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Interim Hearings - Week of November 6, 2017

Oct 30

posted by TexasLRL in 85th Session, Interim hearings

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 6

Senate Committee on Education (Houston)

Charge: State and local K-12 hurricane recovery efforts, crisis management response of TEA

Charge: School finance impact of student enrollment calculations or property valuation, student displacement from Hurricane Harvey

 

Charge: Use of federal funds in response to Hurricane Harvey, federal funds and investment in infrastructure projects to reduce impact of future natural disasters

 

Senate Committee on Health & Human Services

Charge: Public health response to Hurricane Harvey   

Charge: Juvenile justice and child welfare systems - impact of Hurricane Harvey   

Charge: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Disaster-SNAP programs following Hurricane Harvey 

This entry was posted on October 30, 2017 at 1:30 PM and has received 1564 views. Print this entry.

New & Noteworthy List for October 2017

Oct 27

posted by TexasLRL in New & Noteworthy

The Library is continually adding new books to its collection. Below are the six titles from our October 2017 New & Noteworthy list. We are highlighting ghost stories, mysteries, legends, and the unexplained for Halloween.

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. Ghosts of Austin, Texas: Who They Are and Where to Find Them
By Fiona Broome
Provides a ghost hunting guide to Austin's haunted landmarks and cemeteries, famous "strong-willed" spirits, and advice on the top ten places to find ghosts and how to get the perfect ghastly photo. Includes the Texas Capitol, Texas Governor's Mansion, Driskill Hotel, the Shoal Creek "curse," and Austin's nightly display of 1.5 million bats under Congress Avenue from March to November, as well as haunted sites near Austin in Burnet, Gonzales, and La Grange.
Schiffer Pub. Ltd., 2007. 255 pages.
976.43 B791G 2007


 

 

2. Haunted Texas: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Lone Star State
By Alan Brown
Compiles a treasure trove of ghostly and mystifying tales from all parts of Texas. Highlights eerie stories of supernatural guests at the Governor's Mansion, a fiddle playing library ghost, phantom cattle, UFO sightings, the Lake Worth monster, and spirits of the Alamo.
Stackpole Books, 2008. 122 pages.
976.43 B812H 2008


 

 

3. Texas Unexplained: Strange Tales and Mysteries from the Lone Star State
By Jay Sharp
Examines some of the more colorful mysteries in Texas that have never been solved. Includes stories of ghosts, apparitions, strange lights, and eerie sounds, and discusses Texas places where one can go to observe these phenomena first hand.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Press, 1999. 134 pages.
P400.8 UN2ST


 

 

4. Austin Murder & Mayhem
By Richard Zelade
Presents an anthology of over a dozen stories revolving around murder and other tales of vengeance in Texas. Details many events with excerpts from the newspapers of the time in sometimes graphic detail. Includes the 1903 shooting death of State Comptroller Robert Marshall Love at his desk in the state capitol by a former employee.
The History Press, 2015. 142 pages.
364.1523 Z49A 2015


 

 

5. Legends & Lore of the Texas Capitol
By Mike Cox
Highlights the tales and personalities that have been part of the Texas Capitol’s storied past, including ghost sightings and an unsolved murder. Sorts truth from legend and presents little known tidbits that enrich and preserve the historical record.
The History Press, 2017. 223 pages.
976.4 C877L 2017


 

 

6. Texas Obscurities: Stories of the Peculiar, Exceptional & Nefarious
By E.R. Bill
Recounts events not often included in Texas history classes. Ranges from firsts, like America's first all-female Supreme Court and first female sheriff; to the unusual, like weaponizing bats, the Aurora "spaceman," and Japanese balloon bombs; to the shameful, like the Slocum and Porvenir Massacres
The History Press, 2013. 158 pages.
976.4 B498T 2013
 

This entry was posted on October 27, 2017 at 3:45 PM and has received 1721 views. Print this entry.

Current Articles and Research Resources, October 26

Oct 26

posted by TexasLRL in Current Articles, Week in review, Research Resources

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

  • Review employment projections, largely driven by the health care industry. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 24, 2017)
  • Look ahead to the expected winter weather outlook. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, October 19, 2017)
  • Read about EPA Administrator Pruitt's meeting related to cleanup of the San Jacinto Superfund site. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October 20, 2017)
  • Consider the manufactured home industry's role in providing affordable housing. (Stateline, October 24, 2017)

Members of the Texas legislative community may request the articles below here or by calling 512-463-1252.

