The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. New lists are available most Thursdays at 3pm. The most recent list is below.

"Prison born." By Sarah Yager. Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2015, pp. 62, 65-71
Provides an overview of what happens to babies born to mothers in prison. Considers the pros and cons of providing a prison nursery so babies can stay with their mothers rather than being adopted or placed in foster care.

"Why the Saudis are going solar." Atlantic Monthly, July/August 2015, pp. 74, 76-80
Reports on Saudi Arabia's plans to rely more on solar power instead of oil. Explains the Saudis see investing in solar energy as a way to maintain their global oil position.

"Lawmakers made Texas more business friendly." By Kimberly Reeves. Austin Business Journal, June 19, 2015, pp. 4-5
Highlights newly-adopted bills from the 84th Texas Legislature that found favor with business leaders. Notes several business-focused bills that failed to pass.

"Proposed 'business activity tax nexus' legislation would seriously undermine state taxes on corporate profits and harm the economy." By Michael Mazerov. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, June 18, 2015, pp. 1-14, Appendix pp. 1-11
Analyzes H.R. 2584, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act, introduced by United States Representative Steve Chabot on June 1, 2015, and its potential to reduce the authority of states and localities to tax profits of corporations that are based out-of-state. Predicts the legislation would reduce state and local government revenues by $2 billion in its first year. Mentions the Texas franchise tax.
See:http://www.cbpp.org/resea ...
Related information at:https://www.congress.gov/ ...

"John Robert's principled mistake." By John O. McGinnis. City Journal (Manhattan Institute), June 29, 2015, p. 102
Comments on Supreme Court Chief Justice John Robert's use of a well-established theory of statutory interpretation to reach his decision in King v. Burwell, which upheld the availability of insurance subsidies for people who purchased insurance through federal health exchanges rather than state exchanges.
See:http://www.city-journal.o ...

"Banking in Mexico: a light in the darkness." Economist, June 27th-July 3rd, 2015, pp. 61-62
Explains how a click-based banking model, using technology such as mobile banking, can offer countries with hard-to-reach rural populations a simple way to expand financial services to the unbanked.

"Doctor-assisted dying: final certainty; Attitudes towards assisted dying." Economist, June 27th-July 3rd, 2015, pp. 16-20
Reports momentum is building across America in favor of legal doctor-assisted dying. Notes proposed legislation and legal cases are in progress in twenty American states and in several countries. Includes results of a poll on the attitudes toward doctor-assisted dying in 15 countries.

"Gun politics: a counsel of despair." Economist, June 27th-July 3rd, 2015, pp. 22-23
Suggests the shootings in a Charleston, South Carolina church are unlikely to produce new controls on firearms. Includes recent statistics on gun ownership in the United States. Notes that while gun ownership is sharply lower today than in the 1990s, gun owners are accumulating a larger number of guns.

"Tracking rail." By Martha Deller. Fort Worth Business Press, June 22-28, 2015, pp. 20-21
Addresses rural communities concerns with bringing high-speed rail to Texas. Highlights legislation, which ultimately failed, prohibiting the use of eminent domain and the use of state funds for a rail line between Dallas and Houston.

"America bets big on bullet trains." By Brian Dumaine. Fortune, June 15, 2015, pp. 225, 227-230
Looks at high-speed rail projects in California, Florida, and Texas. Details plans to fund bullet trains, noting private investors believe they can become profitable if trips are 400 miles or less. Compares energy efficiency of trains with other modes of transportation.

"Controlling health-care costs with dependent eligibility audits." By Mark Mack. Government Finance Review, June 2015, pp. 30-36
Examines dependent eligibility audits as a health cost-containment strategy for public sector employers. Highlights the City of Corpus Christi's savings of $1 million in the first year after such an audit.

"Federal gridlock delays national transportation infrastructure investment." By Dustin McDonald. Government Finance Review, June 2015, pp. 50-54
Describes the debate in Congress on how to shore up the fledgling Highway Trust Fund and support transportation infrastructure projects in the long term.

"The state and local workforce: analysis and forecast." By Joshua Franzel. Government Finance Review, June 2015, pp. 46-49
Summarizes recent trends in the state and local government workforce, including compensation, recruitment, retirement, benefits, and health-care costs. Finds the state government workforce decreased by two percent over the last decade.

