Current Articles for August 14, 2025

The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. Each week, librarians select and abstract articles of interest to the legislature from the latest issues of over 300 journals, newsletters, state documents, and trade publications. Electronic copies of the Current Articles list are distributed to legislative offices each Thursday.

The Legislative Reference Library is located on the second floor of the State Capitol building in Room 2N.3. For more information, please call the Library at 512-463-1252.

• Reading lists: As book ban litigation increases, arguments often involve discrimination versus parental rights. By Eva Fedderly. ABA Journal: The Lawyer's Magazine, August-September 2025, pp. 32-33.
  Discusses increasingly common state legislation focusing on censorship and banning books in public libraries and schools. Outlines related legal precedents and court decisions, and considers some of the ways recent lawsuits have sought to challenge or overturn them.
  See: https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/as-book-ban-litigation-increases-arguments-often-involve ...
  
• Limiting legal remedies for Medicaid prioritizes politics over access to care. By Nicole Huberfeld. American Constitution Society, July 9, 2025, p. 1.
  Analyzes Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the first U.S. Supreme Court case involving access to abortion after the 2024 election, in which a 6-3 majority allowed states to block Medicaid patients from choosing their own health care provider. Argues that the Supreme Court's ruling in Medina ignores Congress’s purpose in adding the free choice of provider provision to Medicaid and gives states significant leeway to regulate medical care beyond abortion. Posits that if states can exclude providers regardless of clinical qualifications, health care quality and access for millions of Americans could be jeopardized.
  See: https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/limiting-legal-remedies-for-medicaid-prioritizes-politics-over-ac ...
  Related information at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1275_e2pg.pdf
  
• State and local policymakers should advance policies prioritizing stability and dignity to solve homelessness. By Mari Castaldi. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 6, 2025, pp. 1-5.
  Argues for increasing affordable housing as a way to address homelessness, rather than enacting more punitive policies like camping bans, fines for sleeping outside, and removing federal funding and legal protections for people experiencing homelessness.
  See: https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/8-6-25hous3.pdf
  
• States should fund rental assistance as a frontline strategy to address the housing affordability crisis. By Mari Castaldi and Urvi Patel. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 6, 2025, pp. 1-15.
  Examines housing affordability and the importance of rental assistance in state policy intervention. Argues there is no "silver bullet" to encourage affordable housing, but that states must simultaneously pursue policies to reign in housing costs, increase housing supply, protect tenants, and resolve homelessness. Identifies 35 states that have at least one state-funded rental assistance program.
  See: https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/8-6-25hous2.pdf
  
• Praise the Lord and produce the ammunition. By Mackenzie Eaglen. National Review, September 2025, pp. 40-42.
  Considers the U.S. capacity for defense manufacturing and compares it to the capacities of China and Russia. Argues for more investment in American defense manufacturing to increase output.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=2d7b22b7-a4ff-3060-9d6a-46d1f626fdb7
  
• The 10th Amendment: The foundation of the Constitution. By Michael Boldin. New American, August 2025, pp. 45-48.
  Relates the purpose of the 10th Amendment and provides a brief history of why it was included in the Bill of Rights.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=58a2aabb-4faa-33fb-bc24-8a26aab8432e
  
• Hiding in plain sight: How local jails obscure and facilitate mass deportation under Trump. By Jacob Kang-Brown. Prison Policy Initiative, July 2025, p. 1.
  Notes that the Trump administration’s mass arrest and deportation agenda is made possible by federal prosecutors, but the prosecutors generally need the collaboration of local jails because in most states, they are the only facilities available for holding people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service. Presents the actual scope of this collaboration—and the true scale of immigrant arrests and detentions—by analyzing ICE arrest data compiled by the Deportation Data Project.
  See: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/jails_immigration.html
  
• Builders brace for material price hikes. By Shay Khan. San Antonio Business Journal, August 1-7, 2025, pp. 16-17.
  Describes how the Trump administration's new tariffs will affect the San Antonio homebuilding industry. Notes that the cost of copper is rising due to a 50 percent tariff, while a 34.45 percent duty on Canadian softwood lumber—up from 14.45 percent—is also having an effect. Concludes that the city's housing market, particularly the luxury segment, may see higher prices and/or scaled-back designs.
• Texas tomato industry warns of supply cliff. By James McCandless. San Antonio Business Journal, August 1-7, 2025, p. 5.
  Warns of a potential tomato supply shortage this winter, based on interviews with Texas produce executives. Explains that their concern arises from the U.S. withdrawal from the tomato suspension agreement, which allowed Mexican-grown tomatoes to be imported at level pricing to U.S. counterparts. Adds that Mexico supplies 80 percent of the U.S.' tomatoes during the winter.
• Texas ESG collusion lawsuit against BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard to move forward. By Cameron Abrams. Texan, August 1, 2025, p. 1.
  Outlines the lawsuit filed by Texas and twelve other Republican-led states against some of the world's largest asset managers. Notes that a Texas federal judge recently ruled that the lawsuit, which accuses the firms of engaging in antitrust violations and consumer protection practices, may go forward.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/trade/texas-esg-collusion-lawsuit-against-blackrock-state-street-vangua ...
  Related information at: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/States v BlackRock Complaint F ...
  
• Texas House Democrats' quorum bust presents unprecedented legal battle. By Cameron Abrams. Texan, August 6, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses the power struggle of congressional redistricting in the 89th Legislature, 1st Called Session; the quorum break in the House; and the escalating battle between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of state government.
  See: https://thetexan.news/state/legislature/texas-state-house-news/texas-house-democrats-quorum-bust-pre ...
  
• Where the river took us. By Aaron Parsley. Texas Monthly, August 2025, pp. 58-67.
  Presents a first-person account of a family that experienced the devastating July 4 Texas floods.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=eda03a50-455b-3edc-8aa4-f8aae8074bb5
  See: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-flood-firsthand-account/
  
• Veterans who work in Texas VA health system: 'The dam’s gonna break'. By Josephine Lee. Texas Observer, August 5, 2025, p. 1.
  Presents an update on the state of Texas' Veterans Health Care System, which has reported backlogs in calls and delays in care over the last few years. Posits that the slowdown can be at least partially explained by the Trump administration’s decision to shrink the VA workforce. Highlights the stories of former VA employees and veterans who have been impacted by the changes.
  See: https://www.texasobserver.org/veterans-texas-healthcare-doge-trump/
  
• The D.C. brief. By Philip Elliott. Time, August 18, 2025, pp. 20-21.
  Notes the sudden rise to political prominence of Representative James Talarico (D-Austin), particularly after he appeared as a guest on Joe Rogan's popular podcast. Discusses Representative Talarico's chances as a potential dark-horse candidate to challenge John Cornyn's race against Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a82ffeb8-0d22-3df1-b1ee-e80e782e38ea