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Current Articles & Research Resources, January 17

Jan 17

posted by TexasLRL in Current Articles, Research Resources

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

  • Explore NCSL's updated State Tax Actions database. (National Conference of State Legislatures, December 17, 2018)
  • Examine an in-depth look at the relationship between resources and population. (Cato Institute, December 4, 2018)
  • Read about how excessive social media use is similar to drug addiction. (Michigan State University, January 10, 2019)
  • Consider the cybersecurity risks created by the partial federal government shutdown. (Wired, January 16, 2019)

Members of the Texas legislative community may request the articles below here or by calling 512-463-1252. 

  • "History lessons." By Glenn Cook. American School Board Journal, February 2019, pp. 22-26.
    Discusses the challenges of teaching history in public schools. Addresses the problems with the current teaching model and the difficulty of teaching the complex topics of slavery and immigration.
  • "What businesses want from Texas lawmakers this year." By Kimberly Reeves. Austin Business Journal, January 11, 2019, p. 12.
    Discusses the business community's top priorities for the 86th Legislature: preserving economic development incentives and tax abatements.
  • "Officials deploy new tools, overcome obstacles to protect elections." By Sean Slone. Capitol Ideas, November/December 2018, pp. 36-39.
    Reviews various election security initiatives in the states in response to the cyberattacks of the 2016 election, including interagency partnerships, technology improvements, and new communications protocols. Reports on the new Council of State Governments Election Cybersecurity Initiative Guide for state and local officials, released in December 2018. Report at: http://csg.org/cyber/.
  • "Child welfare agency spending in Texas." Child Trends, December 20, 2018, pp. 1-8.
    Summarizes FY 2016 expenditures of child welfare agencies in Texas, including federal (Title IV-E, Title IV-B, Medicaid, TANF), state, and local expenditures. Details Texas' use of funds on preventive services and adoption and guardianship costs. Report at: https://www.childtrends.org/research/research-by-topic/child-welfare-financing-survey-sfy-2016.
  • "Saving Arizona." By Rob Boston. Church & State, January 2019, pp. 6-8.
    Explains how six women used the citizens' referendum process to defeat legislation expanding Arizona's voucher plan (Proposition 305). Related information at: https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Proposition_305,_
    Expansion_of_Empowerment_Scholarship_Accounts_Referendum_(2018)    .
  • "Funding public education (and other legislative priorities)." Classroom Teacher (Texas Classroom Teachers Association), Winter 2018-19, pp. 10-13.
    Highlights education issues that are a priority for the 86th Legislature. Addresses school finance, teacher salaries, pensions, school safety, and more.
  • "Are we at a tipping point?" By Lorraine Glennon. Consumer Reports, February 2019, pp. 35-41.
    Examines the inequities and fraud associated with the gratuity economy and potential remedies. Includes a brief history of tipping.
  • "Education: Grad inflation." Economist, January 5th-11th, 2019, pp. 18-19.
    Considers the role of online credit recovery courses in high school graduation-rate inflation.
  • "The battle over NAFTA has just begun." By Lori Wallach. Nation, January 14/21, 2019, pp. 16-19.
    Discusses challenges of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, signed November 30, 2018. Criticizes the lack of consumer protection and labor standards, as well as the addition of monopoly rights for the pharmaceutical industry.
  • "Unwatched pot." By Malcolm Gladwell. New Yorker, January 14, 2019, pp. 18-21.
    Considers whether enough is known about marijuana to make good public health policy decisions. Contrasts the study of marijuana with the more exhaustive study of nicotine.
  • "Texas pre-K enrollment exceeds U.S. rate." By Stephanie Gullo. Southwest Economy (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), Fourth Quarter 2018, p. 9.
    Discusses the status of pre-kindergarten funding in Texas and finds that 49.4 percent of Texas four-year-olds were enrolled in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs in 2016-17, compared with 32.7 percent nationally.
  • "Medicaid 'buy-in' could be a new health care option for the uninsured." By Michael Ollove. Stateline (Pew Charitable Trusts), January 10, 2019, pp. 1-6.
    Examines the viability of state Medicaid buy-in programs and likely political challenges from the insurance industry and the federal government.
  • "Eminent domain a priority issue for Texas Farm Bureau." Texas Agriculture, January 4, 2018, p. 2.
    Provides excerpts from the Texas Farm Bureau president's address to the organization's annual meeting, highlighting eminent domain reform as the most important issue in Texas agriculture.
  • "New allies at the Capitol." By Joey Berlin. Texas Medicine, January 2019, pp. 30-31, 33
  • Profiles Representatives Steve Allison, Cody Harris, Julie Johnson, and John Turner, as examples of freshman pro-medicine legislators.
  • "On call at the Capitol." By Joey Berlin and Sean Price. Texas Medicine, January 2019, pp. 20-25.
    Outlines the Texas Medical Association's primary goals for the 86th Legislature, such as improving Medicaid coverage, addressing insurance issues such as prior authorization and network adequacy, and public health objectives.
  • "The power of the Permian." By Justin Worland. Time, January 14, 2019, pp. 22-27.
    Examines how the oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin is affecting the economy, the international energy industry, the environment, and Texas.

