Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. The following may be helpful resources for upcoming hearings.
Charge: Workforce training programs in Texas, whether such programs target economic growth areas and future workforce needs of the health care, skilled trades, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, and information technology industries and help retain workers in those trades and fields
April 12th
April 10th
Senate Committee on Business & Commerce
Topic: Quarterly updates from selected state agencies and entities
Charge: Workforce training programs in Texas, whether such programs target economic growth areas and future workforce needs of the health care, skilled trades, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, and information technology industries and help retain workers in those trades and fields
- State Training Inventory, a compilation of Texas education and workforce training providers, programs, contact information, labor market information, enrollment, and graduation data, and Eligible Training Provider System, Texas Workforce Commission
- Strengthening Workplace Education Program Policies to Enable Low-Wage Workers' Advancement (Fall 2011) and 2011 State Policy Accomplishments: Workforce Education and Skills Development (November 2011), The Working Poor Families Project
- Workforce Investment Act: Innovative Collaborations Between Workforce Boards and Employers Helped Meet Local Needs (GAO-12-97), U.S. Government Accountability Office, January 19, 2012
- Aerospace: "Community Colleges Put Federal Money to Work on Aerospace Training," The Herald (Everett, Washington), March 25, 2012; A Skilled and Educated Workforce 2011, Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board; Aerospace States Association Studies & Surveys
- Construction, manufacturing, and skilled trades: Driving Innovation from the Middle: Middle-Skill Jobs in the American South's Economy, August 2011, and Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: State by State Snapshots, including Texas, National Skills Coalition (formerly Workforce Alliance)
- Health care: The Affordable Care Act's Public Health Workforce Provisions: Opportunities and Challenges, American Public Health Association, June 2011; Profiting from Health Care: The Role of For-Profit Schools in Training the Health Care Workforce, Center for American Progress, January 2011
- Information technology: "Stressed Out: Survey Finds Colleges Struggling to Meet Demand in High-Tech, High-Wage Fields," Community College Week, January 9, 2012
Charge: Licensing and regulation of occupations to ensure protection of public welfare, trust, health, and safety, and eliminate unnecessary, overly restrictive, or anti-competitive regulation, study guidelines and other states' approaches
- Bureaucratic Barbed Wire: How Occupational Licensing Fences Out Texas Entrepreneurs, Wesley Hottot, Institute for Justice - Texas Chapter, October 2009
- "A License to Shampoo: Jobs Needing State Approval Rise," Stephanie Simon, Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2011
- Occupational Licensing: Protecting the Public Interest or Protectionism?, Morris M. Kleiner, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, July 2011
- Occupational Regulation in Texas: Occupational Licenses and Statutory Penalties for Violations Relating to Occupational Licenses, October 2008, and Addendum, June 2010, Texas Legislative Council, Research Division
April 11th
House Committee on Public Health
Charge: Health registries maintained by the state, including the similarities and differences in reporting, consent, security, and portability of data.
- Trauma Registry Improvement Project, Texas Department of State Health Services
- Quality Assurance Team: Annual Report (See Health Registries Improvement Project & Trauma Registry Improvement System Project on pp. 23 & 26), Quality Assurance Team, December 2011
Charge: Operations and functions of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
- Agency Publications, Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
- An Audit Report on Performance Measures at the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, State Auditor's Office, August 2009
Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
Charge: Money laundering; enhancing efforts to enforce money laundering laws
- 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Volume II: Money Laundering and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of State, March 7, 2012
- "Money-Laundering Case Speaks to Border Fears," Texas Tribune, November 12, 2011
- Guide to U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Requirements, 4th Edition, Protiviti Inc., October 2010
Charge: Long-term stability of the Crime Victims Compensation Fund; its purpose and funding; its impact on victim organization
- "Crime Victims Services Bracing for Big Cuts," Texas Tribune, February 16, 2012
- Appreciation for Dedication: Crime Victim Services Annual Report 2011, Texas Attorney General, January 2012
- Rising to the Challenge: A New Era in Victim Services, U.S. Department of Justice, March 2012
- Community Policing and Victim Services in Texas, Crime Victims Institute, April 2011
Senate Committee on Higher Education
Charge: Transfer systems between public junior colleges and universities, including transfer of credit; the impact of accrediting associations on course credit transfer
