• Medicaid Transformation Waiver including overview, timeline, background resources, and proposed rules, Texas Health and Human Services Commission

• 2011 State Physician Workforce Data Book (November 2011), Health Care Reform and the Health Workforce, The Impact of Health Care Reform on Future Supply and Demand for Physicians: Updated Projections Through 2025 (June 2010), Physician Shortages to Worsen Without Increases in Residency Training (June 2010), and other Workforce Data and Reports, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Center for Workforce Studies
• Primary Care Physicians by County of Practice, Texas Department of State Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, September 2011
• "A Recipe for Medical Schools to Produce Primary Care Physicians," New England Journal of Medicine, February 10, 2011
• Supply Trends Among Licensed Health Professions, Texas, 1980-2011, Fifth Edition, Texas Department of State Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, January 2012
• Workforce Facts and Briefs including Current Geriatrician Shortfall by state, American Geriatrics Society, Workforce Policy Studies Center, July 2011

• No Financial Accountability: Why Texas K-12 Public Education Lacks Any Real Financial Accountability and the Implications for Both the Ongoing Public School Financing Litigation and the Future of Our State, Texas Education Accountability Project, March 2012
• "A Guide to the Texas School Finance Lawsuits," Texas Tribune, February 2012
• An Introduction to School Finance in Texas, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, Revised January 2012
• School Finance, Texas Education Agency
• School Funding, Texas Public Policy Foundation
• Resources for the Current Texas School Finance System, Texas Association of School Boards

• Social Media Guidelines, Department of Information Resources, May 4, 2012
• "Social Media Still Has Skeptics in Government," Government Technology for States and Local Government, March 19, 2012
• Social Media Terms of Service Agreements and State Government, Council of State Governments, March 9, 2012
• 2012–2016 State Strategic Plan (Social Media), Department of Information Resources, November 1, 2011
• Friends, Followers, and Feeds: A National Survey of Social Media Use in State Government, National Association of State Chief Information Officers, September 2010
• Social Media Presence, Texas.gov

• "Border Business: El Paso's Commercial Market,” Tierra Grande, Texas Real Estate Center, Texas A&M University, April 2011
• Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development, Texas A&M International University
• "U.S. Border Cities See Profits in Bridges to Mexico," Governing, February 2011

• 2011 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Texas, National Council on Teacher Quality, January 2012
• An Examination of Performance-Based Teacher Evaluation Systems in Five States, Institute of Education Sciences, February 2012
• Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2011, National Center for Education Information, August 2011
• "New Teachers Struggling in Tough Market," Austin American-Statesman, April 6, 2011
• Ed School Essentials: Evaluating the Fundamentals of Teacher Training Programs in Texas, National Council on Teacher Quality, May 2010
• Completed Studies on Educator Certification and Standards, Texas Education Agency, last updated January 5, 2012

This entry was posted on May 7, 2012 at 5:01 PM and has received 1295 views. Print this entry.

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. The following may be helpful resources for upcoming hearings.

May 7th
House Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Article II
Charge: Medicaid trends, implementation of cost-savings initiatives in health and human services, and changes in hospital reimbursement methodology

• Hospital Payment Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, May 3, 2012
• Medicaid Managed Care: Key Data, Trends, and Issues and A Mid-Year State Medicaid Budget Update for FY 2012 & A Look Forward to FY 2013, Kaiser Family Foundation, February 2012
• Medicare & Medicaid Trends in Health Care Sectors, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, last updated March 26, 2012

May 8th
House Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Article III
Charge: Current practices for funding higher education capital construction projects

This entry was posted on May 1, 2012 at 4:12 PM and has received 1293 views. Print this entry.

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. The following may be helpful resources for upcoming hearings.

This entry was posted on April 24, 2012 at 8:24 AM and has received 1869 views. Print this entry.

