Transcript Highlights:

• How does a person become as wise as this?
• </c><08:04:40.360><c> in</c> deported but yet we have one person in deported but yet we have one person
• help, and for diversity purposes would be given preference over a person of European descent who was
• We had the government weighing in, giving preference to one person over the other person for different
• </c><08:40:05.638><c> for</c> person over the other person for person over the other person for different

Bills: HR77

Keywords: Fred Korematsu, civil liberties, constitutional rights, Japanese internment, historical education, national reflection, personal justice

Transcript Highlights:

• Jones has personal experience with this.
• She has submitted very personal testimony to you all on this.
• I am the National Director of the Children's Justice Campaign.
• Because of this, the justice has not been served.
• Justice delayed is justice denied.

Bills: HB170 , HB865 , HB748 , HJR112 , HB 1110 , HB1495 , HB786 , HB 1130 , HB170

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: civil liability, self-defense, force, deadly force, legal immunity, attorney's fees, criminal justice, firearms, liability, veterans, gun ownership, immunity, firearm hold agreement, sexual abuse, nondisclosure, confidentiality, public policy, Trey's Law, parental rights, child upbringing

Transcript Highlights:

• It would not. it wouldn't apply to if they were to kill that person.
• force, they can always disprove this person.
• Ensuring justice and deterrence.
• keeping our courts focused on real justice.
• Justice courts handle the majority of the cases in the state of Texas.

Bills: HB170 , HB865 , HB748 , HJR112 , HB 1110 , HB1495 , HB786 , HB 1130 , HB170

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: civil liability, self-defense, force, deadly force, legal immunity, attorney's fees, criminal justice, firearms, liability, veterans, gun ownership, immunity, firearm hold agreement, sexual abuse, nondisclosure, confidentiality, public policy, Trey's Law, parental rights, child upbringing

Transcript Highlights:

• Any incarcerated person or formerly incarcerated person will tell you that it comes from the staff.
• The officers started on one end and went person-to-person with the squat and cough procedure before having
• Okay, and then if the person did not have a license, then I guess it would just be their personal ID.
• McLaughlin, personally interviewed his victim.
• Supreme Court Justice Anthony has stated that the point is not how long a person who is civilly committed

Bills: HB1826 , HB1969 , HB2708 , HB2729 , HB3618 , HB4515 , HB4764 , SB1021 , SB1610

Committee: House Corrections

Keywords: mental health, women's health, county jail, depression screening, criminal justice, inmate release, identification certificate, Texas Department of Corrections, personal identification, driver's license, state law, reentry services, nondisclosure, criminal history, criminal defendants, community supervision, misdemeanors, felonies, rehabilitation, hearsay

Transcript Highlights:

• You ask any incarcerated person or formerly incarcerated person, they're going to tell you that it comes
• The officers started on one end and went person to person with the squat and cough procedure before having
• I'm with the Texas Center for Justice and Equity. I'm the Youth Justice Policy Director, and I...
• McLaughlin, personally interviewed...
• Supreme Court Justice Anthony has stated, "The point is not how long a person who is civilly committed

Bills: HB1826 , HB1969 , HB2708 , HB2729 , HB3618 , HB4515 , HB4764 , SB1021 , SB1610

Committee: House Corrections

Keywords: mental health, women's health, county jail, depression screening, criminal justice, inmate release, identification certificate, Texas Department of Corrections, personal identification, driver's license, state law, reentry services, nondisclosure, criminal history, criminal defendants, community supervision, misdemeanors, felonies, rehabilitation, hearsay

