Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Use of county jail inmate labor in projects for nonprofit organizations (RQ-0406-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the state or its political subdivisions may regulate international border crossings by persons under the age of 18 years, or whether the state may regulate the conduct of persons under the age of 18 years who are at or near an international border (RQ-0407-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Duty of officers who are magistrates under Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.09 to provide warnings to arrestees and whether magistrate duties constitute a judicial function (RQ-0410-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the value of property subject to a tax increment financing agreement under Local Government Code chapter 374 may be deducted from a school district’s total taxable value, and related questions (RQ-0303-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a registered professional land surveyor may provide a competitive bid to the primary contractor of a contract with a governmental entity (RQ-0321-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a contractual requirement that a superintendent of schools attend executive sessions of meetings of her board of trustees violates the Open Meetings Act(RQ-0327-JC).

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Procedures that a commissioners court must follow in the annual budget process in regard to salaries and personal expenses for each county and precinct officer (RQ-0642-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Status of Kerr County Airport Authority (RQ-0643-GA)

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Jenkins Act requires any person who sells and ships cigarettes across a state line to a buyer, other than a licensed distributor, to report the sale to the buyer's state tobacco tax administrator. The act establishes misdemeanor penalties for violating the act. Compliance with this federal law by cigarette sellers enables states to collect cigarette excise taxes from consumers. However, some state and federal officials are concerned that as Internet cigarette sales continue to grow, particularly as states' cigarette taxes increase, so will the amount of lost state tax revenue due to noncompliance with the Jenkins Act. One research firm estimated that Internet tobacco sales in the United States will exceed $5 billion in 2005 and that the states will lose about $1.4 billion in tax revenue from these sales."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Rightsizing is the aligning of the number and location of staff assigned to U.S. embassies with foreign policy priorities, security, and other constraints. GAO is developing a framework to enable the executive branch to assess the number and mix of embassy staff. The framework will link staffing levels to the following three critical elements of overseas operations: (1) physical security and real estate, (2) mission priorities and requirements, and (3) operational costs. GAO reviewed policies and practices at the U.S. Embassy in Paris because of its large size and history of rightsizing decisions. GAO found that about 700 employees from 11 agencies work in main buildings at the Paris Embassy. Serious security concerns in at least one embassy building in Paris suggest the need to consider staff reductions unless building security can be improved. Staffing levels are hard to determine because agencies use different criteria and priorities to place staff. The lack of comprehensive cost data on all agencies' operations, which is estimated at more than $100 million annually in France, and the lack of an embassywide budget eliminate the possibility of cost-based decisionmaking on staffing. The number …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the role of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Disaster Loan Program in responding to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, general performance measures for the program, and the effects of SBA's program to sell loans to private investors on disaster loans and their borrowers. In reviewing SBA's loan sales program, which includes disaster loans, we identified three areas needing improvement: tracking borrower inquiries and complaints; sales budgeting and accounting which affect the reliability of SBA financial statements and budget information; and reporting on the operational benefits of the loans sales. This testimony focuses on SBA's (1) response to the September 11 terrorist attacks; (2) performance plans and measures for its Disaster Loan program; and (3) loan assets sales program, which involves selling disaster and other loans."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Numerous federal government programs provide assistance to "transportation-disadvantaged" individuals--those who are unable to provide their own transportation as a result of a disability, an age-related condition, or an income constraint. The assistance is provided to help these populations connect with services such as health and medical care, employment and training activities, and education programs. Coordination of this assistance--through such steps as pooling resources, consolidating transportation services under a single state or local agency, and sharing information about available services--has been found to improve the cost-effectiveness and quality of service. GAO was asked to identify (1) the federal programs that provide these transportation services and the amount spent on these programs; (2) the effect of coordination--or lack of coordination--on the delivery of transportation services for the transportation-disadvantaged; and (3) any obstacles that may impede effective coordination and potential ways to overcome such obstacles."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found problems with the costs and oversight of major highway and bridge projects because cost containment was not an explicit statutory or regulatory goal. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) did little to ensure that cost contentment was an integral part of the states' project management. The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Office of Inspector General and reviews by state audit and evaluation agencies have also shown that escalating costs and mismanagement of major projects continue to be a problem. FHWA and DOT have undertaken several efforts since 1997 to improve the management and oversight of major highway and bridge projects. Should Congress decide to address cost growth and oversight of major highway and bridge projects, GAO's past reviews have presented options, including measures to improve the quality of initial baseline estimates and to track progress over the life of projects."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Social Security covers about 96 percent of all US workers; the vast majority of the rest are state, local, and federal government employees. While these noncovered workers do not pay Social Security taxes on their government earnings, they may still be eligible for Social Security benefits. This poses difficult issues of fairness, and Social Security has provisions that attempt to address those issues, but critics contend these provisions are themselves often unfair. Congress asked GAO to discuss these provisions as well as the implications of mandatory coverage for public employees."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The use of government purchase cards has increased in recent years as agencies have sought to eliminate the bureaucracy and paperwork long associated with small purchases. At the same time, agencies need to have adequate internal controls in place to protect the government from waste, fraud, and abuse. GAO found significant internal control weaknesses in agency purchase card programs, including inadequate review and approval processes, a lack of training for both cardholders and approving officials, and poor monitoring. This lax environment allowed cardholders to make fraudulent, improper, abusive, and questionable purchases. Weak controls also resulted in lost, missing, or misused government property."