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Interim Hearings – Week of December 14, 2020

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.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearings on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

Week of December 14
December 15
State Water Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory Committee
Topic: The advisory committees shall review the overall operation, function, and structure of the funds at least semiannually and may provide comments and recommendations to the board on any matter.

 

Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund Advisory Committee
Topic: The advisory committees shall review the overall operation, function, and structure of the funds at least semiannually and may provide comments and recommendations to the board on any matter.

Current Articles & Research Resources, December 10

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

  • Explore occupational licensing policies by state. (National Conference of State Legislatures, December 4, 2020)
  • Get tips for driving safely during the winter months. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, accessed December 10, 2020)
  • Read about health care workers' concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccines. (Stateline, December 8, 2020)
  • Review the timeline for the 2020 redistricting process. (Texas Legislative Council, accessed December 10, 2020)

 

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, December 3

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

  • Explore unemployment data during the COVID-19 pandemic for southern states. (Southern Legislative Conference, November 2020)
  • Read about Americans' current economic views. (Gallup Poll, December 2, 2020)
  • See which roadways in Texas are the most congested. (Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 2020)
  • Review an audit report of the Teacher Retirement System's fiscal year 2020 financial statements. (Texas State Auditor's Office, November 2020)

 

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.

Sunset Commission Meetings, December 7 & 8, 2020

Sunset Commission Meeting

Sunset Advisory Commission, December 7
Staff presentation and invited testimony only:

 

Sunset Advisory Commission, December 8
Approval of Sunset across-the-board (ATB) recommendations

 

Consideration and possible action on the recommendations for the following agencies:

Interim Hearings – Week of December 7, 2020

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 7
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
Topics:
COVID-19: Examine clinical best practices, including therapeutics, for treating COVID-19 patients at each stage of the disease. Monitor the status of vaccine development and distribution.

 

COVID-19: Analyze the procedures for collecting, modeling, and reporting data on COVID-19 tests, cases, hospitalizations, and fatalities. Examine the role of state agencies, local governments, and private entities.

 

Senate Committee on State Affairs CANCELED

 

Top

 

December 8
Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
Topic: COVID-19: Evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the impact of the COVID-19 response on behavioral health, child abuse, family violence, long-term care residents, and delayed medical care.

 

Senate Committee on State Affairs
Charge: Study how governmental entities use public funds for political lobbying purposes. Examine what types of governmental entities use public funds for lobbying purposes. Make recommendations to protect taxpayers from paying for lobbyists who may not represent the taxpayers’ interests.

 

Charge: Study and recommend ways Texas can further protect the lives of the unborn, including fetal heartbeat legislation and any other law or regulation that protects life.

 

Legislative Board Meetings

November 30
Legislative Budget Board
Topic: Report and testimony from the Comptroller of Public Accounts regarding the financial condition of this state as required by Section 322.003(f) of the Government Code

 

Topic: Review and adopt the items of information required to set the Article VIII constitutional limit on certain appropriations for the 2022-23 biennium

 

Legislative Reference Library Board
Topic: Discuss and take action on rules for Legislative Reference Library in accordance with Section 324.007(d), Government Code

House Committee Resources: Corrections

House Committee Resources: Corrections
The committee has requested written submissions on the following topics. Below are resources related to those topics.

 

House Committee on Corrections
Charge 1: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 86th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

  • HB 374, which relates to meetings or visits between a defendant on community supervision and a supervision officer. Monitor community supervision and corrections department rules regarding the scheduling of meetings or visits with a defendant placed on community supervision. Examine the process by which community supervision and corrections departments implement newly adopted policies.

  • HB 650 and HB 3227, which relate to the welfare of confined females within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Monitor TDCJ rules regulating treatment of incarcerated women. Examine the process by which the department facilitates the educational, medical, and wellness needs of incarcerated pregnant women.
  • HB 1191, which relates to an annual report concerning the number of inmates who have been in the conservatorship of a state agency responsible for providing child protective services. Monitor the TDCJ's collection of statistical information concerning the total number of inmates who have at any time been in the conservatorship of a state agency responsible for providing child protective services.
  • SB 1147, which relates to conditions of community supervision for certain driving while intoxicated offenses. Monitor the implementation of the legislation and provide recommendations to improve access to treatment for defendants convicted of driving while intoxicated.

 

House Committee on Corrections
Charge 2: Examine gaps in services and assess efforts to connect justice-involved veterans, senior citizens, and homeless populations to services while incarcerated and after release at both the local and state levels. Specifically, the committee should evaluate training and technical assistance provided by the Texas Veterans Commission to criminal justice agencies.

 

House Committee on Corrections
Charge 3: Examine the current parole revocation warrant ("blue warrant") procedure. Specifically, the committee should consider the monetary costs to the counties; using Risk Assessment Instruments and the Offense Severity Scale to evaluate static and dynamic factors associated with an offender's record in order to escalate high-risk revocation offenders to the Department of Public Safety for immediate detention; and creating an online list providing the number of outstanding "blue warrants" pending per county.

 

House Committee on Corrections
Charge 4: Evaluate funding provided to the TDCJ for the repair, maintenance, and upgrade of prison facilities. Determine areas of the facilities that are in most need of repair, maintenance, or upgrade and examine the costs associated with such repairs, maintenance, or upgrades. Examine the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee's administration of Hepatitis C treatment and procedures. Review the Community Justice Assistance Division's current compliance practices and examine current funding formulas for adult probation departments. Study the TDCJ's ownership of real property not being used for prison facilities, including the amount of property owned and its highest and best use.

 

House Committee on Corrections
Charge 5: Monitor the State Auditor's review of agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.

Interim Hearings – Week of November 23, 2020

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.

 

November 23
House Committee on General Investigating (Dallas)

The committee will meet for consideration of, and possible action on, a complaint received by the committee under House Rule 15 and Housekeeping Resolution Article 9.

 

Under Article 9.03(j), Housekeeping Resolution, and Committee Rule 12, all committee proceedings on a complaint are completely confidential.

 

The committee may enter into an executive session to consider any matter authorized to be considered in an executive session under Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Housekeeping Resolution, and the committee's rules.

 

Senate Committee on Senate Chamber Review
Topic: Invited testimony on the history and procedure related to the placement of art and other decor in the Texas Senate Chamber

 

House Committee Resources: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

House Committee Resources: Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

The committee has requested written submissions on the following topics. Below are resources related to those topics.

 

House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Charge 1: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 86th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

 

Charge 2: Study opportunities to modernize and improve local and statewide data collection throughout the criminal justice system in Texas, including improving the collection and reporting of court records, to promote transparency and ensure uniform data collection processes. 

 

Charge 3: Study the Rule Against Perpetuities as used by trusts. Examine whether statutory changes are necessary and appropriate to make Texas more competitive and keep trust capital and estate planning businesses in Texas.

 

Charge 4: Monitor the State Auditor's review of agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.

Current Articles & Research Resources, November 19

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

  • Search for state legislation related to student loans. (National Conference of State Legislators, November 2, 2020)
  • Track state vaccination plans for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. (Council of State Governments, ©2020)
  • Review safe holiday gathering activities as determined by doctors. (Texas Medical Association, November 17, 2020)
  • Keep your pets safe over the winter holidays. (American Veterinary Medical Association, accessed November 19, 2020)

 

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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