Summary: The Corrections Committee first took up pending business and reported several previously heard bills favorably to the full House, including HB 1515 and SB 2405, the TDCJ Sunset bill and its Senate companion, HB 5639 on the veteran housing program, HB 2854 on hospital visits as a parole or mandatory supervision condition and related hospital liability, and SB 1080 on occupational licenses for people with criminal convictions. The committee also heard and advanced SB 1080 without amendment, then moved into new business. A major portion of the meeting focused on HB 3618, which would limit invasive group strip searches of female inmates in TDCJ facilities. Formerly incarcerated women and advocates testified in support, describing humiliation, trauma, barriers to programming, and arguing that searches were often ineffective and that contraband more often comes from staff. TDCJ’s resource witness said the agency has looked at technology such as millimeter scanners and is in the process of placing them in facilities, while the bill sponsor said the measure would preserve searches in emergencies and require female officers when women are unclothed. HB 3618 was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4515 on expanding orders of nondisclosure, with the author saying the committee substitute would narrow the bill to marijuana possession only; supporters from Alliance for Safety and Justice and Right on Crime argued it would improve reentry and public safety, while members asked about eligibility and related offenses. HB 1826, requiring depression screenings for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated women, drew support from women’s health advocates and formerly incarcerated witnesses; the bill was left pending. HB 1969, to help people leaving prison renew or obtain driver’s licenses, and HB 2708, expanding nondisclosure eligibility for certain misdemeanor convictions, were also laid out and left pending. Later, the committee heard HB 2729, which would bar hearsay evidence in hearings on violations of release conditions, and SB 1021, which would make stalking convictions ineligible for community supervision and add related victim-protection provisions; both were left pending. SB 1610, addressing civil commitment facility safety, sex offender registration, and penalties for assaults on staff, drew strong opposition from civil commitment residents, family members, and civil rights advocates who argued it was punitive and raised due process concerns; the resource witness said assaults had increased and explained the civil commitment process and existing legal safeguards. Finally, HB 4764 would require TDCJ to report detailed annual data on restrictive housing; supporters said the bill would improve transparency around solitary confinement, and the committee left it pending before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• It not only aims to provide justice for those who have fallen victim to occupational cancer, but also
• It not only aims to provide justice for those who have fallen victim to occupational cancer, but also
• , a community, a school, whatever person, a community, a school, whatever that<00:35:06.040><c> may</
• On line eight, Office of Justice Programs, House File 3946, the Domestic Violence Task Force.
• </c> Executive Director of Office of Justice Executive Director of Office of Justice Programs<01:03:48.320

Bills: HF4446 , HF4066 , HF1082

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Keywords: public safety officer, survivor benefits, line of duty death, occupational cancer, firefighter, police officer, paramedic, EMT, correctional officer, first responder, workers' compensation, death benefits, occupational exposure, carcinogen, cancer presumption, mesothelioma, leukemia, lung cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

Transcript Highlights:

• Are there any other persons Thank you.
• Are there any other persons want<00:07:39.919><c> to</c><00:07:39.960><c> testify</c><00:07:40.400><c
• Representative Witty, I see you have one more person back there. Is she wanting to testify?
• Is she wanting more person back there. Is she wanting to<00:20:57.920><c> testify?</c> to testify?
• involved in the juvenile justice system involved in the juvenile justice system and<00:29:37.680><c>

Bills: HF4810 , HF4597 , HF1082 , HF3230

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Keywords: public safety, radio communications, infrastructure funding, county funding, interoperability, ARMER network, local jurisdictions, HF4597, Minnesota public safety, emergency dispatch, emergency communications, public safety appropriation, Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, PSAP, dispatch interoperability, real-time coordination, emergency response coordination, cross-jurisdictional response, 911 center awareness platform, general fund grant

Transcript Highlights:

• I've been a Justice of the Peace for 25 years.
• Like it's a DACA person. So there's a big gray area.
• and the person who trafficked me.
• The person I'm trafficking and the person who trafficked me.
• There's a daisy chain between the person who trafficked me and the person I'm trafficking as part of

Bills: SB1099 , SB1896 , SB1980 , SB127 , SB614 , SB955 , SB1278 , SB1372 , SB1936 , SB1937 , SB2580 , SB2595 , SB2798

Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence

Keywords: SB 1099, illegal alien, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized immigrant, immigration status, felony sentencing enhancement, criminal penalty increase, Texas Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, affirmative finding, judgment finding, deportation, public safety, immigration enforcement, sentencing reform, felony offense, first-degree felony, minimum sentence, Criminal Justice, Criminal Jurisprudence

