Faulkner to retire as UT president

Dr. Larry Faulkner, 27th president of the University of Texas at Austin, announced today that he is retiring from the position. Faulkner, one of the school's longest-serving presidents, began his presidency in 1998. During his tenure he oversaw a capital campaign that raised $1.63 billion from hundreds of thousands of corporations, foundations and individuals. Faulkner, 60, said he will serve until March 2006 to make the transition to a successor seamless. UT is expected to begin a national search for Faulkner's replacement immediately.

Lawmakers moving on school finance proposal

The House on Tuesday approved a $2.5 billion education proposal that lowers property taxes and boosts teacher salaries. The education measure, outlined in House Bill 2, creates an expansive incentive-pay program for teachers, toughens oversight of the state's charter-school system and requires schools to start after Labor Day beginning in 2006. The Senate has already started to deliberate on the proposal. House Bill 3 addresses the tax issues associated with the education measure.

SAISD lands $4.8 million grant to bolster academic performance

The San Antonio Independent School District will receive a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education over the next five years to help improve academic performance at local high schools. The Education Department is providing the funds through its Smaller Learning Communities Program. The program works to group students at large public high schools into smaller learning communities. Teachers and counselors will be provided with additional instruction in professional development, according to the grant.

Case appointed manager of Hobby Airport

The Houston Airport System has appointed Mary Case as airport manager of William P. Hobby Airport, effective July 5. Case has served as airport manager of Ellington Field since 1997. Case replaces previous Hobby manager Meg Lonero, who retired on March 31. Case, 44, has spent the last 18 years working for Houston's aviation department.

Legislature sets aside $3M for additional legal aid

The Texas Legislature is setting aside an additional $3 million for civil legal aid for poor Texans. The Texas Equal Access to Justice foundation, a Texas-based funder of legal aid, will manage the new fund. The foundation currently grants about $11.8 million per year to 38 nonprofit organizations throughout Texas that provide civil legal services to poor and low-income Texans

The funds will be collected over the next two years and will be received from the Model Court Collection Act, which aims to improve the collection of fines and fees by local county court clerks. The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation will distribute the funds during its annual grant cycle.

ACCD scrutinizes projects for upcoming bond issue

Four months after the failure of the Alamo Community College District's $450 million bond issue, a plan for a better bond package is being placed in the hands of a new citizens group. Twenty seven San Antonio-area residents will decide in the coming months which projects it will recommend to ACCD's board of trustees. The most contentious project involves moving nursing and health programs from St. Phillip's and San Antonio colleges to the South Texas Medical Center on the northwest side of town. The revised bond package could go to voters in November.

Energy institute moves to UT

An energy institute has moved from the University of Houston to the University of Texas at Austin. The Center for Energy Economics has joined the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences. The center's director, Michelle Michot Foss (pictured), and her team of researchers, have also made the move.

Formerly known as the Institute for Energy, Law, and Enterprise at the University of Houston, the center helps prepare energy industry managers and government policy makers for more competitive global energy markets. The center focuses its research on business-government interactions, frameworks for commercially viable energy projects and strategies for dealing with more competitive energy markets. The center is externally funded through corporate and government partnerships, research grants and contracts, and revenues from training programs and publications.

Houston testing high-tech parking meters for WiFi uses

Houston city officials are testing a new parking meter that can also collect money for wireless Internet access. Richard Lewis, Houston's chief technology officer, said the new meters are part of a larger effort to turn all of downtown Houston into a wireless "hot spot." The new meters are found around the county courthouse downtown and Houston's City Council is expected to evaluate vendors soon that can expand the effort.

UT names vice president for research

R. Ellyn Perrone has been hired as associate vice president for research at the University of Texas in Austin. Perrone will move from Ohio State University, where she was vice president of government relations for two years. At UT, she will focus on raising the university's research profile nationally, as well as increasing federal funding. Perrone has also worked as the vice president for governmental affairs at Texas A&M University.

ERCOT putting new oversight plan into action

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) says it's working ahead of schedule to carry out a new oversight law passed by the Texas Legislature.

Senate Bill 408, signed by Gov. Rick Perry, sets the Public Utility Commission's oversight authority over ERCOT operations and finances. It also modifies the structure of the ERCOT board and requires ERCOT to finance an independent market monitor selected by the PUC.

ERCOT, which manages the state's power grid, was recently bilked out of more than $2 million via a scheme that included ERCOT executives and a contractor.

"ERCOT welcomes the new law," said Thomas Schrader, ERCOT's CEO. "It clarifies the framework for PUC oversight of ERCOT and lays the groundwork for a more productive long-term working relationship."

Dell, Microsoft to donate $1M in tech and services to schools

Dell and Microsoft have teamed up to launch a program that will award selected kindergarten through twelfth-grade educators with $250,000 in technology and services for their schools. As part of their FutureReady program, Dell and Microsoft are calling for educators to submit essays detailing how technology could transform their schools and help students prepare for their future. Winners will be announced at Dell's Global Education Day event in early 2006.

