House committee approves key bill

Associated Press Stories

July 1, 2009

Anonymous The San Marcos Record Wed Jul 01, 2009, 03:17 PM CDT

Austin — House and Senate lawmakers have taken the first steps to keeping a few important state agencies operating.

House and Senate committees on Wednesday unanimously approved bills to keep the Texas Department of Transportation, the Department of Insurance and three other agencies going for another two years.

State law requires the Legislature regularly review and reauthorize state agencies. Lawmakers failed to renew those agencies during the regular session that ended June 1.

Republican Gov. Rick Perry called them back to Austin to deal with that and to address transportation contracts and funding.

The agency bills can now be considered by the full House and Senate.

___

The agency bills are SB2 and HB 2.

Text Only

Associated Press Stories

BP yet to make call on latest bid to stop Gulf oil
BP's latest experimental bid to plug its seabed oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico hung in the balance early Wednesday as its top executive reviewed overnight tests before deciding whether to go ahead.

May 26, 2010
Space shuttle Atlantis close to 120,000 miles
Space shuttle Atlantis closed in on the 120 million-mile mark as its final voyage neared an end and its astronauts inspected their ship in advance of Wednesday's landing.

May 24, 2010
Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible
May 24, 2010
Frustration mounts as oil seeps into Gulf wetlands
Anger grew along the Gulf Coast as an ooze of oil washed into delicate coastal wetlands in Louisiana, with many wondering how to clean up the monthlong mess — especially now that BP's latest try to plug the blown-out well won't happen until at least Tuesday.

May 24, 2010
Austin legislative hearing on Texas budget woes
May 11, 2010
Texas could adjust 22-student class limit
Some legislators want to look at adjusting the 22-student class-size limit for lower grades as Texas faces an estimated $11 billion budget shortfall going into the 2011 session.

May 10, 2010
Barrier-breaking jazz star Lena Horne dies at 92
Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.

May 10, 2010
BP struggles with list of ways to plug Gulf gusher
Top hats and junk shots are on the list of possible next steps as BP, casting about after a 100-ton containment box failed, settles in for a long fight to stop its uncontrolled oil gusher a mile under the Gulf of Mexico.

May 10, 2010
Ala. researchers find oil chunks approaching coast
Dauphin Island Sea Lab researchers say they believe parts of the oil slick are closer to the northern Gulf coast than previously thought.

May 8, 2010
Bubble of methane triggered rig blast
The deadly blowout of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico was triggered by a bubble of methane gas that escaped from the well and shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding, according to interviews with rig workers conducted during BP's internal investigation.

May 8, 2010
More Associated Press Stories Headlines