Current Articles for November 07, 2024

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.

• The right-wing plan to make everyone an informant. By Adam Serwer. Atlantic Monthly, November 2024, pp. 57-63.
  Discusses the implementation and impact of Texas legislation and regulation that uses private enforcement as a legal strategy. Describes privacy concerns through stories of abortions, pregnancy complications, trans children, and censorship. Quotes Representative Steve Toth on HB 3979, 87th Legislature, R.S. Mentions SB 8, 87th Legislature, R.S. and SB 3, 87th Legislature, 2nd C.S.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180191167&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/texas-red-state-surveillance-book-bans-abortion ...
  
• How do today's high schoolers fare as they enter adulthood? By Sarah D. Sparks. Education Week, October 23, 2024, pp. 10, 13.
  Examines aggregate data for high school completion and college participation rates.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180442548&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-do-todays-high-schoolers-fare-as-they-enter-adulthood-v ...
  
• Home insurance premiums complicate housing affordability: Some Texans look to self-insure their homes. By Spencer Grubbs and Kelly Langford. Fiscal Notes, October 2024, pp. 1-6.
  Explains that some property owners have turned to self-insurance due to rising homeowners' insurance premiums and the limited insurance coverage during natural disasters. Discusses the ways homeowners have shifted spending habits to offset insurance costs. Highlights the legislative focus on the insurance industry and high insurance premiums, as reflected in the current interim charges of the House Committee on State Affairs and Senate Committee on Business and Commerce.
  See: https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/economics/2024/self-insure/
  
• Commercial interests contribute to drug use and addiction. By Nora Volkow. National Institute on Drug Abuse, September 26, 2024, pp. 1-6.
  Posits that commercial interests are an important component of the social determinants of addictive behaviors and disorders, pointing to the fact that three of the four biggest industrial contributors to worldwide morbidity and mortality are alcohol, tobacco, and ultra-processed foods. Names the cannabis industry, the tech sector, and other industries as contributors to addiction and addiction-like behaviors. Discusses ways that public health professionals can mitigate the harms caused by these factors.
  See: https://nida.nih.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2024/09/commercial-interests-contribute-to-drug-use-addic ...
  
• Time to go: Deportation is a part of a functioning immigration system. By Andrew Arthur. National Review, December 2024, pp. 40-42.
  Explains complex hurdles to deportations in the U.S. immigration system. Compares deportation statistics between the Trump administration and the Biden administration. Quotes the late Barbara Jordan, former state Senator and U.S. Representative.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180440233&site=ehost-live
  
• Alpha girls. By Jazmine Hughes. New Yorker, October 28, 2024, pp. 16-22.
  Traces the history and influence of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), the historically Black sorority that counts presidential candidate Kamala Harris, author Toni Morrison, and other successful women as members. Discusses how AKA membership has shaped the lives and careers of Harris and others. Quotes state Representative Jolanda Jones and other AKAs as they react to Harris' nomination.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180348387&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/10/28/the-tight-knit-world-of-kamala-harris-sorority
  
• The changing Texas population. By M. Ray Perryman. Perryman Report and Texas Letter, October 23, 2024, pp. 1-3, 6.
  Discusses the changing demographics of the state of Texas, noting that the population topped 30.5 million in 2023. Points out that Texas residents are younger and more affluent than the national average, and that both births and in-migration have contributed to population growth. Posits that the growing population will provide Texas with an advantage in the ongoing national labor shortage.
  See: https://www.perrymangroup.com/publications/newsletter/2024/10/22/the-changing-texas-population/
  
• Grade retention and the law. By Robert Kim. Phi Delta Kappan, October 2024, pp. 52-53.
  Questions whether grade retention is a civil rights issue. Considers case law and suggests future legal avenues to challenge inappropriate grade retention.
  See: https://kappanonline.org/grade-retention-and-the-law/#google_vignette
  
• Reimagining the roles of state and local education agencies. By Mark A. Elgart. Phi Delta Kappan, October 2024, pp. 39-41.
  Argues the shift to student-centered learning requires state and local education agencies to reevaluate how they work with schools. Summarizes the white paper Design for Improvement: The Case for a New Accountability System for more details.
  See: https://kappanonline.org/reimagining-the-roles-of-state-and-local-education-agencies/
  Report at: https://www.cognia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Design-for-Improvement-The-Case-for-a-New-Accounta ...
  
