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

• Review the 2024-25 Biennial Revenue Estimate. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, January 9, 2023)
• Consider how employers use job titles to avoid paying overtime wages. (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper, January 2023)
• Explore weather disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion from 1980 through 2022. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, January 10, 2023)
• Read about full-time equivalent state employees for fiscal year 2022. (State Auditor's Office, December 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 January 12, 2023 at 3:15 PM and has received 613 views. Print this entry.

At the beginning of each session, the Legislative Services Fair provides an opportunity for all members and their staff to learn more about the services each legislative agency offers.

This year, the fair will be held on the following dates in the Legislative Reference Library, Capitol, 2N.3:

Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 2PM – 4PM
Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 10AM – Noon

Staff from the following legislative agencies will be in attendance:

• Legislative Budget Board
• Texas Legislative Council
• Legislative Reference Library
• State Auditor's Office
• Sunset Advisory Commission
• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

Please drop by the fair to learn more about how these legislative agencies can assist your office during the 88th Legislature!

You might come away with more than information — we will have selected publications and other items to give away.

This entry was posted on January 11, 2023 at 3:00 PM and has received 631 views. Print this entry.

Below you'll find a preview of the 88th Texas Legislature. New members and returning members will be sworn in on January 10, 2023, the opening day of the regular session. A list of members-elect of the 88th Legislature is available on the LRL's website.

 

Summary of the 88th Legislature

 

PARTY	HOUSE	SENATE	OVERALL
Total	150	31	181
Democrat	64	12	76
Republican	86	19	105

 

GENDER	HOUSE	SENATE	OVERALL
Total	150	31	181
Male	104	23	127
Female	46	8	54

 

INCUMBENCY*	HOUSE	SENATE	OVERALL
Total	149*	30*	179
Incumbents	123*	25*	149
Freshmen	26	5	31

*Incumbent totals include members who served the previous session. Freshman totals include members whose first term begin the first day of session: 01/10/2023. Not included as incumbent or freshman: Representative John Bryant (first served in 63rd–67th sessions) and Senator Pete Flores (first served in 85th–86th sessions).

 

 

New Members of the 88th Legislature

 

Texas House of Representatives

HOUSE DISTRICT	NEW MEMBER
92		Salman Bhojani (D)
114		John Bryant (D)
63		Benjamin Bumgarner (R)
127		Charles Cunningham (R)
133		Mano DeAyala (R)
122		Mark Dorazio (R)
51		Lulu Flores (D)
61		Frederick Frazier (R)
124		Josey Garcia (D)
17		Stan Gerdes (R)
52		Caroline Harris (R)
57		Richard Hayes (R)
73		Carrie Isaac (R)
100		Venton Jones (D)
85		Stan Kitzman (R)
76		Suleman Lalani (D)
23		Terri Leo-Wilson (R)
37		Janie Lopez (R)
22		Christian Manuel (D)
13		Angelia Orr (R)
70		Mihaela Plesa (D)
93		Nate Schatzline (R)
84		Carl H. Tepper (R)
65		Kronda Thimesch (R)
19		Ellen Troxclair (R)

New HOUSE members = 26

 

Texas Senate

SENATE DISTRICT	NEW MEMBER
24		Pete Flores (R)
10		Phil King (R)
27		Morgan LaMantia (D)
11		Mayes Middleton (R)
12		Tan Parker (R)
31		Kevin Sparks (R)

New SENATE members = 6

TOTAL new members = 32

Membership statistics for previous sessions are available on the library's Member statistics page.

This entry was posted on January 9, 2023 at 3:25 PM and has received 3524 views. Print this entry.

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

• Search for current and historical Office of Legal Counsel opinions. (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel, accessed January 4, 2023)
• Read about ways to mitigate light pollution. (The University of Texas McDonald Observatory, ©2022)
• Review information related to making appointments to renew a driver's license. (Texas Department of Public Safety, ©2023)
• Peruse a list of government documents mentioned in news stories throughout 2022. (Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), updated January 4, 2023)

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 5, 2023 at 3:15 PM and has received 420 views. Print this entry.

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

• River Authorities
  • Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
  • Upper Guadalupe River Authority
  • San Jacinto River Authority
  • Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District
• Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office and Office of State-Federal Relations
• Anatomical Board of the State of Texas
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
• Public Utility Commission of Texas
• Electric Reliability Council of Texas
• Office of Public Utility Counsel

Staff presentation of options to address systemic issues at the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, and consideration and possible action on those options

Final vote on commission recommendations to the 88th Legislature
Status report on Implementation of 2021 Sunset Recommendations

This entry was posted on January 4, 2023 at 3:45 PM and has received 502 views. Print this entry.

