This report provides a short overview of Canada's political scene, its economic conditions, and its recent security and foreign policy, focusing particularly on issues that may be relevant to U.S. policymakers. This brief country survey is followed by several summaries of current bilateral issues in the political, trade, and environmental arenas. The report is updated annually.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the use of personal leave by a public school employee.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the North Texas Municipal Water District.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to jurisdiction over a wage claim filed after the deadline.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to meetings of the Coastal Coordination Council.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to a right to vacate and avoid residential lease liability following the occurrence of certain sex offenses or domestic violence; providing a penalty.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to practices and professions regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the authority of the Lower Neches Valley Authority to acquire, own, operate, maintain, and improve the Devers Canal System, its water rights, and associated property.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to designation of Midwestern State University as a public liberal arts university.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the date for electing directors of the Goliad County Groundwater Conservation District.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to plans by local governments in coastal areas for reducing public expenditures for erosion and storm damage losses to public and private property.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the designation by the commissioner of the General Land Office of critical coastal erosion areas for purposes of the coastal erosion response plan.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the supervision by the Texas Department of Transportation of money appropriated by the federal government for the construction and maintenance of rail facilities.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the board of directors of the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to authorizing the Texas Board of Criminal Justice to sell certain real property for municipal airport expansion.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the abolishment of the Lower Concho River Water and Soil Conservation Authority.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to plans by local governments in coastal areas for reducing public expenditures for erosion and storm damage losses to public and private property.

Bill introduced by the Texas House of Representatives relating to the use of certain professional titles by interior designers.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Authority of a county to contract with a private entity for the collection of delinquent fines, fees, and court costs (RQ-0752-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether members of a county juvenile board may participate in the county's group health insurance program (RQ-0766-GA)

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The possibility of storing refined petroleum products as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been contemplated since the SPR was created in 1975. The SPR, which currently holds about 700 million barrels of crude oil, was created to help insulate the U.S. economy from oil supply disruptions. However, the SPR does not contain refined products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, or jet fuel. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the SPR's capacity from 727 million barrels to 1 billion barrels, which it plans to do by 2018. With the possibility of including refined products as part of the expansion of the SPR, this testimony discusses (1) some of the arguments for and against including refined products in the SPR and (2) lessons learned from the management of the existing crude oil SPR that may be applicable to refined products. To address these issues, GAO relied on its 2006 report on the SPR (GAO-06-872), 2007 report on the globalization of petroleum products (GAO-08-14), and two 2008 testimonies on the cost-effectiveness of filling the SPR (GAO-08-512T and GAO-08-726T). GAO also …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To reduce the number of crashes involving commercial motor carriers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) within the Department of Transportation orders unsafe carriers out of service. To help keep these carriers off the road, FMCSA's voluntary Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) grant program, a small program funded at $5 million per year, helps states establish information systems connections between state vehicle registration and FMCSA's safety databases. These connections provide states with up-to-date information on carriers' safety status when carriers try to register or renew registrations with the state. For states to deny, suspend, or revoke registrations to out-of service carriers, states must pass legislation enabling them to do so. As directed by a congressional committee, GAO examined (1) PRISM's effectiveness and (2) the potential to fully implement the program nationally. GAO reviewed FMCSA data and discussed PRISM with a wide variety of federal, state, industry, and safety stakeholders"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States ranks 15th among the 30 democratic nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on one measure of broadband (i.e., high-speed Internet) subscribership. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory authority over broadband, and several federal programs fund broadband deployment. This congressionally requested report discusses (1) the federal broadband deployment policy, principal federal programs, and stakeholders' views of those programs; (2) how the policies of OECD nations with higher subscribership rates compare with U.S. policy; and (3) actions the states have taken to encourage broadband deployment. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed the broadband policies of the United States and other OECD nations, reviewed federal program documentation and budgetary information, and interviewed federal and state officials and industry stakeholders."