Current Articles for May 15, 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.

• Cheap stuff is a core part of the American Dream. By Amanda Mull. Bloomberg Businessweek, May 2025, pp. 12-15.
  Asserts that consumerism is a core fixture of the average American's political identity. Posits that the Trump administration’s 'Liberation Day' tariffs reduce access to affordable imported goods and impair the typical American’s ability to live in abundance.
  See: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-10/cheap-consumer-goods-are-more-important-to-americ ...
  
• Gutting DEI won't save us. By Richard Thompson Ford. Chronicle of Higher Education, April 25, 2025, pp. 36-41.
  Argues attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programs in higher education are part of a larger effort that seem focused on repealing civil rights laws. Points out weaknesses in the arguments used to justify these attacks. Refers to the recent "Dear Colleague" letter and subsequent frequently asked questions from the U.S. Department of Education.
  Related information at: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf
  Related information at: https://www.ed.gov/media/document/frequently-asked-questions-about-racial-preferences-and-stereotype ...
  
• Birthright citizenship: Why make all babies citizens? Economist, May 3rd-9th, 2025, p. 23.
  Summarizes President Trump's attempt to abolish birthright citizenship. Considers how society may be impacted if this attempt is successful.
  See: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/05/01/why-does-america-have-birthright-citizenship
  
• Deregulation: Chainsaws on. Economist, April 26th-May 2nd, 2025, p. 22.
  Discusses the Trump administration's focus on cutting federal regulations. Refers to a memorandum issued April 9, 2025, directing the heads of departments and agencies to repeal unlawful regulations based on ten decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. Questions the constitutionality of these actions.
  See: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/04/24/donald-trump-hopes-to-become-a-one-man-deregulato ...
  Related information at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/directing-the-repeal-of-unlawful-regulations ...
  
• Rural hospital closures led to increased prices at nearby 'surviving' hospitals, 2012–22. By Caitlin Carroll and Jessica Y. Chang. Health Affairs, May 2025, pp. 563-569.
  Reviews commercial health insurance claims in open hospitals nearby to rural ones that closed. Finds that the closure of rural hospitals leads to higher prices for healthcare at nearby hospitals which remain open.
  See: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.00700
  
• Baylor College of Medicine lays off over 100 workers amid federal change-up. By Jishnu Nair. Houston Business Journal, May 9-15, 2025, p. 2.
  Notes that Baylor College of Medicine, which previously employed nearly 12,000 people in the Houston area, has laid off 122 employees due to changes at the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Education. Adds that Baylor is the third local research organization to cut its budget amid the uncertainty around grants from the federal government.
  See: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2025/04/30/baylor-college-medicine-layoffs.html
  
• Number of youth in foster care declines again. By John Kelly. The Imprint: Youth & Family News, May 12, 2025, pp. 1-2.
  Reports that the number of youth in foster care decreased by 6.9 percent in 2023 and there were 343,077 youth in foster care nationwide at the end of September 2024, according to new federal data in 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 (ACF). Notes the ACF will release a new foster care dashboard on May 13.
  Related information at: https://acf.gov/media/press/2025/hhs-announces-upcoming-release-new-interactive-dashboard-most-recen ...
  See: https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/number-youth-foster-care-declines-again/261073
  
• Trends in suspected fentanyl-involved nonfatal overdose emergency department visits, by age group, sex, and race and ethnicity—United States, October 2020–March 2024. By Cassandra M. Pickens, et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), May 8, 2025, pp. 282-287.
  Considers the rates of fentanyl-involved nonfatal overdose emergency department visits from 2020 through March 2024. Indicates that while visits increased through 2023, they began to decline in 2024. Reviews trends in nonfatal overdose by age, sex, race, and ethnicity.
  See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/pdfs/mm7416a2-H.pdf
  
• This could be you: How the people affected by abortion bans are organizing for reproductive freedom—one story at a time. By Regina Mahone. Nation, May 2025, pp. 48-51, 59.
  Explores the storytelling advocacy of Abortion in America, a reproductive rights organization co-founded by former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. Discusses Texas' 2021 abortion law, SB 8, 87th Legislature, R.S., and the decision of Texas' Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee not to review pregnancy-related deaths in 2020 and 2021.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=489caf46-9e32-3779-82f5-a45245e6b350
  See: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/abortion-in-america-storytelling/
  
