Publications

Recent Online Publications Highlights of the 82nd Legislature, Vol I (3.80 MB) Highlights of the 82nd Legislature, Vol II (3.10 MB) The Senate Guide to Ethics and Financial Disclosure - 82nd Legislative Session - February 2011 (1.00 MB) Issues Facing the 82nd Legislature (1.00 MB) Legislative Lexicon - January 2011 (1.10 MB) Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2011 (1.20 MB)
Regular Publications Clearinghouse Update Highlights of the Legislature Research Spotlight Legislative Lexicon - January 2011 In Briefs Research Matters	Other Publications by Subject Border/Immigration Criminal Justice Economic Development Education Environment/Natural Resources Ethics Finance Legislative Transportation Utilities
Special Reports

Regular Publications

Clearinghouse Update
A newsletter published for the Secretary of the Senate's Office twice a month, during the interim, that highlights legislative news.

Highlights of the Legislature
Summaries of major legislation passed during the legislative session.

• 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993
• 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995
• 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997
• 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999
• 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001
• 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003
• 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005
• 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007
• 81st Legislature, Regular & Special Session, 2009
• 82nd Legislature, Regular & Special Session - Vol I, 2011
• 82nd Legislature, Regular & Special Session - Vol II, 2011

Research Spotlight

• Legislative Lexicon - January 2011
• Invisible Government: Special Purpose Districts in Texas - October 2008
• Legislative Lexicon - February 2007
• Cracking Down on Crank: Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005 - August 2006
• The Health of the Texas Wine and Grape Industry - July 2006
• Texas Supreme Court Rules School Finance System Does Not Make the Grade - April 2006
• Texas Drought - April 2006
• Oregon's Road User Fee Pilot Program - April 2006
• E-Waste Dilemma - March 2006
• Private Property Versus Public Good: The Use of Eminent Domain for Economic Development - March 2006
• The Eighth and Eighteen: Eighth Amendment Bars the Execution of Offenders Under 18 Years of Age - November 2005

