Texas officials rush to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina
By Colin Pope, TGI Editor
Government and emergency officials in hurricane-ravaged parts of Louisiana said the devastation caused by Katrina has created hundreds of logistical nightmares, and officials in Texas are already working - or stand ready - to assist.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco earlier this week ordered everyone still in the city of New Orleans - many of which have been huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers - to leave. As many as 25,000 people are being bused from the Superdome to the Houston Astrodome (pictured), where Harris County officials said they can all be accommodated. Officials said the Astrodome could be their temporary home for months to come.
State Rep. Debbie Riddle (pictured) of Houston is asking residents in the area to use her district office as a drop-off area for items such as diapers, toys, clothes, or any other items that could be used to care for the families who are arriving from flood-ravaged areas. Any and all donated items will be transported to the Red Cross and other relief organizations by her staff.
"Obviously, if you can get it to the Red Cross first, then get it there as quickly as possible," Riddle said. "But if it's easier to take it to my office, we'll make sure it gets there. We've all got to do whatever is possible to help out these families who have lost so much and are hurting so bad right now."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Wednesday that Texas public school districts will enroll children of Hurricane Katrina refugees sheltered within each district. Districts in Houston, Dallas, Austin and everywhere in between were already reporting an influx of out-of-state students this morning. The Texas Education Agency has been directed to provide all needed support for districts having to absorb the additional children from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said that immunizations required for schools or child-care facilities will be waived temporarily for children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Health officials said that students who are staying with friends, family or others in Texas will be given a 30-day provisional enrollment in schools. The provisional enrollment period could be extended, depending on the recovery process in the affected states.
Officials at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have been receiving a high number of telephone calls from Hurricane Katrina refugees as well as Texans with friends and relatives in Louisiana and Mississippi asking about road conditions. With much of the road system decimated in Louisiana, TxDOT officials are urging refugees in Texas to simply stay put for the foreseeable future.
"Our hearts go out to these people, but right now, it would only make things worse for them to try to go home," said Scott Alley, TxDOT's emergency management coordinator.
New laws touch a myriad of subjects
More than 750 bills passed by the Legislature will officially become law today as the State kicks off its fiscal year. The bills that take effect today, however, only represent part of what the Legislature accomplished during the summer. More than 554 bills passed by lawmakers during the regular and subsequent special sessions have already become law. Here is a smattering of some of the significant - or just plain interesting - legislation that is now officially on the books:
- A bill that revamps the workers' compensation system by creating new doctor networks and increasing benefits to injured workers;
- A bill that allows for the delivery of phone and broadband services over power lines, and also creates the possibility of new competition for cable television providers because telephone companies will be able to get into the TV business;
- A bill that boosts the state's renewable energy goal to rely more on wind power and other resources;
- A bill that will require state agencies to make a reasonable effort to ensure Spanish-speaking residents can access state agency services online;
- A bill designed to curb "phishing," the practice of stealing personal information over the Internet;
- A bill to increase juror pay from no less than $6 per day to no less than $40 per day after the first day of service;
- A bill making it illegal to shoot a gun across a property line.
[Editor's note: Detailed information about changes and processes surrounding the State's new biennium can be found below in Len Riley's Lens on State Government column]
San Antonio secures new city manager
Sheryl Sculley, an assistant city manager in Phoenix, is poised to take San Antonio's top management job on November 1, according to Mayor Phil Hardberger. Sculley, 52, is highly regarded by Phoenix business leaders, who launched a campaign to retain her when news of San Antonio's courtship emerged earlier this year. In Phoenix, Sculley has been credited with garnering support for a light rail system and overseeing a major expansion of the city's convention center.
Spotlight on State Leaders: Ann Fuelberg
[Editor's note: This is the first article in a new bi-monthly series that recognizes governmental leaders in the Lone Star State.]
Many of Texas' leaders fall into a public sector career almost accidentally, or through chance. For Ann Fuelberg, executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, her decision to join the government's ranks was decidedly personal, and can be traced back to her father, the late Hon. Walter C. "Onion" Schwartz, a World War II veteran who served as mayor of Brenham, a member of the Texas House, and a teacher, dean and chancellor at Blinn College in Brenham.