• The geothermal revolution. By Ronald Bailey. Reason, November 2024, p. 18.
  Considers the potential of geothermal power as an energy source.
  See: https://reason.com/2024/10/22/the-geothermal-revolution/
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179594952&site=ehost-live
  
• The fastest-growing and most destructive wildfires in the US (2001 to 2020). By Jennifer K. Balch, et al. Science, October 25, 2024, pp. 425-430.
  Discusses the increasing incidence of fast fires — fires that grow more than 1620 hectares in one day. Explores the elevated costs of fast fires and the need for greater awareness of how fast fires develop and spread.
• Locked out 2024: Four million denied voting rights due to a felony conviction. By Christopher Uggen, et al. Sentencing Project, October 10, 2024, pp. 1-43.
  Updates and expands upon research chronicling the scope and distribution of felony disenfranchisement in the U.S. Presents national and state estimates of the number and percentage of people disenfranchised due to felony convictions, as well as the number and percentage of the Black and Latino populations affected. Includes state-level data on the degree of disenfranchisement among men and women.
  See: https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a ...
  
• Texas prisons, jails recruiting teenagers to shore up guard shortage. By Pooja Salhotra. Texas County Progress, November 2024, pp. 32-35.
  Discusses recent recruitment efforts by state and local leaders to combat persistent staffing shortages in Texas' prisons and jails. Examines the benefits and harms posed by new programs which allow high school students to begin corrections training and obtain jailers licenses.
  See: https://dashboard.mazsystems.com/webreader/86895?page=32
  
• Capital clemency in the age of Constitutional regulation. By Carol S. Steiker and Jordan M. Steiker. Texas Law Review, June 2024, pp. 1449-1472.
  Examines the practice of executive clemency in light of the historical roots of the current-day pardon power. Notes that since the death penalty was reauthorized in 1976, there has been a significant drop in capital clemency. Argues that this decline has been a product of constitutional regulation of capital punishment. Contends that this regulation has not diminished the important role of clemency in redressing the deficiencies of the U.S. capital system.
  See: https://texaslawreview.org/capital-clemency-in-the-age-of-constitutional-regulation-reversing-the-un ...
  
• 'Fighting our best': TMA efforts help improve end-of-life care bill. By Phil West. Texas Medicine, November 2024, pp. 14-19.
  Considers the challenges physicians encounter in providing end-of-life care. Reviews changes to legislation affecting do-not-resuscitate orders: SB 11, 85th Legislature, 1st C.S., and later HB 3162, 88th Legislature, R.S., amending the Texas Advanced Directives Act. Highlights Representative Stephanie Klick's role in facilitating the legislation.
  See: https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=64922
  
• How mass deportations would 'devastate' Texas. By Francesca D'Annunzio. Texas Observer, October 21, 2024, pp. 1-3.
  Discusses the implications of the mass deportation efforts President-elect Donald Trump has promised in a second presidential term. Notes that Texas is home to about 1.6 million undocumented immigrants, many of whom form the backbone of crucial sectors like construction. Posits that mass deportations would disrupt the state economy and institutions such as the social services systems.
  See: https://www.texasobserver.org/how-mass-deportations-would-devastate-texas/
  
• Chevron overturned: Court ruling reshapes legal landscape. By Rusty Adams. Tierra Grande, Fall 2024, pp. 24-26.
  Reviews the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, signaling a dramatic transfer of power in terms of federal agencies and overturning the Chevron doctrine. Includes a short history of administrative law pre-Chevron and the development of the Chevron doctrine.
  See: https://issuu.com/recenter/docs/tg_31-4/28
  See: https://trerc.tamu.edu/article/chevron-overturned-court-ruling-reshapes-legal-landscape/
  Related information at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf
  
• Where there's smoke: Climate change, population growth, and wildfires. By Wesley Miller and N. Lee May. Tierra Grande, Fall 2024, pp. 14-18.
  Discusses wildfires in Texas and the increased economic exposure due to climate change and population growth patterns. Identifies ways to adapt to elevated wildfire risk, such as self-protection and insurance.
  See: https://issuu.com/recenter/docs/tg_31-4/18
  
• Fetal mortality in the United States: Final 2021–2022 and 2022–provisional 2023. By Elizabeth C.W. Gregory, Claudia P. Valenzuela, and Joyce A. Martin. Vital Statistics Rapid Release, October 2024, pp. 1-8.
  Reports fetal mortality rates for 2021 to 2022. Provides provisional data for fetal mortality rates for 2022 to 2023.
  See: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr036.pdf