Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:07.360><c> auditor</c> studied the office of the state auditor studied the office of the state
• </c><00:22:47.720><c> of</c> revenue for the state of revenue for the state of Minnesota<00:22:49.400
• state state government<00:28:04.519><c> so</c><00:28:04.760><c> quickly</c><00:28:05.519><c> um</c><
• </c><00:28:23.200><c> of</c> management and budget on the state of management and budget on the state
• First, there are operating adjustments for state agencies.

Bills: HF3

Keywords: legislative auditor, reporting, accountability, state finance, executive agency oversight, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Now we have to be really thoughtful about our relationships with our agencies and our state entities.
• He added that the office must be thoughtful about its relationships with agencies and state entities,
• He emphasized that the office must be careful with its relationships with agencies and state entities
• state work with agencies the fu of the state work with agencies at<00:49:44.920><c> times</c><00:49:45.319
• at 7% the first year the clearly State at 7% the first year the agency<00:52:07.079><c> said</c><00:

Bills: HF3

Keywords: legislative auditor, reporting, accountability, state finance, executive agency oversight, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1273 creates the Oklahoma State Agency Board and Commission Review Task Force.
• agencies, boards, and commissions.
• My understanding of this bill is that it's basically wanting the various state agencies to make public
• This bill ensures that state agencies cannot quietly regulate Oklahomans through guidance documents that
• Other states, by the way, are doing this.

Bills: HJR1032, SB1273, SB1433

Keywords: HJR1032, House Joint Resolution 1032, Service Oklahoma, administrative rules, rule repeal, joint resolution, Oklahoma Administrative Code, OAC 670:15-1-10, OAC 670:15-1-14, agency regulation, legislative oversight, Secretary of State, Oklahoma Register, rulemaking, permanent rules, administrative code, state government, task force, agency review, board review

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1273 creates the Oklahoma State Agency, Board, and Commission Review Task Force.
• agencies, boards, and commissions.
• My understanding on this bill is that it's basically wanting the various state agencies to make public
• This bill ensures that state agencies cannot quietly regulate Oklahomans through guidance documents that
• Other states, by the way, are doing this.

Bills: HJR1032, SB1273, SB1433

Keywords: HJR1032, House Joint Resolution 1032, Service Oklahoma, administrative rules, rule repeal, joint resolution, Oklahoma Administrative Code, OAC 670:15-1-10, OAC 670:15-1-14, agency regulation, legislative oversight, Secretary of State, Oklahoma Register, rulemaking, permanent rules, administrative code, state government, task force, agency review, board review

Summary: The Senate Administrative Rules Committee met to discuss upcoming rule-review packets and then considered three measures sponsored by Senator Bergstrom. Chairman Bergstrom said the committee’s first packet covered judiciary rules, a second packet on education would follow, and members were expected to review the materials and raise questions so agencies could provide written responses. Senate Bill 1273 created the Oklahoma State Agency, Board, and Commission Review Task Force to examine the efficiency, effectiveness, and necessity of state agencies, boards, and commissions and recommend legislative action. Members asked about overlap with existing committee work and whether the task force would require staff or create a fiscal impact. Bergstrom said it would use existing House and Senate staff and should have no fiscal impact. The bill passed 9-0. Senate Bill 1433, the Guidance Transparency Act, would require state agencies to publicly disclose guidance documents, memos, bulletins, and similar materials in a searchable database so they cannot function as undisclosed rules. Bergstrom said the measure was intended to prevent agencies from regulating through unofficial guidance and that the governor’s office and Secretary of State supported it. After questions about staffing and whether agencies could evade disclosure, the bill passed 7-2. House Joint Resolution 1032 would align Service Oklahoma rules with existing law and prior executive action regarding changes to birth certificates and state IDs related to sex or gender identity changes; Bergstrom said the rules, not statutes, were being moved. It passed 7-2. The meeting ended with Bergstrom urging members to review the rule packets and submit questions before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• /c><00:10:38.480><c> designate</c><00:10:38.800><c> a</c> state agencies um need to designate a state
• </c> the operations of state agencies. the operations of state agencies.
• state agency knew of If MMB or another state agency knew of specific<00:32:13.039><c> fraudulent</c><
• our state agencies.
• </c><01:26:07.280><c> agencies</c> withholding authority for state agencies withholding authority for

Bills: HF3676, HF3683, HF3395

Keywords: Safe at Home, address confidentiality, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, victim privacy, survivor protection, confidential address, protected address, secret address, identity protection, residential confidentiality, program participant, nondiscrimination, court disclosure, protective order, service of process, driver's license, state ID

Transcript Highlights:

• The program for school district local accountability plans and actions challenging Texas Education Agency
• From an accountability perspective, the bill requires the rules by the agency for A through F to be set
• First, on accountability.
• multiple states.
• Most states that use a criterion-referenced summative assessment use that for accountability purposes

