|
|
|
|
|
|
Legislative leaders to take another stab at resolving Texas' school funding dilemma
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick have agreed to form a joint House and Senate committee to consider state public school reforms before the third special legislative session of 2005-06 is called, Dewhurst said at a recent luncheon in Midland. Perry is expected to call another special session for school finance once the Texas Supreme Court weighs in on the subject. A ruling last year by state District Judge John Dietz concluded that the current method for financing schools is unconstitutional. The suit was filed by Texas schools, and Dietz's decision was appealed by the state to the Supreme Court. A ruling by the Supreme Court has been expected for weeks. Governor names members of tax reform panelGov. Rick Perry has appointed 24 people to a panel that will attempt to, in part, restructure the state tax system that pays for public schools. A complete list of the appointees can be found online. Former state comptroller John Sharp was picked to be the chairman of the panel last month. Perry also announced that Robert Howden, a former communications director for Perry, will serve as staff director for the commission. Before working for Governor Perry, Howden was the executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Texas for more than 10 years. Proposal for S.A.-Austin train line gaining momentumThe Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Rail District has voted to begin negotiations with cities and counties for special tax districts that would help finance local stations for a proposed passenger train that would connect Austin and San Antonio. In all, 15 stations are envisioned. The tax districts would provide only a fraction of the funding needed to start the 112-mile passenger train service by 2009 or 2010. The route, which would run from Georgetown north of Austin to San Antonio is expected to cost $608 million to build and $41 million a year to operate. Ridership estimates are in the works. TCU announces $110 million in construction plansTexas Christian University in Fort Worth has unveiled plans to bolster academic and student life with a $100 million construction project in the center of the campus. A new student union will be built facing the existing union, which will be renovated, and new residential halls will flank the space between the buildings. TCU officials also announced a $10.5 million renovation for the School of Education. The façade on the building, which originally housed the divinity school, will be restored to its classical 1914 appearance, and an addition will triple its space. Law school dean sole finalist for job of UT president
William C. Powers Jr., dean of the University of Texas School of Law, is the sole finalist to succeed Larry Faulkner as president of UT's flagship campus in Austin, regents announced recently. Under state law, the UT System Board of Regents cannot name a campus president until at least 21 days after announcing one or more finalists. Powers, 59, has spent the vast majority of his career at UT-Austin. He joined the law school faculty in 1977 and became dean in 2000. University officials share high praise for Powers, whose fundraising abilities have pulled in millions for the law school in recent years. In related news, the law school this week received the first half of a $1 million pledge from Texas trial attorney and UT law school alumnus George Fleming. The law school will use the money to finance a major renovation of its ground-floor dining commons. The remainder of the $1 million will be used to expand programs and services in the law school's career services office and to establish a fund to recruit and retain faculty. BRAC bill becomes lawThe Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations quietly and officially became law on Wednesday because Congress did not reject it within 45 days of receiving it from President Bush. The decisions made by BRAC earlier this year will drastically alter the purpose and landscape of several military bases in Texas. Click here for more information about the upcoming changes. 
Perry, McAllen courting automakerMcAllen is in negotiations to lure a major auto manufacturer to the city and has enlisted Gov. Rick Perry's support, according to Mayor Richard Cortez (pictured). Perry declines to discuss details during the negotiations. If successful, South Texas could lay claim to hosting two major automakers. Toyota is currently building a massive truck-making plant outside of San Antonio. That deal was brought about via state incentives and negotiations. Sheriffs along border split $9.7M for border securityThe Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition has voted to distribute evenly among its 16 members a $9.7 million funding allocation from the governor's office. Gov. Rick Perry released the money from the state's criminal justice grant funds last month, citing a need for more border security and federal inaction. Part of the money - $3.7 million - was earmarked to make communications gear used by the sheriffs' departments operable with each other and other law enforcement agencies. The 16 border sheriffs will each receive a check for about $367,000, to be used at their discretion. Brechtel to take over Alamo RMA
The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority is expected to name former San Antonio City Manager Terry Brechtel as its next executive director. Brechtel will replace Tom Griebel, who announced plans in August to step down in order to move back to Austin to be with his family. He was named the authority's first executive director and had served in that post since the agency was created in 2004. The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority is the local entity formed to establish toll roads in Bexar County as part of the region's 25-year transportation plan. The agency released a study in 2004 that identified an $8 billion shortfall in highway funding in Bexar County. 
UTIMCO gains new directorsThe University of Texas Investment Management Co. of Austin has two new board members. The appointments of attorney Colleen McHugh (pictured) of Corpus Christi, a new member of the UT System Board of Regents, and Woody Hunt, a former member of the Board of Regents, were approved Thursday by the regents. UTIMCO manages investment assets governed by the Board of Regents. It invests endowment and operating funds exceeding $16 billion. A 10-member board of directors oversees UTIMCO. 
