Tuesday, March 20th
Senate Committee on Health and Human Services
Charge 4: Prior authorization and medical necessity review across the Medicaid Program, including nursing homes and orthodontic services, improving policies to reduce unnecessary utilization and fraud
- Moving Ahead Amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Trends, Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012, Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates, October 2011
- Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012, Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2012
Charge 7: Delivery and financing of public health services in Texas, including federal funds distribution to local health departments and role of Regional Health Departments operated by the Department of State Health Services
- America's Health Rankings, 2011 Edition: Texas, United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association, December 2011
- "Regional and Local Health Services Hold State's Public Health System Together" and Health Service Regions, Texas Department of State Health Services, April 22, 2011
- Key Health Data About Texas: Key Health Indicators, Public Health Preparedness and Funding Indicators, Trust for America's Health
- "The Price of Health: Keeping Texas Healthy is Costly," Crystal Conde, Texas Medical Association, Texas Medicine, February 2012 [discusses local public health infrastructure, Current Article 12.02.75, contact Library]
Wednesday, March 21st
Senate Committee on Health and Human Services
Charge 6: Management structure and supervision of Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers, especially in rural areas, including efficiency, quality casework and supervision, and caseworker retention; quality of care of children in CPS, including improving permanency outcomes
- "Judging Parents, Judging Place: Poverty, Rurality, and Termination of Parental Rights," Janet L. Wallace and Lisa R. Pruitt, University of California at Davis, Missouri Law Review, 2011
- "Rural Families With a Child Abuse Report are More Likely Headed by a Single Parent and Endure Economic and Family Stress," Marybeth J. Mattingly and Wendy A. Walsh, Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, Issue Brief, No. 10, Winter 2010
Charge 9, Bullet 3: Implementation of initiative to redesign foster care system
- Foster Care Redesign, including Improving Child and Youth Placement Outcomes: A System Redesign Report, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, January 2011
Thursday, March 22nd
House Committees on Environmental Regulation and Transportation (Joint Hearing)
Environmental Regulation Charge 5 and Transportation Charge 4: Study the environmental review process for transportation projects and monitor implementation of reforms newly passed by the 82nd Legislature
- Environmental Review Process for Transportation Projects: Preamble, Explanation of Repeals and New Sections, Comments to TxDOT and Responses, Adopted Rules, Texas Department of Transportation, approved by Texas Transportation Commission, February 23, 2012; published in Texas Register, March 9, 2012
- "Hays and Williamson Counties Urge State to Hasten Environmental Reviews Tied to Road Projects," Austin American-Statesman, January 24, 2012
- "State Streamlines Transportation Project Approval Process with Adoption of New Rules," Texas Department of Transportation, February 23, 2012
House Committee on Transportation
Charge 1: Current transportation infrastructure, including roadway, bridge, and waterway quality, future needs for the next decade and long-range sufficiency.
- It's About Time: Investing in Transportation to Keep Texas Economically Competitive; Report and Appendices, 2030 Committee, Texas Transportation Commission, March 2011
- Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, Pew Center on the States, May 2011
Joint Committee on Aging
Topic: Innovative approaches to long-term care for elders in Texas
- "Will the Nation Go Broke Paying for Senior Housing and Long-Term Care?" and "Using Home Health Care to Help Senior Housing Residents Age in Place," Senior Housing News, February 2012
- Transforming the Culture of Long-Term Care in Texas and Culture Change in Texas, Texas Culture Change Coalition, November 2011
- A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, Texas Department of Insurance, April 2011
- "What is Nursing Home Quality and How is it Measured?", The Gerontologist, June 2010
House Committee on Natural Resources
Charge 1: The performance of state and local entities in addressing the ongoing drought; the impact of the drought on the state water plan, including the need for additional water plan funding; the effectiveness of current drought management policies; strategies to help the state cope with drought and obstacles to implementation of these strategies
- Texas Water Conditions Report, Texas Water Development Board, March 7, 2012
- "Texas Farm Bureau Official Says Doing Nothing on Water Issues Will Cost Texas", Brownwood Bulletin, February 18, 2012
- Statewide Drought Situation Report, Texas Drought Preparedness Council, February 13, 2012
- 2012 State Water Plan, Texas Water Development Board, January 5, 2012
Charge 3: The status of desalination projects in Texas and an evaluation of the regulation of brackish groundwater
- "Desalination: The Next Step for Drought-Proofing Water Supplies in Texas", Texas Water News, March 2012
- "Aquifer May be Key to Water Needs in Area", Houston Chronicle, February 28, 2012
- Desalination of Brackish Groundwater, Texas Water Development Board, January 27, 2012
- "Pass the Saltwater: Desalination and the Future of Water in Texas", National Public Radio, January 4, 2012
Charge 4: Improving water conservation in agricultural irrigation
- "Texas' Water Rights System Gets Tested in Drought", Texas Tribune, January 19, 2012
- "Bad Harvests Might Get Even Worse", San Antonio Express-News, November 11, 2011
- Evaluation of Irrigation Efficiency Strategies for Far West Texas: Feasibility, Water Savings and Cost Considerations, Texas AgriLife Research Center, June 2009
