcement, retirement benefits, employment, firemedics, salary cap, HB187, court fees, docket fee, sheriff's fund, sheriff's office, jail operations, law enforcement, county sheriff, court filing fees, Alabama Code 12-19-312

Transcript Highlights:

• bring up for the committee that during this bill's House committee hearing, a representative from the City
• Further, it came out that... ...the City of Dallas has been using the same lobby groups for 20 years,
• Thomas City? Thank you. Thank you both for being here.
• Parker, relating to the authority of a brewers or nonresident brewers license holder, authorizing a fee
• relates to authorized activities of a brewers or nonresident brewers license holder and authorizes a fee

Bills: HB223

Keywords: municipal budget, county budget, local government finance, spending cap, expenditure limit, inflation plus population growth, taxpayer impact statement, budget transparency, property tax, fees, Legislative Budget Board, voter approval, disaster spending, fiscal restraint, Texas Local Government Code, city budget, county expenditures

Summary: The Committee on State Affairs heard several House bills, with most measures left pending after testimony and later taken up in a batch of votes. Early in the meeting, HB 5624 on liability protections for motocross/off-road vehicle tracks, HB 223 on requiring competitive procurement for municipal lobbying contracts, HB 3709 on post-election audit procedures, and HB 5081 on protecting personal information of judicial officers and court staff were all discussed and left pending after testimony. Witnesses on HB 223 supported greater transparency in municipal lobbying contracts. HB 3709 drew sharp opposition from an election integrity advocate who argued the bill would reduce precinct-level granularity and make it harder to detect ballot errors, while a Secretary of State resource witness said the bill would simplify and standardize the audit process by location. HB 5081 received strong support from court administration and a district judge who described prior threats and an attack tied to publicly available personal information. The committee also heard HB 3546 on allowing school districts to move elections to November, HB 493 on barring certain felony offenders from serving as poll watchers, HB 5115 on increasing penalties for election fraud and related conduct, HB 4081 on trade secret filing procedures, HB 3909 on limiting restrictions on wireless devices at polling places, HB 2702 on limiting gubernatorial closure authority for certain veterans organizations during pandemics, HB 119 on foreign adversary lobbying, and HB 5138 on the Attorney General’s authority to prosecute election crimes. Several of these bills were explained with committee substitutes and then left pending before final action. Testimony on HB 493 and HB 5115 came from an election integrity advocate who supported both bills, saying the poll watcher restriction was appropriately narrowed and that the election fraud bill would help address invalid votes and refusal to count valid votes. Later, the committee took up pending business and voted out a large number of bills, generally along party lines or with broad support. HB 186 on minors’ social media use, HB 229, HB 2885, HB 3909 as substituted, HB 4285, HB 1661, HB 2820, HB 3181, HB 4157, HB 223, HB 521, HB 640, HB 1234, HB 2253, HB 2294, HB 3053, HB 3697 as substituted, HB 4281, HB 4463, HB 4995, HB 5081 as substituted, HB 5624 as substituted, HB 119 as substituted, HB 3225, HB 5138 as substituted, HB 5115, HB 481 as substituted, HB 3546, HB 493, and HB 4145 were reported favorably to the full Senate, with several also placed on the local and uncontested calendar. The committee also adopted committee substitutes for multiple bills, including HB 3909, HB 5081, HB 5624, HB 119, HB 5138, and HB 481. At the end, the chair noted another committee meeting would likely be needed before deadlines, possibly on a weekend, and recessed the committee subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• her family were driving from their home in Fort Worth to my parents' house in Johnson County, Ponson City
• The bill proposes to help new wineries and in that industry, including offering substantially lower fees
• Each permit also incurs a $3,000 fee.
• HB 3053 adds Section 2.280.005 to the local government code, prohibiting cities and counties from adopting
• A constituent of mine, a city secretary, raised concerns about unclear laws requiring election offices

Bills: HB223

Keywords: municipal budget, county budget, local government finance, spending cap, expenditure limit, inflation plus population growth, taxpayer impact statement, budget transparency, property tax, fees, Legislative Budget Board, voter approval, disaster spending, fiscal restraint, Texas Local Government Code, city budget, county expenditures, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• bring up for the committee that during this bill's House Committee hearing, a representative from the City
• Further, it came out that they basically, the City of Dallas... ...have been using the same lobby groups
• Relating to authorized activities of a brewer or non-resident brewer's license holder, authorizing a fee

Bills: HB223

Keywords: municipal budget, county budget, local government finance, spending cap, expenditure limit, inflation plus population growth, taxpayer impact statement, budget transparency, property tax, fees, Legislative Budget Board, voter approval, disaster spending, fiscal restraint, Texas Local Government Code, city budget, county expenditures, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative, there are 27 bills regarding franchise fees and police jurisdiction. It's like 3%.
• They go up and deal with increasing their fees to the customers, which gives them a chance to question
• Now, a couple of things: the exclusion is counties and cities.
• Cities and counties would be affected by the cost of utility relocations, driving up overall project
• The amendment and classification are based on the number of people in the city.

