Current Articles for April 25, 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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Progress and impediments on path to abolition in U.S.
By Russ Feingold and Christopher Wright Durocher.
American Constitution Society, April 4, 2004, pp. 1-3.
Presents an outline of recent developments related to capital punishment in the U.S., including recent executions and the legal fights surrounding them. Notes issues such as racial disparity and botched executions and argues that the death penalty is becoming too politically unpopular and legally indefensible and that it is unlikely to last much longer.
See: https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/progress-and-impediments-on-path-to-abolition-in-u-s/
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Unlocking foster care licensing for more kinship caregivers.
Annie E. Casey Foundation, March 19, 2024, pp. 1-9.
Discusses kinship care, or child welfare placement with relatives or close family friends, as an important option for children moving through the system. Explores state policies that can help kinship caregivers obtain foster home licenses.
See: https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/Report-kinshiplicensing-2024.pdf
Related information at: https://www.aecf.org/resources/unlocking-foster-care-licensing-for-more-kinship-caregivers
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Trial judge signs Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, recommending Melissa Lucio’s conviction and death sentence be overturned.
Death Penalty Information Center, April 16, 2024, pp. 1-2.
Discusses a recent Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in the death penalty case of Melissa Lucio, who was convicted of her daughter's death in 2008. Notes that the agreement states that the court denied Lucio access to favorable information in the prosecution’s possession at the time of trial, and that this acknowledgement may lead to the overturning of her conviction and death sentence.
See: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/trial-judge-signs-agreed-findings-of-fact-and-conclusions-of-law-r ...
Related information at: https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/archive/2024/53584.pdf
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Is California really a high-tax state?
By Eli Byerly-Duke and Carl Davis.
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, April 2024, pp. 1-10.
Discusses the effect of state and local taxes on families of different income levels in California. Finds that for families of modest means, California is not a high-tax state, and for the bottom 40 percent of families, California taxes are lower than Texas or Florida. Compares state and local tax shares of family income in California, Texas, and Florida.
See: https://sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/itep/ITEP-Is-California-Really-a-High-Tax-State.pdf
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State Medicaid coverage for tobacco cessation treatments and barriers to accessing treatments — United States, 2018–2022.
By Anne DiGiulio, et al.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), April 2024, pp. 301-306.
Examines tobacco smoking cessation access for people enrolled in Medicaid. Advocates for fewer barriers to cessation treatment for people with Medicaid.
See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7314a2.htm?s_cid=mm7314a2_w
See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/pdfs/mm7314a2-H.pdf
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Public pension plan investment return assumptions (2024).
National Association of State Retirement Administrators, March 2024, pp. 1-9.
Describes how investment return assumptions are established and evaluated in public pension funds, compared with public funds' actual investment experience. Includes investment return assumption figures for Texas County & District, Texas ERS, Texas LECOS, Texas Municipal, and Texas Teachers in the appendix. See Latest Investment Return Assumptions for rates as of July 2023.
See: https://www.nasra.org/files/Issue%20Briefs/NASRAInvReturnAssumptBrief.pdf
Related information at: https://www.nasra.org/latestreturnassumptions
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The new education politics.
By Frederick Hess and Michael McShane.
National Review, May 2024, pp. 18-20.
Posits that today's polarized politics may offer a chance to enact necessary education reforms.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=176282745&site=ehost-live
See: https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/05/the-new-education-politics/
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Carding people to watch porn.
By Elizabeth Nolan Brown.
Reason, May 2024, p. 13.
Highlights some potential issues with state laws that require online pornography platforms to verify a user’s age. Lists states that have already enacted such laws, including Texas. Presents some potential options for approaching the broader issue of minors’ ability to access online pornography.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=176093258&site=ehost-live
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Dr. Mary Bowden heads to administrative court for Texas Medical Board case over COVID-19 treatment.
By Holly Hansen.
Texan, April 16, 2024, pp. 1-3.
Discusses a Texas Medical Board formal complaint and related administrative law proceeding against a Houston doctor who attempted to prescribe ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment to a patient in 2021. Mentions Senators Bob Hall and Tan Parker.
See: https://thetexan.news/issues/healthcare/dr-mary-bowden-heads-to-administrative-court-for-texas-medic ...
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Manufactured state immigration emergencies as state vigilantism.
By Kate Huddleston.
Texas A&M Law Review, March 20, 2024, pp. 1-23.
Discusses the recent trend of state governors declaring "immigration emergencies" in response to migration at the Southern border. Argues that this "state vigilantism" is contrary to the Supremacy Clause and proposes that the federal government not only focus on Supremacy Clause litigation but also exercise its civil rights enforcement authority. Recommends that state legislatures and judges limit the scope of state emergency declarations to exclude policy disagreements with the federal government.
See: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/lawreview/vol11/iss2/2/
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Final SEC rule leaves out emissions reporting.
By Julie Tomascik.
Texas Agriculture, April 5, 2024, p. 6.
Discusses a recent vote by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to finalize a climate-disclosure rule without the Scope 3 reporting requirements, which would have required public companies to report the greenhouse gas emissions of their supply chain. Notes that the final rule is a victory for farmers and ranchers, who felt that the Scope 3 requirements were an example of overreach by the SEC.
See: https://texasfarmbureau.org/final-sec-rule-leaves-out-emissions-reporting/
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Grace under fire.
By Cat Cardenas.
Texas Highways, May 2024, pp. 76-79.
Interviews four female barbecue pitmasters, from the 89-year-old Norma Tomanetz to the three friends behind Lockhart's new Barbs-B-Q. Discusses how they got their start in a largely male-dominated profession and how the world of barbecue has changed over the years. -
Why Texas is a model for death-in-custody data reporting.
By Eva Ruth Moravec and Michael Everett.
Texas Justice Initiative, March 23, 2023, pp. 1-4.
Traces the history of death-in-custody reporting in Texas; notes that among all states, Texas is a leader in transparent reporting on this issue. Offers recommendations on how other states can follow Texas' lead.
See: https://texasjusticeinitiative.org/post/why-texas-is-a-model-for-death-in-custody-data-reporting
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Fighting a syphilis surge.
By Carrie Arnold.
Texas Monthly, May 2024, pp. 51-52, 54.
Discusses the increasing rates of congenital syphilis in the U.S. and particularly in Texas, which had almost 25 percent of the nationwide cases in 2022. Notes that the case rate in Houston is particularly concerning and discusses a new congenital syphilis program launched in 2023 at the UT Physicians Obstetrics and Gynecology Continuity Clinic.
See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=176578569&site=ehost-live
See: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/congenital-syphilis-surge-houston/