Transcript Highlights:

• And welcome to the public hearing of the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government.

Bills: H5332 , H5333 , H5358 , H5364 , H5365 , H5379 , H5387 , H5388 , H5416 , S3055

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Keywords: mayor vacancy, Holyoke, city council, election procedures, municipal governance, residency requirement, elected officials, local government, citizenship, charter amendment, municipal lien, local charges, property tax, nonpayment, Newton, residency requirements, municipal regulation, elected office, Falmouth, Licensing Commission

Bills: SB63 , SB80 , SB63 , SB80

Committee: Senate Healthcare

Keywords: immigration, law enforcement, fingerprints, DNA collection, illegal aliens, Alabama state law, SB80, Buddy Sharpless Education Institute, Alabama Local Government Training Institute, county commissioner training, local government training, ethics training, State Ethics Commission, county commissioners, Association of County Commissions of Alabama, local emergency management director, public officials, municipal officials, Alabama Code Title 11, Alabama Code Title 31

Transcript Highlights:

• what number hearing we're actually on—many this instance of a hearing of the Joint Committee on Municipalities
• Declining enrollment has created educational challenges for two small regional school districts and one municipal
• account the fact that, unlike most towns in the Commonwealth, in rural communities water is not a municipal

Bills: H5171 , H5261 , H5294 , H5317 , S3026 , S3033

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Keywords: Holyoke, municipal governance, acting mayor, city council, local government, Oxford, town charter, municipal government, town manager, residency requirement, local approval, charter amendment, home rule, local governance, municipal administration, residence of officials, Worcester County, Worthington, solar, solar photovoltaic

Transcript Highlights:

• In 2020, the legislature passed a law saying an official who retires cannot be reappointed to his own
• I am also looking to, in this bill, to... ...increase the salaries of our statewide elected officials
• The statewide officials haven't had a pay increase in over 20 years.
• So SB 21 simply changes the time period from 20 to 45 days for the official of a municipal corporation
• This is only the official of a municipal corporation, police jury, or school board to post the minutes

Bills: HB398 , HB906 , HB1201 , SB41 , SB47 , SB106 , SB210 , SB218 , SB220 , SB248 , SB289 , SB397

Committee: House House and Governmental Affairs

Keywords: travel expenses, reimbursement, state officials, US General Services Administration, disaster management, nominating petitions, unaffiliated voters, party primaries, political participation, elections, public meeting minutes, transparency, government accountability, publication deadlines, open meetings, boards and commissions, public records, contact information, email addresses, phone numbers

Transcript Highlights:

• And um, some county officials address.
• It's where the message isn't to you as a public official.
• </c> isn't to you as a public official. isn't to you as a public official.
• </c><01:03:01.760><c> Um,</c> rather than to the public official.
• Um, rather than to the public official.

Bills: HF3698 , HF4243 , HF4239 , HF4241 , HF4242 , HF4240

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: libraries, electronic books, digital audiobooks, licensing agreements, public access, campaign finance, elections, political contributions, disclosure, reporting thresholds, economic interest statements, financial disclosure, ethics, public officials, local officials, metropolitan governmental unit, metropolitan area, candidate filings, principal campaign committee, political committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Municipality. Thank you for the question. No, that was $250,000 total.
• Follow up: Can you tell me the 10 municipalities that have been identified?
• To be able to provide grants to some local municipalities, urban and rural.
• This is just establishing between the state and local municipalities and the tribal municipalities in
• House Bill 3678 modifies the definition of public officials to include municipal officials and public

Bills: HB1002 , HB1250 , HB2710 , HB3008 , HB3045 , HB3086 , HB3595 , HB3678 , HB3695 , HB3831 , HB4107 , HB4408

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Keywords: stalking, victim notification, law enforcement, harassment, penalties, criminal justice, protection orders, local law enforcement, Public Safety Technology Revolving Fund, grants, state funding, law enforcement technology, Oklahoma Emergency Communications Act, emergency communications, public safety radio, statewide radio systems, land mobile radio, interoperability, Project 25, P25

Transcript Highlights:

• Was that going to be $250,000 per municipality? Thank you for the question.
• This just establishes between the state and local municipalities and the tribal municipalities in the
• This just establishes between the state and local municipalities and the tribal municipalities in the
• House Bill 3678 modifies the definition of public officials to include municipal officials and public
• House Bill 3678 modifies the definition of public officials to include municipal officials and school

