- "Left in the Dust: Texas Hill Country Transforming From Once-Pristine Cattle Ranches Into Industrial Zones," KVUE.com, updated September 29, 2019
- "A World Rocked," "A Community Battle," "A Reluctance to Act" (Three-Part Series), Austin American-Statesman, September 2019
- Texas Misusing 17-Year Old Air Pollution Model to Permit Inner-City Joppa Asphalt Plant, Downwinders at Risk, August 20, 2019
- Guide to Air Quality Permitting for Concrete Batch Plants, Environmental Clinic, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, Fall 2018
- The Texas Aggregate Industry is Crushing Hill Country Dreams, Public Citizen, July 23, 2018
- "Opposition Solidifies Against Houston's Concrete Batch Plants," Houston Chronicle, February 11, 2017
- Dirt, Sand, and Rock Quarries and Aggregate Processing Plants: Compliance Resources, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Quarry and Pit Program, Texas Department of Transportation
In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.
- Read about the role of the President and the Senate Judiciary Committee in the appointment process of a U.S. Supreme Court justice. (Congressional Research Service, updated September 21 & 22, 2020)
- Review the latest version of the Texas Legislative Council's Drafting Manual. (Texas Legislative Council, September 2020)
- Register to vote before the October 5 voter registration deadline. (Texas Secretary of State, September 22, 2020)
- Find information about the flu vaccine and vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated September 21, 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.
- Management, Operating Structure, Efficiencies, and Opportunities and Challenges of Transferring the Driver License Program, Executive Summary, DPS IAC 2020: Final Report and Technical Memorandums, The University of Texas at Austin, Center for Transportation Research, August 27, 2020
- Fiscal Size-Up: 2020-21 Biennium (Department of Public Safety, Driver License Services – Figure 264: Department of Public Safety Driver License Improvement Program Funding and Average Wait Times, Fiscal Years 2012 to 2021), Legislative Budget Board, May 2020
- "Texas Driver's Licenses: A Customer Service Challenge," Fiscal Notes, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, October 2019
- Staff Report with Final Results: Department of Public Safety, Sunset Advisory Commission, June 2019
- Fiscal Size-Up: 2020-21 Biennium (Department of Public Safety, Driver License Services), Legislative Budget Board, May 2020
- Management, Operating Structure, Efficiencies, and Opportunities and Challenges of Transferring the Driver License Program, Executive Summary, DPS IAC 2020: Final Report and Technical Memorandums, The University of Texas at Austin, Center for Transportation Research, August 27, 2020
- Staff Report with Final Results: Department of Public Safety, Sunset Advisory Commission, June 2019
- Department of Public Safety, Sunset Advisory Commission
- Office of the Texas Governor
- Coronavirus Resources and Response
- Governor's Strike Force to Open Texas (Open Texas Checklists, updated September 17, 2020)
- Governor Statements on COVID-19 (Executive Orders and Proclamations; collected by Legislative Reference Library)
- Attorney General of Texas
- Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas
- Employees Retirement System of Texas
- Public Utility Commission of Texas
- Railroad Commission of Texas
- State Office of Risk Management
- Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
- Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
- Texas Board of Nursing
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Texas Commission on Jail Standards
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- Texas Department of Agriculture
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Texas Department of Banking
- Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
- Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
- Texas Department of Information Resources
- Texas Department of Insurance, Office of Public Insurance Counsel
- Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending
- Texas Department of State Health Services
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Opening the State of Texas (Minimum Recommended Health Protocols)
- Texas Case Counts
- Texas COVID-19 Data
- TX COVID-19 Test Collection Sites
- Texas Department of Transportation
- Texas Division of Emergency Management
- Texas Education Agency
- Texas Funeral Service Commission (Funeral Protocols)
- Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Case Data)
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Texas Judicial Branch
- Judicial Commission on Mental Health
- Jury Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observations and Recommendations, Office of Court Administration, August 28, 2020
- Supreme Court of Texas (Emergency Orders, Court Guidance, Electronic Hearings)
- Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Texas Juvenile Justice Department
- Texas Legislative Reference Library
- COVID-19 Resources
- Legislative Reports
- Interim Report (Impact of COVID-19, COVID-19-related university research), Senate Finance Committee, August 2020
- Disease preparedness, H1N1 virus, Influenza
- Texas Medical Board
- Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Texas Secretary of State
- Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
- Texas State Board of Pharmacy
- Texas State Law Library
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission
- Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings
- Texas State Preservation Board
- Texas State Securities Board
- Texas Workforce Commission
- Texas.gov
In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.
- Read about how diet can affect hearing ability. (Consumer Reports, September 14, 2020)
- Consider the current climate related to state legislation about internet gambling. (National Conference of State Legislatures, September 2020)
- Review some of the federal and state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Law Library of Congress, September 2020)
- Track wildfires and how far wildfire smoke travels. (AirNow.gov, home of the U.S. Air Quality Index, accessed September 16, 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.