New San Antonio city manager on the jobSheryl Sculley takes charge this week as San Antonio's city manager. She was recently the No. 2 executive in Phoenix city government. According to Mayor Phil Hardberger, she's already gotten her first assignments: to develop a fair way to distribute city funding to arts organizations and to fix the much-criticized One Stop Center for building permits, project plan reviews and other development services. Texas A&M expanding science initiatives, campusGeorge P. Mitchell of Houston is spearheading the development of a new science initiative at Texas A&M University with a $35 million gift to support an effort to propel the institution into the front ranks of fundamental physics and astronomy. Mitchell has commissioned an architect to design two buildings that will form the cornerstone of the university's expanded physics and astronomy programs, the George P. & Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy and the George P. Mitchell '40 Physics Building. The buildings, which will be joined and add 155,000 square feet of teaching and lab space, are to be located on the north side of the campus adjacent to the new Brown Engineering Building. NASA names new JSC director
Michael Coats has been named director of the Johnson Space Center. Coats, a former astronaut, will be the ninth person to head the Houston-area space center. Coats succeeds Jefferson Howell Jr., who is on assignment in Austin as a visiting professor to the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs on The University of Texas campus. Coats joined NASA in 1978 as a member of the first class selected to fly the space shuttle. The three shuttle missions he flew included his role as pilot for the maiden flight of Discovery in 1984. He had retired from NASA in August 1991 and entered the private sector. $440,665 in grants going to four criminal justice programsGov. Rick Perry this week said $440,665 in grants will go to four programs that focus on reducing crime and improving the Texas criminal and juvenile justice systems. The grants are awarded under the State Criminal Justice Planning Fund and are distributed by the Governor's Criminal Justice Division (CJD). The awards include:
WCIT shuffles leadership
Ben Bentzin, CEO of the World Congress on Information Technology 2006, is stepping down to run for the Texas House of Representatives. Bentzin was named CEO of WCIT 2006 in March. President Glyn Meek will take on the role of CEO and Bentzin will remain involved with WCIT as a board member. Also joining the WCIT board will be businessman Ted Heydinger and Alisha Ring, who was recently appointed executive director of the Austin Technology Council. In addition, Donna Wilcox, vice president of operations, was promoted to chief operating officer. WCIT 2006 Inc. is the nonprofit organizing next year's World Congress on Information Technology in Austin, which is expecting to draw 2,000 attendees from 80 countries and generate $44 million for the Texas economy. WCIT 2006 takes place from May 1-5, 2006. Cedar Park considers another sports arenaA consultant hired by the City of Cedar Park recommends that the suburb north of Austin build a stadium to house a local arena football team. The recommendation is that Cedar Park build a $75 million, 12,500-seat stadium to house the Austin Wranglers. Earlier this year Cedar Park mounted a failed effort to build a multipurpose event center for the minor-league hockey Austin Ice Bats. That deal would have amounted to $38 million. FEMA aid for Rita passes $500M markTexans have received $502 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in personal assistance aid related to costs incurred during Hurricane Rita, according to a FEMA report released Thursday. That total does not include aid paid by FEMA for public infrastructure and other costs. The $502 million in statewide aid far exceeds what FEMA has given to Texas for other disasters that have occurred over the past 10 years. An estimated 266,675 individuals sought services from FEMA following the September hurricane. More than 350 families displaced by Rita currently reside in interim housing facilities, including travel trailers located in 11 Texas counties on both commercial and private property. Efforts continue to secure temporary housing for approximately 650 families that have been identified as potential interim housing candidates. Perry seeks disaster relief for nine countiesTexas is seeking federal disaster relief for nine counties affected by lingering drought. Gov. Rick Perry is asking for assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency. Perry blames drought and excessive temperatures for affecting farm and ranch operations in Coryell, Grayson, Henderson, Johnson, Rockwall, Shelby, Tarrant, Upshur and Van Zandt counties. If approved, qualified operators in the nine counties will be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency. 