Bills: HB1002 , HB1250 , HB2710 , HB3008 , HB3045 , HB3086 , HB3595 , HB3678 , HB3695 , HB3831 , HB4107 , HB4408

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Keywords: stalking, victim notification, law enforcement, harassment, penalties, criminal justice, protection orders, local law enforcement, Public Safety Technology Revolving Fund, grants, state funding, law enforcement technology, Oklahoma Emergency Communications Act, emergency communications, public safety radio, statewide radio systems, land mobile radio, interoperability, Project 25, P25

Summary: The Public Safety Committee met and first held House Bill 3045. It then heard and passed several bills, beginning with HB 1250, which creates a public safety technology revolving fund for Attorney General grants to support the Blue Jay pilot program, a voluntary traffic-stop safety app. Members questioned whether the fund would actually be financed this year and how municipalities would be selected; the author said no funding source was yet identified and the bill was only creating the fund. HB 1250 passed 8-0. The committee also passed HB 2710, creating the Oklahoma Emergency Communications Act and a 15-member board to develop a strategic plan for improving emergency radio communications among state, local, and tribal agencies. The author explained the bill was meant to address communication gaps and interoperability problems, with no fiscal impact. HB 3831, dealing with Oklahoma Task Force One, drew extensive discussion over its funding structure and blank appropriations language. The bill would place the urban search and rescue team in state law and seek a reliable funding source; members discussed the team’s statewide disaster response role, its Tulsa and Oklahoma City bases, and a carve-out excluding wildland firefighting. It passed 8-0. Other measures approved included HB 4408, which sets a protocol for calculating and directing savings from State Questions 780 and 781 into the proper drug diversion account; HB 1002, requiring law enforcement to inform stalking victims about certified domestic violence program advocates; HB 3008, extending the sunset date for the Board of Tests for Alcohol and Drug Influence to 2031; HB 3086, requiring the Department of Corrections director to keep the Board of Corrections informed about budgets and inmate deaths; HB 3595, creating a DPS revolving fund for counties and municipalities to buy vehicle-barrier equipment to prevent crowd-vehicle attacks; HB 3678, expanding electronic-harassment protections for public officials to include municipal officials and school board members; HB 4107, establishing penalties for unauthorized activation or misuse of emergency warning sirens; and HB 3695, revising the definition of great bodily injury in a DUI-related context. HB 3595 passed 6-1 and HB 4107 passed 6-2; the other bills passed unanimously or near-unanimously after brief questioning and debate.

Transcript Highlights:

• The way it is now only applies for the municipalities and the county.
• So, what this bill does is give the municipalities and the county an incentive to keep that money.
• municipal bond market.
• Length of time this deals with county elected officials.
• This concerns county officials, county funds, correct? Correct.

Bills: HB134 , SB217 , SB180 , HB157 , HB92 , HB335

Committee: Senate County and Municipal Government

Keywords: vehicle registration, disability access, fines, law enforcement, public accommodation, bond financing, municipal bonds, county debt, local government debt, debt service schedule, bond disclosure, public finance, bond underwriter, county commission, city council, refunding bonds, swap agreements, interest rate swaps, derivatives, fiscal transparency

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to this week's County and Municipal Government Committee meeting.
• compensation, an official receiving on May 31st of 2026.
• Between local officials for county commissioners, probate judge, sheriffs, tax assessor, tax collectors
• compensation, an official receiving on May 31st of 2026.
• Under the existing law, the base compensation of any local official, elected official or appointed by

Bills: SB249 , SB259 , HB67 , HB214 , SB249 , SB259 , HB67 , HB214

Committee: Senate County and Municipal Government

Keywords: municipal tax, license fee, local tax increase, ordinance, public hearing, 30-day notice, municipal notice requirements, city council, town council, Alabama municipalities, Code of Alabama 1975, Section 11-45-2, open meetings website, newspaper publication, local government finance, tax transparency, fee increase, municipal ordinance procedure, University of South Alabama, Board of Trustees

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to the joint public hearing, or the public hearing, of the Joint Committee on Municipalities
• I'm Jack Patrick Lewis, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government.
• It is our custom to take legislators and other elected officials out of order, so we may do that, but
• This was filed at the suggestion of changes from shelters across the state, municipalities across the
• they looked at the cost of animals being held in municipal animal facilities, damage, and... ...being