Contact Tracing
Sep 15
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes contact tracing as "an effective disease control strategy that involves identifying cases and their contacts then working with them to interrupt disease transmission." In the public health world, contact tracing has long been used in response to infectious diseases. Currently the strategy includes interviewing affected individuals, monitoring cases, providing instructions on isolation and quarantine, and assisting in crisis management. Below are background resources on the principles and concepts involved in contact tracing and state implementation of contact tracing programs.
- Contact Tracing Resources for Health Departments, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated September 1, 2020
- Contact Tracing, Texas Department of State Health Services, last updated June 28, 2020
- How States Are Ramping Up Their COVID-19 Contract Tracing Capacity (Includes an interactive map), National Academy for State Health Policy, June 8, 2020
- "COVID-19 Contact Tracing: What Is It and How It Is Getting Done in States," The NCSL Blog, National Conference of State Legislatures, June 2, 2020
- Principles of Contact Tracing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated April 29, 2020
- Roadmap to Recovery: A Public Health Guide for Governors (Step 3: Dramatically Scale Capacity for Isolation, Contact Tracing, and Quarantine), National Governors Association, April 21, 2020
- Contact Tracing and Disease Intervention Resources, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- COVID-19 Testing and Contact Tracing Resources, National Conference of State Legislatures
Tile image, "Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2," by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resized from original.
- HB 892, which relates to county regulation of game rooms. Monitor the status of counties statewide who have chosen to regulate game rooms and implement their own regulatory structure to combat illegal gambling activity via registration and permitting requirements, fees, disclosure of ownership, inspection schemes, and civil and criminal penalties.
- "Fort Worth's Legal Battle Over Eight-Liners Continues After Texas Supreme Court Opinion," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 8, 2020
- The City of Fort Worth and David Cooke v. Stephanie Rylie et al. (Opinion – Case: 18-1231), Supreme Court of Texas, May 8, 2020
- Key Concept: Regulating Game Rooms, County Progress, County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, February 1, 2020
- HB 1545, which is the sunset legislation for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). Monitor the implementation of the legislation and the agency's progress in the consolidation, repeal, and creation of certain licenses and permits and the adoption of new fees.
- 86th Legislature: Legislative Update, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, August 2019
- HB 2847, which is the omnibus occupational licensing legislation. Monitor the implementation of revisions relating to the licensing and regulation of certain occupations by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, including the length of a license term, a fee for the issuance or renewal of a license, and any continuing education required to renew a license.
- 86th Texas Legislature TDLR-Related Bills, Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation
- SB 1450, which authorizes alcohol delivery to consumers. Monitor the implementation and permitting process by TABC for consumer delivery of alcohol.
- 86th Legislature: Legislative Update, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, August 2019
- Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2021-2025 (Goals and Action Plans: Goal 1 – Effectively combat human trafficking connected to the alcoholic beverage industry), Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, June 5, 2020
- 86th Legislature: Legislative Update (Appropriations and TABC Sunset Bill: General Provisions), Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, August 2019
- Improve the State Response to Human Trafficking (Staff Reports 2019), Legislative Budget Board, April 2019
- The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission: Human Trafficking (Issue Brief), Legislative Budget Board, April 2012
- Stop Human Trafficking, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
- "Will Alcohol To-Go Become Permanent in Texas?," Houston Press, June 2, 2020
- "Micro-Brew, Macro-Fees: Texas Law Favors Beer Distributors While Curbing Growth and Investment in the Nation's Third Largest Craft Beer Market," 71 Baylor Law Review 190 (Winter 2019)
- "Texans Get Ready for Beer to Go and Booze Delivery," Texas Tribune, August 13, 2019
- "Commissioner Miller Asks Governor to Reopen Texas Wineries Immediately" (Press Release), Texas Department of Agriculture, July 2, 2020
- State of the US Wine Industry 2020, Silicon Valley Bank, 2020
- "AgriLife Extension Experts Help Wine Industry Meet Grape Expectations," AgriLife Today, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, February 27, 2019
- "Something to Wine About: What Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling Requirements Mean for Growers, Producers, and Consumers," 13 Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law 491 (2019)
- "Regulatory Policy and Innovation in the Wine Industry: A Comparative Analysis of Old and New World Wine Regulations," 34 American University International Law Review 279 (2018)
- The Economic Impact of Model Wineries in Texas, Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, Texas Tech University, December 2017
- "Growing Texas Wine: A Primer for the Practitioner and a Challenge to the Legislature," 47 Texas Tech Law Review 635 (2015)
- Growth of the Wine-in-a-Can Market, Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, Texas Tech University
In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.
- Read about the use of face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Consumer Reports, September 4, 2020)
- See when and were to view fall foliage. (smokymountains.com, ©2020)
- Track statistics related to e-cigarette sales over the last six years. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, September 9, 2020)
- View the progress of the sunset review schedule through late August of this year. (Sunset Advisory Commission, August 26, 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.
- HB 3, which relates to public school finance and public education. Monitor the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) implementation of the bill, including the extensive rulemaking process and broad unintended consequence authority of the commissioner. Examine the pay raises districts have provided to staff and the various approaches adopted to differentiate these salary increases according to experience.