Summary: The Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence met with a quorum and heard a series of Senate bills, generally receiving sponsor explanations and, in most cases, no public testimony. SB 2595 would create a Class B misdemeanor for harassing, threatening, or intimidating someone while intentionally concealing identity with a mask, with broad affirmative defenses for legitimate mask use; SB 1980 would increase penalties for assaulting peace officers, parole officers, and community supervision officers and add related presumptions and interference protections; and SB 1896 would require magistrates to issue emergency protective orders in certain family violence, sexual assault, stalking, and aggravated cases, with law enforcement required to provide needed information. All three were left pending. The committee also heard SB 955, which increases trafficking of persons from a second-degree to a first-degree felony when the victim was recruited from a correctional facility, and SB 614, which would let the Texas Forensic Science Commission refer dismissed complaints to the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs when they reference a prior FSC report; both were left pending. Members then heard several forensic and criminal procedure bills. SB 1372 would resolve a discovery/access conflict involving the DPS crime lab portal by limiting portal access to defense attorneys rather than defendants directly, prompting questions from members about access for pro se defendants; DPS’s chief crime lab witness testified neutrally. SB 1936 would change the LSD “abuse unit” definition for unmarked/unperforated paper from a square-measurement method to a 10-milligram weight standard, and SB 1937 would require a subject matter expert from the testing lab to participate in pretrial meetings in capital cases involving biological evidence to help identify viable testing and conserve resources. SB 2580 would lower the population threshold for sheriff’s departments to independently use tracking equipment and access certain communications from 3.3 million to 500,000, expanding the authority beyond Harris County; it was described as a public safety and emergency response measure and left pending. The committee also considered SB 2798, which would extend the statute of limitations for certain financial crimes from three years to seven years, with testimony from a Montgomery County assistant district attorney supporting the change because fraud is often discovered late. SB 1099 would increase penalties for felony offenses committed by undocumented or unauthorized aliens, but drew strong opposition from the Texas Civil Rights Project, which argued immigration is a federal matter and that the bill would create difficult and potentially unfair status determinations for local courts; members raised concerns about the lack of an expert-testimony requirement. SB 1278 would create an affirmative defense to prostitution prosecution for trafficking victims compelled by their traffickers to commit the conduct, and testimony from advocates and a member’s personal account emphasized the coercive, traumatic nature of trafficking; members discussed whether the defense should be narrower or framed as mitigation, and the bill was left pending. Finally, SB 127 would extend the statute of limitations for failure to report or conceal child abuse, with members discussing mandatory reporting duties and the need to allow more time for delayed discovery of cover-ups; it too was left pending before the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> informed by by Office of Justice informed by by Office of Justice Programs<00:09:56.760><c> that
• </c> justice journey. justice journey.
• And the number of Justice Programs.
• I want to pass it off to Dave with his personal story. Dave Anderson.
• </c> with his personal story. with his personal story. Dave<00:51:04.680><c> Anderson.

Bills: HF1082 , HF2099 , HF4177 , HF2742

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Keywords: public safety, law enforcement, mental health, domestic violence, appropriations, criminal justice, Minnesota corrections, victim services, task force, personal safety, emergency management, local government, funding, preparedness, Minnesota, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA, Independent Use of Force Investigations Unit, use of force, police accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll try and help you get your money from the person that rent it."
• We'll try and help you get your money from the person that rent it."
• We'll try and help you get your money from the person that rent it."
• We'll try and help you get your money from the person that rent it."
• We'll try and help you get your money from the person that rent it."

