At Monday’s dialogue meeting, AISD trustees took their first look at the state of the district’s “school-to-prison pipeline” system, examining the district’s policies and practices that push students out of the classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Speaking on behalf of municipal courts at the meeting, Judge Sherry Statman said that even […]
Texas Legislature
The state’s legislative governing body composed of the House and Senate.
Posted inAISD
AISD changes on the horizon after 84th session
Teachers, staff and students are no strangers to state legislators fiddling with school ratings or standardized testing, and this past legislative session was no exception. Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees received an update on changes brought by the 84th Legislature after lawmakers passed 111 bills that will affect school districts statewide. […]
Posted inTransportation
CTRMA hears mixed legislative review
Mike Heiligenstein, the executive director of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, told CTRMA board members at their most recent meeting that staff met a great deal with state representatives during the recent 84th legislative session – and they think it paid off. Jerry Valdez, a lobbyist who worked with CTRMA, said it was the […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County picks up the PACE
Travis County is the first jurisdiction in Texas to participate in a program that seems to hit the sweet spot between the business community and environmentalists. The Texas Legislature voted in 2013 to allow cities and counties to enact their own versions of the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as PACE. This year, the […]
Posted inLocal Government
Conservation district talks flow for Hays County
Staff with the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District spent more than an hour briefing board members on House Bill 3405’s implications Thursday. The long-anticipated bill could nearly double the district’s jurisdiction, and staff is presuming months of increased work as they wait for Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. HB 3405 will immediately incorporate about 200 square miles […]
Posted inTravis County
Legislature clouds future of jailhouse video-visitation policy
Before the end of their 2015 session, the 84th Texas Legislature passed a bill that could add a new wrinkle to the standoff between the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Sheriff’s Office over the jailhouse video-visitation program. HB 549 amends current state law to require the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to adopt new […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Monitor News & Media, Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: The 84th Lege and local municipalities
TravCo IGR honcho Deece Eckstein joins Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about the local municipal impact of laws passed (and not) by the just-ended 84th Texas Legislature. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/209381212″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inLocal Government, Water
Conservation District preps for annexation
With two major bills pending in Texas’ legislative session, officials with the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District discussed a potentially rushed timeline at their regular meeting Thursday. In March, legislators put forward House Bill 3405 and Senate Bill 1440 to address Houston-based water supplier Electro Purification’s plans to pump 5 million gallons of water per […]
Posted inEnergy, Texas State Legislature
Council tentatively extends large energy contracts
Austin Energy is stuck between a rock and a hard place, with the rock being the Texas Legislature and the hard place being the utility’s exhausted reserve funds. City Council is now working to wriggle the municipal energy provider out of its predicament without serious damage. Acting essentially as Austin Energy’s board of directors, Council […]
Posted inAISD, Budget, Education, Texas State Legislature
AISD, others ask state for $3 billion in new funding
Three members from the Austin Independent School District board stood with more than 20 other school districts at the State Capitol on Wednesday to ask legislators for $3 billion in additional statewide school funding. “For AISD, this figure is vital,” said District 2 Board Member Jayme Mathias. “AISD in the past month has slipped to […]
Posted inEMS, Public Safety
Momentum slows on Austin/Travis County EMS bill
A bill that supporters say would bring more transparency to the way Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services workers are decredentialed has slowed after some unanticipated momentum. Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services Association President Tony Marquardt has been trying to reform the rights granted to EMS workers who lose their credentials. Because Texas is a delegated […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature, Transportation
Austin representative takes on transportation
As the only member of the Texas House Transportation Committee hailing from Austin, freshman Democratic Rep. Celia Israel has vowed to bring the region’s gridlock woes to the Capitol. She recently told the Austin Monitor about a few of the bills she filed this session with the goal of providing mobility improvement tools to Central […]