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your partner in legislative research
Legislative Reference Library of Texas
your partner in legislative research

Week in Review, November 6th

Nov 6

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Check out election returns for the November 4, 2014 general election. (Texas Secretary of State, accessed November 5, 2014)
  • See a state-by-state map of the states' business tax climates. (Tax Foundation, October 28, 2014)
  • Read about how Common Core curricula are developed. (Curriculum Matters blog, Education Week, October 30, 2014)
  • Explore the cost of broadband Internet access in 24 cities all over the world. (Open Technology Institute, October 30, 2014)
 
 

This entry was posted on November 6, 2014 at 3:15 PM and has received 604 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of November 10, 2014

Nov 5

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Interim hearings

Interim Hearings - Week of November 10th

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 10th Top

House Select Committee on Economic Development Incentives

Topic: Findings and recommendations

 

November 12th Top

Senate Committee on Open Government

Charge: Texas Public Information Act

Staff presentation and agency response (invited testimony):

 

November 13th Top

 

November 14th Top

Charge: International trade and investment in Texas

 

Charge: Physical infrastructure that facilitates international trade

 

Charge: Commercial ship traffic on smaller coastal waterways

Topic: Distribution of state proposition funding as it relates to the enabling legislation in HB 1, 83rd Legislature, 3rd C.S.

 

This entry was posted on November 5, 2014 at 4:31 PM and has received 1234 views. Print this entry.

Bill Prefiling: FAQs

Nov 4

posted by TexasLRL in Legislative process

Prefiling is the filing of bills and resolutions before the regular legislative session convenes. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, prefiling increases the efficiency of the legislative process by allowing more time to draft legislation, and by allowing leadership more time to review bills prior to committee referral. Prefiling in Texas occurs the first Monday after the general election in even-numbered years. Below are answers to frequently asked questions about prefiling.

 

Who can prefile legislation?

Returning members and members-elect of the upcoming legislative session may prefile bills. 

 

Can members of the public prefile legislation?

Not directly, but members of the public are free to contact their representative to discuss the possibility of the representative authoring a bill on a particular issue. For more information, please view the Citizen Handbook: How the Texas Legislature Works.

 

Is there a limit to how many bills a member can prefile?

There is no stated limit in the House or Senate rules.

 

How do you view prefiled bills?

  • If you are looking for a specific bill number, you can look it up on the Texas Legislature Online (TLO).
  • You can also view a list of bills filed each day by selecting "Today's Filed Bills" from the TLO General Reports section.
  • If you are looking for prefiled bills on a specific subject, the TLO Bill Search page allows you to select from a range of subject codes. 
  • If you need assistance locating prefiled bills, please call the Texas Legislative Reference Library at (512) 463-1252.

What happens to prefiled bills?

Bills are filed with the Chief Clerk in the House and the Calendar Clerk in the Senate, and are made publicly available via the Texas Legislature Online.

 

What role does the library have during prefiling?

In addition to answering research requests, library staff creates the TLO/TLIS record for every legislative measure. In addition, library staff reviews each bill and enters its proposed statutory changes into Index to Sections Affected (ISAF), assigns subject codes to each bill to enable better searching, and checks to see if companion measures were filed in the opposite chamber. We continue this process for each bill as it moves through the legislative process. 

 

 

This entry was posted on November 4, 2014 at 8:26 AM and has received 11574 views. Print this entry.

Week in Review, October 30th

Oct 30

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Examine the health care costs for people under 65 with employer-sponsored health insurance. (Health Care Cost Institute, October 2014)
  • Read about bicyclist safety. (Governors Highway Safety Association, October 2014)
  • Consider hospitals' struggles with potentially fatal infections acquired during a patient's hospital stay. (Kaiser Health News, October 21, 2014)
  • Compare unemployment rates during the recession to unemployment rates today, state by state. (Bloomberg Visual Data, September 30, 2014)
  • Explore voter turnout forecasts for the upcoming election. (Pew Research Center, October 29, 2014)
 
 

This entry was posted on October 30, 2014 at 3:15 PM and has received 679 views. Print this entry.

Week in Review, October 23rd

Oct 23

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
 
 
 

This entry was posted on October 23, 2014 at 3:15 PM and has received 684 views. Print this entry.

Week in Review, October 16th

Oct 23

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Consider a study on accessibility of jobs by transit. (Accessibility Observatory, University of Minnesota, October 9, 2014)
  • Read about the offline population and how much of the United States is offline. (The Washington Post, October 1, 2014)
  • Find out about how Ebola may affect pets. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 13, 2014)
  • Examine the energy and fuels outlook for the winter heating season. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 2014) 
  • Review information about Common Core state standards. (Congressional Research Service, September 15, 2014)
 
 

This entry was posted on October 23, 2014 at 9:31 AM and has received 351 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of October 27, 2014

Oct 22

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Interim hearings

Interim Hearings - Week of October 27th

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.