The Legislative Reference Library compiles this weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. Professional librarians review and select articles from more than 300 periodicals, including public policy journals, specialized industry periodicals, news magazines, and state agency publications. Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles using our online form.

This entry was posted on January 17, 2019 at 3:15 PM and has received 1086 views. Print this entry.

Succeeding Spouses

Jan 17

posted by TexasLRL in Texas history, Legislative families

Over the years, the Texas Legislature has seen several spouses follow in their partner's legislative footsteps. On our Women Members of the Texas Legislature, 1923-present page, footnotes indicate the five instances in which a legislator succeeded her spouse in an unexpired term following his death, and the three wives who served as temporary acting representatives during their husbands' military deployments. (Footnotes also point out where women were elected but never sworn into a legislator's role.) 

  • Maribelle Stewart appears to be the first wife to complete her husband's term in the Texas Legislature following his death. W. Lacy Stewart (Senate, 50th Legislature) passed away on March 22, 1947. Maribelle won a special election to fill the vacancy, but she resigned her seat representing Senate District 16 in 1948 when she remarried.
  • Persis Henderson (House, 51st) succeeded her husband, A. Robin Henderson (House, 49th-51st) in representing House District 61 when he died on March 15, 1949. Persis won a special election to fill the seat (running as Mrs. A. Robin Henderson); she announced for reelection to a full term but withdrew her candidacy, citing low legislative pay and the high cost of living in Austin.
  • Sue Hairgrove (House, 60th) won a special election to succeed her husband, Jim Hairgrove (House, 60th) for the House District 20-F seat when he passed away on April 12, 1967.
  • Lou Nelle Sutton (House, 64th-70th) succeeded her husband, G.J. Sutton (House, 63rd-64th), following his death on June 22, 1976, and her special election win to represent House District 57-E on August 7, 1976. Lou Nelle went on to be reelected to the 65th-70th Legislatures.
  • Myra Crownover (House, 76th-84th), in a May 2000 special election, succeeded her husband, Ronny Crownover, (House, 76th) following his death on March 26, 2000. She continued to represent House District 64 for nearly two decades.
  • Valerie Corte (House, 79th, 81st), Cheri Isett (House, 79th), and Melissa Noriega (House, 79th) were selected by their husbands to serve as temporary acting representatives during military deployments. Frank Corte (House, 73rd-81st) was called to military service during his legislative service twice; Carl Isett (75th-81st) and Rick Noriega (House, 76th-80th) were each called once during their time in the House. 

In addition to spouses filling unexpired terms, there are several other cases where spouses succeeded their partners in the legislature, separated by a few years or by redistricting. (And in the first case, separated by divorce, too.)

  • Neveille Colson (House, 46th-50th Legislatures; Senate, 51st-59th Legislatures), the first woman to serve in both chambers of the legislature, was elected to represent House District 27 a couple years after her then-husband, Nall Colson (House, 43rd-44th), lost the seat. The couple divorced in 1938, before Neveille took office in 1939.
  • Betty Denton (House, 65th-73rd) represented McLennan County, House District 35-A, following her husband, Lane Denton (House, 62nd-64th), who resigned the House District 35-1 seat to run for the Texas Railroad Commission. Redistricting meant that while they represented the same county, the district was different.
  • Sam Harless (House, 86th) appears to be the first husband to fill a seat formerly occupied by a wife. He was elected in November 2018 to serve House District 126; Patricia Harless served the district from the 80th-84th Legislatures.
  • Angela Paxton (Senate, 86th-87th), elected in November 2018, serves Senate District 8, the same seat that her husband, current Attorney General Ken Paxton (House, 78th-82nd, Senate, 83rd), occupied.
  • Frances Rountree and Cora Strong were the first widows of legislators elected to serve in the Texas Legislature, both serving as representatives in the 42nd Legislature. Cora's husband, N.R. Strong, died while representing House District 55 during the 41st Legislature. Cora was elected to the seat for the following session. Frances' husband, Lee J. Rountree (House, 37th-38th), died at his desk in the House chamber in 1923. In 1930, running as "Mrs. Lee J. Rountree," Frances was elected to the House; however, redistricting in the intervening years changed the House District number for Brazos County from 22 to 26.

This blog post is the first in a series, with posts to come on legislative siblings, parents/children, and other family connections.

This entry was posted on January 17, 2019 at 9:15 AM and has received 1616 views. Print this entry.