Bills: HB606, SB271

Keywords: HB606, Alabama, Department of Transportation, DOT, public highways, utility relocation, right-of-way, state right-of-way, road construction, bridge, tunnel, toll road, interstate highway, defense highway, utility facilities, broadband, telecommunications, cable, electricity, gas

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:15:57.600> means collecting the fees it's just the means collecting the fees it's just
• We'll take a for you for a fee.
• paid your fees? paid your fees?
• fees that never landed at the airport. fees that never landed at the airport.
• And so appropriate to use for for fees.

Bills: SB223, SB271, SB223, SB271

Keywords: expungement, nonviolent felony, criminal record, restoration of rights, human trafficking, SB271, Alabama, municipalities, city fees, town fees, franchise fees, utility franchise, natural gas, manufactured gas, gas utility, public streets, public places, right-of-way, municipal consent, gross receipts tax

Transcript Highlights:

• I've been an attorney for 35 years and have represented nine cities in municipal law as city attorneys
• The City of Selma, for instance, is a small city.
• The City of Austin City Council believed the Historic Commission's recommendation and, despite multiple
• We had a very bipartisan effort across the city.
• And I think it's important for us to allow cities.

Bills: SB2215, SB2639

Keywords: zoning, municipality, municipal immunity, governmental immunity, local government, Chapter 211, Texas Local Government Code, land use, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, mandamus, attorney's fees, court costs, property rights, home rule city, code enforcement, planning and zoning, land development, municipal ordinance, historic landmark

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 2328 would establish a standardized $25 fee per entity for cases where electronic service
• By streamlining the expunction notification process, standardizing service fees, and extending record
• Currently, an expunction is filed by the petitioner and it's a $350 filing fee, and if they retain an
• It's a $350 filing fee, and if they retain an attorney, they have to pay that attorney's fees, and then
• The first is that the fee, there is a fee under this bill that is mandatory.

Bills: HB115

Keywords: public funds, lobbying, political subdivision, government spending, transparency, HB 115, taxpayer-funded lobbying, local government lobbying, county association dues, municipal lobbying, lobbyist registration, Chapter 305, Government Code Section 556.0056, Local Government Code Section 89.002, county government, city government, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, state association of counties, sheriffs association

Summary: The Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence reconvened with a quorum present and announced it would likely not vote that night because of confusion over the bill list; members were told a definitive list would be circulated the next morning and a formal meeting would be scheduled later. The chair then heard a series of bills, generally taking testimony and leaving each pending without action. House Bill 1847 would set maximum caseload standards for private attorneys handling indigent criminal appointments through the Texas Indigent Defense Commission; House Bill 2417 would expand compensation eligibility for some wrongfully imprisoned people; House Bill 2813 would require earlier and more specific victim notice of scheduled court proceedings; and House Bill 2309 would expand state and local authority in certain civil asset forfeiture cases involving human trafficking, health care fraud, and organized crime. Each bill was laid out by its author or a member, with no opposition witnesses registered, and each was left pending. The committee also heard House Bill 4733, which would require sealing records for people acquitted of charges when they were not convicted on the related allegation; House Bill 2328, which would modernize expunction service by encouraging electronic notice, setting a standardized fee when electronic service is unavailable, extending clerk retention of expunction orders, and preserving certain mental health commitment orders; and House Bill 115, which would revise Texas’s “junk science” post-conviction writ law by providing counsel, changing the relief standard, requiring written decisions, and easing procedural barriers. Testimony on HB 2328 was mixed: county clerks supported the bill as a cost-saving modernization, while legal advocates warned that permanent retention of expunction orders could undermine true expunction and create privacy risks. HB 115 drew support from innocence and defense organizations, with some concern about a provision affecting subsequent writs. All were left pending after testimony. Later, the committee heard House Bill 2046, which would allow affirmative family-violence findings for any Penal Code offense rather than only Title V offenses; testimony from a Dallas County prosecutor and a committee member emphasized that family violence can involve arson, burglary, fraud, and other non-Title V conduct, and the bill was left pending. House Bill 1765 would tighten restrictions on no-knock warrants by requiring higher-level approval, judicial review, and identifiable officers; members discussed the dangers highlighted by the Harding Street raid and similar incidents, and the bill was also left pending. The meeting ended with the chair noting that some bills had been removed from the agenda at the author’s request and that members should be prepared to finalize the vote list the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Anybody in the world could register to, uh, look for bids in any county or any city in Texas.
• We show you registered as David Morgan testifying on behalf of the city of Georgetown.
• The city of Georgetown has implemented watering restrictions about 2 to 3 years ago, I believe.
• I'm the city manager for the city of Georgetown.
• One, we are the fast growing city in the country, uh, over 50,000 in population.