  • "Jobs are back, but ..." By Mark Trumbull. Christian Science Monitor, October 16, 2017, pp. 24-30.
    Explains unemployment is down, but in spite of some personal improvement, many workers still experience great anxiety about what their employment future holds.

  • "How much gerrymandering is too much?" By Paul Basken. Chronicle of Higher Education, October 20, 2017, p. A19.
    Interviews Phillip Rocco, a political scientist at Marquette University, regarding the social science research calling attention to efficiency gaps in state redistricting plans.

  • "Mr. Bezos goes to Washington." By Carolyn M. Proctor. Dallas Business Journal, October 13, 2017, pp. 20-21.
    Discusses Jeff Bezos' growing influence on lawmakers and public policy in Washington, D.C., noting Amazon's increasing lobbying expenditures has placed the company on the top 20 list of biggest lobbying spenders nationwide.

  • "Renegotiating NAFTA: preparing for the worst." Economist, October 21st-27th, 2017, pp. 69-70.
    Questions whether the Trump administration is negotiating in good faith, describing the latest set of trade demands as "so extreme that they allow no room for negotiation."

  • "Even as schools reopen, storm recovery remains painful." By Marva Hinton and Corey Mitchell. Education Week, October 11, 2017, p. 6.
    Discusses current hurricane recovery efforts of schools in Florida and Texas. Addresses the challenges faced by Aransas County and Port Aransas school districts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

  • "Watch list: high court, 2017-2018 term." By Mark Walsh. Education Week, October 4, 2017, pp. 16-17.
    Highlights education-related cases the United States Supreme Court will hear in the current term.

  • "Emergency department visits for firearm-related injuries in the United States, 2006-14." By Faiz Gani, Joseph V. Sakran, and Joseph K. Canner. Health Affairs, October 2017, pp. 1729-1738.
    Reports that firearm-related injuries result in an annual financial burden of approximately $2.8 billion in emergency department and inpatient charges.

  • "Freestanding emergency departments preferentially locate in areas with higher household income." By Cedric Dark, Yingying Xu, and Vivian Ho. Health Affairs, October 2017, pp. 1712-1719.
    Finds that freestanding emergency departments are more likely to be in areas that could yield higher profit, rather than areas of high demand. Notes that Texas is the epicenter of the freestanding emergency room movement.

  • "Mitigating the mental and physical health consequences of Hurricane Harvey." By James M. Shultz and Sandro Galea. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), October 17, 2017, pp. 1437-1438.
    Highlights the likely long-term health concerns Hurricane Harvey survivors may face and discusses ways Texas could create a recovery and reconstruction plan that strengthens public mental health.

  • "Ten steps the federal government should take now to reverse the opioid addiction epidemic." By Andrew Kolodny and Thomas R. Frieden. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), October 24/31, 2017, pp. 1537-1538.
    Suggests ten steps to address the opioid epidemic, broken into two categories: preventing opioid addiction and overdoses and treatment and harm reduction for current users.
    (See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.14567)

  • "EIA: world energy consumption to increase by 28% by 2040." Oil and Gas Journal, October 2, 2017, p. 38.
    Summarizes the United States Energy Information Administration's latest International Energy Outlook 2017.
    (Report at: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/pdf/0484(2017).pdf)

  • "Oil pipeline profits soar, natgas net softens." By Christopher E. Smith. Oil and Gas Journal, October 2, 2017, pp. 66-84.
    Examines the United States' regulated interstate oil and natural gas pipeline system for 2016. Includes analyzed data that are compiled from annual and periodic reports filed with FERC [Federal Energy Regulatory Commission].

  • "For teachers, a better kind of pension plan." By Marcus A. Winters. Phi Delta Kappan, October 2017, pp. 32-36.
    Explains the advantages and disadvantages of the widely used defined benefit retirement plans offered to public school teachers.