Bills: HB300 , HB40 , SB19 , HB283 , HB179 , HB296 , HB300 , HB40 , SB19 , HB283 , HB179 , HB296

Committee: House Insurance

Keywords: HB300, Choctaw County, probate court, probate judge, recording fee, filing fee, deed tax, mortgage tax, deeds, mortgages, property records, recordation, county local act, local legislation, technology upgrades, digitalization of records, recordkeeping, county treasury, special fund, court administration

Transcript Highlights:

• Remember, this is a person who's arrested. This is not a person who's been charged.
• And I do feel, in my personal opinion, that those individuals who And I do feel, in my personal opinion
• Restorative justice is where this might fit in.
• That person would have been retried.
• And while a person may vote not to convict a person for a lot of different reasons, jury nullification

Bills: HCR50 , HB123 , HB219 , HB251 , HB404 , HB769 , HB1065 , SB58 , SB81 , SB92 , SB97 , SB141 , SB156 , SB181 , SB207 , SB396 , SB410

Committee: House Administration of Criminal Justice

Keywords: electronic monitoring, GPS ankle monitor, ankle bracelet, pretrial release, post-conviction supervision, bail monitoring, house arrest, corrections, criminal justice, law enforcement, prosecuting authority, court reporting, provider registration, LCLE, Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, data privacy, personal information, cybersecurity, confidentiality, monitoring violations

Transcript Highlights:

• Personally, I first became familiar with...
• Personal information is getting used.
• It should necessarily follow that the power to deprive a person of their right to be free person of his
• Recklessness is presumed if a person not only pointed a firearm at another, whether or not the person
• The next person on the list is, would it be?

Bills: HB2034 , HB2436 , HB3010 , HB3033 , HB3138 , HB3177 , HB3426 , HB3686 , HB3858 , HB4176 , HB4257 , HB4264 , HB4804 , HCR98

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Keywords: groundwater, foreign ownership, national security, water permits, environmental health, deadly conduct, firearm, recklessness, peace officer, prosecution, Penal Code, Texas laws, disaster recovery, infrastructure, rural communities, grants, state funding, emergency management, HB 3033, Texas Department of Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• The first person on the list testimony.
• </c><00:31:57.120><c> system</c> We don't have or want a justice system We don't have or want a justice
• </c> to maintain that justice system. to maintain that justice system.
• Uh, the next person on the testimony.
• The next person is Aaron testimony.

Bills: HF4207 , HF4338

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Keywords: housing aid, local housing trust, funding projects, income provisions, technical changes, human services, medical assistance, Medicaid, provider enrollment, provider revalidation, fraud prevention, program integrity, background study, background check, fingerprinting, licensing, license revocation, payment withholding, payment suspension, prepayment review

Transcript Highlights:

• of which the person is actually innocent may file a claim for compensation.
• So now that person runs the risk of going into foreclosure.
• Representative Walsh: The criminal justice division has other tools at its disposal.
• But today, I want to explain why it's hard on our democracy to crowd justice.
• When there are not enough judges, the choices are between delayed justice or rushed justice.

Bills: SB5536 , SB5868 , SJM8006 , SB6011

Committee: House Civil Rights & Judiciary

Keywords: divorce, dissolution, marriage, domestic partnership, property division, real property, community property, separate property, liabilities, family law, equitable distribution, court order, personal jurisdiction, absent spouse, absent domestic partner, creditors, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, home equity, family home

Transcript Highlights:

• Today is April 23, 2026, and this is the hearing of the Criminal Justice Committee. Mr.
• And good morning, Senator Myers, is this your first time in Criminal Justice?
• Background checks on licensed ambulance personnel and non-licensed persons.
• But if the person is really, and I had a conversation with Mr.
• It is very deeply personal, and it has real life-and-death consequences.