Bills: HB 186

Keywords: public funds, lobbying activities, political subdivisions, government expenditure, transparency, local government, political subdivision, county, city, municipality, special district, taxpayer-funded lobbying, lobbying restriction, registered lobbyist, government association, county association dues, Texas Legislature, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, Chapter 556

Transcript Highlights:

• city.
• fees.
• city.
• fees.
• They're not going to have to fees.

Bills: HF4615, HF3532, HF4492, HF4171

Keywords: military, pay, officers, enlisted members, state active service, Minnesota Statutes, veterans, burial eligibility, honor guard, state cemeteries, military service, burial fees, veterans affairs, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, advisory task force, commanders task force, veterans service organizations, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW

Transcript Highlights:

• That's designated by the city that sits on city-owned land, which is either connected to or within a
• And again, you start with a hotel that's designated by the city on city-owned land, again connected..
• The previous cities get under 351.156.
• The cities right now can designate multiple project financing zones, and currently, it's only the cities
• The City of Anna, located in Collin County, is... ...the fourth largest, fourth fastest-growing city

Bills: SB1071, SB1444, SB1483, SB1556, SB1703, SB1756, SB1854, SB2036, SB2133, SB2297, SB2622, SB2779, SB2955, SB2979

Keywords: municipality, tax revenue, hotel project, convention center, economic development, hotel tax, municipal authority, local governments, local authority, convention centers, hotel occupancy tax, municipal finance, local tax revenue, tourism, hotel and convention center project, Tax Code Chapter 351, city revenue, special district, Texas municipalities, venue financing

Transcript Highlights:

• It is the one that would authorize entertainment districts in the city of Alabama. >> In Alabama, anybody
• If you just share that with us, bud. >> Senate Bill 276, Alabaster-related, City of Alabaster. >> Senate
• Bill 276, Alabaster-related, City of Alabaster.
• >> 276 alabaster related city of alabaster. >> 276 alabaster related city of alabaster.

Bills: SB275, SB276

Keywords: entertainment districts, Alabaster, alcohol regulations, city council authority, open containers, weed nuisance, abatement procedures, city authority, public health, local government, 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• One city. >> One city. A pastor, but we have two bills. >> And both are represented Bed Souls.
• <00:01:06.799> One<00:01:07.119> city. bills. I'm sorry. One city. bills.
• One city. >> One<00:01:08.400> city.
• of their city.
• their city. their city.

Bills: SB275, SB276

Keywords: entertainment districts, Alabaster, alcohol regulations, city council authority, open containers, weed nuisance, abatement procedures, city authority, public health, local government, 1136, house, all

Bills: HB468, SB366, HB468, HB561, SB227, SB32

Keywords: service of process, funding, Marion County, fees, legal documents, firefighters, rights, personnel procedures, state law, public safety, HB468, local commissions, local authorities, municipal planning commission, planning commission, zoning, land use, municipal official, municipal officer, city council

Transcript Highlights:

• years, explosive growth in a program called Drag Queen Story Hour, and they've been hosted at various city
• We'll cut off all public funds from cities and from the state.

Bills: SB 18, SB 19, SB 666, SB 688, SB 707, SB 888

Keywords: municipal libraries, state funding, gender identity, public events, children's literature, SB 19, Texas, political subdivision, local government, county, city, municipality, taxpayer-funded lobbying, lobbying ban, public funds, registered lobbyist, Chapter 305, Government Code, Local Government Code, county association dues

Bills: HB29, HB39, HB77, HB153, HB183, HB211, HB263, HB299, HB324, HB519, HB520, HB533, HB538, HB559, HB562, HB805, HB823, HB1004, HB1011, HB1018

Keywords: insurance fund, retired employees, Ascension Parish, court clerks, premium costs, investment advisory board, HB 39, Act 283, peace officer, law enforcement officer, police certification, citizenship requirement, U.S. citizen, United States citizen, naturalization, lawful permanent resident, green card holder, immigration, public safety, law enforcement hiring

Transcript Highlights:

• The Texas Attorney General launched lawsuits against the cities of Austin and San Marcos.
• Our state already has a clear, established process for resolving disputes between cities.
• If the Attorney General in the future thinks that a city has violated state law, the Attorney General
• This bill would give the Attorney General the power of the courts and fine cities up to $50,000 per day
• It waives governmental immunity, costing taxpayers even more in legal fees and draining local budgets

Bills: HB229, HB3990, HB5082, HB5510, HB229

Keywords: biological sex, government information, definitions, sex-based distinctions, public health, flags, display, state law, municipalities, government buildings, drug enforcement, local control, home rule, municipal charter, county policy, ordinance preemption, state preemption, attorney general enforcement, civil penalties, mandamus