"Havidan Rodriguez: honored for leadership and lasting impact on higher education." By Gail Fagan. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, June 15, 2015, pp. 6-9
Profiles the distinguished leadership in higher education and academic work of Dr. Havidan Rodriguez, president ad interim of the University of Texas-Pan American and founding provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at the newly created University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

"E before I: Why engagement needs to come first in planning infrastructure." By Isabel Dedring. Internet Resource, June 2015, pp. 1-3
Advocates engaging stakeholders and the public first before planning major infrastructure decisions. Includes infrastructure examples in Great Britain which supports this process.
See:http://www.mckinsey.com/i ...

"FDA regulation of indoor tanning devices and opportunities for skin cancer prevention." By Darren Mays and John Kraemer. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), June 23/30, 2015, pp. 2423-2424
Examines the risks of indoor tanning and suggests approaches to regulating the industry. Points out that most cases of skin cancer are preventable.

"Medical marijuana: is the cart before the horse?" By Deepak Cyril D'Souza and Mohini Ranganathan. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), June 23/30, 2015, pp. 2431-2432
Discusses the uses of medical marijuana and the differences in various state laws regarding the conditions for which medical marijuana is approved and the dispensable legal limits.

"The ACA Medicaid expansion waiver in the Keystone State: do the medically uninsured 'got a friend in Pennsylvania'?" By Laura Katz Olson. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, June 2015, pp. 599-611
Examines how Pennsylvania has handled Medicaid expansion in light of NFIB v. Sebelius, the 2012 United States Supreme Court decision that allowed the states to decide whether to expand Medicaid. Explains that Pennsylvania has taken a market-based approach to expanding Medicaid.
Related information at:http://www.supremecourt.g ...

"Power to the people: why the rise of green energy makes utility companies nervous." By Bill McKibben. New Yorker, June 29, 2015, pp. 30-35
Examines the public power utility system in the United States and how that business/regulatory model is being disrupted by new energy technologies such as solar, the soon-to-be fastest-growing new energy source. States the current system is energy-inefficient and capital-inefficient. Suggests, the goal should be "to create a policy environment that is not standing against the forces of history but is in line with them."
See:http://www.newyorker.com/ ...

"Prison revolt: a former law-and-order conservative takes a lead on criminal-justice reform." By Bill Keller. New Yorker, June 29, 2015, pp. 22-28
Profiles the work of Patrick J. Nolan and other conservatives to rehabilitate the criminal-justice system in which they believe prison became the default choice instead of the last resort. Suggests conservatives and liberals generally agree about the scale of the current problem but disagree over the causes and certain policy areas. Highlights the Texas Public Policy Foundation as influencing the 2007 legislation that cancelled a major expansion of the state's prisons and re-directed some funding to addiction treatment for low-level offenders.
See:http://www.newyorker.com/ ...

"Better government through crowdsourcing." By Greg Beato. Reason, July 2015, pp. 78-79
Highlights Challenge.gov, a crowdsourcing platform, run by the United States General Services Administration (GSA) where federal agencies list prize competitions open to the public. Suggests crowdsourcing platforms such as this, inspire innovation by putting problems in front of more eyes, and in front of fresh eyes.
Related information at:https://www.challenge.gov ...

"Pumped up to rumble." By Julia Rosen. Science, June 19, 2015, p. 1299
Discusses recent research that looks into whether high rates of wastewater fluid injection can contribute to an increase in seismic activity in areas previously dormant.

"From wolf to dog." By Virginia Morell. Scientific American, July 2015, pp. 60-67
Considers dog domestication and its origins.

"E-filing set to start in criminal trial courts." By Angela Morris. Texas Lawyer, June 22, 2015, p. 8
Discusses the release of draft e-filing rules for criminal cases. Notes that criminal e-filing will be voluntary in justice of the peace courts, county courts-at-law and district courts until the rules become effective in all counties on November 1, 2015. Mentions a pilot program starting on September 1, 2015 that will test e-filing in Hidalgo County criminal trial courts.
Related information at:http://www.txcourts.gov/m ...

"The Abbott interview." By Brian D. Sweany. Texas Monthly, July 2015, pp. 88-89, 153-156, 158, 160
Interviews Governor Greg Abbott about the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, and his gubernatorial agenda.