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Interim Hearings – Week of December 2, 2024, and New Sunset Staff Reports

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

December 3, 2024
Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Grid Reliability
Review the implementation of legislation related to the regulation of the electricity market in Texas enacted by the 87th and 88th Legislatures.

 

 

 

New Sunset Staff Reports
2024-25 Review Cycle
The Sunset Advisory Commission staff released the following staff reports in November 2024:

  1. Trinity River Authority of Texas
  2. Angelina and Neches River Authority / Lower Neches River Authority
  3. Texas Ethics Commission
  4. River Authority Uniformity Study

 

 

 

Current Articles & Research Resources, November 21, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Read about the need for civil rights and civil liberties protections in the context of data collection, sharing, and use. (Government Accountability Office, November 19, 2024)
  • See how much Americans spend weekly on groceries by state. (Visual Capitalist, November 13, 2024)
  • Consider Americans’ trust in scientists. (Pew Research Center, November 14, 2024)
  • Explore annual tariff data. (U.S. International Trade Commission, accessed November 20, 2024)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

First Day of Prefiling Statistics, 89th Regular Session

In Texas, the House Rules (Rule 8, Section 7) and the Senate Rules (Rule 7.04(a)) allow legislators to prefile bills "beginning the first Monday after the general election preceding the next regular legislative session."

 

Prefiling for the 89th Texas Legislature began on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. A total of 1,511 bills and resolutions were filed in the House and Senate on November 12, a record number for the first day of the prefiling period.

 

Below are statistics comparing all bills and resolutions filed during the prefiling period for the 71st Legislature (1989) to the 89th Legislature (2025).

 

Chart comparing the number of bills and resolutions filed during the prefiling filing period from the 71st to the 89th legislative sessions.

 

For a general overview of bill prefiling, see our previous blog post, Bill Prefiling FAQs.

Tuesday, January 14, 2025, is the first day of the 89th Texas Legislature.

Friday, March 14, 2025, is the deadline for the unrestricted filing of bills and joint resolutions other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor.

Current Articles & Research Resources, November 14, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, November 7, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Interim Hearings and Sunset Commission Meeting – Week of November 11, 2024

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

November 11, 2024
Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education
Charge: Higher Education - “Faculty Senates”: Review and analyze the structures and governance in higher education, focusing on the role of “faculty senates,” and like groups, in representing faculty interests to higher education institution administrations. Make recommendations to establish guidelines for the role and representation of faculty by “faculty senates,” and like groups, at higher education institutions in Texas.

Charge: Stopping DEI to Strengthen the Texas Workforce: Examine programs and certificates at higher education institutions that maintain discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Expose how these programs and their curriculum are damaging and not aligned with state workforce demands. Make recommendations for any needed reforms to ensure universities are appropriately educating students to meet workforce needs.

Charge: Improving K12-College Pathways: Review the availability of Advanced Placement and dual credit course offerings in high schools and examine the transfer requirements required for students to receive higher education course credit. Identify the current challenges to streamlining the transfer process, including adequate counseling for high school students. Make recommendations to ensure students receive credit for successful completion of these courses.

 

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November 13, 2024
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
Charge: Protecting Vulnerable Texans in Emergencies: Examine commercial residential settings for the elderly and individuals with intellectual disabilities, including assisted living facilities, boarding homes, group homes, and independent living communities. Identify emergency preparedness and response protocols required during severe weather for these populations. Make recommendations, if necessary, for the establishment and enforcement of emergency protocols to ensure vulnerable populations are protected.

Charge: Examining the links between Nutrition and Chronic Disease: Examine the role that food supply plays in chronic disease. Identify ways that Texas can support a healthier food supply, including ways to better inform consumers and incentivize food producers. Make recommendations for reforming the state’s health-related research efforts to improve public health through enhanced nutritional awareness, revised pharmaceutical development, and non-pharmacological interventions.

 

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November 14, 2024
Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development
Charge: Enhancing Workforce Productivity: Study ways to increase the state’s workforce productivity, including access to childcare. Make recommendations, within existing resources, to maintain childcare availability to support a growing workforce.

 

Sunset Advisory Commission
Consideration and possible action on the new recommendations for the following agency:
Texas Real Estate Commission special-purpose review

Staff presentation and public testimony:

 

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Current Articles & Research Resources, October 31, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Review early voting information by date or county and check the status of your ballot-by-mail. (Texas Secretary of State, accessed October 30, 2024)
  • Read about how America has historically handled compulsory voting. (Harvard Law Review, February 2024)
  • Examine aspects of the process of denial of coverage by health insurance companies. (ProPublica, October 23, 2024)
  • Explore information about invasive and exotic species in North America. (Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, accessed October 30, 2024)
  • Consider levels and causes of stress in the United States. (American Psychological Association, October 2024)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Interim Hearings – Week of November 4, 2024

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

November 7, 2024
Senate Committee on Local Government
Charge: Housing Affordability: Study issues related to housing, including housing supply, homelessness, and methods of providing and financing affordable housing. Make recommendations to reduce regulatory barriers, strengthen property rights, and improve transparency and accountability in public programs for housing.

Charge: Additional Property Tax Relief and Reform: Report on the effects of prior property tax relief and reform, including the $18 billion tax cut with the $100,000 homestead exemption authorized by the 88th Legislature. Focus particularly on the interaction between Senate Bill 2, 88th Legislature, 2nd Called Session, and Senate Bill 2, 86th Legislature. Make recommendations for further property tax relief and reform, including methods to improve voter control over tax rate setting and debt authorization, and mechanisms to dissolve taxing entities such as municipal management districts (MMDs) and tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs) when they have outlived their purpose.

 

 

Current Articles & Research Resources, October 24, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Monitor current and historical drought data in Texas. (Texas Water Development Board, accessed October 23, 2024)
  • Find consumer protection resources and how to file a consumer complaint. (Attorney General of Texas, accessed October 23, 2024)
  • Report fraud, scams, and bad business practices. (Federal Trade Commission, accessed October 23, 2024)
  • Explore the Texas Main Street Program. (Texas Historical Commission, accessed October 23, 2024)
  • Review new rules related to how all mobile handsets must be made compatible with hearing aids. (Federal Communications Commission, October 17, 2024)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, October 17, 2024

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Read about the lack of law or regulation regarding the use of federal facial recognition technology. (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, September 2024)
  • Consider social media consumer data surveillance. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, October 8, 2024)
  • Explore state elections. (National Conference of State Legislatures, updated September 20, 2024)
  • Review drilling permits issued. (Railroad Commission of Texas, accessed October 16, 2024)
  • Find information on rural law enforcement development grants. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, accessed October 16, 2024)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

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