• Texas Contract Management Guide, Texas Comptroller, 2012
• "Favored Consultants Got $420K in Texas Contracts, Auditors Say," Houston Chronicle, June 8, 2011
• Texas Procurement Manual, Texas Comptroller, 2011
• "DPS Outsourced Border Security to Private Firm Via No-Bid Contracts," Austin American-Statesman, March 15, 2012

• An Audit Report on Energy Savings Performance Contracts at Selected Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education, Texas State Auditor, September 2008
• Advancing Green Building Policy in the States, U.S. Green Building Council, September 2011
• Energy Savings Performance Contracting Guidelines for State Agencies, State Energy Conservation Office, November 2009
• "Contractors Seeing Work from Focus on Energy Savings," Washington Post, February 14, 2012

• "Arizona Seeking Pacts with Other States to Defy Federal Government," The Arizona Republic, March 9, 2011
• Backgrounder: Southwest Border Security Operations, National Immigration Forum, Updated December 2010

• "Groups Allege Proposed Budget Harms Trade, Immigrants," The Texas Tribune, February 15, 2012
• Meeting Land Port of Entry Modernization Needs in Constrained Budgetary Environment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Joint Working Committee - October 27-28, 2011
• El Paso Regional Ports of Entry Operations Plan, Texas Department of Transportation, June 2011
• Atlas of the Land Entry Ports on the U.S. – Mexico Border, Border Policy Research Institute, 2010
• North American Border Crossing/Entry Data (Port Location), Bureau of Transportation Statistics

• "Smuggling Brings Down Texas Deer Breeders," Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2012
• Deer Breeder Program, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
• "'Deer Doctor' Works to Preserve Whitetail Population," Wise County Messenger, March 12, 2012
• "Game Wardens Target Deer Smugglers," Houston Chronicle, October 18, 2011

• Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, Deloitte Consulting LLP and the Manufacturing Institute, October 17, 2011
• Driving Innovation from the Middle: Middle-Skill Jobs in the American South's Economy, August 2011, and Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: State-by-State Snapshots, including Texas, National Skills Coalition (formerly Workforce Alliance)
• Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey (monthly), Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, latest report March 26, 2012

• The Researcher Guidebook: A Guide for Successful Institutional-Industrial Collaborations, University-Industry Demonstration Partnership, March 12, 2012
• Jumpstarting University Technology Innovation Ecosystems: Private-Sector Partners Can Help Universities Make More of Their Research, Science Progress, March 14, 2012
• "Texas A&M Announces Plans to Strengthen and Enhance Research Initiatives," TAMU Times, September  16, 2011
• "Research Institutions Are Vital to the Success of Texas, Say Leaders in Academia and Industry," Texas Enterprise, July 18, 2011
• "University/Industry Partnerships Work: Don’t Kill the Golden Goose," IP Watchdog, July 15, 2011
• Office of Technology Commercialization, University of Texas at Austin
• Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable, The National Academies

• Aging in Place: A State Survey of Livability Policies and Practices, AARP Public Policy Institute and National Conference of State Legislatures, December 2011 (including transportation choices)
• "Improving the Long-Term Care Workforce Serving Older Adults," Health Affairs, January 2010[Contact Library for full text]
• Keeping Baby Boomers Mobile: Preserving the Mobility and Safety of Older Americans, TRIP, A National Transportation Research Group, and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), February 2012
• Report of Findings, Nursing Facility Staffing Survey 2010, American Health Care Association, October 2011 (including retention and turnover rates by state)
• "Why Nursing-Home Staffing Is Crucial to Health," U.S. News and World Report, April 13, 2012

• "Demand for Services May Strain County," San Antonio Express-News, May 16, 2011
• County Subdivision Regulation Sourcebook, Texas Association of Counties, 2010
• "Red Tape, Catch 22s Impede Progress in Texas' Colonias" and "Conditions, Health Risks Sicken Colonias Residents," Texas Tribune, July 2011

• County Jail Population Reports, Texas Commission on Jail Standards, last updated March 1, 2012
• Public Safety and Cost Control Solutions for Texas County Jails, Texas Public Policy Foundation, March 2012
• "Minding the Gap," Denton Record-Chronicle, March 1, 2012
• Costly Confinement & Sensible Solutions: Jail Overcrowding in Texas, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, October 2010
• Crisis Care Services for Counties: Preventing Individuals with Mental Illnesses from Entering Local Correction Systems, National Association of Counties, June 2010

• Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Medicaid 1115 Waiver

This entry was posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:32 AM and has received 1036 views. Print this entry.

• Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Crime Victims Fund: Briefing Background 2013, National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, April 6, 2012
• "Crime Victims Services Bracing for Big Cuts," Texas Tribune, February 16, 2012
• Appreciation for Dedication: Crime Victim Services Annual Report 2011, Texas Attorney General, January 2012
• "Programs Face Funding Challenges: Tight Budgets and Uncertainties," Crime Victim Compensation Quarterly, 2012
• State by State Compensation Programs Guide, National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards

• Debt Affordability Study 2012, Texas Bond Review Board, February 2012
• Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of Texas for the Fiscal Year Ending August 31, 2011, Texas Comptroller, February 2012 (see especially pages 257-261)
• Fiscal Size-Up, 2012-13 Biennium, Texas Legislative Budget Board, February 2012
• 2011 State Debt Review, Standard & Poor's, May 25, 2011

• Design-Build and Alternative Project Delivery Issues in Texas, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, November 2007
• A Guidebook for the Evaluation of Project Delivery Methods, Transit Cooperative Research Program, April 2009

• A Call to Action: Information Exchange Strategies for Effective State Government, National Association of State Chief Information Officers, April 2011
• Protecting Texans' Identities: The Challenges of Securing Privacy in Transparent Government, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, December 2010
• The State of Texas Improves Information Sharing Through Adoption of National Information Exchange Model Standards, UniSys, 2008

• State Board of Education, Texas Education Agency
• Redistricting Map - State Board of Education Districts Enacted by the 82nd Legislature, PLANE120,Texas Legislative Council - District Viewer
• "Redistricting Committee Could Increase Number of Education Districts," Amarillo Globe-News, January 12, 2012
• "Problems Appear as Lawmakers Redraw State Education Board Districts," Austin American-Statesman, April 10, 2011

• Betting on Justice Series, Center for Public Integrity and New York Times, November 2010 - June 2011
• Informational Paper to the House of Delegates on Alternative Litigation Financing, American Bar Association Commission on Ethics 20/20, February 2012
• "NYC Bar Weighs in on Litigation Financing," American Bar Association, August 29, 2011
• Third-Party Litigation Funding and Claim Transfer: Trends and Implications for the Civil Justice System, UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy, 2010, Conference Proceedings from June 2, 2009

• "Enter the Watchmen: The Critical Role of an Ombuds Program in Corporate Governance," Risk Management Magazine, September 2004

• "Promoting Urban Agriculture as an Alternative Land Use for Vacant Properties in the City of Detroit: Benefits, Problems and Proposals for a Regulatory Framework for Successful Land Use Integration," Wayne Law Review, Wayne State University, August 2010
• Urban Agriculture: A Sixteen City Survey of Urban Agriculture Practices Across the Country, Turner Environmental Law Clinic, Emory University, Georgia Organics, November 2011
• Urban Agriculture and Community Gardens Policy Toolkit (success factors, challenges, financing, case studies, and resources), PolicyLink

• "By the Numbers: Texas Wildfire Disaster Six Months Later" and "Six Months After Historic Wildfires, Texas Recovery Going Strong With FEMA/State Assistance," Federal Emergency Management Agency, February 29, 2012
• Fiscal Notes: Texans on the Fire Line, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, September 2011
• Hazard Mitigation Webinar Presentation, Texas Division of Emergency Management, October 2011
• "Texas Was Warned About Risk of Building in Backcountry," Austin American-Statesman, September 12, 2011
• "Texas Forest Service Battles Fires, Budget Cuts," Texas Tribune, April 8, 2011

This entry was posted on April 10, 2012 at 3:10 PM and has received 1442 views. Print this entry.

This entry was posted on April 3, 2012 at 11:03 AM and has received 1439 views. Print this entry.

This entry was posted on March 19, 2012 at 3:39 PM and has received 700 views. Print this entry.

