- Map cost of living in Texas cities and towns, down to the neighborhood level. (Texas Monthly, December 11, 2014)
- Track energy production through the years. (U.S. Department of Energy, December 10, 2014)
- Review state and local government finances. (U.S. Census Bureau, December 16, 2014)
- Read about changes state by state in unauthorized immigrant populations. (Pew Research, November 18, 2014)
New Interim Reports
Dec 12
Veteran Affairs and Military Installations
Looking for another report? The LRL's Legislative Reports database contains interim committee charges, reports, and other substantive legislative studies published in the House and Senate Journals back to 1846. You may search by committee list, committee name, charge text, or subject.
- Examine how body-worn cameras affect policing. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2014)
- Explore the economic effects of shale oil and gas production. (Congressional Budget Office, December 2014)
- Read about the country's crude oil reserves. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, December 4, 2014)
- Consider the implications of for-profit prison corporations. (American Friends Service Committee, November 17, 2014)
The library adds new books to its collection every week. Here are six books recently added.

Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, by Nell Bernstein (2014).
"In this clear-eyed indictment of a failed institution—the juvenile detention facility—award-winning journalist Nell Bernstein shows that there is no right way to lock up a child."

Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America, by William H. Frey (2014).
"Through a compelling narrative and eye-catching charts and maps, eminent demographer Frey interprets and expounds on the dramatic growth of minority populations in the U.S. He finds that without these expanding groups, America could face a bleak future: this new generation of young minorities, who are having children at a faster rate than whites, is infusing our aging labor force with vitality and innovation."

In the Common Interest: Embracing the New American Community, by John Carona (2014).
"[This book] explains how the modern community association benefits not only residents but also the country at large. [The author] outlines the pros and cons of these communities, plus prescriptive advice for how we can make them even better."

Lone Star Nation: How Texas Will Transform America, by Richard Parker (2014).
"Richard Parker takes the reader on a tour across today's booming Texas, an evolving landscape that is densely urban, overwhelmingly Hispanic, exceedingly powerful in the global economy, and increasingly liberal."

A Race for the Future: How Conservatives Can Break the Liberal Monopoly on Hispanic Americans, by Mike Gonzalez (2014).
"[This book] reveals exactly how bureaucratic decisions that encourage public assistance and discourage assimilation hinder Hispanics and allow them to be politically monopolized by progressives."

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico, by Amy Greenberg (2012).
"It is a story of Indian fights, Manifest Destiny, secret military maneuvers, gunshot wounds, and political spin. Along the way it captures a young Lincoln mismatching his clothes, the lasting influence of the Founding Fathers, the birth of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and America’s first national antiwar movement."
New Interim Reports
Dec 5
Veteran Affairs and Military Installations
Looking for another report? The LRL's Legislative Reports database contains interim committee charges, reports, and other substantive legislative studies published in the House and Senate Journals back to 1846. You may search by committee list, committee name, charge text, or subject.
- Consider the effects of granting unauthorized immigrants temporary relief from deportation. (Migration Policy Institute, November 20, 2014)
- Explore diabetes data, state by state. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 27, 2014)
- Read about computer and Internet use in the United States. (American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau, November 2014)
- Access read-only copies of articles in Nature for free. (Nature, December 2, 2014)
- Examine how money from hydraulic fracturing is affecting banks. (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, December 1, 2014)
- Teacher Retirement System (TRS):
- TRS-Care Sustainability and TRS-ActiveCare Affordability Study, November 18, 2014
- Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Actuarial Valuation Report for the Year Ending August 31, 2014, Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company, Consultants & Actuaries, November 12, 2014
- TRS-Care Retiree Health Care Plan, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Actuarial Valuation Report for the Year Ending August 31, 2014, Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company, Consultants & Actuaries, November 11, 2014
- 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2014
- Employees Retirement System (ERS):
- An Audit Report on the HealthSelect Contract at the Employees Retirement System (Report No. 15-007), Texas State Auditor's Office, November 2014
- 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ended August 31, 2014
- Employees Retirement System of Texas Annual Actuarial Valuation – Funding as of August 31, 2013, Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company, Consultants & Actuaries, November 21, 2013
- Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
- Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities
- Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities
- Texas Health Services Authority
- Health and Human Services Commission and System Issues (includes Office of Inspector General and Interagency Task Force for Children With Special Needs)
- Department of Family and Protective Services (additional issues from November Commission meeting)
- Texas Education Agency (includes State Board for Educator Certification)
- Entry Criteria for Self-Directed Semi-Independent Agencies
- Economic Stabilization Fund: Legislator’s Guide to the Issues 2015-2016, Texas Public Policy Foundation, October 17, 2014
- Budget Overview: Process, Fiscal Policy, and Budget Mechanics (Economic Stabilization Fund), Presented to Senate Finance Committee, Ursula Parks, Legislative Budget Board, August 12, 2014
- Building State Rainy Day Funds: Policies to Harness Revenue Volatility, Stabilize Budgets, and Strengthen Reserves and Studying Volatility to Inform Rainy Day Fund Policy (Fact sheet), The Pew Charitable Trusts, July 2014 and September 2014
- "States Try to Prepare for the Economy’s Wild Ride," Governing, August 2014
- When and How States Should Strengthen Their Rainy Day Funds, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 16, 2014
- A Drop in the Bucket: Rainy Day Funds Proved No Match Against Recession-era Budget Gaps, State Legislatures Magazine, April 2014
- Economic Stabilization Fund, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, December 2013
- Economic Stabilization Fund History, Legislative Budget Board, August 7, 2013
- FAQs About the Economic Stabilization ("Rainy Day") Fund, Legislative Reference Library, February 28, 2011
- Rainy Day Fund 101: A Look at the Basics, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, January/February 2011