Current Articles for October 17, 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.
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Austin area 'ground zero' for controversial ETJ law.
By Justin Sayers.
Austin Business Journal, October 4-10, 2024, pp. 10-12.
Discusses SB 2038, 88th Legislature, R.S., which allows landowners to petition to be released from a municipality’s ETJ, or extraterritorial jurisdiction. Describes Central Texas as a hotbed of municipal deannexation, with more than 1,000 properties totaling 34,500 acres removed from the extraterritorial jurisdictions of Austin and 19 surrounding suburbs since the bill passed. -
Hated more: Online violence targeting women of color candidates in the 2024 US election.
By Dhanaraj Thakur and Müge Finkel.
Center for Democracy and Technology, September 2024, pp. 1-8.
Examines the nature of offensive speech and hate speech that candidates running for Congress are subject to on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Compares the levels of offensive speech and hate speech that different groups of Congressional candidates are targeted with based on race and gender, with a particular emphasis on women of color. Examines these factors for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as a woman of color and presidential candidate.
See: https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-10-02-CDT-Research-Hated-More-brief.pdf
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WIC coordination with Medicaid and SNAP.
By Zoë Neuberger.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 8, 2024, pp. 1-15.
Reviews the collaboration between the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps). Argues that states can support healthier pregnancies, improve birth outcomes, and improve child health and cognitive development by enrolling a greater share of Medicaid and SNAP participants in WIC. Includes 50-state tables on state-level coordination between WIC and Medicaid and/or SNAP.
See: https://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/10-8-24fa.pdf
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Squeezed from both sides: Why is neither party happy with higher education?
By Karin Fischer.
Chronicle of Higher Education, October 4, 2024, pp. 10-17.
Provides explanations about why some Republicans and Democrats are upset with higher education within the current political environment. -
How private school choice complicates public school budgets.
By Mark Lieberman.
Education Week, October 2, 2024, pp. 12-13.
Outlines difficulties school districts face when they lose state-appropriated funds to private school voucher transfers. Details the impact the loss of funds has on a district’s ability to plan for the future.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180057281&site=ehost-live
See: https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/how-private-school-choice-complicates-public-school-budgets/2 ...
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A panic button may have saved lives in a school shooting. Here's what we know.
By Caitlynn Peetz.
Education Week, October 2, 2024, p. 7.
Evaluates the panic button alarm system installed at Apalachee High School in Georgia, which was activated in response to the September 4, 2024 school shooting.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180057277&site=ehost-live
See: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/a-panic-button-may-have-saved-lives-in-ga-school-shooting-heres-wh ...
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American National Ins. Co. v. Arce unmistakable clarity for proving a misrepresentation defense.
By Mark A. Ticer, et al.
Journal of Texas Insurance Law, Summer 2024, pp. 23-35.
Discusses the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion and concurring opinion in American National Insurance Company v. Arce, which addresses Texas Insurance Code §705.501. Includes the legislative history.
Related information at: https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=b1cb134b-1b69-45e1-8a77-3f24530852e8&coa ...
Related information at: https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=e93f337d-8635-4882-8e69-3e6c0333f506&coa ...
Related information at: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/IN/htm/IN.705.htm#705.051
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Mandate for judicial supremacy.
By Elie Mystal.
Nation, October 2024, pp. 46, 48-52.
Previews the cases on the U.S. Supreme Court's docket for the 2024-2025 term and their potential significance. Includes Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, relating to a Texas age verification law that restricts access to pornography for adults and requires a public health warning on pornography websites (HB 1181, 88th Legislature, R.S.). Discusses other upcoming cases on "ghost guns," gender-affirming care for transgender children, and lethal injection.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179720223&site=ehost-live
Related information at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-1122.html
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Access to small-dollar homeownership in three U.S. cities.
By Sabiha Zainulbhai, et al.
New America, June 20, 2024, pp. 1-42.
Reports on the results of a study on how residents in El Paso, St. Louis, and Philadelphia navigate the homebuying process. Highlights the urgent need for more small mortgages, especially in low-cost cities, to help expand homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families and reduce the growing divide between renters and owners.
See: https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2024/09/access-to-smalldollar-homeownership-in-three-us-cit ...
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Doom scrolling: Social media and the teen-suicide crisis.
By Andrew Solomon.
New Yorker, October 7, 2024, pp. 26-37.
Reports on the rising incidence of suicide among U.S. teens, noting that it rose 62 percent between 2007 and 2021. Discusses the role that social media may play in rising suicide rates and traces efforts to create legislation that can help shield teens from potential harmful effects.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179952654&site=ehost-live
See: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/10/07/social-media-mental-health-suicide-crisis-teens
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How Americans feel about hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas.
By Alec Tyson and Brian Kennedy.
Pew Research Center, October 10, 2024, pp. 1-2.
Reports on a survey on American's views on hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which has emerged as an issue in the 2024 presidential election. Finds that overall, 44 percent of Americans support more hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in the U.S., while 53 percent oppose it.
See: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/10/10/how-americans-feel-about-hydraulic-fracturing-for ...
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Tesla effect stretching well beyond Austin into Kyle, Buda.
By Justin Sayers.
San Antonio Business Journal, October 4-10, 2024, p. B12.
Describes growth in the Austin suburbs of Kyle and Buda due to suppliers for Austin-based Tesla, as well as for other electric vehicle manufacturers moving to the region. -
No need for Texas to come up dry in pursuit of adequate water supplies.
Southwest Economy (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), September 30, 2024, pp. 1-4.
Interviews Sheila Olmstead, professor at Cornell University and formerly at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, on the competing demands for water in Texas and the challenges of economic and population growth.
See: https://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2024/swe2414
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Here are the five top themes of Texas' latest campaign finance reports.
By Brad Johnson.
Texan, October 8, 2024, pp. 1-3.
Highlights themes in the latest campaign finance reports in the races for U.S. Senate, Texas House and Senate, and Texas appellate courts. Includes Senator Morgan LaMantia and Representatives Eddie Morales and Mihaela Plesa.
See: https://thetexan.news/elections/2024/here-are-the-five-top-themes-of-texas-latest-campaign-finance-r ...
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Solar energy rapidly expands, poses risk to agricultural land.
By Shelby Shank.
Texas Agriculture, October 4, 2024, p. 6.
Notes that solar energy is rapidly growing across the U.S., with production growing about 25 percent per year over the last decade. Discusses the impact increased solar energy production will have on agricultural land — for example, as solar development in rural areas increases, land prices and rental rates will rise.
See: https://texasfarmbureau.org/solar-energy-rapidly-expands-poses-risk-to-ag-land/
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Border health conference highlights regional need.
By Swathi Narayanan.
Texas Medicine, October 2024, pp. 4-5.
Discusses the Texas Medical Association Border Health Conference, which focused on challenges physicians experience providing health care in the border region. Quotes remarks given by Senator Zaffirini at the conference.
See: https://www.texmed.org/TexasMedicineDetail.aspx?Pageid=46106&id=64670