- Transfer and Mobility: A National View of Pre-Degree Student Movement in Postsecondary Institutions, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2012
- Implementing Statewide Transfer & Articulation Reform: An Analysis of Transfer Associate Degrees in Four States, Center for the Study of Community Colleges, April 2011
- Bridging the Gaps to Success: Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-income and First Generation Students: an In-depth Study of Six Exemplary Community Colleges in Texas, Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, 2009
- "Who Decides on Transfer Credit?," Inside Higher Ed, April 21, 2011
- The Community College Transfer Student Report, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, October 2011
Senate Committee on Natural Resources
Charge 1: Effects of recent and anticipated Environmental Protection Agency rules on (1) electric reliability in Texas, (2) affordability of electricity in Texas, and (3) competitiveness of energy intensive sectors of the Texas economy, recommendations to reduce regulatory burden and maintain a business?friendly climate; specifically, study the following:
- Greenhouse gas regulations under the Federal Clean Air Act EPA Regulatory Initiatives: Climate Change, Clean Air Act Permitting for Greenhouse Gases, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- New National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone
- New NAAQS for particulate matter
- New Change to Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) for Industrial Boilers
- Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)
- Power Plant Cooling Water Intake Structure Rule
- Coal Combustion Residual Rule
- Maximum Available Control Technology (MACT) for hazardous pollutants
Charge 5: Impact of federal environmental regulations on electric generation capacity, amount of electric generation capacity likely to voluntarily be retired, incentives to promote retirement, including the effect on electricity rates
- Impacts of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule on the ERCOT System, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), September 1, 2011
- Resource Adequacy Implications of Forthcoming EPA Air Quality Regulations, U.S. Department of Energy, December 2011
- Review of the Potential Impacts of Proposed Environmental Regulations on the ERCOT System, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), June 21, 2011
Forecasting coal and natural gas fuel prices for the next 15 years
- Annual Energy Outlook 2012 (Early Release), U.S. Energy Information Administration, January 26, 2012
- Annual Energy Outlook 2011 with Projections to 2035, U.S. Energy Information Administration,April 2011
- The Long-Term Outlook for Natural Gas, U.S. Energy Information Administration, February 2, 2011
- Coal and Natural Gas overview, data, analysis and projections, U.S. Energy Information Administration
April 12th
Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations
Charge: Statutory oversight granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regarding the financial feasibility of bonds issued by special purpose districts, whether changes in oversight structure are needed
- Interim Report to the 82nd Texas Legislature, House Select Committee on Special Purpose Districts, January 2011
- Invisible Government: Special Purpose Districts in Texas, Senate Research Center, October 2008
Charge: Reducing local government procurement costs, assessment of the costs and benefits of electronic notices for bid notices
- 2010 Texas Municipal Procurement Laws Made Easy, Texas Attorney General
- Model Purchasing Manual for Texas Cities and Counties 2010, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, November 22, 2010
- Welcome to County Procurement, Texas Public Purchasing Association
Charge: Implementation of legislation in the 82nd Legislature, Regular and Called Sessions, specifically, monitor the codification of Senate Bill 1234, municipal management districts and the use of the "standardized language"
Senate Committees on Transportation & Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs & Military Installations (Joint Hearing)
Charge: Role of Texas state military forces in enhancing the safety of Texans, recommendations for improving the coordination, accountability, and effectiveness of all components of our state military forces
- Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment, Colgen LP, September 2011
- Strategic Plan 2011-2015, Texas Adjutant General, 2011
- Texas Military Forces Standing Operating Guidance for Support to the State, Texas Adjutant General, October 2009
Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security
Charge: Progress of Texas Department of Public Safety's Driver License Division efforts to enhance drivers license processing
- "A 'Mega' Addition," Pflugerville Pflag, February 9, 2012
- "DPS to Streamline Driver's Licensing with Megacenters," Austin American-Statesman, August 30, 2011
Charge: Impact of border violence and illegal trafficking on the Texas economy
- "Mexico’s Election Draws Eyes From Across Border," The New York Times, January 7, 2012
- "Drug Trafficking Helping Economy Along Border," San Antonio Express-News, October 17, 2011
- "Myths and Realities of U.S.-Mexico Border Spillover Effects," The Atlantic, August 25, 2011
