Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano) announced that he has decided not to seek re-election to his House District 66 seat. McCall, current chair of the House Calendars Committee, has served in the Texas House for 19 years. Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson plans to resign her seat on the council to run for the House District 66.
Over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced that she does not plan to resign from her seat to run for governor until after the Republican primary.
The Sunset Advisory Commission met Tuesday in an organizational meeting to set its review schedule and take care of other housekeeping matters. The Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission in 1977 to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The Commission conducts thorough reviews of nearly all state agencies, gathering information from the agency itself, members of the public, interest groups, and professional organizations. During the 2009-2010 interim, the Commission will review 28 of Texas’ most important state agencies. Important agencies under review include the Public Utility Commission, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Division of Workers’ Compensation, as well as re-reviews of the Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Department of Transportation, and the Texas Youth Commission. Both the review schedule and future meeting dates are available on the Commission’s website at http://www.sunset.state.tx.us.