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• Be encouraged to help school accountability by first focusing on state accountability.
• Focus on the state becoming accountable for its lawful responsibilities in governing education and serving
• Into account in our accountability system.
• The accountability system in our state is incredibly important so that parents have the information that
• education and agency decisions related to public school accountability.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• Education Agency decisions related to public school accountability.
• From an accountability perspective, the bill requires the rules by the agency for A through F to be set
• committees for assessment and accountability in multiple states.
• Most states that use a criterion-referenced summative assessment use that for accountability purposes
• 622 advisory committees for assessment and accountability in multiple states.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Summary: The House Committee on Public Education met to hear House Bill 8, which would replace STAAR with a new assessment and accountability system beginning in the 2027-28 school year. The chair described the bill as reducing testing time, limiting benchmark tests, adding beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments, requiring faster score turnaround, involving Texas teachers in test development, and tightening accountability timelines and transparency rules. Members also discussed provisions on A-F ratings, cut scores, CCMR, local accountability plans, and TEA reporting requirements. Committee members and invited witnesses split sharply on the bill’s approach. Supporters, including the chair, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, and Ed Trust’s Nicholas Munyon Penny, argued the bill would reduce high-stakes pressure, provide quicker and more actionable data, limit over-testing, and better align assessments to Texas standards while preserving criterion-referenced accountability. They said the new system would help teachers and parents intervene sooner and would improve transparency, including parent access to student responses and automatic rescoring in some writing cases. Opponents, including Rep. Hinojosa and student witness Ella Moran, argued the bill still increases testing and replaces one high-stakes test with multiple TEA-created tests. Moran testified that STAAR creates anxiety, disrupts instruction, and does not reflect real learning, while Hinojosa said the House had previously passed a better bill based on a nationally norm-referenced model and criticized the new proposal as a concession to the Senate. Questions also focused on AI scoring of writing, rescoring rates, and whether the bill’s new accountability rules would be reliable and fair. The committee did not take a final vote during the portion provided, but the chair said a vote on HB 8 would be called after public testimony later in the day.

Transcript Highlights:

• These so-called section 1983 claims have helped provide accountability for local and state actors when
• </c><00:58:00.720><c> agencies,</c> it would require state agencies, it would require state agencies,
• And so you would not likely see federal agencies agree to do that, which means that state and local authorities
• to agree to abide any uh federal agency to agree to abide by<01:04:37.599><c> state</c><01:04:37.920
• I'm troubled by the use of data collected by one agency for a stated purpose now being accessed by another

Bills: HF3477, HF3414, HF103, HF3661, HF3146

Keywords: civil rights, law enforcement, federal collaboration, accountability, state law, constitutional rights, color of law, 42 U.S.C. 1983, section 1983, civil action, damages, injunctive relief, attorney fees, law enforcement task force, federal-state cooperation, intergovernmental agreement, federal agency partnership, Minnesota Constitution, U.S. Constitution, police accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• Devon Bruce: We are a union of over 18,500 state workers across all agencies, boards, and commissions
• </c> agencies that were defrauding the state agencies that were defrauding the state of<01:02:26.240>
• </c><01:22:03.800><c> agencies</c><01:22:04.719><c> um</c> to law enforcement for state agencies um to
• law enforcement for state agencies um the<01:22:05.360><c> OA</c><01:22:05.840><c> already</c><01:22
• agency oversight of requiring state agency oversight of nonprofit nonprofit nonprofit compensation<01

Bills: HF1, HF2

Keywords: Office of Inspector General, inspector general, legislative audit, fraud prevention, waste and abuse, public funds, grant oversight, state grants, grant management, whistleblower protection, retaliation, subpoena power, data practices, government transparency, accountability, law enforcement referrals, sanctions, debarment, payment withholding, public assistance fraud

Transcript Highlights:

• Are there functions that are being removed from agencies with this change?
• If you look on page two, that is clarified as a state officer or employee.
• Without this bill, if this action were to happen, an agency director or agency leadership taking a job
• pensions. ...resolutions came from Republican-managed state pensions.
• There was a working group from the House that was called the State Spending and Accountability Working

Bills: HB3057, HB3279, HB4428, HB3420

Keywords: government reporting, information technology, child welfare, environmental policy, state agency compliance, employment restrictions, state officers, prohibited acts, government contracts, public service, public finance, pension, pension fund, retirement system, board of trustees, proxy voting, proxy proposal, shareholder vote, shareholder activism, fiduciary duty