Bills: H4738 , H4843 , H4844 , H4845 , H4849 , H4878 , H4887 , H4924 , H5052 , H5053 , S2878 , S2894 , S2897 , H5102 , H5107 , H5108 , H5109 , H5128 , H5136 , S2963 , S2956

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Keywords: Holyoke, City Council, municipal governance, special meetings, local government transparency, park land exchange, Lexington, public use, school committee, athletic fields, town administrator, employment authority, Wilbraham, local law, Uxbridge, public meeting notices, legal notices, municipal transparency, local government, digital publication

Transcript Highlights:

• Believe it or not, those of us as state elected officials fall under the same category.
• I would welcome your suggestions as former county official and anybody else.
• I would welcome your suggestions as former county official and anybody else.
• House Bill 3435 is just instilling a single-subject rule on municipal bonds.
• It simply gives cities and municipalities the option to do so.

Bills: HB3091 , HB3314 , HB3435 , HB3748 , HB3913 , HB3919 , HB4132 , HB4203 , HB4303

Committee: House County and Municipal Government

Keywords: county officials, residency requirement, dereliction of duty, removal process, government accountability, marijuana tax, public service impact tax, county funding, voter approval, local government, municipal bonds, ballot proposals, voting process, fund allocation, county government, administration, local resources, public institutions, construction, maintenance

Transcript Highlights:

• I would welcome your suggestions as former county official and anybody else.
• I would welcome your suggestions as former county official and anybody else.
• Members 3435 is just instilling a single-subject rule on municipal bonds.
• It simply gives cities and municipalities the option to do so.
• It simply gives cities and municipalities the option to do so.

Bills: HB3091 , HB3314 , HB3435 , HB3748 , HB3913 , HB3919 , HB4132 , HB4203 , HB4303

Committee: House County and Municipal Government

Keywords: county officials, residency requirement, dereliction of duty, removal process, government accountability, marijuana tax, public service impact tax, county funding, voter approval, local government, municipal bonds, ballot proposals, voting process, fund allocation, county government, administration, local resources, public institutions, construction, maintenance

Summary: The committee considered a series of county, municipal, housing, and public-safety bills. House Bill 3748 would allow county governments to partner with four-year institutions and was reported out after a brief explanation and no questions. House Bill 4203, with a PCS adopted, would let the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission explore guidelines for small-unit multifamily housing of eight units or fewer and four stories or fewer; it passed 5-1. House Bill 3919, also with a PCS, would let county commissioners reduce county fair boards from nine members to five to help achieve quorum; it passed 6-0. House Bill 3091, with a PCS changing the residency requirement from 80% to 70%, would require county elected officials to maintain a principal residence in the county and occupy it at least 70% of the time. Members discussed whether the bill should use “may” or “shall” and how it would apply in hardship or medical situations; the author said he was open to further language changes. The bill passed 6-0. House Bill 3314, creating a county-option retail sale public safety impact fee on marijuana, also passed 6-0. House Bill 3435, requiring a single-subject rule for municipal bonds so voters can consider bond issues separately, passed 6-0. House Bill 3913, which would allow municipalities to authorize single-stair apartment buildings up to six stories if they meet modern fire-safety standards, failed on a 2-4 vote after no questions or debate. House Bill 4132 would provide liability protection for local governments that follow recognized cybersecurity frameworks and passed 6-0. House Bill 4303, a collaborative measure extending the deadline for municipalities to publish ordinances from 15 days to 30 days, also passed 6-0. The committee adjourned after completing the posted agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 3678 modifies the definition of public officials to include municipal and public school board
• members as used to protect Public officials from harassment or intimidating electronic communications
• The law currently allows district judges, including retired district judges and active municipal judges
• to carry a firearm after qualification, but retired municipal judges are not included, despite facing
• To extend the same option to retire municipal judges.

