TEXAS REGENTS APPOINTEES BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Conservatives are taking aim at Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s first appointments to the University of Texas System Board of Regents.
The Senate Nominations Committee on Thursday peppered the nominees with tough questions about admissions, transparency and rising tuition rates.
New appointment David Beck, a Houston attorney, and Regent Steve Hicks, who has been reappointed to a new term, were notably challenged on those issues by several Republican lawmakers.
Beck and Hicks have been longtime supporters of embattled UT-Austin President Bill Powers, who was pressured to resign and leaves office in June.
Far-right groups also have criticized nominee Sara Martinez Tucker for her support of Common Core, an education initiative that has been criticized by conservatives.
The panel adjourned without voting on the nominations.
TEXAS HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES CREATES ETHICS POSITION
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The former head of the state ethics commission has been named the chief ethics officer of a vast Texas agency facing heavy criticism for granting $110 million in no-bid state contracts.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Thursday announced the appointment of David Reisman.
HHS Commissioner Kyle Janek said in a statement the position was created to “increase our emphasis on ethical behavior.”
Lawmakers recently have condemned HHS for awarding lucrative, no-bid contracts to an Austin tech company to root out Medicaid fraud.
Reisman most recently worked at the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which generated controversy in 2013 for its own series of questionable contracts.
PERRY ATTORNEYS ASK TEXAS APPEALS COURT TO TOSS ABUSE OF POWER CHARGES
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Attorneys for former Texas Governor Rick Perry have asked a state appeals court to dismiss felony abuse-of-power charges against the possible 2016 presidential candidate on free-speech grounds.
In briefs processed Thursday by the Third Court of Appeals, Perry’s lawyers argue that more than just their client’s freedom is at stake.
They say the Republican was acting within his rights when he issued a 2013 veto.
His attorneys also have repeatedly sought to dismiss the case with the district court judge presiding over it.
Perry was indicted last summer by an Austin grand jury. He’s accused of publicly threatening, then carrying out, a veto of state funding for public corruption prosecutors.
Perry left office last month, but plans to announce soon whether he’ll run for president next year.