Aug 18
Aug 15
You can find almost anything in Google, but have you ever wondered if you're searching in the most efficient way? If so, take a look at some of the tips and shortcuts explained in the links below. Google can do amazing things in one click, like find population and unemployment rates, define any word or phrase, or even help you track the status of arriving or departing U.S. flights. It also has the capacity to handle precise word searching, allowing you to narrow your search results and save time. For learning these tips and tricks, we liked the three websites below, however additional information can be found by visiting Google's Inside Search Features page.
Google Search Features: Learn about the different types of information you can find in one click, as well as more advanced search techniques like searching on the synonym of your search term, or using the plus (+) operator.
Basic Search Help: This page contains general recommendations for getting the best out of your Google search. Among other things, the folks at Google suggest keeping your search simple by using as few terms as possible and by using highly descriptive (unique) words.
Aug 11
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One of the library's recent acquisitions, a report published by the Houston nonpartisan advocacy group Children at Risk, takes an in-depth look at Texas' new juvenile mental health courts. These specialty courts are designed to aid juvenile offenders who suffer from mental illness. Their focus is on treatment and rehabilitation rather than incarceration. The report, Texas Juvenile Mental Health Courts: An Evaluation and Blueprint for the Future, begins with a concise overview of these specialized systems. It then focuses on four major courts in Austin, El Paso, Harris County, and San Antonio. For each court, the researchers describe the process juvenile offenders go through, the services the court offers, and the potential outcomes of a case. They also provide demographic and offense statistics. Finally, each court is evaluated on success rates and cost-effectiveness. Individual case histories are included throughout this section, adding a personal touch to the numbers. The report's second section lays out a "blueprint for the future." After a brief overview of the advantages of juvenile mental health courts, the authors offer specific, detailed guidance to policymakers and local leaders who are considering establishing these courts in their communities. The discussion takes readers step-by-step through the process of setting up a mental health court system and is punctuated with real-world examples from the courts described in section one. The authors conclude with policy recommendations from various stakeholders and Children at Risk itself. These recommendations address funding, staffing, and evaluation concerns. Along with the rest of the report, they provide a good starting point for those interested in learning more about this new breed of specialty court. |
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82nd R.S.
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1
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The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran.
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82nd R.S.
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2
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The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstanding.
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82nd R.S.
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3
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The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Texas to finance educational loans to students.
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82nd R.S.
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4
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The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit a county to issue bonds or notes to finance the development or redevelopment of an unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted area and to pledge for repayment of the bonds or notes increases in ad valorem taxes imposed by the county on property in the area. The amendment does not provide authority for increasing ad valorem tax rates.
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82nd R.S.
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5
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The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to allow cities or counties to enter into interlocal contracts with other cities or counties without the imposition of a tax or the provision of a sinking fund.
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82nd R.S.
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6
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The constitutional amendment clarifying references to the permanent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to distribute revenue from permanent school fund land or other properties to the available school fund to provide additional funding for public education, and providing for an increase in the market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of allowing increased distributions from the available school fund.
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82nd R.S.
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7
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The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities.
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82nd R.S.
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8
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The constitutional amendment providing for the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water-stewardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity.
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82nd R.S.
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9
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The constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant a pardon to a person who successfully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervision.
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82nd R.S.
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10
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The constitutional amendment to change the length of the unexpired term that causes the automatic resignation of certain elected county or district officeholders if they become candidates for another office.
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Jul 28
We often get asked if we work when the Legislature is not in session. The answer is: yes. During the interim our staff is busy offering the same services we do during session, including our daily news clipping service, research assistance for legislative staff, state agencies and members of the public, current awareness services such as our weekly Current Articles list, Twitter feed and blog, and our work assembling original bill files. We also spend time enhancing existing library resources and creating new ones. In past interims, we've developed systems to put legislative interim reports, constitutional amendments and governor documents online in searchable databases. Some of our long-term projects, such as our Texas Legislators database, have been ongoing for several years.
A project that we began developing in 2002 and that is also ongoing today is our Legislative Archive System, a project in cooperation with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to scan and organize original legislative bill files and make them available online. Since its inception, over 100,000 bill files have been scanned and cataloged in the system. That's all bills from the 76th Legislature (1999) back to the 50th Legislature (1947). We're now scanning bills from the 49th Legislature (1945), and the materials are more fragile and have special handling requirements. Most of the bills, for example, have been for decades folded into thirds. To scan these, it is necessary to first humidify and flatten them. Here are pictures of the equipment we use to do this.
While it may be surprising that we use rubber trash cans, bricks and wooden boards to treat these materials, this is a standard procedure used by many libraries and archives.
In addition to our ongoing projects, we're excited to release soon a new resource containing scanned committee minutes from past sessions. Until now, these have been available in hard copy only, so this should be a great help to researchers. Stay tuned for more information about this and other future resources.
Jul 21
