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.
For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.
Senate Committee on Finance
Charge: Spending Limit: Examine options and make recommendations for strengthening restrictions on appropriations established in Article VIII, Section 22, of the Texas Constitution, including related procedures defined in statute. Consider options for ensuring available revenues above spending limit are reserved for tax relief.
- Constitutional Limitations on Spending (Presented to the House Appropriations Committee), Legislative Budget Board, January 2019
- Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas, Senate Research Center, January 2019
- Interim Report (Charge 2 – Spending Limit), Senate Finance Committee, November 2016
Charge: Business Personal Property Tax: Study the economic dynamics of the current business personal property tax. Consider the economic and fiscal effects of increased exemptions to the business personal property tax, versus its elimination. Following such study, make recommended changes to law.
- States Should Continue to Reform Taxes on Tangible Personal Property, Tax Foundation, August 2019
- Interim Report (Charge 9 – Business personal property tax), Senate Finance Committee, November 2018
- Property Taxation of Business Personal Property, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, February 20, 2018
- Texas Tax Code §§ 11.145-11.146, Exemptions for Income-Producing Tangible Personal Property and Mineral Interest Having Value Less Than $500
Charge: Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Finance passed by the 86th Legislature, as well as relevant agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. Specifically, make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation of the following:
- HB 1525, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, relating to the administration and collection of sales and use taxes applicable to sales involving marketplace providers
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
Public Health
Charge: Examine the emerging public health concerns from the rise in e-cigarette use and "vaping," especially among minors. Determine if additional policies or laws are needed to protect the public's health.
- Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection, Updated November 21, 2019
- States and Tribes Stepping in to Protect Communities from the Dangers of E-cigarettes: Actions and Options (2019), Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Updated November 20, 2019
- Alternative Nicotine Products, Electronic Cigarettes (Federal and state actions), National Conference of State Legislatures, October 10, 2019
- U.S. E-Cigarette Regulations - 50 State Review (2019) (Texas), Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, September 15, 2019
- Lung Injury Associated with Vaping (Number of Texas cases updated each Tuesday), Texas Department of State Health Services, November 19, 2019
- Most States Have Done Little to Stop E-Cigarette Use Among Kids Despite Risk of Nicotine Addiction, APMReports (American Public Media), Updated October 23, 2018
- Surgeon General's Advisory on E-Cigarette Use Among Youth, U.S. Surgeon General, 2018
Charge: Monitor the implementation of SB 21, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, including strategies to address tobacco and nicotine use, including e-cigarettes and vaping, by adolescents
- Youth Tobacco Use: Results from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Current as of November 18, 2019
- Smokefree and Tobacco-Free U.S. and Tribal Colleges and Universities, American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, October 1, 2019
- "How One School is Tackling the Youth Vaping Epidemic," Stateline (Pew Charitable Trusts), September 23, 2019
- States and Localities That Have Raised the Minimum Legal Sale Age for Tobacco Products to 21, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, As of September 18, 2019
Health Care Costs
Charge: Examine the current status and future direction of the following programs: The Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver, including the DSRIP Transition Plan, and the Healthy Texas Women Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver.
- Report on Mental Health Appropriations and the 1115 Texas Medicaid Transformation Waiver, As Required by 2020-21 General Appropriations Act, House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 55), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, December 2019
- Medicaid Supplemental and Directed Payment Programs and 1115 Waiver Update (Presentation to House Committee on Human Services), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, November 12, 2019
- "Texas and the 1115 Medicaid Waiver: Action Needed to Ensure Federal Aid," Fiscal Notes, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, August 2019
- Texas Women's Health Programs Report Fiscal Year 2018, As Required by 2018-19 General Appropriations Act, Senate Bill 1, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 97), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, May 2019
- Report on Mental Health Appropriations and the 1115 Texas Medicaid Transformation Waiver for Fiscal Year 2018, As Required by 2018-19 General Appropriations Act, Senate Bill 1, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 72), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, December 2018
- Interim Report to the 85th Legislature (Charge 4 – Medicaid Reform and the 1115 Transformation Waiver), Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, November 2016
- Medicaid 1115 Waiver, including Dates and Deadlines/Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) Statewide Events Calendar, Waiver Overview and Background Resources, Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program – FAQ, Waiver Renewal/DSRIP Transition Plan, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
- Healthy Texas Women Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Charge: Assess how state and local law enforcement agencies, fusion centers, mental health providers, digital platforms and social media companies such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., can better collaborate to detect, prevent, and respond to mass violence and terroristic activity. Examine what resources, staffing and protocols are necessary to enhance these partnerships and whether state funding is needed to assist local authorities in this endeavor.