In Briefs

• 140 Days Under the Dome, Highlights of the 75th Legislature - June 1997
• 140 Days Under the Dome, Highlights of the 76th Legislature - June 1999
• 140 Days Under the Dome, Highlights of the 77th Legislature - August 2001(pdf)
• 2001 Capital Punishment Update - April 2001(pdf)
• 75 Issues Facing the 75th Legislature - November 1996
• 78th Legislature Tackles Homeowners Insurance Crisis - October 2003 (pdf)
• A Handbook on Privacy: Federal & State Legislation - March 2001(pdf)
• A More Perfect Union, Amending the United States Constitution - July 2004(pdf)
• A New Chapter for Texas Groundwater? - March 1999(pdf)
• Affordable Housing in Texas: Fewer Funds and More Responsibility - January 1996
• Annexation in Texas: Proposed Changes Would Limit a City's Ability to Aquire New Territory - March 1997
• Auto Insurance: The Bumpy Road to Deregulation - April 1999(pdf)
• Can Texas Make the Transition to Block Grants? - May 1995
• Clean Air Compliance in Texas for 2001 - February 2001
• Does Credit History Equal Insurance Risk? - February 2003
• Exemplary v. Low Performing: How the Texas Education Agency Measures Performance of Texas High Schools - May 1996
• Eyes of Texas are Upon You: Gauging the Pulse of Privacy, The - March 2001(pdf)
• Federal Highway Funding Formulas & the Reauthorization of ISTEA: What's at Stake for Texas - October 1997
• Forget the Apple: School Employees Health Insurance - February 2001
• Initiative and Referendum - September 1996
• Issues Facing the 76th Legislature - November 1998
• Issues Facing the 77th Texas Legislature - December 2000 (pdf)
• Issues Facing the 78th Texas Legislature - January 2003 (pdf)
• Juvenile and Curfews: What's Fair for Kids and Effective for Crime Control? - February 1995
• Kids Come First with the 76th Texas Legislature - August 1999(pdf)
• Legislative Tenure: How Long is Too Long? Term Limits in America - February 1995
• Lottery Dedication: Is It The Winning Ticket? - April 1997
• Marital Rights - June 1996
• Medicaid Meets the Computer Age - March 1995
• Medical Malpractice Liability Crisis, The - February 2003
• No-Fault Insurance: What's it all about? - February 1995
• Nursing Home Liability Insurance Rates: Factors Contributing to the Rate Increases in Texas - February 2001
• Open Records - A Ray of Texas Sunshine - April 1995
• Parole, Then and Now - May 1999(pdf)
• Payday and Sale Leaseback Loans April 2001(pdf)
• Preventing Juvenile Delinquency and Crime: What Works? - October 1996
• Private Sector Prison Industries: Can They Lower Recidivism Rates and Incarceration Costs? - November 1995
• Property Rights Movement and Land Use Regulation: Is There a Conflict Between Private Rights and the Public Good? - January 1995
• Quick Reference Guide to Electric Deregulation - February 1997
• School Days and Legal Maze: Constitutional Challenges to Public School Finance in Texas and Other States - April 1997
• School Vouchers: A Look at the Issues - March 1995
• Should Texans Tighten Control of Sex Offenders? - February 1995
• Should Texas Abolish the State Treasury? - March 1995
• Should Texas Opt Out of the Interstate Branch Banking? - March 1995
• State Hate Crime Laws Seek to Punish Prejudice - February 1999
• State Licenses & Unpaid Child Support - January 1995
• Taking Exception to Exceptional Sentencing
• Tobacco Settlement Funds - April 1999 (pdf)
• Tracking Doe; Texas Supreme Court Decision Seeks to Interpret Parental Notification Law - January 2001
• Tracking Down Fraud in Government Health Programs: 21 States Strengthen Medical Fraud Efforts to Curb Costs - December 1995
• Translating Traffic Woes to Traffic Goes: The View From Here - September 2002(pdf)
• Water Talk - September 2004 (pdf)
• Wide-Ranging Reforms in Texas Tort Law - October 2003 (pdf)
• Year 2000 - Y2k: Is Texas Ready? - February 1999

Research Matters

• Attorney General Opinion that Federal Law Bars Hospital District from Providing Health Care to Indigent Aliens Generates Potential Legislation and lawsuits - September 2001 (PDF)
• Cloudy Forecasts for Upcoming State Budgets - October 2001
• Developments in Federal Health Care Policy - October 2001 (PDF)
• Does School Size Matter? Schools Within A School. - November 2002 (PDF)
• Factoring in Race: A Divided United States Supreme Court Rules on Two Affirmative Action Programs at the University of Michigan - August 2003
• Is the Texas Health Care Liability Act DOA? - July 2004
• Moratorium on Trucks Ends - September 2004 (PDF)
• Mold - Good, Bad, and Ugly - December 2001 (PDF)
• New Economic Realities Challenge State Budget Policymaker - November 2001
• Reading, Writing, and Religion - December 2001 (PDF)
• Texas Homeland - August 2003
• Trouble With Fire Ants, The - August 2001 (PDF)
• United States Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of "Megan's Law" - March 2003

Special Reports

• Demographic Factors Affecting Texas - May 1993
• Facts and Factors Impacting Texas - January 1998
• Guide to Occupational Regulation in Texas - September 1995
• Safe Passages: Texas Teens on the Road to Adulthood - January 2001
• School Days and Legal Maze: Constitutional Challenges to Public School Finance in Texas - September 2003
• Texas Gets a Hand: Volunteerism and Other Contributions to Selected State Agencies in Fiscal Year 1992 - September 1993

