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

• Track topics of interest to state legislatures across the country. (National Conference of State Legislatures, updated November 24, 2024)
• Read a new federal rule that prohibits creditors and consumer reporting agencies from considering medical debt and medical information as factors in credit reporting. (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, January 7, 2025)
• Consider the religious composition of the incoming U.S. Congress. (Pew Research Center, January 2, 2025)
• Review how cars affect the privacy of drivers. (Electronic Frontier Foundation December 28, 2024)

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 January 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM and has received 397 views. Print this entry.

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.

January 7, 2025
Joint Committee to Study the Effects of Media on Minors
Topic: Health and developmental effects of media on minors and the effects of exposure by a minor to various forms of media, including:

(A) social media platforms;
(B) software applications;
(C) Internet websites;
(D) television programming;
(E) motion pictures and film;
(F) artificial intelligence;
(G) mobile devices;
(H) computers;
(I) video games;
(J) virtual and augmented reality; and
(K) other media formats the joint committee considers necessary.

• Social Media and Children 2024 Legislation, National Conference of State Legislatures, updated November 22, 2024
• Daily Screen Time Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021-December 2023, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Data Brief, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 2024
• Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force: Safe and Secure Social Media Use, Bipartisan Policy Center, September 2024
• Online Health and Safety for Children and Youth: Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry, Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, July 22, 2024
• Social Media and Youth Mental Health, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, last reviewed June 17, 2024
• Teens and Video Games Today, Pew Research Center, May 9, 2024
• Generation Screen: Navigating the Digital Age for Children, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, April 5, 2024
• Social Media and Children 2023 Legislation, National Conference of State Legislatures, updated January 26, 2024
• Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023, Pew Research Center, December 11, 2023
• The Fragmentation of Online Child Safety Regulations, Brookings Institution, August 14, 2023
• Health Advisory on Social Media Use in Adolescence, American Psychological Association, May 2023

This entry was posted on January 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM and has received 582 views. Print this entry.

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

• Find information relating to the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act (JETI). (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, accessed December 18, 2024)
• Explore the United States Elections Web Archive. (Library of Congress, accessed December 17, 2024)
• Search for maps across history in the United States and beyond. (OldMaps Online, accessed December 17, 2024)
• Review the U.S. Supreme Court’s pilot program for members of the public for Courtroom seating via a fully automated online lottery. (Supreme Court of the United States, December 12, 2024)

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 December 19, 2024 at 3:15 PM and has received 413 views. Print this entry.

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

• Consider policy issues related to plastic pollution. (Congressional Research Service, December 5, 2024)
• Explore economic data. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, accessed December 12, 2024)
• Read communication infrastructure hardening guidance. (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, December 4, 2024)
• Review notable survey findings of 2024 on topics ranging from elections to whether the cost of college is worth it. (Pew Research Center, December 6, 2024)

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 December 12, 2024 at 3:15 PM and has received 323 views. Print this entry.

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas.

December 20, 2024
House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
Topic: Criminal procedure related to capital punishment and new science writs under Article 11.073, Code of Criminal Procedure.

This entry was posted on December 11, 2024 at 2:00 PM and has received 296 views. Print this entry.

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

• Examine data practices of social media companies. (Federal Trade Commission, September 2024)
• Review a report about utilities’ response to the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in the Houston area. (Public Utility Commission, November 2024)
• Read a public service announcement warning of criminals using artificial intelligence to perpetrate financial fraud. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, December 3, 2024)
• Consider the prevalence of deceptive tactics in policing. (Cato Institute, September 12, 2024)
• Explore how to submit a complaint about an environmental issue. (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, accessed December 4, 2024)

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 December 5, 2024 at 3:15 PM and has received 316 views. Print this entry.

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.

• December 9, 2024
  • House Committee on House Administration
• December 11, 2024
  • Sunset Advisory Commission

December 9, 2024
House Committee on House Administration
Topic: Invited testimony only from any Member or Member-elect of the 89th Legislature who submits a proposal for a suggested rule change to the Committee on House Administration

Top

December 11, 2024
Sunset Advisory Commission
Consideration and possible action on the new recommendations for the following agencies:

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice
• Correctional Managed Health Care Committee
• Windham School District
• Board of Pardons and Paroles

Staff presentation and public testimony:

• Angelina and Neches River Authority
• Lower Neches River Authority
• Trinity River Authority of Texas
• Texas Ethics Commission

Top

This entry was posted on December 4, 2024 at 4:00 PM and has received 347 views. Print this entry.

The Library is continually adding new books to its collection. Below are the titles from our December 2024 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 or contact the library at 512-463-1252.

