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Current Articles and Research Resources, November 2

Nov 2

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.

  • Explore the most recent release of documents related to the JFK assassination. (National Archives, October 26, 2017)
  • See how Google tracks America's health. (Fortune, October 25, 2017)
  • Examine proposed tax reform. (Penn Wharton, October 30, 2017)
  • Consider the regulation of dietary supplements. (Pew Charitable Trusts, October 24, 2017)
  • Read about the 1998 Federal Vacancies Act. (Congressional Research Service, October 30, 2017) 

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

  • "Amazon's Texas two-step." By Greg Barr. Austin Business Journal, October 13, 2017, pp. A10-A12.
    Discusses Amazon's growing footprint in Austin and Central Texas, now one of the area's largest employers.

  • "EPA: its course in the Trump era." By Amanda Paulson. Christian Science Monitor, October 16, 2017, p. 17.
    Reviews the actions by the new Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Administrator, Scott Pruitt, and finds a lot in common with EPA actions at the beginning of the Reagan administration. Explains the difficulty in attempting to undo established rules.

  • "Grit and the gridiron rescue a town." By Carmen K. Sisson. Christian Science Monitor, October 23, 2017, pp. 24-30.
    Reports on Refugio, Texas, and the town's Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. Explains the schools and football team have provided an important focal point and symbolize the strength of the citizens.

  • "The long last miles to college." By Eric Hoover. Chronicle of Higher Education, October 13, 2017, pp. A14-A18.
    Features the experiences of two low-income students from Dallas in their summer between high school graduation and starting college.

  • "Power of the purse." By Kate Ackley. CQ Weekly, October 23, 2017, pp. 16-23.
    Argues a surge in women campaign donors is reshaping the political landscape in the United States. Examines what is fueling this increased engagement in the political system by women from both parties and inspiring more women to run for elective office.

  • "E-commerce: the new bazaar." Economist, October 28th-November 3rd, 2017, pp. 3-12.
    Examines how the new breed of e-commerce conglomerates, including Amazon and Alibaba (China), are reshaping retailing, manufacturing, and logistics and assesses their broader impact on society.

  • "Innovative justice: Oxy-courting." Economist, October 21st-27th, 2017, p. 30.
    Profiles the country's first opioid court and considers whether this type of court can be replicated in other cities.

  • "Opioid abuse and poisoning: trends in inpatient and emergency department discharges." By Dario Tedesco, et al. Health Affairs, October 2017, pp. 1748-1753.
    Analyzes data that show inpatient and emergency department discharge rates increasing across the study period. Observes a decline for prescription opioid-related discharges beginning in 2010, while a sharp increase in heroin-related discharges begins in 2008.

  • "A real fix for traffic." By Daniel Herriges. Milken Institute Review, Fourth Quarter 2017, pp. 66-78.
    Debates the definition of "traffic" as a problem of volume, delay, or distribution. Examines measures for alleviating traffic woes at a reasonable expense, such as congestion pricing, public transit, and highway planning.

  • "Less gun violence without new gun laws." By Robert Verbruggen. National Review, October 30, 2017, pp. 18-19.
    Argues focusing on specific geographic areas and the tiny percent of the population most involved in gun violence will do more to stop gun violence than new gun control laws.

  • "API, other groups want new NAFTA to retain crucial ISDS [Investor-State Dispute Settlement] provision." By Nick Snow. Oil and Gas Journal, October 2, 2017, pp. 26-27.
    Discusses which provisions from the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] the American Petroleum Institute [API] and several other trade associations from United States industries would like to retain.

  • "'Fractivism' in the city: assessing defiance at the neighborhood level." By Jonathan M. Fisk, Yunmi Park, and Zachary Mahafza. State and Local Government Review, June 2017, pp. 105-116.
    Analyzes the oil and gas politics of fracking in Denton, Texas, and Longmont, Colorado. Charts the extent of voter support of proposed fracking bans using spatial and political data.

  • "Inside the 85th legislative session." By Felicia A. Wright. Texas Builder, September/October 2017, pp. 30-37.
    Summarizes the 85th Legislature, Regular and First Called Sessions, from the perspective of the Texas residential construction and development industry, including legislation on development and zoning, property taxes, workforce, linkage fees, special districts, the state water plan, housing and community development, and tree credits.
    (See: http://builderfusion.texasbuilders.org/bf/messaging/TexasBuilder/TexasBuilder/TXBuilder_SeptOct17_final.pdf#page=30)

  • "New balance, new beginning." By Joey Berlin. Texas Medicine, October 2017, pp. 22-29.
    Praises the passage of SB1148, 85th Legislature, R.S., which restricts the use of maintenance of certification [MOC] as a condition for physician licensure or registration.
    (See: https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=45823)

  • "The campus culture wars." By Katy Steinmetz. Time, October 23, 2017, pp. 48-55.
    Discusses conflicts on college campuses related to free speech and censorship concerns. Reports campus division over free speech and voicing cultural beliefs has led several state legislatures to consider bills that prevent the disruption of controversial speech at universities.

 

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.

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