- There's a New School Finance Law in Texas…Now What?, Center for Public Policy Priorities, March 2020
- HB 3 Implementation Update (Presentation to House Committee on Public Education), Texas Education Agency, October 28, 2019
- Minimum Salary Schedule Increase Pursuant to House Bill 3 (HB3) and House Bill 3 (HB3) Implementation: Salary Increases (Correspondence to the Administrator Addressed), Texas Education Agency, June 11, 2019
- HB 3 by Huberty: A True School Finance Overhaul, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, June 2019
- House Bill 3, Texas Education Agency
- HB 1842 (84R), HB 22 (85R), SB 1882 (85R), and HB 3906, which relate to public school accountability, assessment, interventions, and district-charter partnerships. Monitor the ongoing progress of the TEA's implementation and rulemaking of the A-F rating system, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), and public school sanctions and interventions.
- "Implications of Texas SB 1882 Patchwork of Partnerships," IDRA Newsletter, Intercultural Development Research Association, May 2020
- Evaluation of House Bill 1842, Eighty-Fourth Legislature, 2015, and Campus Turnaround Plans, Legislative Budget Board, November 2018
- A-F Accountability Resource Page, Texas Education Agency
- Campus Turnaround Plan Guidance and Resources, Texas Education Agency
- House Bill 3906, Texas Education Agency
- Texas Partnerships (SB 1882), Texas Education Agency
- SB 1873 (85R), which relates to reporting certain school district health and safety information. Review the report on physical education prepared by the TEA and determine what, if any, next steps are needed based on the data collections.
- Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative, Texas Education Agency
- HB 18, which enhances school safety and mental health resources for students and school personnel and works to reduce the stigma around mental health conditions. Monitor the process by which state agencies coordinate to implement the legislation and their compliance with various requirements, including providing required guidelines and resources to schools.
- HB 19, which places non-physician mental health professionals at education service centers to provide resources for educators and administrators in school districts and charter schools.
- HB 906, which creates the Collaborative Task Force on Public School Mental Health Services.
- SB 11, which creates the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium to facilitate access to mental health care services through telehealth and expands the mental health workforce through training and funding opportunities. Monitor the creation of the consortium and agencies' rulemaking processes. Review how school districts are spending their school safety allotment.
- Senate Bill 11 (SB 11) and Other School Safety-Related Legislation (Correspondence), Texas Education Agency, February 27, 2020
- School Safety After Senate Bill 11, Texas Association of School Boards, updated October 2019
- Implementation Plan for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC): As Required by Rider 58 of the Appropriation to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019), The University of Texas System, November 2019
- Improving School Safety in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, August 27, 2019
- 86th Legislative Session Bill Summaries: Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health
- HB 906 Mental Health Task Force, Texas Education Agency
- School Safety, Texas Education Agency
- Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (Meetings), The University of Texas System
- Technology and Instructional Materials Allotment Expenditures: State-Adopted Instructional Materials By District, School Year 2020-2021, Texas Education Agency
- Restarting and Reinventing School: Learning in the Time of COVID and Beyond, Learning Policy Institute, revised August 31, 2020
- "Governor Abbott Announces Procurement of Over 1 Million Devices, WiFi Hotspots Through Operation Connectivity," Office of the Texas Governor, August 20, 2020
- How States Are Expanding Broadband Access: New Research Identifies Tactics for Connecting Unserved Communities, The Pew Charitable Trusts, February 2020
- Closing the K-12 Digital Divide in the Age of Distance Learning, Common Sense Media, 2020
- Technology and Instructional Materials Allotment for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, (Correspondence to the Administrator Addressed), Texas Education Agency, August 1, 2019
- Fiscal Size-Up: 2020-21 Biennium (Texas Education Agency), Legislative Budget Board, May 2020
- Annual State Application Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Act as Amended in 2004 for Federal Fiscal Year 2019, Texas Education Agency, May 17, 2019
- Special Education: Varied State Criteria May Contribute to Differences in Percentages of Children Served, United States Government Accountability Office, April 2019
- House Bill 2130: Study of Statewide Assessment Program in Relation to Students in Special Education Programs (Report to the Texas Legislature), Texas Education Agency, January 30, 2019
- Report to the Governor of Texas and Texas Legislature, Continuing Advisory Committee for Special Education, January 2019
- Letter from Mike Morath, Commissioner of Education, Texas Education Agency to Laurie VanderPloeg, Director, Office of Special Education Programs, United States Department of Education (Includes documentation related to the Texas Education Agency's implementation of the Corrective Action Response), December 21, 2018
- Letter from Ruth E. Ryder, Acting Director, Office of Special Education Programs, United States Department of Education to the Honorable Mike Morath, Commissioner, Texas Education Agency (Response to the Texas Education Agency Corrective Action Response), October 19, 2018
- Special Education Strategic Plan, Texas Education Agency, April 23, 2018