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Interim Hearings – Weeks of July 28 and August 4, 2014

Interim Hearings – Weeks of July 28th and August 4th

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.

July 29th Top

House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence

Charge 2: Effectiveness of deferred adjudication and orders for non-disclosure; extending use of expunction of criminal records history

 Charge 4: Association between co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders and parole revocation among TDCJ inmates; dual mental health diagnosis

 Charge 5: Current pecuniary loss thresholds associated with graffiti offenses; existing Graffiti Abatement Programs

 Charge 7: Utilization of community supervision in state jail felonies and effectiveness of state jail in light of its original purpose

August 4th Top

Joint Committee on Coastal Barrier System

Topic: Feasibility and desirability of creating and maintaining a coastal barrier system

 

 

August 5th Top

Topic: Storage of ammonium nitrate and authority of first responders to inspect and respond to safety concerns

 Topic: Driver Responsibility Program

 Topic: Update regarding ongoing border operations

Topic: Potential revenue from new and existing sources

Topic: Report and testimony from the Comptroller of Public Accounts regarding the financial condition of the state

 

August 7th Top

Topic:  Study the implementation of all legislation from the 83rd Regular Session that seeks to develop a model to require state agencies regulating occupational licenses which require an apprenticeship to credit veterans' relevant military experience toward the apprenticeship requirements.

 

Topic:  Alternative certification programs that give returning military service men and women credit for skills learned and time served while on active duty.

 

Week in Review, July 24th

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Read a report about jury participation in Texas. (Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, June 2014)
  • Listen to a discussion about the recent surge in numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America and Mexico. (Migration Policy Institute, June 25, 2014)
  • Review recent data on court appearances of unaccompanied immigrant children. (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, July 15, 2014)
  • Consider two court rulings that will impact subsidies for buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. (Kaiser Health News, July 22, 2014)

Week in Review, July 17th

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • See how much each state taxes a gallon of gasoline. (The Washington Post, July 9, 2014)
  • Track air pollution in the United States over the past decade. (NASA, June 26, 2014)
  • Explore how drought is affecting California and other western states. (National Geographic, July 15, 2014)
  • Consider how drought can affect public health over time. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, July 14, 2014)
  • Examine the safety of vaccines used to immunize children in the United States. (Pediatrics, July 1, 2014)
  • Find out where Texas ranks among the states for food and drink. (Thrillist, July 6, 2014)

Interim Hearings – Weeks of July 14 and 21, 2014

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.

July 16th Top

House Committee on House Administration

Topics: Personnel matters, committee budgets, and administrative oversight of technology changes for the House of Representatives

 

House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations

 

July 22nd Top

Senate Committee on Higher Education

Charge: Improvements in teacher preparation and certification programs

 

Charges: Impact of technology on education instruction

 

July 23rd Top

House Select Committee on Economic Development Incentives

Topic: Overall examination of the use of incentives as an economic development tool

 

House Select Committee on Child Protection

 

Topic: Child welfare system: regulatory policy and contract oversight

Topic: Foster and kinship families

 

Topic:  Child welfare system: reporting maltreatment

 

Joint Committee on Human Trafficking

Topics: Ways to further combat human trafficking along the Texas border and region, Services available to victims

 

Week in Review, July 10th

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Read about unaccompanied immigrant children and the recent surge in their numbers at the border with Mexico. (Congressional Research Service, June 23, 2014)
  • See why blood pressure monitoring kiosks aren't always accurate. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, June 24, 2014)
  • Track the status of the legality of gay marriage in the states. (The Washington Post, June 25, 2014)
  • Examine programs that prepare teachers for the classroom. (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2014)

Week in Review, July 3rd

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Examine the connection between school discipline and the dropout rate. (Council of State Governemnts Knowledge Center, June 5, 2014)
  • Consider the criminal enforcement of federal immigration laws. (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University, June 26, 2014)
  • Find out the water quality of your favorite beach. (National Resources Defense Council, Summer 2014)
  • Explore whether student debt is leading to an economic crisis. (Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, June 2014)
  • Check out a new healthy eating and lifestyle resource center. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, June 23, 2014)

Interim Hearings – Week of July 7, 2014

Interim Hearings – Week of July 7th
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.

July 8th Top

House Research Organization Steering Committee

Topic: House Research Organization budget for fiscal 2015

 

July 9th Top

House Committee on Pensions

Charge: New reporting requirements proposed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

 

Charge: Legislative oversight and monitoring of agencies and programs


July 10th Top

House Committees on Appropriations - S/C on Articles I, IV, & V and Pensions (Joint Hearing, 9:00 a.m.) 

Charge: Fiscal impact of the Employees Retirement System (ERS) employee health care plan

 

House Committees on Appropriations - S/C on Article III and Pensions (Joint Hearing, 10:00 a.m.)

Charge: Health care for active public school employees, increases in premium and out-of-pocket costs

 

Charge: Fiscal impact of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) health care plan (TRS-Care)

 

House Committees on Appropriations - S/C on Article III and Pensions (Joint Hearing, 1:00 p.m.)

Charge: Current public education funding formulas, whether items funded outside base formulas (Foundation School Program) should be included inside the formulas

 

Week in Review, June 26th

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Read a report on unaccompanied immigrant children leaving Central America and Mexico. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, March 12, 2014)
  • Review the Survey of Texas Black-Owned Businesses. (Bureau of Business Research, June 2014)
  • See how the U.S. Supreme Court justices have ruled in cases decided in 2014. (The New York Times, updated June 25, 2014)
  • Examine the effects of Medicaid expansion decisions in the southern states. (JAMA, June 25, 2014)

Interim Hearings – Week of June 30, 2014

Interim Hearings – Week of June 30th

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.

June 30th Top

Joint Committee on Water Desalination

Topic: Water desalination, with special focus on brackish groundwater desalination

House Committee on Land & Resource Management

Charge: Regulatory authority of municipalities in extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)

Charge: Legislative oversight and monitoring of agencies and programs

 

July 1st Top

House Select Committee on Child Protection

Topics: Organizational hearing, issues related to child protection

 

 

Topic: Texas Emergency Medical Task Force (EMTF), part of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP)

Topic: Draft legislation on storage of ammonium nitrate and authority of first responders

 

Topic: Department of Public Safety on current border operations

 

July 2nd Top

Topics:

 

 

Week in Review, June 19th

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.
  • Read about two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court related to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. (Kaiser Health News, June 13, 2014)
  • Examine the walkability of metro areas. (George Washington University School of Business, ©2014)
  • Consider ways to ensure eligible beneficiaries participate in the National School Lunch Program. (U.S. Government Accountability Office, May 2014)
  • Explore historic photos of national parks. (National Parks System, accessed June 18, 2014)
  • Observe Juneteenth and read about the day's Texas origins. (Handbook of Texas Online, last modified on June 17, 2013)

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