Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins

Maddy summaryHB 307 establishes training and credentialing requirements for emergency management personnel in Texas. It directly affects elected or appointed officials (like county judges or law enforcement officers) and emergency management coordinators in counties with over 500,000 residents who handle emergency responsibilities. The bill requires the state division to develop training courses covering the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and emergency response skills, along with a credentialing system that mandates ongoing continuing education in areas like disaster coordination, mass casualty management, and region-specific hazards. This system tracks completion of required training hours, verifies background checks, and confirms identity for credential renewal.

Maddy summaryHB 211 requires youth camps and entities providing high-risk activities for minors to develop and submit emergency preparedness plans to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Camp operators must post emergency information, coordinate with local emergency services, maintain real-time communication capabilities, and ensure clear access routes for responders. The bill authorizes civil penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. It directly affects all licensed youth camps and organizations offering high-risk activities to minors in Texas. These provisions aim to standardize emergency response readiness across such facilities.

Maddy summaryHB 185 establishes new rules for Texas first responders' emergency communication networks. It requires the state department to select a broadband provider with statewide coverage (including disaster-prone areas) for its own employees, maintain a public database of providers showing service areas and reliability, and submit annual reports to lawmakers on costs, network effectiveness during emergencies, and usage data. Non-department first responders may receive assistance from the department in securing or renewing these services. The bill mandates regular reporting on network performance to improve emergency communication resilience.

Maddy summaryHB 147 requires Texas to develop a statewide real-time emergency communications platform to improve coordination among agencies during disasters. The bill mandates that the platform integrate mapping, alerts, resource tracking, and plain-language communication tools accessible to state, regional, and local emergency responders. It specifically requires the platform to work with existing state and federal systems and be incorporated into all local and state emergency management plans. The bill grants access to the platform for key entities including counties, municipalities, state agencies like the Texas Department of Public Safety, and regional emergency councils.

Maddy summaryHB 121, the Flood Victims Memorial Plaques Act, requires the Texas Historical Commission to install commemorative plaques in each impacted Texas House district honoring victims of the 2025 Hill Country flood. The Commission must work with local governments, families of victims, and communities to select locations and determine plaque content, which must include the flood dates and may list victim names and ages. This bill directly affects families of flood victims and communities in districts impacted by the 2025 flood. The plaques serve as permanent memorials to the event, with implementation beginning 91 days after the legislative session ends.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the State Preservation Board to install repeater systems on the Capitol grounds to improve communication for first responders during natural disasters or emergencies. The repeaters would boost radio and public safety network signals in hard-to-reach areas like elevators, parking garages, the Capitol basement, and the Capitol extension. The State Preservation Board may use existing funds to implement this without needing new appropriations. The bill takes effect 91 days after the legislative session ends.

Maddy summaryHB 413 would have limited pretrial detention for defendants charged with Class B misdemeanors or more serious offenses, preventing jail stays longer than the maximum sentence they could receive if convicted. It required courts to calculate whether a defendant’s cumulative time in jail before trial exceeded the potential sentence for their offense, mandating release if it did. Exceptions included defendants undergoing competency evaluations or subject to Chapter 46B commitment orders. The bill was vetoed by the governor on June 22, 2025, and never took effect.

Maddy summarySB 22 establishes the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund to provide financial support for film and television productions filmed in Texas. It requires the Music, Film, Television, and Multimedia Office to deny grants for projects containing "inappropriate content" or portraying Texas/Texans "in a negative fashion," while also prohibiting grants for pornography, news programming, religious content, non-commercial projects, and state advertising. The bill explicitly lists ineligible project types, including political ads, sporting events, and video games used in gambling. It creates a dedicated funding mechanism for eligible productions and authorizes the Office to administer grants using money from the incentive fund or other approved sources. The law directly affects production companies seeking financial support for qualifying Texas-based film and TV projects.

Maddy summaryHB 4226 exempts nonprofit food banks and specific housing providers from Texas state sales, use, and rental taxes on motor vehicles they purchase, use, or rent. It directly affects food banks (as defined in Section 162.001) and housing providers serving homeless individuals with disabilities who meet strict criteria (continuously homeless for 1+ year or four homelessness episodes in 3 years). The bill adds new Tax Code sections requiring vehicles to be used "primarily" for the organization's core services. This exemption applies only to vehicles acquired on or after its September 1, 2025 effective date. The law was signed by the Governor on June 20, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 694 requires the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to notify specific individuals about significant events involving children in their conservatorship. It mandates DFPS to provide a 24-hour notice to parents and their attorneys about medical changes, initial psychotropic medications, or placement changes, and a 48-hour notice before moving a child to a new residential facility. The bill also requires prompt notification (within 48 hours) of significant events to parents, attorneys, foster parents, volunteer advocates, and other designated individuals with a legal interest in the child’s welfare. This law directly affects parents, foster caregivers, child welfare advocates, and DFPS staff by establishing clear timing and recipients for critical notifications. The bill became effective September 1, 2025, after being signed by the Governor on June 20, 2025.