Lens on the Legislature: The Special Session

Article 3, Section 5(a) of the Texas Constitution allows the Governor to convene special sessions and Section 40 states that "there shall be no legislation upon subjects other than those designated in the proclamation of the Governor calling such session, or presented to them by the Governor; and no such session shall be of longer duration than thirty days."

Of the 78 regular sessions of the Texas Legislature that have previously occurred, 54 have been followed by special sessions and 24 have not. The record was 6 special sessions in 1989-90. The longest stretch without a special session was the decade of the 73rd through the 77th sessions.

Governor Perry called the legislature back to town last week for the 1st Special Session of the 79th Legislature. His proclamation directed the legislature to consider legislation in 12 specific areas. Eleven of the areas relate to education and the 12th is to consider legislation that provides for local property tax rate compression and voter approval of local property tax rates.

In anticipation of the governor broadening the scope legislators have filed 131 bills through Wednesday evening. These bills span the gamut in terms of subject matter. The individual senate bills and house bills are available online and can be called up using many of the same inquiries as described in this column during the regular session. In addition, 85 resolutions have been introduced.

Many of these bills have already been referred to committees. The schedules of upcoming House committee hearings and Senate committee hearings are available online and many House committee hearings and Senate committee hearings can also be seen on the World Wide Web.

Because of the shortness of special sessions, the human tendency to deal with many more actions immediately prior to deadlines, and the likelihood that it will be another week or two (if ever) before the governor broadens the scope of designated subjects, there is a good possibility that the Texas Legislature will be an extremely busy place during the last ten days of the special session.

[Editor's Note: Past issues of Lens on the Legislature are available online]

SA Public Works director named 'Engineer of the Year'

The Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) has named San Antonio Public Works Director Thomas Wendorf the 2005 Engineer of the Year, the association's highest honor. Wendorf oversees a department with more than 1,000 employees and an operating budget of $172 million. The association noted Wendorf's efforts to promote diversity in hiring, increase small-business participation on city contracts, and develop outreach programs for local, state and national engineering organizations. Projects under his belt include the adoption of an intergovernmental agreement between the city, Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority on regional flood control issues, and the issuance of a $45 million storm-water revenue bond to fund flood mitigation projects.

Focus on SPI Consulting Staff

Susan Tennison has over 30 years of experience in information resource planning and quality assurance. At SPI, Susan specializes in analyzing governmental planning documents, legislative requests and approved budgets for information on future initiatives and uses her extensive experience working at various state agencies to glean opportunities for SPI clients. To learn more about Susan click here.

Rice tops nanotech list

Rice University is the No. 1 university in the United States in nanotechnology commercialization in 2005 based on rankings recently published by Small Times magazine. Last year, Rice received 11 patents and spun off four start-ups in the nanotech arena.

Data integration brief released

National Association of Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) officials have released a research brief about challenges facing states' data integration projects. Click here to read the brief.

Public Hearings/Meetings

Upcoming Senate Committee Meetings

Upcoming House Committee Meetings

Event Links

Western States Land Commissioners Association Summer Conference- 7/24/2005-7/28/2005

8th Annual Texas Transportation Summit - 8/9/05 - 8/12/05

Texas Association of Counties 2005 Post Legislative Session Conference - 8/10/05 - 8/12/05

4th Annual San Antonio Transportation Leadership Forum - 9/7/05 - 9/8/05

Recent ABJ articles by Mary Scott Nabers

Federal officials release $1.3 billion to help fight bioterrorism - 6/10/2005

Opportunities flying for contracts at airports across Texas - 5/30/2005

State's renewed emphasis on education offers possibilities - 5/16/2005

Texas Government Insider Archives

Last Issue - 6/24/05

Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 Archives - 11/7/03 - 6/24/05

Resources

Helpful Legislative Links

State Budget Resources

Diagram of Legislative Process

HUB Forms Library

State Contract Management Guide

State Procurement Manual

Who Represents Me? Texas Districts By Address

Diagram of Texas' Biennial Budget Cycle

Texas Fact Book 2004

Strategic Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) is a research and consulting firm offering business development and public affairs services. Founded in 1994, SPI has offices in Texas and California. To learn more about SPI services click here or contact our sales department at 512-531-3900.

Vendor forum in Austin

The Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) will hold an informational forum in Austin on July 12. The forum is targeted to vendors interested in providing consulting services to the LBB in conjunction with upcoming management and performance reviews of Texas public school districts and higher education institutions.

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) meeting

The BRAC regional hearing for Texas and Arkansas will be in San Antonio on July 11. It is an open meeting and will be held in the Ballroom of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. The address of the Center is 200 East Market Street.