Tuesday, March 20th 

Senate Committee on Health and Human Services  

Charge 4: Prior authorization and medical necessity review across the Medicaid Program, including nursing homes and orthodontic services, improving policies to reduce unnecessary utilization and fraud

• Moving Ahead Amid Fiscal Challenges: A Look at Medicaid Spending, Coverage and Policy Trends, Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012, Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates, October 2011
• Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012, Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2012  

Charge 7: Delivery and financing of public health services in Texas, including federal funds distribution to local health departments and role of Regional Health Departments operated by the Department of State Health Services

• America's Health Rankings, 2011 Edition: Texas, United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association, December 2011
• "Regional and Local Health Services Hold State's Public Health System Together" and Health Service Regions, Texas Department of State Health Services, April 22, 2011
• Key Health Data About Texas: Key Health Indicators, Public Health Preparedness and Funding Indicators, Trust for America's Health
• "The Price of Health: Keeping Texas Healthy is Costly," Crystal Conde, Texas Medical Association, Texas Medicine, February 2012 [discusses local public health infrastructure, Current Article 12.02.75, contact Library] 

Wednesday, March 21st  

Senate Committee on Health and Human Services    

Charge 6: Management structure and supervision of Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers, especially in rural areas, including efficiency, quality casework and supervision, and caseworker retention; quality of care of children in CPS, including improving permanency outcomes

• "Judging Parents, Judging Place: Poverty, Rurality, and Termination of Parental Rights," Janet L. Wallace and Lisa R. Pruitt, University of California at Davis, Missouri Law Review, 2011
• "Rural Families With a Child Abuse Report are More Likely Headed by a Single Parent and Endure Economic and Family Stress," Marybeth J. Mattingly and Wendy A. Walsh, Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire, Issue Brief, No. 10, Winter 2010  

Charge 9, Bullet 3: Implementation of initiative to redesign foster care system

• Foster Care Redesign, including Improving Child and Youth Placement Outcomes: A System Redesign Report, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, January 2011  

Thursday, March 22nd 

House Committees on Environmental Regulation and Transportation (Joint Hearing)

Environmental Regulation Charge 5 and Transportation Charge 4: Study the environmental review process for transportation projects and monitor implementation of reforms newly passed by the 82nd Legislature

• Environmental Review Process for Transportation Projects: Preamble, Explanation of Repeals and New Sections, Comments to TxDOT and Responses, Adopted Rules, Texas Department of Transportation, approved by Texas Transportation Commission, February 23, 2012; published in Texas Register, March 9, 2012
• "Hays and Williamson Counties Urge State to Hasten Environmental Reviews Tied to Road Projects,"  Austin American-Statesman, January 24, 2012
• "State Streamlines Transportation Project Approval Process with Adoption of New Rules," Texas Department of Transportation, February 23, 2012

House Committee on Transportation

Charge 1: Current transportation infrastructure, including roadway, bridge, and waterway quality, future needs for the next decade and long-range sufficiency.

• It's About Time: Investing in Transportation to Keep Texas Economically Competitive; Report and Appendices, 2030 Committee, Texas Transportation Commission, March 2011
• Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, Pew Center on the States, May 2011

Joint Committee on Aging

Topic: Innovative approaches to long-term care for elders in Texas

• "Will the Nation Go Broke Paying for Senior Housing and Long-Term Care?" and "Using Home Health Care to Help Senior Housing Residents Age in Place," Senior Housing News, February 2012
• Transforming the Culture of Long-Term Care in Texas and Culture Change in Texas, Texas Culture Change Coalition, November 2011
• A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, Texas Department of Insurance, April 2011
• "What is Nursing Home Quality and How is it Measured?", The Gerontologist, June 2010  

House Committee on Natural Resources

Charge 1: The performance of state and local entities in addressing the ongoing drought; the impact of the drought on the state water plan, including the need for additional water plan funding; the effectiveness of current drought management policies; strategies to help the state cope with drought and obstacles to implementation of these strategies