Summary: The Senate Committee on Retirement and Insurance met and first passed House Bill 3057, which removes obsolete statutorily required reports identified in a Loft review to streamline agency reporting requirements. Senator Kirt asked whether any agency functions were being eliminated, and Senator Rader said some reporting-related functions would no longer be required, citing the organized retail crime task force final report as an example. The bill passed 7-0. The committee then unanimously confirmed Marla Tharp to another four-year term on the Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma, with members discussing her service, the system’s unfunded liability, and her long career in school administration. After that, House Bill 3279 passed 9-0. That measure raises the conflict-of-interest certification threshold to contracts of $25,000 or more, bars involved officers or employees from taking jobs with the winning contractor for one year, and clarifies that another person may sign for a director. Senators asked how broadly the restriction applies and whether the change addressed existing loopholes. House Bill 4428 also passed, 7-2, after debate and amendment. The bill directs pension boards and proxy advisors to focus on pecuniary factors in investment and proxy voting decisions, while limiting reliance on non-pecuniary considerations unless they affect financial risk or return. Amendments added language requiring entities to be headquartered and operate in the United States and aligned the bill’s investment-purpose language with existing statute. Senator Kirt opposed the measure, arguing it could unduly limit long-term considerations and proxy voting. Finally, House Bill 3420 passed 8-0. Described as part of a bipartisan effort informed by the state auditor and Loft, it makes several changes to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, including limiting pilot procurement testing to one year, removing flex benefit plan acquisitions from certain bidding exemptions, clarifying that professional services need not be bid, and posting sole-source and sole-brand reports on the OMES website instead of sending them to legislative leadership. Senators questioned several deletions and additions, and the author said the bill was intended to clean up procurement rules and reduce opportunities for waste or abuse.

Transcript Highlights:

• Bill Pulte, the nominee to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, failed to assure us that he would
• William Polte to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Keywords: nomination, Senator Warren, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Undersecretary of Commerce, accountability, oversight

Summary: The committee convened to discuss several nominations, notably for key positions including the directors of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Undersecretary of Commerce. Senator Warren raised significant concerns during her opposition to all four nominees, citing their failure to provide satisfactory answers regarding their qualifications and policy perspectives. She expressed particular alarm over Jonathan McKernan's ties to external influences and Jeffrey Kessler's hesitance to acknowledge geopolitical threats, leading to discussions about accountability in nominations and oversight. The votes resulted in a mixed outcome, with some nominees being approved while others faced substantial opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are there functions that are being removed from agencies with this change?
• If you look on page two, that is clarified as a state officer employee.
• Without this bill, if this action were to happen, an agency director or agency leadership taking a job
• Agencies, so having it at $25,000 makes it much simpler.
• There was a working group from the House that was called the State Pending and Accountability Group.

Bills: HB3057, HB3279, HB4428, HB3420

Keywords: government reporting, information technology, child welfare, environmental policy, state agency compliance, employment restrictions, state officers, prohibited acts, government contracts, public service, public finance, pension, pension fund, retirement system, board of trustees, proxy voting, proxy proposal, shareholder vote, shareholder activism, fiduciary duty

Transcript Highlights:

• Sometimes they also have to notify other state agencies.
• So a rule— and I'm going to state this and see if you know about this—but a rule means a state agency
• And so any state agency rule can restrict freedom.
• Current law also states that state agencies shall develop procedures for use in achieving a management-to-staff
• We also gathered input from about 46 state agencies.

Bills: HB565, HB3743, HB4310, HB5083, HB5129, HB5195, HB5331, HB5469, SB21, HB3185, SB 21

Keywords: constitutional amendment, fiscal impact, state budget, ballot measure, transparency in voting, management-to-staff ratio, state agencies, employee regulations, government efficiency, workforce management, public information, governing board, transparency, confidentiality, access rights, privacy, identifying information, state agency, consent, occupational license

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• to state agencies.
• were too burdensome for that state agency to put into place.
• The state agency does not provide this information.
• This is just for state agencies. So the state agency will put this information together.
• However, Texas law still references the outdated standards and also requires state agencies, state agency

Bills: HB512, HB2248, HB2679, HB2832, HB3112, HB3368, HB3490, HB3512, HB3623, HB3666, HB3700, HB3711, HB3770, HB3963

Keywords: grievance procedures, state agency, employee rights, workplace regulations, employment law, employees, employment actions, appeal, state employees, workplace rights, disciplinary actions, employment conditions, employment disputes, job protections, public information, transparency, government accountability, information access, notification requirements, federal funding

Transcript Highlights:

• between the public and state. agencies.
• Work is a benefit for agency workers and one that allows TCEQ and other state agencies to recruit competitive
• There is a wealth of information available about state agencies.
• There are over five state auditor reports pertaining to state agencies.
• All this information has to do with the quality and and the productivity of state agencies and state

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

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

Transcript Highlights:

• I've got really interested in, um, what our bee, our honey producers and our beekeepers do across the state
• I would say that probably works really well for most of our state, but the state's very diverse, um,
• And so the forage varies around the state.
• It's been very helpful to our bees and our beekeepers across the state.
• So all of that can be controlled for the whole state of Texas through what you all submit.

