Research Library

Under long-established Texas law, the surface estate owner clearly owns oilfield produced water. However, the law does not address how, if at all, the producer would need to split revenues with the surface owner for a sale or a for-value transfer of produced water. Fellow Gabe Collins analyzes the ambiguity related to revenues from this commodity and discusses potential transaction structures for produced water in Texas.

During the 85th Legislative Session, Texas lawmakers have the opportunity to enact reforms to the current process by which the state selects its judges—in partisan elections in combination with a straight-ticket voting option. Political science fellow Mark P. Jones analyzes four reform options and their respective advantages and disadvantages.

The economic and geopolitical implications of the United States’ nonconventional hydrocarbons revolution on energy markets throughout North America, including Mexico, and the possibilities for policy coordination in the region are explored in this paper.

Criminal extortion is on the rise in Mexico, particularly along the northern border states. Author Gary Hale shows how this trend has fueled government corruption, with officials implicitly or explicitly aiding organized crime groups as they extort businesses and citizens.

This research paper examines the potential market for a system that would pay landowners to restore natural ecosystems, such as native prairies and oyster reefs, that protect the Gulf Coast from hurricane and severe storm damage.

This paper argues that the Texas social studies curriculum does not offer balanced coverage of world religions, due in large part to intervention by conservative members of the Texas State Board of Education. The paper identifies examples of imbalanced coverage in social studies texts and offers recommendations for broadening coverage of religion in Texas public schools.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Texas voter ID law, ruling that it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The decision cites a 2015 study by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy.

The number of high-skilled Mexican entrepreneurs migrating to the United States has increased in recent years, but the trend is not solely in response to organized crime activity in Mexico. This research paper analyzes the various push and pull factors that lead these entrepreneurs to seek opportunities in the United States.

This paper reports the key climate change and public policy issues addressed by guest speakers during the 2014-15 Climate Lecture Series hosted by the Center for Energy Studies.

In this report, the authors analyze the potential benefits of expanding jail diversion programs for low-level drug offenses in Harris County.