Austin – The Texas House unanimously passed Senate Bill 7, by Senator Bettencourt (R-Houston) by a vote of 146-0. Representative Ken King (R-Canadian) sponsored the bill in the Texas House and brought the bill to the House floor today. The bill …
Continue ReadingHOUSTON – Senator Bettencourt thanks the voters in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) for making the right choice and voting for HISD Proposition 1 today. The vote effectively maintains the district’s tax base. This is a huge turnaround from …
Continue ReadingAUSTIN – Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) proposed a compromise on SB 2190, the “Houston Pension Plan” bill, that will automatically trigger new employees to be hired under an alternate plan, instead of a defined benefits plan, if pension funds do not …
Continue ReadingAUSTIN – The Senate Education Committee unanimously voted to approve Senate Bill 1886 yesterday by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston). SB 1886 gives the Texas Education Agency (TEA) explicit statutory authority to formally designate an Office of Inspector General (OIG) to …
Continue ReadingAUSTIN – The Texas Senate gave its approval to Senate Bill 488, the Texas Ballot Integrity Act, by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), to prevent local governments from misleading voters at the polls with deceptive ballot language, spending taxpayer money to ignore …
Continue ReadingAustin - The Texas Senate unanimously passed SB 1886, by Senator Bettencourt, to give explicit statutory authority to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to formally designate an Office of Inspector General (OIG) to investigate and take action regarding instances of fraud, …
Continue ReadingAustin - The Texas Senate unanimously passed SB 1882, authored by Senators Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) and Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) by a vote of 31-0. SB 1882 encourages cooperation and innovation between school districts and charter schools to focus on collaboration …
Continue ReadingHouston – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) today responded to Mayor Turner’s remarks yesterday that simply requiring the City Hall to honor any future public vote on switching new City of Houston employees’ pension plan from defined benefits to 401(k) style defined …
Continue ReadingAUSTIN – The Texas Senate today passed Senate Bill 1166, by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), that will require the Sunset Commission to review (without the authority to abolish) the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) as if it were a …
Continue ReadingHouston – The Texas Senate voted 21-10 to approve Senate Bill 151 by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), which would require voter approval for a municipality to issue obligation bonds for a pension fund. Originally authorized by the Texas Legislature in 2003, …
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