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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A state contracting scandal that dealt Republican Gov. Greg Abbott the first crisis of his administration escalated Monday with a scathing state report about Texas' health commissioner, who responded by giving no indication he would resign.
An outside investigation ordered by Abbott did not explicitly call for the removal of Health and Human Services Commissioner Kyle Janek, who was appointed by former Gov. Rick Perry in 2012 and makes $260,000 a year. But a two-month review of a $110 million no-bid contract awarded last year — which public corruption prosecutors in Austin are also now investigating — concluded that failures by Janek helped create an environment in the 56,000-person commission that enabled the deal.
The 92-page report urged changes at the top to fix deep problems in the agency that oversees the state's Medicaid program, welfare payments and access to women's health services. But in a letter to state leaders, Janek sounded like he did not intend to leave.
"My goal is to make HHSC a model for good government and ethical leadership," Janek wrote. His letter did not address criticism in the report about his performance, which included relying on a "bubble" of close advisers that bred tension within the agency.
"For the enterprise to succeed, he must succeed," the report said of Janek's office. "In our view, this simply isn't possible without significant changes either in management structure or in executive leadership."
In a statement, Abbott said he will use the report to determine "what additional actions must be taken," but made no mention of Janek or whether any other changes are forthcoming.
"The report's findings are deeply troubling. It is now more clear than ever that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has been riddled with operational, managerial, structural and procedural problems that go far beyond any individual or contract. That is unacceptable," Abbott said.
No sector of state government has been hammered more by lawmakers through Abbott's first legislative session than Janek's agency. Fallout over the lucrative contracts to Austin-based 21CT, a tech consulting company, to root out Medicaid fraud has already led to the resignation of top Janek deputies and put the brakes on other massive contracts as the state sought to put new controls in place.
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SENATE PASSES PLAN RATING SCHOOLS WITH LETTER GRADES A TO F
The Texas Senate has given preliminary approval to rating public schools statewide by letter grades A through F.
The proposal passed 20-10 Monday would issue grades based on student standardized test scores. A floor change, however, means the bill won't take effect until the 2017-2018 academic year.
It now needs only a final, procedural vote before heading to the House.
Senate Republicans say grades are easy to understand and will spur parents to force changes at failing schools. Campuses are currently rated on a "met standards" or "needs improvement" pass-fail system.
Texas has already approved implementing a letter-grade system for school districts, but not individual campuses.
Democratic opponents worry that attending an F-graded school could stigmatize students and say poor school ratings more reflect inadequate classroom funding than education quality.
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SENATE OKS '3 STRIKES' PLAN TO REVOKE NURSING HOME LICENSES
The Texas Senate has approved a plan to revoke licenses of nursing homes authorities cite for resident abuse or neglect violations three times in a two-year period.
The so-called "3 strikes" proposal by Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown passed 30-0 Monday. It now heads to the House.
Schwertner drafted the bill after a state report found that the Department of Aging and Disability Services issued nearly 19,000 violations against nursing homes in fiscal year 2013 — but took only 11 enforcement actions.
His plan also would allow the Health and Human Services Commission to hire a nonprofit to adjudicate some disputes involving nursing homes that challenge state-issued violations.
That would allow for state staff cuts, which would offset higher costs associated with pulling more nursing homes' licenses.
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ON DECK
The House opens its floor session at 10 a.m. Tuesday and will slog through hundreds of amendments as it debates its version of the state budget. Among the proposals that could be tacked onto the omnibus measure, a declaration that public funding should remain exclusively with public schools. The lower chamber approved a similar measure last session — effectively derailing a high-profile Senate push to pass school voucher plans that would have allowed parents to get state funding to remove children from struggling public schools and send them to private alternatives. Similar voucher proposals are advancing through the Senate this session, but could be thwarted if the House passes such an amendment again. Also Tuesday, the Senate reconvenes at 11 a.m.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The only thing we're doing is relabeling the problem without dealing with what the problem is," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, arguing against the bill authorizing letter grades for public schools statewide, which easily passed the Senate on Monday despite his objections.
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