Other Publications by Subject

Border/Immigration

• Immigrants & Immigration : An Overview of Issues Facing Texas - October 1994

Criminal Justice

• Chronology of Texas Prisons 1980 to 1991 - October 1991
• Chronology of Texas Prisons 1972 to 1994 - October 1994
• Correctional Boot Camps: A Survey of the Literature and Texas Programs - December 1994
• Kids and Crime - Texas Juvenile Arrest and Incarceration Statistics 1983 to 1993 - January 1994
• Sex Offender Laws: Summary of Changes (pdf format) - October 1999
• Texas Crime and Incarceration Statistics 1982-1992 - September 1993
• Texas Prison Construction Process - Report to the Senate Interim Committee on Criminal Justice - February 1992

Economic Development

• Summary of Major Business Legislation, 73rd Texas Legislature - January 1993

Education

• Public School Finance Issues - March 1992
• School District Information by Senate District - August 1993
• Texas School Districts by Senate District - Under the Existing Plan and the Federal Court Plan of December 1991 - April 1992
• The Quest for Diversity Without Racial Preferences: Higher Education After Hopwood - April 1999 (pdf format)

Environment / Natural Resources

• Environmental Fact Sheet - Recent Changes in Texas Solid Waste Fees & Federal Solid Waste Regulations (Subtitle D) - October 1991
• Recycle: A Capitol Idea - 1991 Report of the Joint Task Force on Waste Management Policy - January 1991

Ethics

• Senate Guide to Ethics and Disclosure - 80th Legislative Session - February 2007
• A Senate Guide to Ethics and Disclosure - 81st Legislative Session - February 2009
• The Senate Guide to Ethics and Financial Disclosure - 82nd Legislative Session - February 2011

Finance

• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - June 1998
• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2003
• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2005
• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2007
• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2009
• Budget 101: A Guide to the Budget Process in Texas - January 2011
• Highlights of the Public Hearings, Senate Finance Committee - Appropriations FY '98'99 - February 1997
• Highlights of the Public Hearings, Senate Finance Committee - Appropriations FY 2000-2001 - March 1999
• Summary of House Action on Appropriations Bill - April 1993
• Survey of the States: Performance Measures - October 1997

Legislative

• Congressional Watch List - July 18, 1995
• Constitutional Amendments by Proposition submitted by the 74th Legislature - October 1995
• Constitutional Amendments by Proposition submitted by the 75th Legislature - July 1997
• Constitutional Amendments by Proposition submitted by the 76th Legislature - July 1999
• Constitutional Amendments by Proposition submitted by the 77th Legislature - September 2001
• Constitutional Amendments by Proposition submitted by the 78th Legislature - July 2003
• Effective September 1, 1995 - August 1995
• Effective September 1, 1999 - August 1999
• Effective January 1, 2000 - December 1999
• Effective September 1, 2001 - August 2001
• Interim Digest (A compilation of interim committee action.)
• Interim Digest produced for the 71st Legislature, Regular Session, January 1989
• Interim Digest produced for the 72nd Legislature, Regular Session, December 1990
• Interim Digest produced for the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, January 1993
• Interim Digest produced for the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, January 1995
• Interim Digest produced for the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, January 1997
• Interim Digest produced for the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, January 1999
• Interim Digest produced for the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, January 2001
• Interim Digest produced for the 78th Legislature, Regular Session - February 2003*
• Interim Digest produced for the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, February 2005
• Issues Facing the 76th Legislature
• Issues Facing the 77th Legislature: A Briefing Report
• Issues Facing the 78th Legislature: A Briefing Report(2.9mb)
• Issues Facing the 79th Legislature: A Briefing Report(3mb)
• Issues Facing the 80th Legislature: A Briefing Report
• Issues Facing the 81st Legislature: A Briefing Report
• Issues Facing the 82nd Legislature: A Briefing Report
• Summary of Significant Legislation - 70th Session - 1987
• Summary of Significant Legislation - 71st Session - 1989
• Summary of Significant Legislation - 72nd Session - 1991
• Summary of Significant Legislation - 73rd Session - 1993

Transportation

• Transportation Issues in Texas - Compiled by the Senate Research Center in cooperation with Senate State Affairs Cmte Staff - May 1992

Utilities

• Fast Facts - Electric Deregulation in 1997 - September 1997