- The Attorney General's Semiannual Report on the Fix NICS Act, U.S. Department of Justice, November 14, 2019
- "Attorney General William P. Barr announces launch of Project Guardian - a Nationwide Strategic Plan to Reduce Gun Violence" (Press Release), U.S. Department of Justice, November 13, 2019
- Interim Hearings - Week of October 7, 2019, Legislative Reference Library, October 2, 2019
- Meeting the Challenge of White Nationalist Terrorism at Home and Abroad [Opening statements, video], U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, September 28, 2019
- Texas Safety Action Report, Governor Greg Abbott, September 12, 2019
- Executive Order GA-O7, Relating to the Prevention of Mass Attacks, Governor Greg Abbott, September 5, 2019
- "The Trauma Floor: the Secret Lives of Facebook Moderators in America," The Verge, February 25, 2019
- "Government Access to and Manipulation of Social Media: Legal and Policy Challenges," 61 Howard L.J. 523 (2018)
- "Digital Constitutionalism: Using the Rule of Law to Evaluate the Legitimacy of Governance by Platforms," Social Media + Society, July 17, 2018
- "Social Media Accountability for Terrorist Propaganda," 86 Fordham L. Rev. 605 (2017)
Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations
Charge 1: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program: Review existing regulations governing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the Qualified Allocation Plan to determine whether regulations exist that unnecessarily increase the cost of developing and maintaining affordable housing. Make recommendations to provide regulatory relief and provide greater development of affordable housing in Texas.
- The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes (Appendix A – State comparisons), National Low Income Housing Coalition, March 2019
- State of Texas Low Income Housing Plan and Annual Report, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, 2019
- The State of the Nation's Housing, Interactive Maps and Resources, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2019
- The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas: Opportunities for State and Local Preservation Strategies, The University of Texas School of Law, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic and Texas Access to Justice Foundation, December 2018
- Interim Report to the 86th Legislature (Charge 2 – Housing affordability), Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, November 2018
- Interim Report to the 85th Texas Legislature (Charge 3 – Low-income tax credit program, Charge 5 – Low-income housing availability), House Committee on Urban Affairs, January 2017
- 2020 Qualified Allocation Project Plan Resources, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
- Compliance Manual and Rules: Housing Tax Credits, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Charge 2: Federal Housing Review: Study all federal housing programs accessible to Texas. Make recommendations that ensure the state maximizes the use of those programs.
- Overview of Federal Housing Assistance Programs and Policy, Congressional Research Services, Updated March 27, 2019
- Federal Housing Assistance for Low-Income Households, U.S. Congressional Budget Office, September 9, 2015
- 24 CFR 906, Public Housing Home Ownership Programs, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, April 10, 2003
- Grants – Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Office of Housing Choice Vouchers, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Programs, U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
- Programs and Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development
- Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Charge 3: Infrastructure Resiliency: Examine the authority special purpose districts have to generate natural disaster resilient infrastructure. Determine ways state government can work with special purpose districts to mitigate future flooding and promote more resilient infrastructure. Make recommendations on how special purpose districts may use their statutory authority to assist in mitigating damage from future natural disasters.
- Interim Report to the 86th Texas Legislature (Charge 1 – Disaster Preparedness), House Committee on Special Purpose Districts, December 2018
- "Emmett Says Special Purpose Districts Should Play a Role in Flood Control," Houston Chronicle, February 21, 2018
- Invisible Government: Special Purpose Districts in Texas, Texas Senate Research Center, October 2014
Charge 4: Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations passed by the 86th Legislature, as well as relevant agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. Specifically, make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation of the following:
