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

• Track current wildfire activity in Texas. (Texas A&M Forest Service, accessed July 21, 2022)
• Review federal legislation related to market-based greenhouse gas emission reduction. (Congressional Research Service, updated July 18, 2022)
• Explore introduced and enacted state legislation related to cybersecurity. (National Conference of State Legislatures, July 5, 2022)
• Consider how heat and humidity affect the ability of the human body to cool itself. (The Conversation, July 6, 2022)

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 21, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 557 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.

• July 25, 2022
  • House Committee on Public Education
• July 26, 2022
  • House Committee on Public Education

July 25, 2022
House Committee on Public Education
Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

• HB 1525 and HB 3 (86R), relating to public school finance and public education;
• HB 4545, relating to assessment of public school students and providing accelerated instruction;
• SB 1365, relating to public school organization, accountability, and fiscal management; and
• SB 1716, relating to supplemental special education services and instructional materials for certain public school students.

Charge: Study the effects of COVID-19 on K-12 learning loss and best practices that exist to address learning loss. Monitor the implementation of state and local plans to address students' achievement gaps. Make recommendations for supporting the state and local efforts to increase academic development.

• Texas Can Do More to Ensure Students Recover from Pandemic Learning Loss, UnidosUS, May 19, 2022
• Interim Hearings – Week of May 23, 2022, May 24 – House Committee on Public Education, Legislative Reference Library, May 18, 2022
• State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, U.S. Department of Education, April 21, 2021
• COVID-19 Learning Loss in Texas, Southern Methodist University, Istation, February 2021

Charge: Examine the causes and contributors for chronic absenteeism in public schools and its impact on student outcomes. Consider techniques and approaches that have been utilized by public schools to identify students who are chronically absent and return these students to classrooms.

• Interim Hearings – Week of May 23, 2022, May 24 – House Committee on Public Education, Legislative Reference Library, May 18, 2022
• Chronic Absenteeism is a Huge School Problem. Can Data Help?, Governing, May 20, 2021
• Spotlight: Chronic Absenteeism, George W. Bush Institute, Spring 2018

Top

July 26, 2022
House Committee on Public Education
Charge: Identify and examine efforts to ensure that parents have a meaningful role in their children’s education. Recommend necessary changes in both independent school district board and open enrollment charter governing board governance to protect the right of parents to participate in their child’s education.

• Parental Rights Bills Have Been Introduced in Most States. Teachers are Pushing Back, The 19th, March 25, 2022
• Connected Through Our Schools: The 2022 Poll on Texans' Attitudes Toward Public Education, Charles Butt Foundation, 2022
• Education Legislation: Bill Tracking (Topic: Parental Involvement), National Conference of State Legislatures, December 13, 2021

Charge: Examine partnerships between K-12, higher education institutions, and employers that promote postsecondary and career readiness and identify current obstacles that public schools,higher education institutions, and employers face. Make recommendations to ensure career and technical education programs, internships, apprenticeships, and other opportunities are more accessible.

• Using Guided Pathways to Build Cross-Sector Pathways Partnerships, Community College Research Center, October 2021
• Critical Comeback: The Value of a Trades Education in the Age of Uncertainty, Texas Builder, September/October 2020
• 50-State Comparison: Secondary Career and Technical Education (State Profile - Texas), Education Commission of the States, April 1, 2020
• Tracking and the Future of Career and Technical Education: How Efforts to Connect School and Work Can Avoid the Past Mistakes of Vocational Education, National Education Policy Center, February 2020
• We Need a Systemic Approach to Career Pathways, Phi Delta Kappan, November 25, 2019
• Advance Together, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
• Texas College and Career Readiness School Models, Texas Education Agency

Charge: Monitor and analyze the state policy on curriculum and instructional materials used in public schools.

• Instructional Materials and Library Books in Texas Public Schools – What You Need to Know, Texas Association of School Boards, 2022
• 87th Legislative Session Final Bill Report 2021 (Curriculum and Instruction), Texas Association of School Administrators, 2021
• Curriculum Division, Instructional Materials, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, Texas Education Agency

Top

This entry was posted on July 20, 2022 at 9:30 AM and has received 1184 views. Print this entry.

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

• Explore crime statistics and information by location or topic with the FBI's Crime Data Explorer. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, accessed July 13, 2022)
• Review housing conditions across the U.S. (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2022)
• Read about how cities are planning for heat. (Environmental Research Letters, June 10, 2022)
• Track grid and market conditions dashboards. (Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), accessed July 13, 2022)

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 14, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 512 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.

• July 19, 2022
  • House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism CANCELED
• July 20, 2022
  • House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs

July 19, 2022
House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism (Canyon) CANCELED
Charge #3: Review state efforts to preserve and develop Texas state parks and open spaces to ensure affordable public access to outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.

• Natural Agenda: A Strategic Plan for Texas Parks and Wildlife, Fiscal Years 2023-2027, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, June 1, 2022
• Staff Report with Final Results: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Sunset Advisory Commission, June 2021
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Self-Evaluation Report, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, August 2019
• Land and Water Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, January 2015
• Education, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• Future Parks, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Top

July 20, 2022
House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs
Charge: Examine programs and funding streams connected to services that improve mental health outcomes for servicemen and women suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

• Association of Traumatic Brain Injury With Mortality Among Military Veterans Serving After September 11, 2001, Journal of the American Medical Association, February 11, 2022
• UTSA Collaborative Study with DoD and VA Aims to Heighten Awareness, Improve Care for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury, The University of Texas at San Antonio, February 11, 2021
• The National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study: A Narrative Review and Future Directions (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), Frontiers in Psychiatry, December 9, 2020
• Veterans Recovery Pilot Program Evaluation Report, As Required by Texas Health and Safety Code Section 49.008, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, October 2020
• Treating PTSD: A Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, November 2, 2018
• Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults, American Psychological Association, 2017
• Overview of VA Research on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• VA Research on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Topic: Update on Military Equipment available to local governments through the Texas Law Enforcement Support Office.

• Texas LESO Program, Texas Department of Public Safety

Top

This entry was posted on July 12, 2022 at 4:30 PM and has received 514 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.

• July 11, 2022
  • House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting
  • Senate Committee on Finance
• July 12, 2022
  • House Committee on Appropriations
  • Senate Committee on Finance
• July 14, 2022
  • House Committee on Urban Affairs
• July 17, 2022
  • House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting

July 11, 2022
House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting
The committee will meet to hear invited testimony from law enforcement authorities and other affected parties related to the facts and circumstances of the events relating to the violent acts, shootings, and murders at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Because of the quasi-judicial nature of the committee's investigation and pursuant to House Rule 4, Section 12, witnesses may be examined in executive session.

Senate Committee on Finance
Charge: Federal Funds: Report on the state use of federal COVID-19 relief funds provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts, and similar federal legislation. Examine local use of federal relief funding, including funding provided to school districts through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Evaluate the overall fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state agencies, including costs incurred due to federal mandates. Identify barriers to the effective utilization of funds and make recommendations on the expenditure of unappropriated funds. In addition, evaluate and report on the spending by state agencies that have been utilizing "one-time" federal funding (temporary enhancements, e.g. FMAP and ESSER) sources, where federal funding will likely be significantly reduced in future biennia.

• Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending, Congressional Research Service, updated May 3, 2022
• Federal Funds Watch: Federal Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill, Legislative Budget Board, April 2022
• State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, submitted by the Texas Education Agency to the U.S. Department of Education, April 21 2021
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support and Guidance (District Waivers, Finance & Grants), Texas Education Agency
• COVID-19 Reporting, Legislative Budget Board
• Education Stabilization Fund: Texas, U.S. Department of Education
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Programs, Texas Education Agency

Top

July 12, 2022
House Committee on Appropriations
Update on the Texas Economy

• Outlook for the Texas Economy, Texas Real Estate Research Center, June 22, 2022
• Texas Economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
• Key Economic Indicators, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Uvalde Response: Mental Health and School Safety

• Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Phelan, Senate Finance, House Appropriations Committee Chairs Announce Additional $105.5 Million For School Safety, Mental Health Initiatives (Budget Execution Order), Office of the Governor, June 28, 2022

Interim Charge #3: Evaluate the history of appropriations and revenues for GR-D Accounts 5010 (Sexual Assault Fund) and 0469 (Crime Victims Compensation Fund).

• Fiscal Size-Up 2022-23 Biennium (Crime Victims' Services), Legislative Budget Board, March 2022
• Crime Victim Services: 2021 Annual Report, Office of the Attorney General, December 9, 2021
• Summary of Budget Recommendations - House (Victims Assistance), Office of the Attorney General, February 17, 2021

Interim Charge #5: Review the information technology supporting the Texas Medicaid Program.

• Technology Innovation in Medicaid: What to Expect in the Next Decade, California Health Care Foundation, February 2021
• HHS Information Technology and Data Services Modernization Plan, As Required by 2020-21 General Appropriations Act, House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 175), Texas Health and Human Services, October 2020
• Medicaid Information Technology: Effective CMS Oversight and States' Sharing of Claims Processing and Information Retrieval Systems Can Reduce Costs, United States Government Accountability Office, September 2020

Interim Charge #7: Make funding recommendations for the phased installation of climate control equipment in state correctional facilities.

• Agency Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2023-2027, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, June 1, 2022
• TDCJ Units with Full, Partial, or No Air-Conditioning, Texas Prisons Community Advocates, April 2022
• Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, December 1, 2021
• Humane Temperatures Potential Cost Savings Report, Texas Prisons Community Advocates, February 4, 2021
• Tougher Than the Rest: No Criminal Justice Reform "Miracle" in Texas, Prison Legal News, January 1, 2021
• Unit Directory, Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Interim Charge #8: Examine the long-term capital needs of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, including deferred maintenance and planned land acquisitions for new state park land.

• Natural Agenda: A Strategic Plan for Texas Parks and Wildlife, Fiscal Years 2023-2027, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, June 1, 2022
• Fiscal Size-Up 2022-23 Biennium (Texas Parks and Wildlife – Capital Improvements), Legislative Budget Board, March 2022
• Future Parks, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Interim Charge #9: Monitor the use of appropriated funds by the Texas Water Development Board from the Flood Infrastructure Fund.

• Staff Report with Commission Decisions (Texas Water Development Board), Sunset Advisory Commission, July 2022
• Fiscal Size-Up 2022-23 Biennium (Texas Water Development Board), Legislative Budget Board, March 2022
• Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF), Project Reporting Dashboard, Texas Water Development Board

Update on Operation Lone Star

• Border Security: Appropriations and Reporting Requirements (Presented to House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety), Legislative Budget Board, May 3, 2022
• Operation Lone Star, Texas Tribune

Senate Committee on Finance
Charge: Operation Lone Star: Monitor appropriations and spending supporting Operation Lone Star. Evaluate and report on the effectiveness of spending to secure the southern border. Identify and report on resources needed to ensure support for the State National Guard, as well as overall resources necessary for border security for future legislative consideration.

• How Federal Pandemic Aid Helped Texas Pay for Greg Abbott's Border Mission, Texas Tribune, May 9, 2022
• Border Security: Appropriations and Reporting Requirements (Presented to House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety), Legislative Budget Board, May 3, 2022
• Operation Lone Star, Texas Tribune

Charge: Bail Bond Reform: Monitor the implementation of recent bail bond reform legislation along with its economic impact on the judicial and correctional system. Assess any barriers to implementation, the law’s effect on pretrial release and jail populations, and ways to further promote public safety and efficiency.

• Monitoring Pretrial Reform in Harris County: Fourth Report of the Court-Appointed Monitor, O'Donnell Monitor, April 18, 2022
• Bail, Crime & Public Safety, Harris County District Attorney's Office, September 2, 2021
• 2021 Legislative Analysis Report (Criminal Procedure), Texas Association of Counties, August 2021
• Current Population Report, Texas Commission on Jail Standards 
• Official Website of the Independent Monitor for the O'Donnell v. Harris County Consent Decree Regarding Misdemeanor Bail Practices, O'Donnell Monitor

Top

July 14, 2022
House Committee on Urban Affairs (Houston)
Charge #2: Evaluate the availability of workforce housing to support the dynamic economic growth of the state. Study the use of public-private partnerships and other tools to incentivize the development of housing that meets Texas’ expanding workforce demands. Develop and include measures to ensure accountability and transparency associated with these tools.

• Texas Housing Insight, Texas Real Estate Research Center, July 1, 2022
• The State of The Nation's Housing 2022, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, June 22, 2022
• The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, National Low Income Housing Coalition, April 2022
• Here's One Way States Are Boosting Affordable Housing, Stateline, March 2, 2022
• Paycheck to Paycheck Database, National Housing Conference

Charge #3: Review the Municipal Management District Legislative Template with respect to representation and accountability. Make recommendations for improving the template.

• Economic Development Handbook (Municipal Management Districts), Texas Municipal League, updated January 2020
• Interim Report to the 86th Texas Legislature (Charge 4 – MMD Template Language), House Committee on Special Purpose Districts, December 2018
• Interim Report to the 86th Legislature (Charge 4 – Municipal Management District Uniformity), Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, November 2018

Top

July 17, 2022
House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting (Uvalde)
The committee will meet to consider a preliminary report.

Top

This entry was posted on July 7, 2022 at 4:05 PM and has received 963 views. Print this entry.

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

• Read about stare decisis and the U.S. Supreme Court's role in legal precedent. (ABA Legal Fact Check, June 24, 2022)
• Explore polarization in American politics. (University of Chicago Institute of Politics, accessed June 28, 2022)
• Consider how journalists view their job and the press. (Pew Research Center, June 14, 2022)
• Review an economic outlook for the U.S. (Congressional Research Service, June 28, 2022)

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 June 30, 2022 at 3:18 PM and has received 585 views. Print this entry.

The Library is continually adding new books to its collection. Below are the titles from our June 2022 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. Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics
By Susan J. Carroll, Richard L. Fox, and Kelly Dittmar, editors
Examines the role that gender and race played in the recent 2018 and 2020 elections. Reflects on how elections in the U.S. are acutely gendered, from perceptions of candidates to the disparity between the number of men versus women vying for political office.
Cambridge University Press, 2022, 337 pages
320.082 G285 2022

 

 

2. One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America
By Nick Seabrook
Provides historical examples of gerrymandering to illustrate how the practice has affected modern politics, including efforts by Patrick Henry, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry, the namesake of the term. Highlights the Redistricting Majority Project (REDMAP), a Republican Party program dedicated to taking control of state legislatures after the 2010 census. Discusses the role of the judiciary in resolving disputes over redistricting. Recommends strategies states can use to reform the redistricting process.
Pantheon Books, 2022, 362 pages
328.3 SE438ON 2022

 

 

3. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission: Sunset Staff Report
By Sunset Advisory Commission
Reports on the functions and governance structure of the Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact. Identifies public distrust and confusion over TCEQ's decision making process. Recommends changes in monitoring, enforcement, and review processes, including reform of the Commission's practices for gathering public input and promoting transparency.
Sunset Advisory Commission, 2022, 94 pages
S1500.8 EN89 2022

 

 

4. Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Office of the Independent Ombudsman: Sunset Staff Report
By Sunset Advisory Commission
Reviews the functions and governance structure of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). Focuses on TJJD's critical staffing issues, noting the employee turnover rates are the worst among large state agencies, and resolving this issue is necessary. Recommends changes to the board structure, while cautioning against a significant leadership shift, and requests a shortened six-year period until Sunset's next review of this agency.
Sunset Advisory Commission, 2022, 102 pages
S1500.8 J800 2022

 

 

5. Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America
By Mark Follman
Explores the field of behavioral threat assessment as a strategy for preventing mass shootings in the United States. Examines the method's origins, through it's use in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Secret Service investigations, to its expansion after attacks in schools. Shows how trained teams, with their focus on recognizing concerning behaviors, can be scaled-up to aid the entire nation. Discusses school shootings and provides accounts from perpetrators, survivors, and behavior and legal experts.
Dey Street Books, 2022, 286 pages
364.152 F668T 2022

 

 

6. Sexual Harassment and Misconduct: An Encyclopedia
By Gina Robertiello, editor
Presents a comprehensive overview about the scope, nature, and prevalence of sexual harassment and misconduct in the United States. Includes relevant laws, codes of conduct, and court decisions. Explains past and current events, claims, various reforms and responses, as well as scandals pertaining to issues of sexism and sexual harassment.
ABC-CLIO, 2021, 395 pages
305.420973 R642S 2021

 

 

This entry was posted on June 28, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 618 views. Print this entry.

This entry was posted on June 24, 2022 at 9:29 AM and has received 580 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.

• June 27, 2022
  • Senate Committee on Border Security
  • Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
• June 28, 2022
  • House Committee on Human Services
  • Senate Committee on Finance
• June 29, 2022
  • House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting
  • Senate Committee on Business & Commerce
• June 30, 2022
  • House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting

June 27, 2022
Senate Committee on Border Security
Topic: Review border security appropriations and their directed purposes. Invited testimony from the following:

• Office of the Attorney General
• Texas Division of Emergency Management
• Texas Facilities Commission

Border Security: Appropriations and Reporting Requirements (Presented to House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee), Legislative Budget Board, May 2022

Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
Charge: Public Health Data: Review the processes for public health data collection and coordination by local and state entities as well as regional trauma centers. Identify any continuing barriers to the real-time dissemination of data concerning health care facility capacity-including data that can expedite timely care-and morbidity rates, as well as other information that can assist in public policy decisions.

• Pew Proposes Steps to Strengthen the Country’s Response to Future Health Crises (Recommendations Related to Public Health Data), Pew Charitable Trusts, March 11, 2022
• Barriers to Dissemination of Local Health Data Faced by US State Agencies: Survey Study of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Coordinators, Journal of Medical Internet Research, July 13, 2021
• Assessment of Epidemiology Capacity in State Health Departments — United States, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 1, 2021
• Texas Health Care Information Collection (THCIC), Texas Department of State Health Services

Charge: Pandemic Response: Examine the impact of state and federal pandemic policies-including agency guidance, licensing and regulatory actions, and health care industry policies-on patient care and treatment delivery. Examine how regulatory guidance impacts the patient-doctor relationship. Recommend any changes needed to ensure Texas can develop its own data-driven guidance during public health emergencies.

• State Action on Coronavirus (COVID-19), National Conference of State Legislatures, June 20, 2022
• COVID Relief Provisions Stabilized Health Coverage, Improved Access and Affordability, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 10, 2022
• Compact for Care: Texas Joins Interstate Agreement for Out-of-State Licensure, Texas Medical Association, last updated on January 25, 2022
• COVID-19: State Health Actions, National Conference of State Legislatures, September 27, 2021
• COVID-19 Health Policy Snapshots, National Conference of State Legislatures, March 1, 2021
• Telehealth After COVID-19: Clarifying Policy Goals for a Way Forward, RAND Corporation, January 2021

Top

June 28, 2022
House Committee on Human Services
Charge: Examine the long-term services and support system of care in Texas. Study workforce challenges for both institutional and community services. Assess opportunities to improve patient safety at senior living facilities. Consider mechanisms to promote a stable, sustainable, and quality-based long-term care system to address current and future needs of the state.

• Long-term Care Funding (Presented to Senate Committee on Finance), Legislative Budget Board, June 2022
• Nursing Facility Staffing Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Kaiser Family Foundation, April 4, 2022
• Protecting Seniors by Improving Safety and Quality of Care in the Nation's Nursing Homes, The White House, February 28, 2022
• Employer Nurse Staffing Studies Archive (Long Term Care), Texas Department of State Health Services, last updated March 4, 2021
• Long-term Care Providers, Texas Health and Human Services
• Evidence-based Best Practices, Texas Health and Human Services
• AHRQ's Quality & Patient Safety Programs by Setting: Long-Term Care, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Charge: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including:

• HB 3041, related to the implementation of the Family Preservation Services Pilot Program.

Charge: Monitor the current status of the state hospital system, including the forensic bed waitlist.

• Semi-Annual Reporting of Waiting Lists for Mental Health Services, As Required by 2022-2023 General Appropriations Act, Senate Bill 1, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021 (Article II, HHSC, Rider 50), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, November 2021
• Semi-Annual Reporting of Waiting Lists for Mental Health Services, As Required by 2020-2021 General Appropriations Act, House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 58), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, April 2021
• Addendum: A Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services, In Response to S.B. 1, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 147), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, January 2021
• State Hospital Bed-Day Allocation Methodology and Utilization Review Protocol for Fiscal Year 2020, As Required by Health and Safety Code Section 533.0515(e), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, December 2020

Senate Committee on Finance
Charge: Mental Health Delivery: Examine the state mental health service delivery system. Study the state's Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services and the Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan and evaluate the existing state investments in mental health services and state hospital capacity. Review current forensic and civil mental health service waitlists, and recommend ways to improve coordination and outcomes to reduce waitlists. Explore and report on options for additional mental health service capacity, including building state hospitals in the Panhandle and Rio Grande Valley areas.

• Texas Statewide Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Strategic Plan, Texas Health and Human Services, January 13, 2022
• HHS System Annual Federal Funds Report for State Fiscal Year 2021, Texas Health and Human Services, December 16, 2021
• Texas Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan: Progress Report, Texas Health and Human Services, December 7, 2021
• Semi-Annual Reporting of Waiting Lists for Mental Health Services, As Required by 2022-2023 General Appropriations Act, Senate Bill 1, 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021 (Article II, HHSC, Rider 50), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, November 2021
• Semi-Annual Reporting of Waiting Lists for Mental Health Services, As Required by 2020-2021 General Appropriations Act, House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 58), Texas Health and Human Services Commission, April 2021
• Addendum: A Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services, In Response to S.B. 1, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 147), Texas Health and Human Services, January 2021
• All Texas Access Report, Texas Health and Human Services, revised January 2021
• Texas Statewide Behavioral Health, Fiscal Years 2017 – 2021: Strategic Plan Update and the Foundation for the IDD Strategic Plan, As Required by the 2016-17 General Appropriations Act, H.B. 1, 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015 (Article IX, Section 10.04), Texas Health and Human Services, February 2019
• A Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services, As Required by S.B. 1, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 221), Texas Health and Human Services, August 2017

Top

June 29, 2022
House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting (Uvalde)
The committee will meet to hear invited testimony from law enforcement authorities and other affected parties related to the facts and circumstances of the events relating to the violent acts, shootings, and murders at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Because of the quasi-judicial nature of the committee's investigation and pursuant to House Rule 4, Section 12, witnesses will be examined in executive session.

Senate Committee on Business & Commerce
Charge: Broadband and Telecommunications: Study broadband and other telecommunications related issues impacting Texans, including:

• Monitoring the implementation of House Bill 5 and House Bill 1505, 87th Legislature; discuss anticipated federal infrastructure funding dedicated to broadband initiatives;
  • Texas Broadband Plan, Texas Broadband Development Office, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, June 15, 2022
  • NTIA IIJA Broadband Programs: Overview for State and Local Governments and State Preparation for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Broadband Grant Programs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, January 2022
  • A Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments, and Other Partners (Broadband), The White House, January 31, 2022
  • Funding Resources, Texas Broadband Development Office
  • Grants, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
  • Legislation, Texas Broadband Development Office
• Reviewing the Texas Universal Service Fund and reporting what, if any, changes should be made through a review of both the fund's contributions and disbursements, as well as the impact of technology on the long-term stability of the Texas Universal Service Fund; and
  • Filings for 53140: Review of Texas Universal Service Fund, PUC Interchange Filer, Public Utility Commission of Texas, 2022
  • Internet and Phone Services in Rural Texas Threatened as State Slashes Subsidies for Providers, Texas Tribune, January 25, 2021
  • 2020 Texas Report (Texas Universal Service Fund), Governor's Broadband Development Council, November 2020
  • Letter to Texas Representatives re: Financial Shortfall of the Texas Universal Service Fund, Public Utility Commission of Texas, November 9, 2020
  • Report to the 83rd Texas Legislature: Review and Evaluation of the Texas Universal Service Fund Pursuant to Senate Bill 980, 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, Public Uitility Commission of Texas, November 1, 2012

• Monitoring the implementation of House Bill 2911, 87th Legislature, relating to next generation 9-1-1 service and the establishment of a next generation 9-1-1 service fund.

Charge: Electricity: Study issues impacting the Texas electric grid, including weather preparedness and the natural gas supply chain. Evaluate potential benefits of real-time transparency of the intrastate gas market with respect to the functions of ERCOT and the Texas Energy Reliability Council.

• Severe Cold Weather Events & Critical Infrastructure in Texas (Links to resources on the response of ERCOT, the PUC, and other state and federal agencies), Legislative Reference Library, February 17, 2022
• Mapping Report, Texas Electricity Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee, January 2022
• ERCOT's Final Report on Winter Weather Readiness Inspections (Public Utility Commission of Texas, Filings for 52786 and 52787), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), January 18, 2022
• Report on Existing and Potential Electric System Constraints and Needs (Planned Improvements), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), December 2021

Top

June 30, 2022
House Investigative Committee on The Robb Elementary Shooting (Uvalde)
The committee will meet to hear invited testimony from law enforcement authorities and other affected parties related to the facts and circumstances of the events relating to the violent acts, shootings, and murders at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Because of the quasi-judicial nature of the committee's investigation and pursuant to House Rule 4, Section 12, witnesses will be examined in executive session.

Top

This entry was posted on June 22, 2022 at 12:52 PM and has received 1628 views. Print this entry.

Juneteenth is a celebration of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas, and has been an official Texas holiday since 1979.

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston to announce the end of slavery in Texas, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Major General's announcement, General Order Number 3, reads as follows: "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere."

Representative Al Edwards authored H.B. 1016, 66th R.S. (1979), declaring June 19th, Emancipation Day, an official Texas holiday. The Juneteenth historical marker (right) was installed in Galveston on June 21, 2014. In 2016, a monument dedicated to African Americans in Texas was unveiled on the Texas Capitol grounds (cover image).

Last year, Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act (Public Law 117–17), making June 19 a public holiday. It was signed by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021.

On July 22, 2021, the Texas Senate passed SR 19, 87th 1st C.S., recognizing Opal Lee, "the grandmother of Juneteenth," on the designation of Juneteenth as a national holiday.

Learn more about Juneteenth and the holiday's Texas origins in the Handbook of Texas Online.

You can also find more information about Juneteenth from the following resources:

• "Juneteenth Journey," The Medallion, Texas Historical Commission, November 3, 2014
• The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth, National Museum of African American History of Culture, June 19, 2019
• National Archives Safeguards Original 'Juneteenth' General Order, National Archives News, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, June 19, 2020
• "Legislative History of Juneteenth," In Custodia Legis, Law Library of Congress, June 23, 2021
• Texas Observes Juneteenth, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, page last modified June 2, 2022
• Juneteenth: Fact Sheet, Congressional Research Service, updated June 14, 2022
• "The Surprising Local Origin Story of Juneteenth," Governing, June 17, 2022

This entry was posted on June 17, 2022 at 4:32 PM and has received 2011 views. Print this entry.