1. Bill Hobby: A Life in Journalism and Public Service
By Don Carleton and Erin L. Purdy
Presents the biography of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby, Jr. through his youth; careers in journalism, politics, and higher education; and retirement. Details the work he accomplished as the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Texas from 1973 to 1991. Discusses his handling of such issues as the 1974 Constitutional Convention, the Killer Bees' quorum break, and the relationship between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Includes discussion of his contributions as a journalist with the Houston Post and as chancellor of the University of Houston.
Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas Press, 2024, 428 pages
976.4063092 C281B 2024

 

 

2. Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health
By Marty Makary
Examines the blind spots of modern medicine perpetuated within the medical community and the consequences to public health. Criticizes the medical “groupthink” mentality that has led to worse health outcomes for patients. Provides examples of bad medical advice related to peanut allergies, the opioid crisis, and the development of super bacteria from the overuse of antibiotics. Calls for changes to the way society approaches health by using good scientific evidence and allowing open dissent from mainstream medical opinions.
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024, 265 pages
362.1 M235 2024

 

 

3. Higher Admissions: The Rise, Decline, and Return of Standardized Testing
By Nicholas Lemann
Explores the role of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, now known as the SAT, in higher education admissions. Questions the logic of linking SAT success with merit and chronicles the “birth of the American meritocracy” around the exam. Considers the effect of high-stakes standardized testing on college access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Princeton University Press, 2024, 160 pages
378.161 L547 2024

 

 

4. Politics Under the Radar: From LBJ to George W. Bush
By Monte Akers and Robert D. Spellings
Presents the political and personal memoir of Robert D. Spellings, chief of staff of former Lieutenant Governor Ben F. Barnes. Provides an insider's account of the political workings and legislative actions during Barnes' speakership and service as lieutenant governor. Includes details of the 1971 redistricting process and the Sharpstown scandal. Reflects on state and federal politics from the 1970s to the present.
Independently Published, 2024, 280 pages
976.4 SP743P 2024

 

 

5. The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers
By Josh Cowen
Traces the history of school tax-funded school choice programs in America. Links the drive for voucher programs to ultra-wealthy conservative stakeholders using school choice as an ideological and political battleground. Argues as such programs have expanded in the U.S., so too has the evidence-informed case against them.
Harvard Education Press, 2024, 200 pages
379.1 C874 2024

 

 

6. Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity
By Sander van der Linden
Argues that misinformation has reached a crisis level that has led to a worldwide infodemic. Focuses on the psychological effect of misinformation on the human brain along with how to defend against false information. Offers the new science of “prebunking” as a psychological vaccine for building immunity to combat against fake news, propaganda, and conspiracy theories.
W.W. Norton & Company, 2023, 358 pages
302.3 V228 2023

 

 

This entry was posted on December 4, 2024 at 3:15 PM and has received 861 views. Print this entry.

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.

December 3, 2024
Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Grid Reliability
Review the implementation of legislation related to the regulation of the electricity market in Texas enacted by the 87th and 88th Legislatures.

• PUCT Approves Rule Requiring Registration of Virtual Currency Mining Facilities (Press Release), Public Utility Commission of Texas, November 21, 2024
• Public Utility Commission of Texas Approves First Utility ‘Resiliency Plan’ to Further Strengthen Electric Reliability (Press Release), Public Utility Commission of Texas, November 14, 2024
• 88th Legislative Session – ERCOT Status, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, November 2024
• ERCOT Ancillary Services Study: Final Whitepaper, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, September 2024
• 2023 State of the Market Report for the ERCOT Electricity Markets, Independent Market Monitor for ERCOT, Potomac Economics, May 2024
• 87th Legislative Session – ERCOT Status, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, June 2023
• 2022 State of the Market Report for the ERCOT Electricity Markets, Independent Market Monitor for ERCOT, Potomac Economics, May 2023
• Interim Report to the 88th Legislature (Charge 4 – Electricity), Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, January 9, 2023
• Biennial Agency Report to the 88th Texas Legislature (Electricity, Electricity: Resilience and Market Design, Electricity: Interconnection), Public Utility Commission, January 2023
• PUC Interchange Filer, Public Utility Commission of Texas
  • Filings for 55999: Reports of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, updated November 21, 2024
  • Filings for 53911: Aggregate Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) ERCOT Pilot Project, updated November 20, 2024
  • Filings for 55421: Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, updated November 18, 2024
  • Filings for 54037: Reports to the 88th Legislature, updated June 11, 2024
  • Filings for 55156: Implementation Activities 88th Legislature (R.S.), updated April 23, 2024

New Sunset Staff Reports
2024-25 Review Cycle
The Sunset Advisory Commission staff released the following staff reports in November 2024:

1. Trinity River Authority of Texas
2. Angelina and Neches River Authority / Lower Neches River Authority
3. Texas Ethics Commission
4. River Authority Uniformity Study

This entry was posted on November 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM and has received 499 views. Print this entry.

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

• Read about the need for civil rights and civil liberties protections in the context of data collection, sharing, and use. (Government Accountability Office, November 19, 2024)
• See how much Americans spend weekly on groceries by state. (Visual Capitalist, November 13, 2024)
• Consider Americans’ trust in scientists. (Pew Research Center, November 14, 2024)
• Explore annual tariff data. (U.S. International Trade Commission, accessed November 20, 2024)

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 November 21, 2024 at 3:15 PM and has received 827 views. Print this entry.