"He instilled a love of public service in me," Fuelberg said. "I have always thought it was an honor and a privilege to work with talented people who are trying to do a lot with few resources."
With 17 years of service to the State of Texas now behind her, and plenty more to come, Fuelberg leads an agency that provides retirement, health insurance, deferred compensation, and flexible benefits to more than 200,000 state employees and retirees. She was recently named Administrator of the Year by the Texas Public Employees Association for successfully guiding ERS through the 79th Regular Session of the Legislature. Among her most recent accomplishments, Fuelberg said she is perhaps most proud that the Legislature appropriated normal cost for retirement - something that hasn't happened in 10 years.
"Retirement programs and health benefits are front burner issues right now for both public service and the private sector," she said. "New ideas are evolving rapidly and I believe it is going to remain vitally important to stay ahead of the curve to protect the best interests of both our members and the state.
"Addressing the rising cost of health care will continue to be an issue," she added. "There are proposals and ideas introduced every legislative session, plus ERS staff continues to study the state health plan to look for cost savings opportunities. We will be formally studying a couple of legislative proposals during the interim, but unfortunately, at this point, I do not think that any sure answer exists to address the scope of the issue."
In regard to retirement issues, Fuelberg said: "I would like to see our fund to continue to receive normal cost to maintain the benefit structure. Our fund is very healthy relative to other public pension funds and the current structure offers lifetime benefits to the state employees and retirees who have worked hard to earn them. It is hard to predict what the markets will do five and ten years from now, but we have recently expanded the allocation of our assets and continue to diversify to minimize any impact that a future downturn might have."
Fuelberg, who enjoys just about everything outdoors from water and snow skiing to yard work, offers the following advice to state employees that aspire to obtain a leadership position such as her's.
"It is a process," she said. "I think as a base, core principles are needed such as integrity, work ethic and attitude. Credibility takes time to establish, and possessing certain standards will help in gaining the creditability needed to be considered for leadership roles. One should also recognize the valuable resource in the people they work with, and draw on their history and knowledge. I have found that maintaining the relationships I have formed over the course of my state service has been essential to my continued success and to the opportunities that have been presented to me."
$6.5 Million awarded to 114 drug and violence prevention programs
Drug and violence prevention programs across the state are receiving $6,522,046 in grants under the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Fund. The money, which is distributed by the Governor's Criminal Justice Division (CJD), is going to a total of 114 recipients.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act promotes programs dedicated to preventing and reducing violence in schools and communities as well as developing a drug-free environment for youth. These programs foster healthy and safe learning environments which support academic achievement, including alternative education programs and intervention services for children with behavior or substance abuse problems. The programs also support services for children who are family violence or child abuse victims.
UTSA lands $6.4 million grant to curb bioterrorism
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) won a five-year, $6.4 million federal research grant to study tularemia, an illness caused by scratches or bites by rodents and hares, that could be used as a bioterrorist agent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the funds to biology professor Karl Klose (pictured) and researchers in the new UTSA South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. Klose and his team will study the infectious disease in order to develop safe and effective vaccines that can provide long-term immunity against tularemia.
TPWD Approves $4 Million in Texas Trail Grants
Leaders at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have approved funding for 37 National Recreational Trail Grant projects across the state totaling $3,930,795. Recreational trail grants are administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and funding for the grants comes from a portion of the federal gasoline tax representing gas purchases for off-road recreational vehicles, such as off-road motorcycles and four-wheelers. The purpose of the National Recreational Trails Fund is to provide funding for projects that create new and maintain existing motorized and non-motorized recreational trails. Click here for a list of the newly-funded projects.
UT to develop $145M tower in Houston
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is investing $145 million to build a 21-story, 730,000 square-foot tower on the Texas Medical Center institution's main campus. An architect and general contractor have already been chosen to spearhead the project. Construction is to begin in November, with completion set for the spring of 2008.
AG mindful of gasoline price-gouging
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said his office is on the lookout for gas stations in Texas that are charging too much for gasoline. Abbott said that while prices are likely to go up as a result of Hurricane Katrina's damage, his office "will diligently watch for the incidence of price-gouging at particular gas stations that seem out of step with generally prevailing market forces."