Bills: HB3765 , HB4324 , HB3678 , HB4170 , HB3495 , HB3040 , HB3062 , HB4140 , HB4106 , HB4109 , HB4104 , HB3581

Committee: House Criminal Judiciary

Keywords: property rights, forfeiture, noncitizen, land ownership, felony, public safety, criminal procedure, sentence modification, resentencing, judicial review, postconviction relief, district attorney, prosecutor, victim rights, victim notification, Department of Corrections, inmate rehabilitation, sentencing reform, life without parole, nonviolent offense

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, House Bill 3678 modifies the definition of public officials to include municipal and public
• school board members, as used to protect public officials from harassment or intimidating electronic
• But retired municipal judges are not included, despite facing similar threats and often working with
• And so House Bill 362 updates the statute to extend the same carry option to retired municipal judges
• And it also calls for the loss of immunity by, say, municipalities who failed to respond. ...for the

Bills: HB3765 , HB4324 , HB3678 , HB4170 , HB3495 , HB3040 , HB3062 , HB4140 , HB4106 , HB4109 , HB4104 , HB3581

Committee: House Criminal Judiciary

Keywords: property rights, forfeiture, noncitizen, land ownership, felony, public safety, criminal procedure, sentence modification, resentencing, judicial review, postconviction relief, district attorney, prosecutor, victim rights, victim notification, Department of Corrections, inmate rehabilitation, sentencing reform, life without parole, nonviolent offense

Summary: The committee considered a series of criminal justice bills, many of them focused on penalties for theft, public safety, and offenses involving foreign ownership or riot-related conduct. House Bill 3765, as amended, increased the punishment from two to five years for certain felony conduct involving unlawfully acquired foreign land ownership, and was reported do pass. House Bill 4324, a prosecutor-initiated resentencing bill, was also reported do pass after brief explanation and no opposition. Other bills approved included HB 3678, expanding the definition of public officials to cover municipal and public school board members for purposes of harassment/intimidation protections; HB 417, increasing penalties for theft causing environmental damage from crude oil or gasoline; HB 3495, criminalizing straw purchases of land for foreign nationals; HB 3040, expanding “zone of safety” protections for children by adding places like skating rinks, youth recreation centers, pools, arcades, amusement parks, and water parks; HB 362, extending firearm-carry authority to retired municipal judges; HB 4140, creating a uniform felony penalty for firearm theft and possession of stolen firearms; HB 4106, lowering the grand larceny threshold to $900 and adding penalties for repeat petty larceny; HB 4109, creating a duty to report certain crime-related evidence and circumstances at hospitals and other facilities; and HB 4104, restructuring peeping-tom/voyeurism offenses and sex-offender registration consequences. Several of these bills were amended before passage, including HB 4106 and HB 4104, and HB 3581 was taken up later with a committee substitute and amendment before discussion of its riot-related provisions. The committee also laid over HB 3497 and HB 4142, and adjourned after reporting the remaining bills out with mostly unanimous or near-unanimous votes, typically do pass or do pass as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:55.440><c> water</c> are for our municipal water are for our municipal water infrastructure
• And, you through our municipalities.
• And so a municipal responsibility.
• Municipalities, counties, etc. Okay.
• </c> should assist the municipalities should assist the municipalities in<00:13:41.440><c> upgrading<

Bills: SF0069 , SF0070 , SF0016 , HB0078 , HJ0002 , HB0085 , HB0086

Committee: Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources

Keywords: wastewater, stormwater, infrastructure, environmental quality, public data, data collection, funding, study, water development, irrigation, public works, agricultural supply, municipal water, grazing lands, subleasing, non-owned livestock, state lands, rental fees, agricultural policy, land management

Transcript Highlights:

• It, uh, page 2, line 20 says, uh, for election officials as provided in Wyoming statute 21-8-115.
• </c><00:51:04.960><c> as</c> 20 says uh for election officials as 20 says uh for election officials as
• Thank you. elected state official into a process elected state official into a process where<01:14:16.000
• He asked why the bill was not directing the Secretary of State to alert local officials and leave the
• However, he wondered why the bill was not directing the Secretary of State to alert local officials and

Bills: SF0069 , SF0070 , SF0016 , HB0078 , HJ0002 , HB0085 , HB0086

Committee: House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources

Keywords: wastewater, stormwater, infrastructure, environmental quality, public data, data collection, funding, study, water development, irrigation, public works, agricultural supply, municipal water, grazing lands, subleasing, non-owned livestock, state lands, rental fees, agricultural policy, land management

Transcript Highlights:

• and Municipal Police Employees Retirement System.
• , police departments, and the municipal police retirement system.
• I'm the interim director of the Louisiana Municipal Association.
• We're doing away with partial dissolution with municipal police.
• Again, Richard Williams with the Municipal Association.