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

• Read about how some states are using recycled plastic to augment asphalt for road paving. (Stateline, December 12, 2022)
• Explore how various nations perceive social media. (Pew Research Center, December 6, 2022)
• Learn how to take care of trees during winter weather. (Texas A&M Forest Services, December 12, 2022)
• Search public company data for millions of companies in one place. (OpenCorporates, accessed December 14, 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 December 15, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 611 views. Print this entry.

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

• Find zoning information for homes listed for sale or lease. (Redfin, December 5, 2022)
• Explore ways to refine search results from Google. (Google, December 6, 2022)
• Read about what to watch out for when shopping for health insurance. (Texas Department of Insurance, December 1, 2022)
• Search TCEQ rule projects. (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, accessed December 7, 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 December 8, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 677 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 12, 2022
  • House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
• December 15, 2022
  • Senate Committee on State Affairs

December 12, 2022
House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
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 the following:

• HB 1540, which implements various changes to state law based on recommendations of the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force.

Additionally, the Committee will conduct oversight of the following legislation:

• HB 569 - relating to credit toward payment of a fine and costs for certain misdemeanants confined in jail or prison before sentencing.
• SB 111 - relating to certain duties of law enforcement agencies concerning certain information subject to disclosure to a defendant.
• SB 162 - relating to a false statement made to illegally acquire a firearm; creating a criminal offense.
• SB 1354 - relating to the prosecution of the offense of injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.

Charge: Examine ways to increase the rate of compliance for court-ordered appearances, including new technologies that will facilitate contact with those ordered to appear. Consider the effectiveness of virtual appearances for certain offenses.

• The Use of Remote Hearings in Texas State Courts: The Impact on Judicial Workload, National Center for State Courts, December 2021
• Remote Court, CSG Capitol Ideas, Council of State Governments, Issue 4 2021
• Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations and Recommendations, Office of Court Administration, August 28, 2020
• Appearance Rates, Coronavirus and the Courts, National Center for State Courts
• COVID-19 Emergency Orders, Texas Supreme Court

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December 15, 2022
Senate Committee on State Affairs (Marshall)
Charge: Investment Practices: Study the investment practices of financial services firms and how those practices affect the state’s public pensions. Make recommendations to ensure the state’s public pension funds are not being invested to further political or social causes.

• Interim Report to the 87th Texas Legislature (Charge 4 – State investment policies and practices), House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services, January 2021
• Interim Report (Charge – Investment of state funds), Senate Finance Committee, August 2020
• Investment Policies and Performance Evaluation of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting, March 30, 2020
• Evaluation of Investment Policies, Procedures and Practices, Employees Retirement System of Texas, NEPC, LLC, March 11, 2020
• Divestment Statute Lists, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Investment Practices and Performance Evaluation (IPPE), Texas Pension Review Board

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This entry was posted on December 7, 2022 at 9:15 AM and has received 731 views. Print this entry.

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

• Track resource adequacy for Texas' electric grid this winter. (Electric Reliability Council of Texas, November 29, 2022)
• Read about domestic terrorism. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, October 2022)
• Consider mental health and well-being in the workplace. (U.S. Surgeon General, 2022)
• Review marriage laws by state. (Congressional Research Service, November 22, 2022)
• Explore law enforcement surveillance technologies by city, county, or state. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, accessed November 30, 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 December 1, 2022 at 3:15 PM and has received 665 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 5, 2022
  • House Committee on State Affairs
• December 6, 2022
  • House Committee on House Administration
  • House Committee on House Administration
  • Sunset Advisory Commission
• December 7, 2022
  • Sunset Advisory Commission
• December 8, 2022
  • House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Strategic Fiscal Review & Federal Relief Funds
  • State Water Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory
  • Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund Advisory
• December 9, 2022
  • Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

December 5, 2022
House Committee on State Affairs
Topic: Update on the proposed changes to the ERCOT market design.

• State Agency Proposes Changes to Power Market Aimed at Averting Mass Blackouts, Texas Tribune, November 10, 2022
• Assessment of Market Reform Options to Enhance Reliability of the ERCOT System (Project No. 52373, Review of Wholesale Market Design), Prepared for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Energy+Environmental Economics, November 10, 2022
• 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
• Memorandum, Project No. 52373, Review of Wholesale Market Design (Phase II - Market Design Proposals), Public Utility Commission of Texas, December 6, 2021
• Filings for 52373: Review of Wholesale Electric Market Design, PUC Interchange Filer, Public Utility Commission of Texas

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December 6, 2022
House Committee on House Administration
Topic: Invited testimony only from any Member of the 88th Legislature who submits a proposal for a suggested rules change to the Committee.