Harris County snags training grant
The Harris County Citizen Corps has received a $100,000 grant from a private insurance company so it can improve disaster preparedness among citizens in the Harris County area. The money will be used to provide training on emergency preparedness and to promote volunteerism in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The Harris County Citizen Corps, formed in August 2002, is a part of President Bush's "Freedom USA" project and is an umbrella organization for the City of Houston, Harris County, the business community, schools, universities and nonprofit organizations.
UT-Austin setting up geosciences school
The University of Texas has received final approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create the John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences. The Austin school combines the Department of Geological Sciences, the Institute for Geophysics and the Bureau of Economic Geology. As of Thursday, those three units will report to William Fisher (pictured), who is acting as dean while the university conducts a national search for a permanent leader.
Lens on State Government: Biennium Begins Today
Today begins a new biennium. It is also the effective date of 756 bills that were passed in the last session. Three bills were actually effective on Monday because 90 days had passed since the legislature adjourned. The effective dates of legislation is explained in the April 8th Lens on the Legislature column.
The July 22nd Lens on State Government column reviewed many of the HR changes that are effective September 1. A consolidation of many useful HR links is available online. Another change that benefits state employees relates to work-area size. HB 2379 changed what many people know as the "135-square-foot rule." The legislation repeals the existing reference to 135 square feet per FTE and requires TBPC to adopt new rules governing the allocation of space that are consistent with "private sector standards and industry best practices." This will have a positive impact on state agencies, according to Edward Johnson, TBPC's Director of Legislative Affairs.
"It will give TBPC more flexibility in working with state agencies to allocate space in a manner that is adaptive and responsive to their diverse missions and job functions," Johnson said. "Allocating office space is more than just a regulatory function - we have a customer service responsibility as well, which we will partner with our client agencies to fulfill in the most cost-effective manner."
Several agencies are undergoing dramatic change today:
- The Texas Workers' Compensation Commission (TWCC) is abolished under the provisions of HB 7 and a new Division of Workers' Compensation is created at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). The new WC division will be overseen by a commissioner to be appointed by Gov. Perry for a two-year term. The WC Commissioner will have all executive responsibilities of the division, including rulemaking authority. A summary of HB 7 and a timeline of key events are available online. The legislation also creates an independent Office of Injured Employee Counsel headed by a public counsel appointed by the governor;
- The Texas Military Facilities Commission is abolished today. The governor vetoed from the budget all funding for the agency, which acquired property and managed facilities for the Texas National Guard;
- The staff of the State Board for Educator Certification is transferring into the Texas Education Agency as a result of HB 1116. Most of the current SBEC functions will be staffed as part of a new TEA department called Educator Quality and P-16 Initiatives, which will be headed by Associate Commissioner Patricia Hayes. The SBEC board, however, continues to exist and has authority over certification matters. Certification and disciplinary rules proposed by the SBEC board must continue to be approved by the State Board of Education;
- The functions of the State Board of Barber Examiners and the Cosmetology Commission have now been subsumed into the charter of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, according to SB 411.
Today begins a new fiscal year and that will be the subject of future columns, but vendors may be interested to know that the CMBL registration/renewal fee increases from $50 to $70 today.
The biennial planning cycle begins today. New readers might want to look at my August 19th column for background in this area. Future columns will describe some of the major events when they become current. Key among them are:
- Preparation of agency operating budgets and filing of agency annual financial reports (Fall 05);
- Organization of the Sunset Advisory Commission, e.g. appointment of the Chair and new members, establishment of the hearings schedule (Fall 05);
- Issuance of interim charges by the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker (Fall 05) and the subsequent committee actions and final reports (throughout 2006);
- Development of agency strategic plans (Spring 06);
- Development of legislative appropriations requests (Summer 06);
- Staff reviews of agency budgets (Fall 06);
- Pre-filing legislation (Following Nov. 6 elections);
- Major pre-session study reports typically due (Fall 06);
- 80th Legislature Begins (Jan. 2007).
Between these events this column will cover special sessions of the legislature, Sunset Commission activities, rulemaking at key agencies, and other timely subjects.
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