October 27th Top

House Committee on County Affairs

Topics: Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program 1115 Waiver, mental health, diversion tools, issues affecting the local jail, indigent care

 

Charge: Legislative oversight and monitoring of agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction

 

October 28th Top

Topic: Potential recommendations to the Legislature on topics discussed in previous hearings

 

Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

Charge: Operations of the Texas prison system with respect to medical and mental health care

 

October 29th Top

Senate Committee on Finance

Topic: Invited testimony from the Office of the Comptroller related to the state's major sources of revenue and tax structure

 

 

This entry was posted on October 22, 2014 at 12:09 PM and has received 1435 views. Print this entry.

New Texas Books in our Collection

Oct 15

posted by TexasLRL in LRL news

The library adds new books to its collection every week. Here are six Texas-themed books recently added.

Going to Texas: Five Centuries of Texas Maps, presented by the Center for Texas Studies at TCU (2007).
"These maps tell us much about the geography of Texas, but also about its economics, social milieu, history, politics, foreign policy and politics at given moments in history … In doing so, they provide a window into the things that make Texas unique." (Website)

Historic Texas: An Illustrated Chronicle of Texas' Past, by Archie P. McDonald (1996).
"This is a look at the events, the cultures, the well-known and perhaps not-so-well-known happenings, politics and actions that influenced the growth and changes that have become your area." (Website)

Texas: Mapping the Lone Star State Through History, by Vincent Virga and Don Blevins (2010).
"Combining 50 rare, beautiful, and diverse maps of Texas from the collections of the Library of Congress, informative captions about the origins and contents of those maps, and essays on Lone Star State history, this book is a collectible for cartography buffs and a celebration of state history for residents, former residents, and visitors." (Website) [Book does not circulate]

Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas, by Donald E. Chipman and Harriett Denise Joseph (1999).
"By combining dramatic, real-life incidents, biographical sketches, and historical background, the authors bring to life famous (and sometimes infamous) people of Spanish Texas." (Website)

Texas: Crossroads of North America, by Jesús F. de la Teja, Paula Marks, and Ron Tyler (2004).
"Incorporating the latest scholarship, this text chronicles the development of the political, economic, and social identity of Texas through the unique insight of three authors. The thematically arranged text covers the full scope of Spanish exploration and colonization efforts, as well as the transformation of the Texas economy and society in the 20th century." (Website)

William Barret Travis: A Biography, by Archie P. McDonald (1995).
"[This book] is the first scholarly biography of the legendary Alamo commander … [It] is an in-depth study that searches for an understanding of Travis' character and multifaceted personality. The result is an exciting and entertaining, but above all contemplative analysis of Travis and the Texas War for Independence." (Website)

 

This entry was posted on October 15, 2014 at 2:32 PM and has received 1245 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of October 20, 2014

Oct 13

posted by TexasLRL in 83rd Session, Interim hearings

Interim Hearings – Week of October 20th
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.

October 20th Top

Topic: Speaker's Strategic Fiscal Review Charge testimony regarding:

  • Trusteed Programs within the Office of the Governor
  • Department of Information Resources
  • State Law Library
  • Juvenile Justice Department
  • Department of Public Safety

House Committee on County Affairs 

Charge: Population growth and impact on housing, available land resources, businesses, and the state's economy

 

Charge: Health advisory panel from HB 3793, 83rd Legislature, R.S.

Charge: Oversight of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, jail issues including mental health

Charge: Legislative oversight and monitoring of agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction, including counties' emergency response preparedness

 

October 22nd Top

Joint Legislative Committee on Human Trafficking

Prosecution of human trafficking, resources for victims of human trafficking, labor trafficking, and combating human trafficking.

 

October 23rd Top

Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations

 

Senate Committee on Jurisprudence

Charge: Failure to attend school (Section 25.094, Texas Education Code), adjudicating juvenile truancy as a civil offense

 

Charge: Deferred adjudication, orders for non-disclosure, and expunctions,  extending the use of expunction of criminal records history and non-disclosures

October 24th Top

House Committees on Agriculture & Livestock and Culture, Recreation & Tourism (Joint Hearing) 

Charge: Eradication of feral hogs

 

House Committees on Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Charge: Long-term plan to incorporate land donated or sold to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department into state park system

 

Charge: Texas Film Commission and the Texas Music Office and effectiveness in economic development

 

Charge: Economic impact of cultural, recreation, or tourism grants provided by the state, including any economic development grants related to cultural, recreational, or tourism industries, heritage tourism, courthouse restoration, and historic district revitalization 

 

Charge: Legislative oversight and monitoring of agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction

 

This entry was posted on October 13, 2014 at 8:17 AM and has received 2142 views. Print this entry.

Capitol Spirits on Pinterest

Oct 10

posted by TexasLRL in Texas history

Our Capitol Spirits Pinterest board is back! During the month of October, we'll be adding new tales of ghostly hauntings and unfortunate events that occured in the Capitol building and surrounding area. Click below to view.
 
Cover image by Daniel Mingus.
 
 
 

This entry was posted on October 10, 2014 at 8:08 AM and has received 1094 views. Print this entry.

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