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

• Review a proposed federal rule related to health care price transparency, patient safety, and access to emergency care in rural areas. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, July 19, 2021)
• Consider public opinion on whether the government should restrict misinformation online. (Pew Research Center, August 18, 2021)
• Read about the newly-established Broadband Development Office. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, August 2, 2021)
• Find answers to common questions about Regeneron's monoclonal antibodies treatment for some COVID-19 infections. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, July 30, 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.

This entry was posted on August 26, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 744 views. Print this entry.

Looking for signed copies of bills? Here are some tips.
 

• Signed Copies of Bills
  • 87th Legislative Session
  • 83rd — 86th Legislative Sessions
  • 78th — 86th Legislative Sessions
  • Prior to the 78th Legislative Session

Signed Copies of Bills

The signing deadline for the 87th Regular Session was Sunday, June 20.

Instructions on how to locate signed copies of bills and concurrent resolutions are available on the Legislative Reference Library (LRL) website. Click on the Signed copies of bills link located in the drop-down menu of the Legislation tab on our homepage.




87th Legislative Session

Bills and concurrent resolutions from the 87th Legislative Session that the governor signed were sent to the Secretary of State's office. These bills are available on the Bills and Resolutions page of the Secretary of State's website. Click on legislative bills on the drop-down menu under the Forms & Other Services tab.

 

On the Bills and Resolution page, use the drop-down menu to select one of the following types of bills: House Bills, House Concurrent Resolutions, House Joint Resolutions, Senate Bills, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, or Senate Joint Resolutions.

 

Using the Bill Lookup option on the Texas Legislature Online (TLO), you can find out whether a bill was signed by the governor or filed without the governor's signature by checking the Actions table. If a bill passed but was filed without the governor's signature, you will see the action, "Filed without the governor's signature." Bills filed without the governor's signature are also sent to the Secretary of State with the signatures of Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.


On TLO, you can also view lists of bills based on a specific action by the governor.

1. On TLO's homepage, click on the "Reports" link under Additional searches.

 

2. The "General Reports" section has three lists of bills by the governor's action.

 

83rd — 86th Legislative Sessions

Signed copies of bills and concurrent resolutions enacted during the 83rd through the 86th Legislative Sessions (2013—2019) are available through the Legislative Archive System on the library's website.

For example, to obtain a signed copy of HB 36, 86th R.S. (2019), look for the "Signed legislation" link on the History page of the bill file.




78th — 86th Legislative Sessions

The University of North Texas Libraries provides access to images of signed copies of bills from the 78th throught the 86th Regular Sessions (2003—2019) in their Texas Laws and Resolutions Archive in The Portal to Texas History.


Prior to the 78th Legislative Session

Copies of signed bills older than the 78th Regular Session (2003) are available through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). Digitized copies of signed bills from the 1st through the 18th Legislative Sessions (1846—1883) are available in TSLAC's Texas Digital Archive. Please call (512) 463-5480 for more information about accessing copies of signed bills.

 

This entry was posted on August 24, 2021 at 4:00 PM and has received 1309 views. Print this entry.

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

• Calculate the living wage for your area. (Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ©2021)
• Read about CEO pay. (Economic Policy Institute, August 10, 2021)
• Find new hunting regulations effective September 1, 2021. (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, August 18, 2021)
• Review redistricting data for Texas counties and places. (Texas Demographic Center, accessed August 18, 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.

This entry was posted on August 19, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 553 views. Print this entry.

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

• Consider whether the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. (The Heritage Foundation, August 11, 2021)
• Track population growth among the 50 states. (Pew Charitable Trusts, updated July 27, 2021)
• Read about recent efforts by state legislatures to limit public health authority. (Network for Public Health Law, May 2021)
• Review remote work and in-person work accomodations for employees with disabilities. (Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School, August 4, 2021)
• Explore the state of primary care in all 254 Texas counties. (Texas Primary Care Consortium, accessed August 11, 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.

This entry was posted on August 12, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 403 views. Print this entry.

87th Legislature, 1st Called Session Statistics

The following bill statistics were calculated on August 9, 2021.

This entry was posted on August 9, 2021 at 4:10 PM and has received 573 views. Print this entry.

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

• Find information related to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. (U.S. Department of the Treasury, updated June 24, 2021)
• Track the progress of the infrastructure bill through the U.S. Congress. (Congress.gov, accessed August 4, 2021)
• Review tips to avoid heat-related illnesses. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, June 30, 2021)
• Report feeling an earthquake and explore data and maps related to earthquakes. (U.S. Geological Survey, accessed August 4, 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.

This entry was posted on August 5, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 717 views. Print this entry.

The Legislative Reference Library (LRL) staff reviews the text of all bills that become law to determine their effective dates and enters the information into Texas Legislature Online (TLO) and on the library's website.

Effective Dates on the LRL's Website

The library compiles a detailed list of bills and their effective dates following each regular and called session. The Effective Dates for Bills list for the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, is now available on the LRL's website.

 

Effective Dates on TLO

To find the effective date of a bill, look up the bill in TLO and see the "Last Action" field in the history window.

For example, the "Last Action" field for SB 2, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, indicates that the bill is effective immediately and includes the effective date.

