Gov. Rick Perry was fined $1,500 by the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to report rental income from a house in College Station, and for filing incomplete information regarding debts on the same property, in personal financial statements required by state law.
March 2011
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Top Texas News for March 23, 2011
Voter ID, after a false start of sorts on Monday, hits the House floor again today.
Posted in
Higher Education
Budget Constraints Pit Teaching Against Research
College students will rally at the Capitol today for higher-education funding. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some students think major changes are also needed on campus, where, they say, professors spend too much time researching and not enough time with undergraduates in the classroom.
Posted in
Public Education
Short of Funds, State Eyes School Reserves
The state’s 1,030 school districts have — in total — $10.2 billion in reserves and another $2.1 billion in unspent federal stimulus money. Can they use that money to avoid draconian cutbacks? It’s not that simple.
Posted in
Public Education
Senators Take Up Bullying Bills
At Tuesday’s Senate Education Committee hearing on a trio of anti-bullying bills, the parents of children who committed suicide after being picked on by classmates asked lawmakers to fix a system they say failed their families.
Posted in
State Government
Legislators Consider Repealing Driver Fees
Lawmakers at the Capitol debate eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception.
Posted in
Higher Education
SSNs of Laredo ISD Students Missing In Possible Data Breach
A disk holding the Social Security numbers of thousands of current and former students in the Laredo Independent School District — a total of 24,903 — has gone missing, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Posted in
State Government
Video: Legislators Consider Repealing Driver Fees
Lawmakers at the Capitol today debated eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Brewpub Bill Gets Boost With Compromise
A bill that would give brewpubs more flexibility to sell their ales has been given a boost by a compromise with an influential beer lobby.
Posted in
Economy
Who’s Watching the Stimulus?
The House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding has expired, and its outspoken leader failed to get re-elected. So, amid all the state’s fiscal concerns, who is keeping an eye on the stimulus?
