Tag Archives: Texas State Auditor

Stay petty, Dan

We like the divisiveness. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick requested a full financial audit of the impeachment proceedings of Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday, making good on a vow he delivered after Paxton was acquitted of all impeachment charges in … Continue reading

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Planning to fail

Big surprise. Anti-abortion activist Carol Everett had no experience running a family planning program when the state of Texas awarded her millions in taxpayer funds to help rebuild a network of low-income women’s health providers. The state knew that. So … Continue reading

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Auditor asked to investigate Heidi Group health care grant

Good. The left-leaning nonprofit Progress Texas is asking the state auditor’s office to investigate a $1.6 million state contract awarded to an anti-abortion group under the state’s new Healthy Texas Women program. […] The Heidi Group does not currently provide … Continue reading

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Legislative hearing on emergency leave

Figure this will be on the legislative agenda next spring. At a Texas House hearing Tuesday looking into how some state agencies were able to keep some departing employees on the public payroll by granting them emergency leave, lawmakers expressed … Continue reading

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Abbott orders state agencies to obey the law

Better late than never. Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday ordered state agencies to stop paying departing employees by placing them on “emergency leave.” “Pursuant to this directive, the use of emergency leave, administrative leave or other … Continue reading

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Lone Star Project requests investigation of severance packages

From the inbox: Today, Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle sent letters to the Texas Rangers, the State Auditor and the Travis County District Attorney requesting formal investigations into a series of questionable payments made by Attorney General Ken Paxton, … Continue reading

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Paxton’s day in appellate court

The grand jury was out to get Ken Paxton, apparently. Lawyers for Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday tried to cast doubt on the makeup of the grand jury that indicted him. They’re hoping to overturn a lower court’s decision … Continue reading

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State Auditor asked to investigate Paxton

Come join the party. A liberal advocacy group wants the state auditor’s office to investigate whether Attorney General Ken Paxton broke the law by continuing to pay top staffersafter they resigned from the agency. Progress Texas, a self-described “progressive” public … Continue reading

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Rangers investigating Rep. Dawnna Dukes

Busy days for them. The Texas Rangers have joined a Travis County District Attorney office criminal probe into state Rep. Dawnna Dukes’ use of staff, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed. “At the request of the Travis County District … Continue reading

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Business as usual with the Texas Enterprise Fund

Raise your hand if this surprises you. In July of 2013, Gov. Rick Perry announced that he had closed another deal. Chevron would build a 50-story tower in downtown Houston next to one of its existing office buildings. The $662 … Continue reading

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Auditing HCDE

We’ll see about this. Later this summer, state auditors are expected to release their final report on the Harris County Department of Education. They’ve been examining the agency since last December. Superintendent James Colbert told lawmakers about it at a … Continue reading

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The veto that keeps on giving

I haven’t closely followed the burgeoning scandal at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which involves no-bid contracts, up front tuition reimbursements for top level staffers, and rampant cronyism. It’s already cost three people their jobs and will likely … Continue reading

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Abbott’s Enterprise Fund issues

It’s a bit of a problem for him, isn’t it? While critics were hounding Gov. Rick Perry a decade ago about his job-luring Texas Enterprise Fund, his lawyers went to Attorney General Greg Abbott to block the release of applications … Continue reading

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Great moments in false equivalence

The headline reads Money from disputed tax bills flowing to candidates for top tax chief, and then the story tells us that more than 99% of that money is going to one of those candidates. Business entities and taxpayers are … Continue reading

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Outsourcing Texas border security

What could possibly go wrong? A little-known private defense contractor from Virginia has quietly received about $20 million under a series of no-bid contracts with the State of Texas to develop its border security strategies, an effort that included shaping … Continue reading

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UH moves closer to Tier I status

Good for them. The University of Houston is on the verge of accessing additional state money that could help catapult the school closer to prestigious Tier 1 status, according to a preliminary report from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. … Continue reading

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The Rick Perry bailout

I don’t think I’d ever heard about this before. Over his eight years as Texas’ [Agriculture Commissioner], [Rick] Perry oversaw a loan guarantee program with so many defaults that the state had to stop guaranteeing bank loans to startups in … Continue reading

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Auditor criticizes Emerging Technology Fund

The State Auditor has issued a report saying that the Texas Emerging Technology Fund needs more transparency. I know, I’m as shocked as you are. The report recommended that the state’s 17-member advisory board — volunteers from the technology community … Continue reading

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State auditor to look at Emerging Technology Fund

State Auditor John Keel will perform an audit on the state’s Emerging Technology Fund to see if the money is being used and distributed properly. State Auditor John Keel said Wednesday that his office will review the monitoring of the … Continue reading

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State to audit food stamp delivery process

Better late than never. Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs has asked [state auditor John] Keel to audit the food stamp program to improve accuracy and efficiency. “We must fix our system so that it works for everyone. I’m … Continue reading

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Still waiting on Rita aid

I’m appalled by this. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs has spent about a third of the federal funds it received to help low-income residents rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita almost four years ago, the … Continue reading

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Auditor’s report on TYC

Grits has a link to the State Auditor’s followup report on the Texas Youth Commission, which you can download here (PDF). In short: They’ve made progress, but they’ve still got some things to work out. Which may or may not … Continue reading

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