Bills: HB148, HB203, HJR30

Keywords: HB 148, Texas Education Code, Texas Education Agency, TEA, artificial intelligence, AI, machine learning, automated scoring, constructed response, open-ended answers, student assessments, state testing, standardized tests, public schools, education policy, assessment instruments, school accountability, test scoring, 2026-2027 school year, ad valorem tax

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• government agencies and the people who rely on those state funds.
• government agencies and the people who rely on those state funds.
• government agencies and the people who rely on those state funds.
• government agencies and the people who rely on those state funds.
• government agencies and the people who rely on those state funds.

Bills: HF1, HF98

Keywords: Office of Inspector General, inspector general, legislative audit, fraud prevention, waste and abuse, public funds, grant oversight, state grants, grant management, whistleblower protection, retaliation, subpoena power, data practices, government transparency, accountability, law enforcement referrals, sanctions, debarment, payment withholding, public assistance fraud

Transcript Highlights:

• the law to kind of codify that to give people regulatory confidence and get people outside of our states
• interested in Alabama and seeing it as a crypto-friendly state.
• It also stated that the tobacco industry has designed, engineered, and marketed menthol cigarettes and
• In our annual state of tobacco control report, Alabama received an FS. control report, Alabama received
• Because that would not be a severe cut to a lot of agencies or what have you. ...to a lot of agencies

Bills: SB282, SB300, HB72, HB396, SB282, SB300, HB72, HB396

Keywords: virtual currency, cryptocurrency, tax exemption, state tax law, digital assets, ad valorem tax, tangible personal property, business incentives, economic impact, firefighter, license plate, fees, funds distribution, support programs, memorial, disabled veterans, property tax exemption, debt-to-income ratio, homestead, veterans affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a bill to make sure that state governments and agencies, state entities, don't use state funds
• That's not the purview of these state agencies. You're recognized. Thank you.
• That's not the purview of these state agencies. You're recognized. Thank you.
• description of agency, this is agency board commission department or other state government entities.
• So would you be okay with state agencies using funds to target folks who might have autism?

Bills: HB3415, HB2206, HB3414, HB3265, HB3310, HB3413, HB4486, HB1219

Keywords: state government, vendor contracts, subcontracting, public database, contract assessment, transparency, retirement, law enforcement, Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, school resource officers, public safety, public finance, contract management, service-driven contracts, state accounting, intangible assets, Oklahoma Police Pension, disability benefits, mental health, retirement system

Summary: The Senate Committee on Retirement and Government Resources met with a quorum and first took up two executive nominations for Ben Lepak, one to serve as Secretary of State and one to serve in the governor’s cabinet. Lepak described the Secretary of State office’s work on business filings, recordkeeping, and initiative petitions, and said the office’s career staff handled those duties well. Senators asked about fairness in the initiative petition process and administrative rules; Lepak emphasized transparency and ministerial, nonpolitical administration. Both nominations advanced on 8-0 votes. The committee then considered several House bills tied largely to government transparency and purchasing oversight. House Bill 3415 would require state entities to report contracts and subcontractors, include performance metrics, publicly post contracts and assessments, and document consultant outcomes; it passed 8-0 despite concerns about a $2 million fiscal impact and added OMES workload. House Bill 3414 would require OMES to identify whether contracts are service-based and create a digital warehouse for intangible assets; it passed 6-0. House Bill 3310 would authorize OMES payment-procedure rules, require invoice legitimacy checks and a 60-day payment window, and create compliance reporting with possible budget recommendations for noncompliance; it passed 7-0 after questions about appeals and penalties. House Bill 3413, requiring agencies to include more detail on contractors and consultants in annual budget submissions, also passed 7-0. The committee also approved House Bill 2206, which moves new school resource officers into a law-enforcement retirement system rather than teacher retirement, with testimony that it would help recruit officers and would apply only to new hires; it passed 6-0. House Bill 3265, which expands who can make PTSD disability determinations for first responders to include psychologists and certain licensed mental health professionals, passed 7-0 after discussion of psychiatrist shortages and concerns about diagnostic standards. House Bill 4486, authorizing a Gold Star monument at the Capitol funded by private donations, passed 7-0. Finally, House Bill 1219, barring state agencies and schools from using state funds or resources to promote LGBTQ or Pride Month events or fly the Pride flag, generated extensive debate over its impact on outreach, public health, education, and LGBTQ Oklahomans; it passed 5-2 and the committee adjourned with notice of a larger agenda the following week.