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.
August 12, 2024
House Committee on Public Education
Charge: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 88th 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 1605, relating to instructional material and technology, the adoption of essential knowledge and skills for certain public school foundation curriculum subjects, and the extension of additional state aid to school districts for the provision of certain instructional materials; authorizing a fee;
- HB 2209, relating to establishing the Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership (R-PEP) program and creating an allotment and outcomes bonus under the Foundation School Program to support the program; and
- SB 2124, relating to an advanced mathematics program for public school students in middle school.
Charge: Consider issues and matters to increase educational opportunities in Texas to ensure that students and families have increased options to attend a high-quality school, regardless of circumstance. Evaluate the use of education savings accounts in other states and make recommendations for a Texas program, including suggestions on eligibility and prioritization of applicants.
- The 123s of School Choice, 2024 Edition, EdChoice, June 27, 2024
- State Actions on Education Savings Accounts, National Conference of State Legislatures, updated May 3, 2024
- Research on School Vouchers Suggests Concerns Ahead for Education Savings Accounts, Brookings Institution, August 15, 2023
- Initial Interim Report to the Eighty-Eighth Texas Legislature (Charge 1 – Ensuring all Texas youths enjoy equal educational opportunity and the freedom to obtain a quality education, regardless of circumstance), House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment, August 2023
- School Choice in America: Programs & Eligibility, American Federation for Children
August 13, 2024
House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock
Charge: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 88th 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 1750, relating to the applicability of certain city requirements to agricultural operations; and
HB 2308, relating to nuisance actions and other actions against agricultural operations.
Charge: Examine foreign ownership of farm-, timber-, and pastureland and agricultural processing facilities in Texas to determine whether Texas industries and supply chains are adequately protected from threats and disruptions and if further safeguards and restrictions on ownership are needed.
- Restricting Foreign Ownership of Land in Southern States, Council of State Governments Southern Office, May 28, 2024
- Foreign Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: Enhancing Efforts to Collect, Track, and Share Key Information Could Better Identify National Security Risks, U.S. Government Accountability Office, January 18, 2024
- Official Findings of the Mississippi Study Committee on Foreign Purchase of Farmland (includes Texas statistics), Mississippi Study Committee on Foreign Purchase of Farmland, November 28, 2023
- Foreign Ownership and Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land, Congressional Research Service, updated January 24, 2023
- Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) (Annual Reports), U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Resources at a Glance: Foreign Ownership of Ag Land (includes current and proposed statutes), National Agricultural Law Center
House Committee on Public Education
Charge: Examine the causes for and the impact to student outcomes of the increasing number of newly hired Texas teachers who are not certified by the State Board for Educator Certification. Make recommendations to enhance opportunities for uncertified teachers to become certified and strengthen parental rights and notifications.
- Amid Rising Number of Uncertified Teachers, Previous Classroom Experience Proves Vital in Texas, Texas Tech University, updated June 2024
- State Teacher Shortages: Teaching Positions Left Vacant or Filled by Teachers Without Full Certification, Learning Policy Institute, July 2023
- Teacher Employment, Attrition, and Hiring (Presentation), Texas Education Agency, April 2023
- Strengthening Pathways Into the Teaching Profession in Texas: Challenges and Opportunities, Learning Policy Institute, February 22, 2023
- Texas Classroom Teacher Certification 2022, Education Research Center, University of Houston, 2022
Charge: Evaluate opportunities to improve students’ foundational early literacy and numeracy outcomes in Pre-Kindergarten through the third grade. Study best practices for identifying students requiring reading and math intervention and providing evidence-based intervention strategies. Recommend changes and evaluate investments to increase the number of students achieving reading and math proficiency by the end of third grade.
- The Best Way to Teach Reading is Proven — What Mississippi, Colorado Get Right, George W. Bush Presidential Center, December 20, 2023
- What Texas’ Tumultuous History With Literacy Means for Its Children’s Future, George W. Bush Presidential Center, December 14, 2023
- An Investigation of Head Start Preschool Children’s Executive Function, Early Literacy, and Numeracy Learning in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Early Child Research Quarterly, April 6, 2023
- Improving Numeracy Skills in First Graders with Low Performance in Early Numeracy: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Remedial and Special Education, July 4, 2022
- Development of Numeracy and Literacy Skills in Early Childhood—A Longitudinal Study on the Roles of Home Environment and Familial Risk for Reading and Math Difficulties, Frontiers in Education, October 28, 2021
August 14, 2024
Sunset Advisory Commission
Staff presentation and public testimony:
August 15, 2024
House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety
Charge 1: Monitoring: Conduct active oversight of all associated rule making and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:
HB 3290, relating to the next generation 9-1-1 service fund;
SB 602, relating to the law enforcement authority of federal border patrol agents.
Charge 3: Use of Less-Lethal Devices in Law Enforcement: Study the use of less-lethal devices in law enforcement encounters, including recent incidents, and their potential to reduce the risk of death or injury to officers and suspects. Consider methods to increase the use of less-lethal devices for the safety and benefit of all parties.
- Texas National Guard Is Shooting Pepper Balls to Deter Migrants at the Border, Texas Tribune, June 18, 2024
- Law Enforcement: DHS Should Strengthen Use of Force Data Collection and Analysis, U.S. Government Accountability Office, July 24, 2023
- General Order #600-17, Subject: Use of Force, Chief of Police, Houston Police Department, March 4, 2022
- The Language of Less-Lethal Weapons, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), April 12, 2022
- Redefining Resistance and Considering Alternatives, City of Austin, April 2021
- Refining the Role of Less-Lethal Technologies: Critical Thinking, Communications, and Tactics Are Essential in Defusing Critical Incidents, Police Executive Research Forum, February 2020
- Less-Lethal Weaponry, Post-Traumatic Stress, and their Impact on Officer Safety and Wellness, U.S. Department of Justice, November 2018
Charge 4: Communications Interoperability: Study the communications challenges of first responders and emergency personnel. Make recommendations, considering the need for a cross-agency communications upgrade or statewide interoperability plan, to increase reliable, available, and modern communications for public safety and emergency response purposes in communities across the state.
- Next Generation Computing and Communication Hub for First Responders in Smart Cities, Sensors, April 8, 2024
- Feature Article: First Responders Need to Know They’ll Be Heard, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, January 18, 2024
- PSCR (Public Safety Communications Research) Usability Results Tool: Voices of First Responders, National Institute of Standards and Technology, last updated January 2023
- 2023 Public Safety Communications Survey, Verizon Frontline, 2023
- Emergency Communications (plans, resources, and training to support emergency communications for first responders), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Texas, First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), U.S. Department of Commerce
August 16, 2024
House Committee on State Affairs
Charge: Review TWIA Funding: Review current state policy as it relates to the operation and funding of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), including state agency capacity to effectively oversee TWIA. Evaluate the ability of state agencies and instrumentalities to secure the seacoast region's ability to produce energy and advance science and technology, including the role of reinsurance in maintaining economic security and ways to reduce the burden of reinsurance purchases on energy production and scientific and technological advances, while maintaining adequate coverage for policyholders.
- What Drives Wind and Flood Insurance?, Tierra Grande, Texas A&M University, Summer 2024
- Annual Report June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, June 1, 2024
- Biennial Report to the 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, August 16, 2022
- Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) (TWIA catastrophe bond), Artemis Catastrophe Bond and Insurance-linked Securities Deal Directory, Artemis
- Funding 101, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association