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Bills in the News: COVID-19

In this occasional post, we feature topics receiving widespread media coverage, tips for finding bills filed during the 87th legislative session, and related resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired legislation addressing how the state may respond to future pandemics, and, more broadly, to future disasters.

Legislation directly related to COVID-19 can be found under the subject COVID-19 via the Texas Legislature Online website.

Bill Search
Select Bill Search under the Search tab. Click on Select subject criteria to display a list of subjects that can be used in your search.

 

Scroll down the list and highlight COVID-19, then click the top arrow button to move the subject into the Selected: column. Use the arrow buttons to select and de-select subjects. Click OK. The Bill Search screen will reappear. Click Search in the top left corner to display a list of bills that include the selected subject.

 

 

To narrow a subject search, choose additional subjects …

 

 

and select the And radio button before clicking on Search.

 

 

Narrowing a subject search usually results in fewer bills that are more specific to the issues of interest.

 

 

While some legislation has been filed specifially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional legislation has also been filed to address how Texas responds to disasters in general, including disaster that occur when the Legislature is not in session. Use the broader subject term Disaster Preparedness & Relief to locate legislation related to disaster response and mitigation.

 

Tile image, "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2," by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resized from original.

** UPDATED ** COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Texas Informational Resources

This post is an update of blog posts dated March 17, 2020, and April 7, 2020.

 

Below is an updated list of resources from Texas leadership and Texas state agencies on the response to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Please use contact information on the respective agencies' websites for any questions specific to their purposes.

 

From Texas leadership:

 

Texas state agency resources:

 

Information on this page is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

 

Contact Tracing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes contact tracing as "an effective disease control strategy that involves identifying cases and their contacts then working with them to interrupt disease transmission." In the public health world, contact tracing has long been used in response to infectious diseases. Currently the strategy includes interviewing affected individuals, monitoring cases, providing instructions on isolation and quarantine, and assisting in crisis management. Below are background resources on the principles and concepts involved in contact tracing and state implementation of contact tracing programs.

 

Tile image, "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2," by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resized from original.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – School Reopening Resources

Seeking information on reopening schools this Fall? We've compiled a list of resources from various state, federal, and independent organizations that you may find helpful. Please use contact information on the respective organizations' websites for any questions specific to their purposes.

 

State Resources

Federal Resources

Educational Association Resources

Reports and Other Online Resources

 

 

Cover image by Flickr user Scott Goddard and used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

**UPDATED** COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Texas Informational Resources

This post is an update of a blog post dated March 17, 2020

 

Seeking information on COVID-19 (coronavirus) and how it may affect different aspects of life in Texas? We've compiled this list of resources from various Texas leaders, agencies, and other organizations. Please use contact information on the respective organizations' websites for any questions specific to their purposes.

 

From Texas leadership:

Texas state agency resources:

From other Texas organizations:

National organizations:

And federal resources:

 

Information on this page is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site

Library Update: COVID-19

In an effort to assist with controlling the transmission of COVID-19, the LRL is closed to the public. However, we are able to continue to provide many of our usual services. Librarians will continue to offer reference and research assistance via phone (512-463-1252) or email.  We will continue to produce Current Articles and the Legislative Clipping Service.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Database and Portal Resources

Seeking information on COVID-19 (coronavirus)? We've compiled a list of databases and portals from various organizations that are providing free, temporary access to their resources during the COVID-19 pandemic including: books, journals, news, and research. Please use contact information on the respective organizations' websites for any questions specific to their purposes.

 

Association of American Publishers Directory of Open Access Journals

  • DOAJ
    Community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
EBSCO

  • Covid-19: Updates & Information (Portal)
    Compiles updates related to COIVD-19, including news and information from the CDC, WHO and other U.S. government agencies. Includes a list of maps related to the outbreak.
  • For Researchers
    COVID-19 research portal that includes open-access to research resources.

Elsevier

Fastcase
  • COVID-19 Resources
    A resource hub, bringing together free legislative and government updates and COVID-19 content across leading news media sources.  

Govinfo, United States Government Publishing Office (GPO)

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)

    Provides legislative, presidential, and regulatory documents relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In Custodia Legis (blog), Law Library of Congress

  • Coronavirus Resource Guide
    A guide to laws, regulations, and executive actions in the United States, at both the federal and the state level, and in various countries related to COVID-19 and its spread.

JSTOR

LexisNexis

  • Law360 COVID-19 News
    News, in-depth features, and expert analysis and commentary related to COVID-19 and the law.

National Library of Medicine

  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

    • LitCovid
      Provides central access to COVID-19 articles in PubMed. Updated daily.
    • Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Initiative (PubMed Central)
      Free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature, includes a list of publishers that have made their coronavirus-related articles accessible.
      (See Discovering Coronavirus-Related and COVID-19-Related Articles insert for search queries examples.)

Project Muse

  • Free Resources on MUSE during COVID-19
    Temporarily-free vetted research in the humanities and social sciences from a variety of distinguished university presses, societies, and related not-for-profit publishers.

SSRN

  • Coronavirus
    Coronavirus-related research available for free. Note that these papers are not peer-reviewed.

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

Wiley Online Library

World Health Organization

 

Information on this page is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Municipal and County Informational Resources

Seeking municipal and county information on COVID-19 (coronavirus)? We've compiled a list of current declarations, orders, and supplemental resources. Please use contact information on the respective organizations' websites for any questions specific to their purposes. 

 

National Association of Counties:  

National League of Cities:

Texas Association of Counties:

Texas Health and Human Services:

Texas Judicial Branch:

 

Information on this page is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

 

Resource Highlight: Governor's Statements on COVID-19

Under the authority of Texas Government Code Chapter 418 and the state of disaster proclamation, Governor Abbott has worked with various agencies to waive regulations and guide Texas' response to COVID-19 (coronavirus).

 

You can access all of these proclamations and statements in our governor's database, where we have a link to COVID-19 documents listed with our "popular searches." The most recent additions are today's Governor's Executive Order No. GA-08 and the declaration of a public health disaster. The LRL will continue adding documents to the database as they are released.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Texas Informational Resources

Seeking information on COVID-19 (coronavirus) and how it may affect different aspects of life in Texas? We've compiled this list of resources from various Texas leaders, agencies, and other organizations. Please use contact information on the respective organizations' websites for any questions specific to their purposes.

 

From Texas leadership:

Texas state agency resources:

From other Texas organizations:

And national organizations:

Information on this page is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.