• Texas Water Conditions Report, Texas Water Development Board, March 7, 2012
• "Texas Farm Bureau Official Says Doing Nothing on Water Issues Will Cost Texas", Brownwood Bulletin, February 18, 2012
• Statewide Drought Situation Report, Texas Drought Preparedness Council, February 13, 2012
• 2012 State Water Plan, Texas Water Development Board, January 5, 2012

Charge 3: The status of desalination projects in Texas and an evaluation of the regulation of brackish groundwater

• "Desalination: The Next Step for Drought-Proofing Water Supplies in Texas", Texas Water News, March 2012
• "Aquifer May be Key to Water Needs in Area", Houston Chronicle, February 28, 2012
• Desalination of Brackish Groundwater, Texas Water Development Board, January 27, 2012
• "Pass the Saltwater: Desalination and the Future of Water in Texas", National Public Radio, January 4, 2012

Charge 4: Improving water conservation in agricultural irrigation

• "Texas' Water Rights System Gets Tested in Drought", Texas Tribune, January 19, 2012
• "Bad Harvests Might Get Even Worse", San Antonio Express-News, November 11, 2011
• Evaluation of Irrigation Efficiency Strategies for Far West Texas: Feasibility, Water Savings and Cost Considerations, Texas AgriLife Research Center, June 2009

This entry was posted on March 13, 2012 at 8:46 AM and has received 934 views. Print this entry.

• Economic Development in Texas: Programs and Incentives, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, September 2011
• An Analysis of Texas Economic Development Incentives 2010, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, December 2010, last updated April 19, 2011
• Slashing Subsidies, Bolstering Budgets: How States Can Save Money by Targeting Ineffective Economic Development Programs, Good Jobs First, March 2011
• Public-Private Power Grab: The Risks in Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies, Good Jobs First, January 2011

• Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2010 (see especially pp. 83-104 of the PDF)
• Texas Family Violence Benchbook, Texas Office of Court Administration, September 2011 (see especially pp. 46-47 and 336-342 of the PDF)

• Child Protective Services Handbook, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, last updated March 1, 2012
• "Judge's Adoption Express Had One Final Run," Houston Chronicle, January 4, 2011
• Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children: Summary of State Laws, Child Welfare Information Gateway, July 2009
• "Yours, Mine, Ours? Why the Texas Legislature Should Simplify Caretaker Consent Capabilities for Minor Children and the Implications of the Addition of Chapter 34 to the Texas Family Code," Texas Tech Law Review, 2010

This entry was posted on March 7, 2012 at 9:05 AM and has received 713 views. Print this entry.

• 2009-2010 Annual Report, Texas Military Preparedness Commission, May 2011
• Strategic Plan 2011-2015, Texas Adjutant General, 2011
• Texas Military Forces Standing Operating Guidance for Support to the State, Texas Adjutant General, October 2009
• Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan 2010-2015, Office of the Governor, February 2010

•  Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2008-2010, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 28, 2011
• The Protected Innocence Challenge: State Report Cards on the Legal Framework of Protection for the Nation's Children, 2011 and Texas report card, Shared Hope International, December 1, 2011
• The Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force Report 2011 to the Texas Legislature, Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, Office of Attorney General, January 2011
• Trafficking in Persons Report 2011 and United States of America country profile, U.S. Department of State, June 2011
• "Underage Sex Trafficking Is Everywhere Local Law Enforcement Looks, but Will Their Budgets Hold Out?", San Antonio Current, February 7, 2012

• Texas Juvenile Justice Department Board Meeting - Information Packet (including Transition Team Report, p. 17 of PDF document), Texas Juvenile Justice Department, February 17, 2012

• "Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Practices May Ease Flow of Committed Youth to State Corrections and Help Sustain Lower Populations," (including Texas and Louisiana), Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, Winter 2012
• No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, October 2011

• Juveniles in the Adult Criminal Justice System in Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, March 2011

• Methods and Assistance Program (MAP) Reviews, including 2012-13 MAP Presentation [PDF, 50MB], Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

This entry was posted on February 27, 2012 at 9:10 AM and has received 1171 views. Print this entry.