  • "High Texas student loan delinquency rates underscore deeper challenges." By Wenhua Di and Stephanie Gullo. Southwest Economy (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), Third Quarter 2017, pp. 14-17.
    Examines the increase in Texas student loan delinquencies, student and consumer debt levels and patterns, and issues with difficult student loan repayment terms.
    (See: https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/research/swe/2017/swe1703e.pdf)

  • "Texas taxes: who bears the burden?" By Jason L. Saving. Southwest Economy (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), Third Quarter 2017, pp. 3-7.
    Discusses Texas' relatively low per-capita tax burden, carried in large portion by low-income households, and the implications for lawmakers in setting tax policy and delivering state services.
    (See: https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/research/swe/2017/swe1703b.pdf)

  • "The audacious launch of the city of Houston: capital of the Republic of Texas." By Stephen C. Cook. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, October 2017, pp. 122-144.
    Presents an adaptation of Texas State Historical Association President Stephen C. Cook's presidential address in March 2017, exploring the founding of the city of Houston in August 1836, Houston's site selection at the confluence of the Buffalo and White Oak Bayous, and its designation as the capital of the Republic. Mentions the devastating flooding in August 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey.

  • "Aye for modernizing voting." By Wendy Underhill and Amanda Buchanan. State Legislatures, October/November 2017, pp. 26-29.
    Summarizes states' policy goals for improving elections and updating aging voting systems.

The Legislative Reference Library compiles this weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. Professional librarians review and select articles from more than 300 periodicals, including public policy journals, specialized industry periodicals, news magazines, and state agency publications. Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles using our online form.

This entry was posted on October 26, 2017 at 3:15 PM and has received 1057 views. Print this entry.

Capitol Spirits: Bats!

Oct 24

posted by TexasLRL in Texas history

For the past few years around Halloween, we've shared ghostly stories relating to Texas—see last year's post and our "Capitol Spirits" Pinterest board. This year, we thought we'd do something a little different and write about one of Texas' official state symbols that is commonly associated with Halloween: bats.

 

After all, Texas' official flying mammal is the Mexican free-tailed bat, per SCR 95, 74R. Did you know that Texas is home to the world's largest known bat colony, in Bracken Cave Preserve in Comal County? Bracken Cave is host to more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats, making it one of the largest concentrations of mammals on Earth. Texas also boasts the world's largest urban bat colony, with about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats residing under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, right down the street from the Texas Capitol.

 

These bats live in Texas from around March through late October, then migrate to warmer southern climes in Mexico. Both the bridge and Bracken Cave are maternity colonies, meaning that millions of baby bats are born in these locations each summer, too. 

 

Some people are concerned about bats, with practical worries about rabies and guano and/or fears of the supernatural connotations of the creature. However, Bat Conservation International (headquartered in Austin) works to educate the public that bats are safe as long as people don't try to handle them, guano is good fertilizer, and bats offer excellent natural pest control services! A nursing mother bat consumes up to her body weight in insects each night. It's been estimated that all together, the Bracken Cave bats eat 250 tons of insects, and that the Austin bats eat five to ten tons of insects.

 

However, Bracken Cave and Austin are not the only places bats live in Texas, and our state is home to 32 of the 47 species of bats found in the United States. For information about where to go to view a bat emergence (when they come out to hunt insects at dusk), visit the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's Bat-Watching Sites of Texas guide.

 

In addition to bats, there are a couple of other Texas state symbols associated with Halloween. The pumpkin was declared the official state squash in 2013 (HCR 87, 83R), with Texas being the fourth leading state in commercial pumpkin production. And while the official rodeo drill team (HCR 136, 80R) is distinctly of this plane, the Ghostriders' eerie name evokes the story of a cattle drive gone awry that inspired ghost stories and the famous song, "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

 

Sources:

"Bat-Watching Sites of Texas," Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/, accessed 2017 September 29.

 

"Bracken Cave: Protecting a Jewel in Texas," Bat Conservation International, http://www.batcon.org/our-work/regions/usa-canada/protect-mega-populations/bracken-cave, accessed 2017 September 29.

 

"Protect Mega-Populations: Congress Avenue Bridge," Bat Conservation International,  http://www.batcon.org/our-work/regions/usa-canada/protect-mega-populations/cab-intro, accessed 2017 September 29.

 

Images:

Top right: Bats emerging from the Bracken Cave, photo by Flickr user U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters.

Bottom left: People watch the bat emergence from the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge and from boats on Lady Bird Lake in Austin, photo by Flickr user Woody Hibbard.