Bills: HB17 , HB21 , HB24 , HB41 , HB42 , HB45 , HB1134 , HB1237

Committee: Senate Retirement

Keywords: HB 17, District Attorneys' Retirement System, retirement system, reemployed retiree, reemployment, supplemental retirement benefit, service credit, benefit suspension, public retirement, district attorney, assistant district attorney, Louisiana District Attorneys' Association, employer reporting, annual report, retirement benefits, state employees, local funds, state funds, Municipal Employees' Retirement System, part-time retirees

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the bill that would recognize Alabama would recognize the Gulf of America as the official name
• to ensure that this was Municipalities to ensure that this was something<00:11:15.760><c> that</c><00
• And so I got with examiners of public accounts and the League of Municipalities.
• I think, as a former pro tem said, but every one of these things happens in a county or a municipality
• I think, as a former pro tem said, but every one of these things happens in a county or a municipality

Bills: HB2 , HB163 , SB326 , HB17 , HB363 , HB2 , HB163 , SB326 , HB17 , HB363 , SB333

Committee: Senate County and Municipal Government

Keywords: vaccination, parental consent, minors, medical consent, guardian approval, income tax, research expenditures, economic development, tax deductions, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Alabama tax law, sheriff, credit card, debit card, financial procedures, Jackson County, purchasing authority, HB17, Alabama Squat Truck Law, squat truck

Transcript Highlights:

• To the residents of that county for doing so as that county's election officials would be.
• County election officials want to run elections that are fair, secure, and efficient.
• . officials.
• This includes the power to order election officials to cease conduct.
• That officials consistently presented the same demonstration machines for public testing.

Bills: HB3097 , HB3691 , SB108 , SB827 , SB1541 , SB1862 , SB2166 , SB2216

Committee: House Elections

Keywords: Texas elections, Election Code, uniform election date, November election, local elections, political subdivisions, general election date, election administration, municipal utility district, county elections, local government, ballot scheduling, candidate filing, voter turnout, election calendar, HB 3097, early voting, electronic application, mail-in ballot, voting accessibility

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 2999 prohibits the requirement of public officials to sign nondisclosure agreements.
• So page one, lines 23 and 24: such persons shall also be prohibited from appointment to any municipal
• persons, God, I can't speak today, such person shall also be prohibited from appointment in the municipal
• plus years, has grown up in a community, widely respected within a small, you know, 2,000-person municipality

Bills: HB3183 , HB2999 , HB3787 , HB3499 , HJR1023

Committee: House Rules

Keywords: electric utilities, grid congestion, transmission technology, advanced power flow controllers, dynamic line rating, energy efficiency, nondisclosure agreements, public officials, transparency, government accountability, utility infrastructure, election, qualified elector, municipal office, school board, registration requirements, HB3499, special judge, special judges, court jurisdiction

Summary: The committee heard several measures and adopted PCS versions as working drafts before taking action. H.J.R. 1023, the biennial workers’ compensation fee schedule resolution, was presented as a vehicle to keep the schedule alive while the updated rates were still pending from the federal side due to the shutdown; it passed 8-0. House Bill 2999, which would prohibit requiring public officials to sign nondisclosure agreements, drew discussion about whether it should be broadened to cover litigation outcomes and other government transparency issues. The author agreed to strike the title and continue working on the language, and the bill passed 8-0 with the title stricken. House Bill 3788, as amended in PCS-2, would require officeholders to be U.S. citizens; members questioned whether the bill should also bar non-citizens from certain appointments, with examples raised about local boards and temporary appointments. The author said the intent was to focus on elected office, the Election Board assistant secretary said the bill reflected that intent, and the committee voted 9-1 to report it do pass, with the title still stricken for further work. The committee also advanced House Bill 3499, which allows special judges to hear applications for title matters, on a 10-0 vote. House Bill 3183, described by its author as a cost-saving measure related to electrical transmission infrastructure and protecting ratepayers from large loads, also passed 10-0. Throughout the meeting, members frequently used motions to adopt PCS drafts, move bills, and strike titles where language was still being refined before floor consideration.