Bill Text: TX HR1950 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring the Legislative Reference Library.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-04 - Reported enrolled [HR1950 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR1950-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1950 |
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WHEREAS, For more than a century, the Legislative Reference | ||
Library has provided invaluable assistance to Texas lawmakers; and | ||
WHEREAS, Signaling to the world that the Texas Legislature | ||
early on understood the need for expert assistance from | ||
professional library staff and the value of a specialized reference | ||
library, leaders of this state reserved a special place at the core | ||
of the 1888 Capitol to house this vital resource for current and | ||
future generations; the Legislative Reference Library was | ||
established on the second floor in the north wing to assist members | ||
of the legislature and their staffs, and its resources are also | ||
available to the lieutenant governor, the speaker, and their | ||
staffs, to the staff of the governor's office, to legislative | ||
officers, agencies, and committees, to state agencies and | ||
commissions, to librarians and legislators from other states, to | ||
members of the press, and to Texas citizens; and | ||
WHEREAS, The tools may change through the decades, but the | ||
need for information endures, and the library's electronic data | ||
systems currently expedite the delivery of knowledge to the | ||
legislative community and the people of Texas in both direct and | ||
indirect ways; the creation, compilation, and utilization of | ||
information in a reliable and timely fashion are provided today in a | ||
manner unimaginable by the legislature in 1888, yet the importance | ||
of the library's continued proximity to the seat of Texas | ||
government was reaffirmed during the restoration of the Capitol in | ||
the 1990s, thus underscoring the intrinsic value of this treasured | ||
institution; and | ||
WHEREAS, The effectiveness of the library would not be | ||
possible without the talented people who staff it; these | ||
individuals provide in-depth analyses of legislation from all 50 | ||
states, respond to historical legislative queries, and create ad | ||
hoc legislative statistical reports for staff in the speaker's and | ||
lieutenant governor's offices; during legislative sessions, the | ||
library plays an integral part in the legislative process; staff | ||
develop electronic records in the Texas Legislative Tracking System | ||
for each bill or resolution filed and furnish real-time information | ||
to the legislative community, to executive agencies, and to | ||
citizens of this state through such proprietary applications as | ||
TLIS and TLO; and | ||
WHEREAS, Stationed on the floor of the house and senate | ||
chambers, library staff record critical legislative actions as they | ||
occur, and they work closely with the senate and house | ||
parliamentarians, the senate and house journal clerks, the chief | ||
clerk of the house, the secretary of the senate, and their staffs to | ||
ensure that these records are accurate and complete; library staff | ||
members are also responsible for assigning and entering subject | ||
terms and companion relationships to facilitate legislative | ||
research, and they review enrolled legislation for the effective | ||
dates of each measure; in addition, the library operates a | ||
toll-free bill status hotline for the public; and | ||
WHEREAS, As the statutory custodian of legislative records, | ||
the library maintains the most comprehensive physical repository of | ||
information relating to the Texas Legislature, including original | ||
legislative bill files, historical and current publications of | ||
legislative committees, state agencies, and institutions of higher | ||
education, and legislative legal resources, journals, law reviews, | ||
and periodicals; a circulating collection of materials is also made | ||
available to the legislative community; and | ||
WHEREAS, The library has undertaken an ambitious and ongoing | ||
project to digitize historical legislative records and | ||
information, including the house and senate journals, to ensure | ||
that this information is available to scholars and the public to | ||
foster better understanding of the history of Texas and the | ||
legislature's role in that history; and | ||
WHEREAS, Each business day, the library compiles select | ||
articles from newspapers statewide for the legislative community, | ||
and it generates weekly listings of important journal articles and | ||
monthly listings of newsworthy additions to the library's | ||
collection; the library provides accurate and up-to-date | ||
legislative information electronically through a number of | ||
databases; the Texas Appointment System contains information on | ||
members of state councils, boards, and committees appointed by the | ||
governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker; the Legislative | ||
Archive System holds the only electronic version of original | ||
legislative bill files and documentation, while the Index to | ||
Sections Affected is the sole source of information detailing the | ||
proposed statutory effect of bills; moreover, the library maintains | ||
Texas Legislators: Past & Present, highlighting legislative | ||
membership information from 1846 to today, as well as a legislative | ||
reports database covering that same period, and it archives | ||
gubernatorial executive orders, messages, and proclamations; and | ||
WHEREAS, Guided skillfully by director/librarian Mary Camp, | ||
the LRL staff includes assistant director/librarian Catherine | ||
Wusterhausen, administrative/legislative staff Michelle Martinez, | ||
Kali Palmer, and Julia Walden, administrative staff Amber Baade, | ||
Donald Brower, Christopher Taylor, and Jay Young, clipping service | ||
staff Vincent Cowan, David Wood, and Karen Wright, and librarians | ||
Elizabeth Buchanan, Linna Dean, Ali Dzienkowski, Sally Harlow, | ||
Melanie Harshman, Mickey Lanning, Karen McBurney, Kaelyn Morice, | ||
Ana Sifuentes-Martinez, Brandon Vasquez, Lindsay Wickham, and Ia | ||
Wood; and | ||
WHEREAS, These hardworking and dedicated professionals | ||
demonstrate an unyielding commitment to excellence as they carry on | ||
the long and storied tradition of their agency, and they may take | ||
justifiable pride in the important services they provide to the | ||
legislature and to the citizens of the Lone Star State; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby honor the Legislative Reference Library and | ||
extend to the staff members sincere appreciation for their | ||
outstanding contributions; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for the library as an expression of high regard by the | ||
Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Metcalf | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1950 was adopted by the House on May | ||
31, 2021, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||