This Week in Texas: December 4, 2013

Posted December 4, 2013 in The Mignon Memo

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) has joined the race for Lieutenant Governor.  At this point, she is the only Democrat in the race.  Since Sen. Van de Putte’s Texas Senate term extends to 2017, she can hold her seat while she runs for higher office.  If she wins, a special election will be held. 

Filing for the 2014 primaries continues through Monday, December 9th.  If you are curious as to who has filed in your county, the Texas Secretary of State’s office collects information from the Republican and Democratic Parties of Texas and posts it on their website.  Follow this link: https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/candidate-filing/cf-report.aspx 

Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber has extended the health policies of nearly 23,000 Texans with chronic conditions for three months. Under a new state law, the state-run high risk pool was scheduled to cease operations Jan. 1, 2014. Due to problems with the launch of the federally run health insurance marketplace, Rathgeber ordered that the high risk pool continue coverage through March 31, 2014. 

David Reisman, the executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission, will become the chief compliance officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).  The membership of the reorganized Oversight Committee for CPRIT is also complete with the appointment of Will Montgomery, an attorney with the Dallas office of Jackson Walker LLP, by Speaker Joe Straus. 

Ross Phillips is the new interim general manager for the Lower Colorado River Authority. The current general manager Becky Motal is retiring at the end of year. 

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Steven Mach of Houston to the Public Safety Commission for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2015. Mach is vice president and CFO of Mach Industrial Group.