This entry was posted on October 24, 2017 at 9:16 AM and has received 2013 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of October 30, 2017

Oct 23

posted by TexasLRL in 85th Session, Interim hearings

Interim Hearings - Week of October 30

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 1

Senate Committee on Business & Commerce

Charge: Infrastructure security and energy restoration post weather events

Charge: State mortgage requirements regarding the notification of homebuyers on their need for flood insurance in flood plains and flood pool areas 

Charge: Local government regulations, including occupational licenses, related to Hurricane Harvey

Charge: Changes to the Texas Constitution for home equity lenders relating to disaster relief

 

Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations

Hurricane Harvey IGR interim charges (Rebuilding housing and infrastructure, distribution of federal disaster relief funds, debris removal, disaster training)

 

House Committees on Public Health and Human Services (Joint Hearing)

Charge: Public health and human services efforts - response to Hurricane Harvey

This entry was posted on October 23, 2017 at 9:15 AM and has received 1130 views. Print this entry.

Week in Review, October 19

Oct 19

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.

  • Consider the elimination of state and local tax deductions as part of tax reform. (The Heritage Foundation, October 16, 2017)
  • Explore manufacturing in Texas. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, accessed October 19, 2017)
  • Read about oyster bed restoration in Galveston Bay. (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, October 9, 2017)
  • Explore what happens to a person's email account after death. (Nextgov, October 18, 2017)

This entry was posted on October 19, 2017 at 3:15 PM and has received 725 views. Print this entry.

Texas Law Timeline

Oct 17

posted by TexasLRL in Legislation

Tackling Texas legal research can be daunting…but understanding how it all fits together is a good start! The LRL's Texas law timeline starts from the very beginning with the 1824 Mexican Constitution and charts to the present day with the ongoing Statutory Revision Program. You can click and drag the timeline by year and select timeline items to see more information and access links to bills, revisor's reports, and more.

 

The page also highlights online sources for researching current Texas laws and finding historical legal sources. From the Legislative Archive System and Texas Legislature Online to digitized Texas Constitutions and historical Texas statutes (and many more offerings), the LRL and other state libraries and agencies work hard to make Texas law resources readily accessible to the public. These databases are a work in progress and are updated as historical materials are digitized…and of course, as new legislation is created!

 

The LRL also houses a variety of print materials related to legislation and the legislative process. You can read more about these resources here; please contact the Library at 512-463-1252 if you have any questions.

This entry was posted on October 17, 2017 at 8:17 AM and has received 2118 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of October 23, 2017

Oct 16

posted by TexasLRL in 85th Session, Interim hearings

Interim Hearings - Week of October 23

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.

 

October 24

Senate Committee on Finance

Charge: Hurricane Harvey relief and recovery funds

 

Charge: Long-term impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas economy and the gulf coast region

 

October 25

Senate Committee on State Affairs

Charge: Emergency management (agency interactions in natural disasters, emergency situation operations, disaster recovery centers)

 

Charge: Single, comprehensive Web-based source on State Emergency Operations during disaster

 

Joint Oversight Committee on Government Facilities

Topic: Deferred maintenance projects, facility space needs, and update on Texas Capitol Complex Master Plan

This entry was posted on October 16, 2017 at 11:22 AM and has received 1024 views. Print this entry.

Week in Review, October 12

Oct 12

posted by TexasLRL in Week in review

In this weekly post, we feature online articles and policy reports published recently, and other helpful research tools.

  • Review pay patterns and earnings in the American workforce. (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2017)
  • Explore the level of economic freedom experienced by Americans. (Cato Institute, October 11, 2017)
  • Read about the status of women in the workplace. (McKinsey & Company, 2017)
  • Consider public employee Fifth Amendment rights. (National Conference of State Legislatures, October 6, 2017)

This entry was posted on October 12, 2017 at 3:15 PM and has received 681 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings - Week of October 16, 2017

Oct 11

posted by TexasLRL in 85th Session, Interim hearings

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.

 

October 16

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs (East Montgomery County Improvement District, New Caney, Texas) 

Charge: Capacity and structure of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, timely and transparent reservoir release figures

Charge: Data-sharing for rainfall and stream gauges, statewide flood warning system

This entry was posted on October 11, 2017 at 12:05 PM and has received 1061 views. Print this entry.

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