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 18, 2022
House Committee on Environmental Regulation (Odessa)
Topic: Work session, touring air monitoring equipment
House Committee on Natural Resources
Topic: Study the feasibility of desalination as a new and/or alternative water source for the state of Texas.
- Water for Texas: 2022 State Water Plan, Texas Water Development Board, July 7, 2021
- The Future of Desalination in Texas: 2020 Biennial Report on Seawater and Brackish Groundwater Desalination in Texas, Texas Water Development Board, December 1, 2020
- Can Seawater Desalination Be a Win-Win Fix to Our Water Cycle?, Water Research, September 1, 2020
- Interim Report to the 85th Texas Legislature (Charge 4 – Desalination), House Committee on Natural Resources, December 2016
- Desalination Facts, Texas Water Development Board
October 19, 2022
House Committee on Environmental Regulation (Odessa)
Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:
- HB 1680, relating to the regulation of on-site sewage disposal systems on certain leased land that is owned by the federal government;
- HB 4472, relating to the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP); and
- SB 900, which updates performance and safety standards for chemical storage vessels.
Charge: Evaluate the allocation of TERP funds for effective air pollution reduction programs. Review which existing programs are over or undersubscribed and identify unrealized opportunities that would further program goals.
- Texas Emissions Reduction Plan Biennial Report (2019-2020): Report to the 87th Texas Legislature, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, December 2020
- TERP Project Summary Reports and Publications, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Charge: Review recent passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law No. 117-58), specifically funds that may bolster efforts to clean up polluted sites and plug wells and how federal funds can be used to complement state efforts on well plugging and pollution clean-up.
- Interim Hearings – Week of May 23, 2022, May 25 – House Committee on Environmental Regulation, Legislative Reference Library, May 18, 2022
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Environmental Remediation at Superfund Sites, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, March 2, 2022
- Biden Administration Announces $1.15 Billion for States to Create Jobs Cleaning Up Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells, U.S. Department of the Interior, January 31, 2022
- Eliminating Orphan Wells and Sites in Texas: A Toolkit for Redesigning the Railroad Commission's Oil and Gas Well Plugging and Cleanup Programs, Commission Shift, January 2022
- Interior Department Releases Implementation Guidance to States on Infrastructure Law Efforts to Address Legacy Pollution, U.S. Department of the Interior, December 17, 2021
- State Managed Well Plugging and Federally Funded Well Plugging, Railroad Commission of Texas
- Well Information (Well Plugging Data Visualization), Railroad Commission of Texas
Charge: Monitor newly adopted and proposed federal regulations that could directly impact economic development, manufacturing, and industrial activities that fall within the jurisdiction of the committee, including regulations adopted or proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Gateway to State Resource Locators, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
- Regulations, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Regulatory and Guidance Information by Topic, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- View State, Federal and International Rules and Regulations, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
October 21, 2022
House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
Charge: Study Texas' reentry and integration programs and make recommendations for reducing employment barriers for certain people with a criminal record. Review the length of time certain criminal offenses remain on a defendant’s record and consider the impact of expanding the offenses that qualify for an order of non-disclosure. Evaluate the financial and administrative barriers in the petitioning process for record-clearing relief.
- Providing a Clean Slate: Removing Barriers to Employment, Texas Public Policy Foundation, April 2022
- Criminal Records and Reentry, National Conference of State Legislatures, May 5, 2020
- Interim Report to the 86th Legislature (Charge 1 – Re-entry programs), Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, December 2018
- Barriers to Work: Improving Employment in Licensed Occupations for Individuals with Criminal Records, The Council of State Governments – Justice Center and National Conference of State Legislatures, 2018
- Reentry and Integration Division, Reentry Resource Guide, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Charge: Study the availability of victim services, including community-based trauma recovery, housing and relocation assistance, employment protections, and other services that help victims recover and stay safe following a violent crime. The study should include an evaluation of the processes for nongovernmental organizations to apply for and receive victim services grant funding. Make recommendations for streamlining the grant administration process and improving access to community-based services in neighborhoods with the highest rates of crime and for victims of violent crimes.
- Crime Victim Services: 2021 Annual Report, Attorney General of Texas, December 9, 2021
- Crime Victims Speak: Texas Victims' Experiences With Recovery and Views on Criminal Justice, Alliance for Safety and Justice, April 2019
- Active Awards in Texas, U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime
- Services for Crime Victims, Attorney General of Texas
- Victims Programs Team, Office of the Texas Governor