 

Sometimes a bill becomes effective on a specific date other than the beginning of the fiscal year (i.e., September 1) or the beginning of the calendar year (i.e., January 1). In these cases, the effective date is not stated in the "Last Action" field, but instead is indicated further down the page in the Actions table.

For example, the effective date for SB 197, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, is provided in the "Comment" column of the last action in the Actions table.

 

In some cases, sections of a bill may have different effective dates. These other effective dates are provided in the "Remarks" field.

For example, the "Last Action" field for HB 766, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, refers to the comments in the "Remarks" field because Section 2 of the bill has a different effective date from the rest of the bill.

 

You can also view lists of bills by effective date on TLO.

1. On TLO's homepage, click on the "Reports" link under Additional Searches.

 

2. The "General Reports" section has links to four lists of bills by effective date.

 

For House and Senate bills from the 87th Regular Session (2021), the two largest groupings are:

• Bills Effective Immediately: 329
• Bills Effective on September 1st: 666

 

For more information about bill effective dates, see the Section 3.14 of the Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual.

This entry was posted on August 2, 2021 at 12:20 PM and has received 1632 views. Print this entry.

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

• Track air quality related to wildfires and wildfire smoke. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed July 27, 2021)
• Review public opinion related to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Gallup, July 28, 2021)
• Look up local sales tax rates in Texas by address, city, and zip code. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, accessed July 27, 2021)
• Read about how natural gas flaring in Texas is on the decline. (Railroad Commission of Texas, July 28, 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.

This entry was posted on July 29, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 1062 views. Print this entry.

The Library is continually adding new books to its collection. Below are the titles from our July 2021 New & Noteworthy list.

Check out and delivery of New & Noteworthy titles is available to legislative staff in Capitol and District offices. To arrange check out and delivery of any of these items, you can submit an online request through the New & Noteworthy page on our website, contact the library at 512-463-1252, or use our PDF request form.

1. America's National Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner" in U.S. History, Culture, and Law
By John R. Vile
Presents the history and cultural significance of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States, in an encyclopedic format. Serves as a comprehensive resource on several aspects of the anthem, including the song's origin, its selection by Congress, laws and legal decisions related to its performance, and its impact on different demographic groups. Addresses controversies, such as the political protests undertaken during renditions of the anthem to highlight racial inequality
ABC-CLIO, 2021, 350 pages
973.52 V699 2021

 

 

2. Lone Star Vistas: Travel Writing on Texas, 1821-1861
By Astrid Haas
Examines and compares Mexican, German, and Anglo-American travel writings from military-scientific exploration, colonization, and professional journeys during the antebellum period. Argues these early accounts contributed to the public image of Texas at a time of political and social transformation. Highlights individual writers and how their backgrounds affected their views on nature, white settlement, military engagement, indigenous resistance, and slavery.
University of Texas Press, 2021, 215 pages
917.6405 H112 2021

 

 

3. Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants
By George W. Bush
Presents a new collection of portraits painted by former President George W. Bush. Spotlights the inspiring journeys of 43 men and women who immigrated to the U.S. and their contributions to the life and prosperity of the nation. Highlights immigrant values that are often viewed as distinctly American, including optimism and gratitude, a willingness to strive and to work, a deep sense of patriotism, and a spirit of self-reliance.
Crown Publishers, 2021, 208 pages
759.13 B963O 2021

 

 

4. The Republican Party of Texas A Political History
By Wayne J. Thorburn
Explores the history of the Republican Party in Texas, from its founding in the mid-1800s to its current state dominance. Concludes that while Republicans have a strong foothold in the state, the party is fighting changing demographics, and ideologies from within and outside of its own party.
University of Texas Press, 2021, 387 pages
324.2764 T487R 2021

 

 

5. Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on the History of the Border
By Sonia Hernandez and John Moran Gonzalez, editors
Compiles a series of essays inspired by the 1919 Joint Committee to Investigate the Ranger Force, which addressed the violence committed against Mexican-Americans by Texas Rangers. Explores the historical context surrounding the Ranger investigation, the life of Brownsville Representative José Tomás Canales (whose activism led to the investigation), and how the history of violence against Texans of Mexican descent has been rediscovered by a new generation of historians, writers, and filmmakers.
University of Texas Press, 2021, 310 pages
363.209764 H557R 2021

 

 

6. Final Results of Sunset Reviews 2020–2021
By Sunset Advisory Commission
Summarizes the actions taken by the 87th Legislature on 19 entities that were under review by the Sunset Commission prior to the Regular Session. Highlights major changes to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). Provides the Sunset bill number, fiscal impact for 2022-2023, and final action taken on each of the entities reviewed.
Sunset Advisory Commission, 2021, 49 pages
S1500.8 AN79 2021

 

This entry was posted on July 28, 2021 at 3:35 PM and has received 593 views. Print this entry.

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

• Explore state and local laws related to eviction by state. (Legal Services Corporation, ©2021)
• Read about Latino heritage sites prosed for protected area designations. (Hispanic Access Foundation, July 7, 2021)
• Consider oversight and governance of childhood early care and education. (Education Commission of the States, June 3, 2021)
• Review which states enacted COVID-19 liability protections for businesses. (Stateline, July 21, 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.

This entry was posted on July 22, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 843 views. Print this entry.