Current Articles for October 23, 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.

• TANF is a vital resource for people facing hardship but needs to reach more families. By Victoria Bowden, et al. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Updated October 1, 2025, pp. 1-16.
  Analyzes recent state and nationwide trends in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) access using the "TANF-to-poverty ratio" (TPR), which measures the number of families receiving TANF for every 100 families experiencing poverty. Finds Texas has the lowest TPR in the country at 2, along with Arkansas, and that 19 states had TPRs of 10 or less. Includes Texas in tables charting state TANF-to-poverty ratios from 1995-1996 to 2022-2023 and TANF caseloads over time.
  See: https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/10-1-25tanf.pdf
  
• International imbroglio: Visa? That'll be $100,000. By Ellie Davis. Chronicle of Higher Education, October 3, 2025, p. 9.
  Considers how universities will be affected by President Trump’s recent proclamation addressing H-1B visas.
  Related information at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-09-24/pdf/2025-18601.pdf
  
• The border: All quiet on the southern front. Economist, October 11th-17th, 2025, pp. 21-22.
  Reports on the Trump administration’s layered strategy to stop illegal migration.
  See: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/10/05/donald-trump-is-victorious-at-the-southern-border
  
• Breakthrough for students—Texas State Board approves standards for new bilingual special education teacher certificate. By Lizdelia Piñón. IDRA Newsletter (Intercultural Development Research Association), September 2025, pp. 1-2, 4.
  Announces the adoption of standards for a new bilingual special education teacher certificate, as required by HB 2256, 87th Legislature, R.S.
  See: https://www.idra.org/resource-center/breakthrough-for-students-texas-state-board-approves-standards- ...
  
• Students face confusion and college dead-ends after sudden blockage of the Texas Dream Act. By Julieta Garibay. IDRA Newsletter (Intercultural Development Research Association), September 2025, pp. 3-4.
  Discusses the current status of in-state tuition residency requirements at colleges and universities after a federal judge declared "that the challenged provisions, Texas Education Code §§ 54.051(m), 54.052(a), as applied to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States, violate the Supremacy Clause and are unconstitutional and invalid." Provides recommendations for colleges and universities.
  Related information at: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.405008/gov.uscourts.txnd.405008.8.0_1.pdf
  See: https://www.idra.org/resource-center/students-face-confusion-and-college-blackouts-after-sudden-bloc ...
  
• Federal report: The number of youth in foster care declines again in 2024. By John Kelly. The Imprint: Youth & Family News, October 2, 2025, pp. 1-2.
  Presents recent federal child welfare data on foster care and adoptions, according to the 2024 annual report of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), published by the Children's Bureau, an office of the Administration for Children and Families. Finds that the overall number of youths in foster care in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and several tribes decreased to 328,947 in 2024, a 3 percent decrease from 2023 and a 23 percent decrease from the recent peak of 437,000 in 2018. Includes state-level statistics found within state data tables in the Children's Bureau's related report and data visualization.
  See: https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/number-youth-foster-care-declines-again-2024/267429
  
• Ultraprocessed foods and cardiometabolic health—New report on a 'growing public health challenge.' By Samantha Anderer. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), October 14, 2025, pp. 1218-1220.
  Examines ultraprocessed foods as a growing public health concern. Highlights an American Heart Association advisory that cautions consumption of ultraprocessed foods is consistently linked to cardiometabolic diseases and mortality. Considers how recent federal policy is reshaping approaches to ultraprocessed foods.
  See: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2839048?resultClick=1
  Report at: https://professional.heart.org/en/science-news/ultraprocessed-foods-and-their-association-with-cardi ...
  
• Alternative proteins: 2025 legislative update. By Emily Whitest. The National Agricultural Law Center, October 7, 2025, pp. 1-8.
  Discusses a new wave of state laws that are challenging long-held food standards, particularly those regarding alternative proteins such as cell-cultured meat. Notes that there has been significant movement on this issue in 2025, with some states banning the sale and manufacture of cell-cultured meat and others implementing strict labeling laws to ensure transparency. Mentions recent Texas legislation (SB 261, 89th Legislature, R.S.).
  See: https://nationalaglawcenter.org/alternative-proteins-2025-legislative-update/
  
• 'MAHA' movement: State agency actions and consumer legal challenges. By Emily Stone. The National Agricultural Law Center, September 16, 2025, pp. 1-6.
  Discusses the "Make America Healthy Again" movement spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. Addresses non-legislative state agency actions and consumer challenges, including the Texas Attorney General's investigations into Kellogg, General Mills, and Mars.
  See: https://nationalaglawcenter.org/maha-movement-state-agency-actions-and-consumer-legal-challenges/
  
• Saving Social Security. Newsmax, October 2025, pp. 60-64, 67.
  Projects that without major reforms, Social Security will be depleted by 2033. Provides a brief recent history of politicians who have cautioned that Social Security is about to collapse. Explains that the number of beneficiaries is rising faster than the number of contributors, leading to the rapid draining of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, which is the fund that helps to pay retirement benefits. Presents ways Congress can act to improve the outlook of Social Security and avoid cuts to benefits.
• Here's a look at the local bonds on the November 2025 ballot. By Meridith Dyer. Texan, October 21, 2025, pp. 1-22.
  Highlights local bond propositions on the ballot for the November 4, 2025, election, including water; sewage; drainage; road infrastructure; and school bonds. Includes a complete list of 2025 local government bond propositions for independent school districts, cities, and special purpose districts, from searchable data of the Texas Bond Review Board.
  See: https://thetexan.news/elections/2025/here-s-a-look-at-the-local-bonds-on-the-november-2025-ballot/ar ...
  
• Student activists sue Texas over new age verification app download law. By Mary Elise Cosgray. Texan, October 20, 2025, pp. 1-2.
  Reports on a lawsuit filed by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) and two children against Attorney General Ken Paxton relating to the App Store Accountability Act, SB 2420, 89th Legislature, R.S. Notes the new law requires all users to show identification to download apps on mobile devices, in addition to requiring parental consent for minors. Quotes Senator Angela Paxton and Representative Caroline Fairly.
  Related information at: https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/26189931-seat-v-paxton-no-25cv1662-complaint-ecf-no-1/?emb ...
  See: https://thetexan.news/judicial/student-activists-sue-texas-over-new-age-verification-app-download-la ...