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Current Articles & Research Resources, March 25

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Read about ways Supreme Court justices' tenure may be modified. (Congressional Research Service, March 24, 2021)
  • Consider whether drone surveillance without a warrant could violate the Fourth Amendment. (Cato Institute, March 24, 2021)
  • Explore new features of Congress.gov. (Library of Congress, March 22, 2021)
  • Discover land-grant universities across the nation. (National Institute of Food and Agriculture, accessed March 25, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, March 18

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Explore the economic impact of small airports all over Texas. (Texas Department of Transportation, ©2020)
  • Review minimum wage state by state. (Pew Research Center, March 12, 2021)
  • See governors' education proposals according to their State of the State addresses. (Education Commission of the States, 2021)
  • Read the 2020 Internet Crime Report. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, March 17, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, March 11

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Read about methods some states use to identify early signs of local economic distress. (Pew Research Center, March 4, 2021)
  • See recommendations for what to do once you have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 9, 2021)
  • Consider how absentee voting affected the 2020 election. (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, March 2021)
  • Review examples of defensive gun use that suggest the benefits of fewer restrictions on gun ownership. (The Heritage Foundation, March 10, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, March 4

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Review tips to help stop robocalls and robotexts. (Federal Communications Commission, March 2, 2021)
  • Explore state-by-state information related to vaccine distribution for people with disabilities. (Johns Hopkins University, accessed March 3, 2021)
  • Read about how census data delays could affect elections in 2022. (Politico, March 1, 2021)
  • Note that the USDA has issued a disaster designation for 23 counties in Texas related to the severe winter weather in February. (Office of the Texas Governor, March 3, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, February 25

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Review The Legislative Process in Texas. (Texas Legislative Council, February 2021)
  • Explore flood risk by street address or zip code. (First Street Foundation, accessed February 24, 2021)
  • Read about how more women are holding seats in state legislatures. (Stateline, February 24, 2021)
  • Consider a state-by-state guide on when and where to get a COVID-19 vaccination. (The Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Electric Power Outages and Extreme Weather Events, Legislative Committee Hearings, February 25 and March 4

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of legislative committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming hearings.

 

February 25
House Committees on Energy Resources and State Affairs (Joint Hearing)
The Committees on State Affairs and Energy Resources will hold a joint public hearing to consider the factors that led to statewide electrical blackouts during the recent unprecedented weather event; the response by industry, suppliers, and grid operators; and changes necessary to avoid future power interruptions.

The committee will hear invited testimony only on:
- Statewide electrical blackouts-contributing factors and response

 

Senate Committee on Business & Commerce
Purpose: The purpose of this hearing is to examine extreme weather condition preparedness and circumstances that led to the power outages as directed by Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The committee will also review generator preparedness and performance, utility outage practices, natural gas supply, and the reliability of renewable generation, as well as overall ERCOT system resilience.

 

March 4
Senate Committee on Jurisprudence   CANCELED
Purpose: The purpose of this hearing is to examine the legal responsibilities that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) owe to the people of Texas. The committee will review the legal framework for governance and oversight of these two entities, their relationship to one another under the law, potential legal liabilities, and the legal limits on increases to consumer electricity rates during an emergency.

The committee will also examine price gouging under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act and receive an update from the judiciary on how the judicial system is managing its operations during the ongoing statewide emergency.

 

Reports:

Articles:

Legislative Reports
Search interim committee studies on various topics. Search by charge keyword or by the following subjects:

  • Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
  • Electricity transmission and distribution
  • Electricity supplies
  • Natural gas
  • Public Utility Commission of Texas
  • Railroad Commission of Texas

Legislative Archive System
Search past legislation across sessions by subject from 1939-2019 in the Advanced Search:

  • General Subject Index:
    • Business & Commerce--Trade Practices
    • Disaster Preparedness & Relief
    • Energy--Alternative Fuels
    • Energy--Conservation
    • Energy--Fuel Storage
    • Energy--General
    • Oil & Gas
    • Utilities--Electric
    • Utilities--Natural Gas
  • Governmental Agencies:
    • ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL OF TEXAS  (for bills from the 76th Legislature)
    • ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL OF TEXAS (ERCOT)  (for bills from the 79th-86th Legislatures)
    • PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
    • RAILROAD COMMISSION

 

The tile image, "electricity pylon" by fsse8info, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. / Resized from original.

Current Articles & Research Resources, February 18

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Locate the nearest warming center in your area. (Texas Department of Emergency Management, accessed February 17, 2021)
  • Consider the long-term effects on the food supply chain in Texas from unprecedented winter storms. (Texas Department of Agriculture, February 16, 2021)
  • Find information about the end of the driver's license expiration waiver. (Texas Department of Public Safety, February 12, 2021)
  • Review winter storm resources and outages. (Public Utility Commission of Texas, ©2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, February 11

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Be prepared for wintry weather. (Consumer Reports, September 4, 2020)
  • Consider the Federal Aviation Administration's authority to require face masks on commercial flights. (Congressional Research Service, February 8, 2021)
  • Read about how hospital price transparency could affect medical debt litigation. (Health Affairs blog, February 11, 2021)
  • Explore states' policies related to barriers to employment after criminal conviction. (Council of State Governments, ©2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, February 4

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • Explore state policies and actions related to natural disasters of 2019 and 2020. (National Conference of State Legislatures, January 19, 2021)
  • Review sherrifs' and constables' fees by county in Texas. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, accessed February 2, 2021)
  • Track information related to COVID-19 vaccine administration and distribution at state, national, and global levels. (Bloomberg, accessed February 3, 2021)
  • See which notable works from 1925 enter the public domain in the United States. (Library of Congress, January 29, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

Current Articles & Research Resources, January 28

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

  • See which states' populations grew or declined based on new census estimates. (Stateline, January 21, 2021)
  • Review issues Congress may be considering related to content and misinformation on social media platforms. (Congressional Research Service, January 27, 2021)
  • Consider state approaches related to telework for people with disabilities. (Council of State Governments, 2020)
  • Explore the newly updated drought.gov. (National Integrated Drought Information System, January 12, 2021)

 

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

 

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

 

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