Speaker of the House Joe Straus has released his interim charges to House standing committees, and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has released select interim charges relating to drought and wildfire preparedness to Senate standing committees. The complete text of these charges, as well as information about legislative committees, can be found in the Legislative Reference Library's legislative reports database. In the "Search committee charges" section, choose "82nd" as the legislature and click "search" to a see a complete list of charges that have been issued for the 82nd Legislature. This list will be updated as additional charges are released. If you'd prefer to see only charges relating to a specific topic or committee, try filling in the "subject" or "charge text" boxes to get a list tailored to your needs.

You can also use the legislative reports database to search for committees and full-text interim committee reports all the way back to the 1st Legislature, or you can view a complete list of committees by session. If you're not sure which committee you need, check out the committee search page. Finally, our new committee minutes database contains the full text of minutes from House and joint committees from the 63rd through 74th Legislatures (1973-1995). Senate minutes for those years are currently being scanned and will be added as completed.

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.
  House Committee on Ways & Means

• Texas by the Numbers: Revenue, Expenditures and Cash Condition, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Fiscal Notes,  July 2011
• Where the Money Goes (Check Register Search Tools), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Where the Money Comes From (State Revenue Search Tool), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Report on Use of General Revenue Dedicated Accounts, 82nd Legislature, 2011, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, September 2011

Topic: Discuss the tax exemptions applicable to the franchise tax

• Interim Report to the 82nd Legislature (charges 1 & 2), House Committee on Ways & Means, January 2011
• Tax Exemptions and Tax Incidence: a Report to the Governor and 82nd Texas Legislature, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, February 2011 

Below is a short selection of legislative wrap-ups for the 2011 Legislative Session. More are available, and some are still being written. To find one on a topic that interests you, check the websites of state or national organizations that focus on the issue, or of state agencies, or visit  the library and search the Current Articles database.
 

 

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.

Thursday, September 08, 2011
Joint Committee on Environmental Flows
Topic: Recommendations and work plans for major Texas rivers and bays

• Final Recommendations Report, Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay Basin and Bay Area Stakeholder Committee, May 20, 2010
• Final Report, Trinity-San Jacinto-Trinity Bay and Basin Stakeholder Committee, May 31, 2010
• Environmental Flows Recommendation Report, Colorado and Lavaca Rivers and Matagorda and Lavaca Bays Basin and Bay Stakeholder Committee, August 30, 2011
• Environmental Flows Recommendation Report, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Mission, and Aransas Rivers and Mission, Copano, Aransas, and San Antonio Bays Basin and Bay Stakeholder Committee, September 1, 2011

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Senate Committee on Natural Resources

• Letter to Lisa Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Re: Reconsideration of the ozone primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards,  Administrator Cass Sunstein, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs / President Barack Obama, September 2, 2011
• Impacts of Cross-state Air Pollution Rule on the ERCOT System, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., September 1, 2011
• U.S. Utilities: Can Texas Comply with the Cross-state Air Pollution Rule? Yes, if Existing Scrubbers are Turned On, Bernstein Research, July 20, 2011
• Cross-state Air Pollution Rule: Reducing the Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, July 6, 2011

• Habitat Conservation Plan - Working Draft, Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program, August 2011
• "Aquifer pumping fee will triple", San Antonio Express-News, July 22, 2011
• 2011-2013 Strategic Plan, Edwards Aquifer Authority, November 2010
• Report on the effectiveness of the Edwards Aquifer Authority, South Central Texas Water Advisory Committee, November 2010

Thursday, September 15, 2011
House Committee on County Affairs
Topic: Texas Healthcare on Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Medicaid 1115 Waiver
 

• Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Medicaid 1115 Waiver: Program Brief, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program Medicaid 1115 Waiver: Proposal, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, July 13, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

• Letter to Lisa Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Re: Reconsideration of the ozone primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards,  Administrator Cass Sunstein, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs / President Barack Obama, September 2, 2011
• Impacts of Cross-state Air Pollution Rule on the ERCOT System, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., September 1, 2011
• U.S. Utilities: Can Texas Comply with the Cross-state Air Pollution Rule? Yes, if Existing Scrubbers are Turned On, Bernstein Research, July 20, 2011
• Cross-state Air Pollution Rule: Reducing the Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, July 6, 2011