Bills: HB91 , HB123 , HB167 , HB255 , HB264 , HB321 , HB884 , HB955 , HB967 , HB968 , HB969 , HB978 , HB985 , HB994 , HB1005 , HB1104 , HB1107 , HB1109 , SCR3

Committee: House Administration of Criminal Justice

Keywords: criminal procedure, disclosure, criminal records, witness protection, trial rights, electronic monitoring, GPS ankle monitor, ankle bracelet, pretrial release, post-conviction supervision, bail monitoring, house arrest, corrections, criminal justice, law enforcement, prosecuting authority, court reporting, provider registration, LCLE, Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• I serve as a justice of the peace in Harris County, Texas, as well as President of the Justices of the
• There's no. justice.
• Online does. 99 or 100% of them were in person. Oh in person not online. Correct.
• I personally believe this.
• I'm personally involved with this litigation where the Chief Justice for the Amarillo Court of Appeal

Bills: HB 1181 , HB3704 , HB1363 , HB1610 , HB1615 , HB1620 , HB3223 , HB1317 , HB2884 , HB2176 , HB4027 , HB1664 , HB933 , HB2613 , HB3353 , HB2086 , HB4101 , HB3441 , HB4145 , HB3455

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: judiciary, judges, justices, retired, legal assignments, judicial conduct, notary public, criminal offense, education requirements, official documents, record retention, implicit bias, bias training, judicial training, judge education, court personnel, continuing legal education, CLE, state bar, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Judiciary and Civil Justice will come to order. The clerk will call the roll.
• Person Leach, in your absence, and Vice Chair, Madam.
• community-driven organization dedicated to advancing justice and equity in Texas.
• Again, this doesn't make you a bad person; it just makes you a person.
• The council contacted interested persons and distributed preliminary drafts of this bill to those persons

Bills: HB 1181 , HB3704 , HB1363 , HB1610 , HB1615 , HB1620 , HB3223 , HB1317 , HB2884 , HB2176 , HB4027 , HB1664 , HB933 , HB2613 , HB3353 , HB2086 , HB4101 , HB3441 , HB4145 , HB3455

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: judiciary, judges, justices, retired, legal assignments, judicial conduct, notary public, criminal offense, education requirements, official documents, record retention, implicit bias, bias training, judicial training, judge education, court personnel, continuing legal education, CLE, state bar, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Transcript Highlights:

• Released on personal bond.
• I have personally attended an in-person notary course where a significant portion of the course was spent
• the damages are to that person.
• And so if the person collecting the money didn't give all of the money to the person, would that fall
• The person who harmed them.

Bills: HB5621 , HB4904 , HB5067 , HB5076 , HB5081 , HB5354 , HB4862 , HB3847 , HB4088 , HB4157 , HB2966 , HB2287 , HB4203 , HB4803 , HB4737 , HB5093 , HB783 , HB5411 , HB4281

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: HB 5621, consumer protection, Deceptive Trade Practices Act, DTPA, Business & Commerce Code, attorney general, consumer protection division, district attorney, county attorney, local prosecutor, civil investigative demand, CID, voluntary compliance, financial institution records, bank records, privacy, protective order, in camera review, trade secrets, insurer

Transcript Highlights:

• can look into, and that is the issuance or clarification of titles for motor vehicles or otherwise personal
• movable personal property.

Bills: HB2650 , HB2696 , HB3177 , HB3264 , HB3298 , HB3321 , HB3322 , HB3497 , HB3499 , HB3500 , HB3742 , HB3845 , HB3941 , HB3970 , HB3980 , HB3981 , HB4421

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: probate, estate administration, summary administration, decedent, inheritance, open records, educational records, cybersecurity, student privacy, confidential information, court reporters, salaries, legislation, employment compensation, state administration, Oklahoma, criminal justice, minimum sentences, parole eligibility, violent crimes

Transcript Highlights:

• Keep looking to figure out what's wrong with this person. OK, that's all.
• Personal data, you know, all the things.
• We have vetted this person.
• They say, oh, this person has always presented as.
• I mean, they see you all the time, you're the same. person.

Bills: HB713 , HB827 , HB932 , HB499 , HB510 , HB163 , HB296 , HB879 , HB913 , HB163 , HB296

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: healthcare, maternal health, reporting requirements, Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, health provider immunity, workplace violence, nurses, grant program, healthcare facilities, safety measures, safety, nursing, grants, healthcare safety, verbal abuse, physical abuse, nurse empowerment, occupational therapy, licensure, interstate practice