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "DOD is in the midst of a major transformation effort including a number of initiatives to transform its forces and improve its business operations. DOD's legislative initiative would provide for major changes in civilian and military human capital management, make major adjustments in the DOD acquisition process, affect DOD's organization structure, and change DOD's reporting requirements to Congress, among other things. DOD's proposed National Security Personnel System (NSPS) would provide for wide-ranging changes in DOD's civilian personnel pay and performance management, collective bargaining, rightsizing, and a variety of other human capital areas. The NSPS would enable DOD to develop and implement a consistent DOD-wide civilian personnel system. This testimony provides GAO's preliminary observations on aspects of DOD's legislative proposal to make changes to its civilian personnel system and discusses the implications of such changes for governmentwide human capital reform. This testimony summarizes many of the issues discussed in detail before the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives on April 29, 2003."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the status of agencies' efforts to establish effective internal control over federal medical stockpiles that can be used to treat civilian and military victims in the event of a chemical or biological attack. In earlier reports, GAO recommended that federal agencies strengthen their management of these medical stockpiles. GAO found that these agencies have made significant progress toward implementing its recommendations. Management at each of the responsible agencies has given priority to and placed emphasis on strengthening internal control over stockpiles. As a result, inventory discrepancy rates and accountability have been reduced."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires individuals to receive credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy and to take a debtor education course before having debts discharged. Concerns were raised that the new requirements could expose consumers to abusive practices by credit counseling agencies or become barriers to filing for bankruptcy. This testimony is based on GAO's report issued last month, and addresses (1) the process of approving counseling and education providers, (2) the content and results of the counseling and education sessions, (3) the fees charged, and (4) the availability of and challenges to accessing services. To address these issues, GAO reviewed Trustee Program data and application case files, and interviewed a wide range of individuals and groups involved in the bankruptcy process."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the General Accounting Office's (GAO) Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2005. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual plan informs the Congress and the American people about what we expect to accomplish on their behalf in the coming fiscal year. It sets forth our plan to make progress toward achieving our strategic goals for serving the Congress and the American people. The plan is based on our strategic plan, which was prepared in consultation with members of the Congress and other key stakeholders and was issued in March 2004."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is responsible for securing the 276-acre Capitol Complex, including protecting Members of Congress, visitors, and congressional facilities. In response to heightened security concerns, various requests, and legislative mandates over the years, GAO has reported on management control problems in five key areas: (1) establishing an accountability framework for monitoring recommendations, (2) establishing a risk management framework, (3) ensuring financial management, (4) ensuring strategic and human capital planning, and (5) managing information technology (IT). From January 2004 through March 2007, GAO made 46 recommendations aimed at improving USCP administrative and management operations and achieving strategic goals. This testimony reports on the status of USCP's efforts to address GAO's recommendations. To conduct its work, GAO analyzed USCP documentation, such as risk matrices, budget documents, and strategic plans. GAO also conducted interviews with USCP officials and contractors on their efforts related to its recommendations. GAO performed this work from October 2007 through April 2008. USCP generally agreed with GAO's 46 prior recommendations and GAO's assessment of the status of USCP's efforts to implement those recommendations. Along these lines, USCP needs to complete those actions in …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's statement of federal financial accounting standards (SFFAS). The statement presents amendments to SSFAS No. 2 and provides accounting standards for direct loans and loan guarantees."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Unrelenting growth in health care spending has put pressure on policymakers to seek health care system reforms. The stress comes partly from a wide gap in expectations between what health care Americans want and what the nation can afford and sustain. GAO's Health Care Forum was held on January 13, 2004, to find ways to elevate the nation's understanding of health care cost, access, and quality challenges. Forum attendees included a select group of experts, business leaders, and public officials. The forum's plenary speakers discussed issues associated with health care costs and value, including spending drivers, long-term affordability, and the effect of differences across the country in medical practices. Participants in breakout sessions led by the forum's faculty of experts deliberated on the merits of the various health care reform strategies, including focusing on consumer cost sensitivity, targeting high-cost patients, reducing unwarranted variation in medical practices, and managing technology to control spending growth. GAO has developed a series of questions to evaluate all health care reform proposals, based in part, on the results of this forum."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents an analysis of information on the members of the 51 state advisory committees of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission). These state advisory committees exist to provide information on state and local civil rights issues to the Commission. This analysis contains information on state and advisory committee member demographics and the members' occupations. Information on the members was obtained from the Commission from the most recent charter for each advisory committee at the time of our analysis. We obtained our state demographic information from U.S. census data except for data on religion and politics. Religion data was obtained from The American Religious Identification Survey 2001.1 The political data was obtained from The 2004 Political Landscape by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. We are providing this information so that readers may see how the advisory committees' membership reflects various criteria. For more detailed information on the old and new membership criteria, please see our report entitled U. S. Commission on Civil Rights: The Commission Should Strengthen Its Quality Assurance Policies and Make Better Use of Its State Advisory …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a functional requirements document that provided high level functional requirements for benefits systems that will provide the capability for financial managers, program managers and others to control and account for federal benefit programs as defined in governmentwide and agency specific statutes, regulations, guidelines, and need assessments."