UTSA gains director of cyber-security centerThe University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) named Greg White the new director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS). White had previously served as interim director and technical director for CIAS and as an associate professor of computer science and information systems. Galveston signs two-year deal with Land OfficeThe Galveston City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a two-year contract with the State Power Program for electricity. The contract is likely worth more than $5 million. The council approved a variable-rate contract with the power program, which is a partnership between the Texas General Land Office and Reliant Energy. |
Passage of bond packages throughout Texas creates historic contracting opportunities
By Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc. Texas voters approved numerous bond packages during this week's election - opening the door to thousands of contracting and subcontracting opportunities. Contractors who provide this type of work to government and school districts may feel overwhelmed. The vast majority of all bond proposals up for a vote passed on November 8. In all, voters authorized local governments and school districts in the state to spend more than $835 million. Click here to read the rest of the article. [Editors note: Mary Scott Nabers' government contracting columns run regularly in the Austin Business Journal, San Antonio Business Journal, Houston Business Journal and Dallas Business Journal] Transportation veteran joins SPI team
Texas Department of Transportation veteran Susan Bryant has joined Strategic Partnerships, Inc. as a senior consultant. Susan recently retired as the director of the public transportation division of the Texas Department of Transportation. The public transportation division has 180 employees and manages federal and state grant programs to rural and small urban transportation systems, the state's medical transportation program, and public transportation planning. During her career with TxDOT Susan also served as the state traffic safety director. She has served as secretary and member of the board of the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives and as a member of the law enforcement committee for the Transportation Research Board. She currently serves as chair of the City of Rollingwood's Planning and Zoning Commission.
Guide to hurricane contracting now available!
Election day turnout better than expectedThe proposal to ban gay marriages, which passed, fueled better-than-expected statewide turnout, which reached 17 percent. During the last round of proposed constitutional amendments in 2003 only 12 percent of registered voters went to the polls. SBA launches hurricane-related loan programThe U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan program to help businesses affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita recover and rebuild. The loans, up to $150,000 and available through Sept. 30, 2006, will be delivered through local banks and will be handled under an expedited process that can deliver a response in 24 hours or less. Burge reappointed as Sports Authority chairmanHouston City Council reappointed Billy Burge III as chairman of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority for an additional two-year term. Burge, who also serves as chairman of the Grand Parkway Association and the Harris County Housing Finance Corp., previously held the position of chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County board of directors. Magazine: AG staffers among best attorneys in TexasTwo attorneys with the Office of the Attorney General have been named among the best in-house attorneys in the state. Ed Burbach, deputy attorney general for litigation, and Pat O'Connell, chief of the Civil Medicaid Fraud Section, were named to Texas Lawyer magazine's list of the state's top 50 in-house lawyers. San Antonio launches online permitting systemSecuring residential construction permits with the City of San Antonio will be a bit easier now that the city has a new online permitting system for residential contractors. The Development Services Department issued more than 8,000 residential building permits last year. This new initiative will meet the increasing demand for residential building permits, streamline the permit process, and reduce the time it takes to receive a permit for the construction of new, single-family homes. New publication focuses on N. Texas Regional RailThe latest issue in the Regional Mobility Initiatives series highlights a proposed Regional Rail system. The system would consist of 260 miles of new seamless passenger rail lines to serve communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The recommendations are the product of a multi-year Regional Rail Corridor Study. Work is currently ongoing to develop regional consensus on administrative structures necessary to implement the system. This publication, along with the other editions of the Regional Mobility Initiatives series, can be found online. Procurement articles onlineClick here to view recent articles on government procurement authored by Mary Scott Nabers, president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., and published in the Austin Business Journal and Houston Business Journal. [Editor's note: Mary Scott Nabers' procurement columns run regularly in the Austin Business Journal, Houston Business Journal, San Antonio Business Journal and the Dallas Business Journal] Event LinksFederal Reserve Bank in Dallas' "Policy Changes for the New Millenium" - 11/15/05 SH 130 Corridor Summit - 11/19/05 OAG's 2005 Open Government Conference - 12/12/05-12/14/05 2006 Courts & Local Government Technology Conference - 1/31/06-2/2/06 TCEQ's Environmental Trade Fair and Conference - 5/9/06-5/11/06
Texas Government Insider ArchivesVolume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 Archives - 11/7/03 - 11/11/05 ResourcesTexas Human Resources Management Statutes Inventory State Contract Management Guide Who Represents Me? Texas Districts By Address Diagram of Texas' Biennial Budget Cycle
Strategic Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) is a research and consulting firm offering business development and public affairs services. Founded in Texas in 1994 by former government executives and public sector experts, SPI has developed a national reputation as the premier marketing partner dedicated to helping companies secure contracts in the $1.5 trillion state and local government marketplace. To learn more about SPI services click here or contact our sales department at 512-531-3900. |
 |
|
HHSC Stakeholder ForumsStarting this month the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is launching a bimonthly stakeholder public forum in Austin that encompasses all HHSC programs and projects. The first meeting is Monday, November 14. Please contact Skye Kilaen for more information at skye.kilaen@hhsc.state.tx.us. Texas Public Funds Investment ConferenceThe 2005 Texas Public Funds Investment Conference covers a variety of issues for all professionals responsible for local government investments. Sound investment principles and statutory responsibilities are examined for basic and advanced learners at this year’s conference, which begins Nov. 17 in Houston.Click here for details. |
|
 |
|