House Committee on House Administration
Topic: The committee will meet to consider the adoption of a parental leave pool.

Sunset Advisory Commission
Staff presentation and invited testimony only:

• River Authorities
  • Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
  • Upper Guadalupe River Authority
  • San Jacinto River Authority
  • Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District
• Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office and Office of State-Federal Relations
• Anatomical Board of the State of Texas
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

Top

December 7, 2022
Sunset Advisory Commission
Staff presentation and invited testimony only:

• Public Utility Commission of Texas
• Electric Reliability Council of Texas
• Office of Public Utility Counsel

Top

December 8, 2022
House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Strategic Fiscal Review & Federal Relief Funds
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Strategic Fiscal Review and Federal Relief Funds will meet to consider the following agency reviews:

• Texas Juvenile Justice Department
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission
• Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
• Texas Water Development Board
• Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Office of Public Utility Counsel
• Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

State Water Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory
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.

• Legislative Appropriations Request for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, Texas Water Development Board, August 19, 2022
• Texas Water Development Board, State Water Implementation Fund For Texas Advisory Committee, Staff Report with Commission Decisions: 2022-23, 88th Legislature, Sunset Advisory Commission, July 2022
• State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, Annual Financial Report (August 31, 2021 and 2020), RSM US LLP, December 10, 2021
• State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), Texas Water Development Board 
• Progress Implementing the SWIFT, Texas Water Development Board
• Appropriated Fund 0361 – State Water Implementation Fund, Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts – Fiscal 2023, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Texas Water Code §§ 15.431-15.441, State Water Implementation Fund for Texas
• 31 Texas Administrative Code §§ 363.1301-363.1312, State Water Implementation Fund for Texas and State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas, Texas Water Development Board

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

• Legislative Appropriations Request for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, Texas Water Development Board, August 19, 2022
• Appropriated Fund 0175 – Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund, Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts – Fiscal 2023, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• Texas Water Code §§ 16.451-16.460, Flood Project Funding (Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund)

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December 9, 2022
Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
Charge: Illegal Temporary License Plates: Examine and report on the relationship of the unlawful sale and use of temporary paper license plates with crimes related to human trafficking, drug trafficking, theft, and homicide.

• Texas Temporary Tag Fraud, Abuse, and Misuse: Background and Solutions to Prevent, Detect, and Investigate Fraud, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, October 19, 2022
• Information About Temporary Tags in Texas, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Charge: Re-entry Programs for Inmates: Review current offender re-entry programs provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and county jails, and identify barriers to their success. Make recommendations to enhance successful programs to ensure adequate resources and support for released offenders.

• Biennial Reentry and Reintegration Services Report, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, September 2022
• Coordination to Reduce Barriers to Reentry: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond, Reentry Coordination Council, April 2022
• Interim Report to the 86th Legislature (Charge 1 – Identify Successful Re-Entry Programs), Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, December 2018
• Reentry and Integration Division, Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Criminal Case Backlogs: Evaluate the current backlog of criminal cases. Consider and recommend ways to reduce delays and ensure timely resolution of cases, including an examination of methods developed by district attorneys, judges, and court administrators.

• Justice Delayed: Addressing the Criminal Court Backlog in Texas, Texas 2036, January 26, 2022
• The Use of Remote Hearings in Texas State Courts: The Impact on the Judicial Workload, National Center for State Courts, December 2021
• Annual Statistical Report for the Texas Judiciary, Office of Court Administration, Fiscal Year 2021
• Criminal Case Management Basics: Data Elements, Performance Measures, and Data Presentation Strategies, National Center for State Courts, August 2020

Public Safety: Examine the recent Harris County release from custody of hundreds of criminal defendants onto the streets without bond or review by a magistrate. Identify what caused this threat to public safety in Harris County and determine if it has occurred in any other counties in Texas. Make recommendations to ensure criminal defendants are timely brought before a magistrate for probable cause hearings and bond hearings, and that appropriate bond is set.

• Official Website of the Independent Monitor for the O'Donnell v. Harris County Consent Decree Regarding Misdemeanor Bail Practices (Monitoring Pretrial Reform in Harris County: Fifth Report of the Court-Appointed Monitor), O'Donnell Monitor, September 3, 2022
• The Effects of Misdemeanor Bail Reform, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, August 16, 2022
• What Does Successful Bail Reform Look Like? To Start, Look To Harris County, Texas, Prison Policy Initiative, March 28, 2022
• Bail, Crime & Public Safety, Harris County District Attorney's Office, September 2, 2021
• Harris County Jail Population, Harris County, Texas

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This entry was posted on November 30, 2022 at 11:30 AM and has received 1028 views. Print this entry.