• States push back against the UN. By Peter Rykowski. New American, May 12, 2025, pp. 26-30.
  Discusses state legislative efforts to nullify United Nations (UN) agencies and programs. Describes grassroots-level efforts in state and county branches of the Republican Party to oppose UN membership.
• NY defies Texas abortion penalty. Newsmax, May 2025, p. 16.
  Explains that the New York telemedicine shield law prevented a county clerk in New York from filing a judgment from Texas against a New York physician.
• Virtual fences on the range. By Ronald Bailey. Reason, May 2025, p. 14.
  Explains how GPS technology is used to create virtual fences for cattle and other livestock.
  See: https://reason.com/2025/04/24/virtual-fences-on-the-range/
  
• Policy shift will impact produce imports. By James McCandless. San Antonio Business Journal, April 25 - May 1, 2025, p. 11.
  Explains a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce that it plans to withdraw from a 2019 agreement that allowed tomatoes grown in Mexico to be imported at level pricing with U.S.-grown tomatoes. Notes that any grower importing fresh tomatoes from Mexico will now pay a 20.91 percent import duty, and quotes several American firms as saying this will put their companies at a disadvantage.
• Tariffs a buzz kill for booze makers. By W. Scott Bailey. San Antonio Business Journal, April 18-24, 2025, p. 8.
  Considers the effect of the currently-suspended U.S. tariffs on beer and spirits makers, who are warning that the taxes will create economic challenges that could impact multiple San Antonio businesses. Highlights how tariffs on items like bottles and aluminum will increase costs.
• 224 'medically necessary' abortions reported in Texas since Dobbs, data scope remains disputed. By Mary Elise Cosgray. Texan, May 6, 2025, pp. 1-3.
  Reviews state data on abortions performed with a "Medical Necessity (Life/Health) Exception" in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022. Discusses the "medical necessity" definition in the Life of the Mother Act, SB 31, 89th Legislature.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/social-issues-life-family/224-medically-necessary-abortions-reported-in ...
  Related information at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
  
• Age verification, parental consent requirement for app downloads passes Texas House. By Mary Elise Cosgray. Texan, May 8, 2025, pp. 1-3.
  Reports on the House debate and passage of the App Store Accountability Act, SB 2420, 89th Legislature, authored by Senator Angela Paxton and sponsored by Representative Caroline Fairly. Discusses the provisions in the legislation for age verification and parental consent for minors to access mobile device applications.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/social-issues-life-family/age-verification-parental-consent-requirement ...
  
• Gov. Abbott, Republicans rally with crime victims in Austin for bail reforms. By Holly Hansen. Texan, May 8, 2025, pp. 1-3.
  Discusses the advocacy of Governor Greg Abbott and Republican legislators for bail reform and the views of crime victims on bail policy. Highlights SJR 1 and SJR 5, 89th Legislature, by Senator Joan Huffman, and HJR 16 by Representative John Smithee.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/criminal-justice/gov-abbott-republicans-rally-with-crime-victims-in-aus ...
  
• Skimming fees from Texans' paychecks: Is earned wage access becoming the next generation of payday lending? By Briana Gordley and Ann Baddour. Texas Appleseed, April 2025, pp. 1-25.
  Explains Earned Wage Access (EWA) cash advance products as a way some Texans access cash before payday. Notes that EWA products often carry high charges, similar to payday loans, and can lead to increases in overdraft fees. Recommends that EWA products be regulated as loans, making them subject to Texas state consumer protection laws.
  See: https://www.texasappleseed.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/ewa_earnedwagereport-final_apr28_2025.pdf
  
• Diversity hiring in the workplace: The implications of Students for Fair Admissions on Title VII. By Caroline L. Ferguson. Texas Tech Law Review, Spring 2025, pp. 443-483.
  Discusses the potential implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, which ended race-based college admissions programs. Provides background on the legislative history and statutory language of Title VI and Title VII to explain why some scholars believe the decision should extend to the workplace. Concludes that it is unlikely that the ruling will directly impact case law and regulations regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in employment.