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 Adjutant General and the Assistant General may accrue state compensatory leave (RQ-0796-GA).

Overview of Research Goals and Accomplishments for the Period 07/01/06 – 06/30/07: Our overall research goal is to transform the rapidly emerging synthetic chemistry involving alkyl-alkyl cross-couplings into more of a mechanism-based field so that that new, rationally-designed catalysts can be performed under energy efficient conditions. Our specific objectives for the previous year were 1) to obtain a proper electronic description of an active catalyst for alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling reactions and 2) to determine the effect of ligand structure on the rate, scope, selectivity, and functional group compatibility of C(sp3)-C(sp3) cross-coupling catalysis. We have completed both of these initial objectives and established a firm base for further studies. The specific significant achievements of the current grant period include: 1) we have performed magnetic and computational studies on (terpyridine)NiMe, an active catalyst for alkyl-alkyl cross couplings, and have discovered that the unpaired electron resides heavily on the terpyridine ligand and that the proper electronic description of this nickel complex is a Ni(II)-methyl cation bound to a reduced terpyridine ligand; 2) we have for the first time shown that alkyl halide reduction by terpyridyl nickel catalysts is substantially ligand based; 3) we have shown by isotopic labeling studies that the active catalyst (terpyridine)NiMe …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 requires that any budget request for construction of a new class of major combatant vessels will be for one with an integrated nuclear power system, unless the Secretary of Defense submits notification to Congress that it is not in the national interest to do so. The Navy's Next Generation Cruiser--CG(X)--is subject to this legislation. In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Navy's analysis of options for CG(X), including cost estimates related to building nuclear and conventional cruisers. GAO examined (1) the design concepts included in the CG(X) Analysis of Alternatives, (2) how each ship design concept addresses threats that cause capability gaps for maritime air and missile defense, and (3) how the Navy's methodology and assumptions affect its estimates of the relative costs for conventional and nuclear cruisers. To accomplish this, GAO analyzed CG(X) program documents, interviewed Navy and Department of Defense officials, and assessed the effect of alternative methodologies and assumptions on cost estimates. This letter is an unclassified summary of the classified report."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 established the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) to stimulate technological innovation, use small businesses to meet federal research and development (R&D) needs, foster and encourage participation by minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation, and increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal R&D. Since the program's inception, GAO has conducted numerous reviews of the SBIR program. This statement summarizes GAO's past findings on the SBIR program's (1) successes and challenges, (2) data collection issues that affect program monitoring and evaluation, and (3) how agencies make eligibility determinations for the program. GAO is not making any new recommendations in this statement."

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: Calculation of the maximum time allowable for tax abatement under Tax Code section 312.204(d) (RQ-0784-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; Authority of a county bail bond board to assess a fee to bail bond companies to recover the cost of employing a bail bond administrator (RQ-0786-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) financial condition has worsened since GAO testified before this Subcommittee last January, with the recession and changing mail use causing dramatic declines in mail volume and revenues despite postal rate increases. USPS expects these declines to lead to losses and cash shortfalls even if ambitious cost-cutting is achieved. Mail use has been changing over the past decade as businesses and consumers have moved to electronic communication and payment alternatives. Mail volume peaked in 2006, and USPS expects that much of the lost volume will not return after the recession is over. USPS's business model has relied on growth in mail volume to cover costs, but USPS has not been able to cut costs fast enough to offset the accelerated decline in mail volume and revenue. Thus, GAO added USPS's financial condition to the High-Risk List in July 2009. This testimony (1) updates USPS's financial condition and outlook and explains GAO's decision to place USPS's financial condition on the High-Risk List and (2) discusses the need for USPS to restructure and presents options and actions that USPS can take. It is based on GAO's …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Burning coal generates about 50 percent of the nation's electricity and produces air pollution that can pose a significant threat to human health and ecosystems. The Department of Energy (DOE) predicts that demand for electricity will increase nationally by 26 percent between 2007 and 2030, and DOE's Energy Information Administration projects that Texas's electricity demand will steadily increase through 2030. This increasing demand for electricity in Texas has in recent years led to proposals for 33 new coal-burning, electricity-generating units across the state. The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish national ambient air quality standards for six pollutants to protect public health and welfare. These six pollutants, also known as criteria pollutants, are carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, ozone, and lead. In Texas, ozone is the criteria pollutant of primary concern. States are primarily responsible for ensuring attainment and maintenance of national ambient air quality standards once EPA has established them. States submit state implementation plans to EPA for approval that provide for the attainment and maintenance of air quality standards. If the state fails to submit this plan, submits …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress is considering proposals to establish a price on greenhouse gas emissions through a cap-and-trade program that would limit overall emissions and require covered entities to hold tradable emissions permits, or allowances, for their emissions. The purpose of such a program is to raise the cost of activities that produce emissions and thereby provide an economic incentive to decrease emissions. Carbon dioxide, which results from burning fossil fuels, is the primary greenhouse gas and accounts for about 80 percent of U.S. emissions. A cap-and-trade program would increase the cost of burning fossil fuels and other activities that generate emissions and potentially raise costs for consumers. A key decision is the extent to which the government offsets these costs. For example, the government could sell the allowances and then return the revenues to covered entities or households. The government could also give away some or all of the allowances. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the value of the allowances could total $300 billion annually by 2020. Today's testimony provides preliminary results of ongoing work assessing the potential effects of (1) allowance allocation methods, and (2) options for distributing …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the protection of children during disaster recovery and to provide highlights of our July 2009 report entitled Hurricane Katrina: Barriers to Mental Health Services for Children Persist in Greater New Orleans, Although Federal Grants Are Helping to Address Them. The greater New Orleans area has yet to fully recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005. One issue of concern in the recovery is the availability of mental health services for children. In our report, we estimated that in 2008 about 187,000 children were living in the greater New Orleans area--which we defined as Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes. Many children in the greater New Orleans area experienced psychological trauma as a result of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and studies have shown that such trauma can have long-lasting behavioral, psychological, and emotional effects on children. Poor children in this area may also be at additional risk, because studies have also shown that children who grow up in poverty are at risk for the development of mental health disorders. In 2007 the poverty rate for each of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2008, agencies spent over $300 billion on contracts which include award fees. While many agencies use award fee contracts, over 95 percent of the government's spending using this contract type in fiscal year 2008 occurred at five: the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In December 2007, the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued guidance to chief acquisition officers and procurement executives across the government that echoed several recommendations we made in 2005 on the use of award fees and emphasized positive practices to be implemented by all agencies. GAO's statement today is based on our May 29, 2009, report, Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices But is Not Consistently Applied (GAO-09-630). Like the report, this statement addresses how agencies are implementing OMB's guidance. Specifically, we (1) identified the actions agencies have taken to revise or develop policies and guidance to reflect OMB guidance on using award fees, (2) determined the extent to …

This issue has the following articles: (1) Applied Plasma Spectroscopy: Laser-Fusion Experiments; (2) Relativistic Electron-Beam Transport Studies Using High-Resolution, Coherent Transition Radiation Imaging; (3) Pressure-Driven, Resistive Magnetohydrodynamic Interchange Instabilities in Laser-Produced, High-Energy-Density Plasmas; (4) Extended Model for Polymer Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Flake Reorientation and Relaxation; (5) Modeling the Effects of Microencapsulation on the Electro-Optic Behavior of Polymer Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Flakes; (6) Capillarity and Dielectrophoresis of Liquid Deuterium; and (7) A Stable Mid-IR, GaSb-Based Diode Laser Source for Cryogenic Target Layering at the OMEGA Laser Facility.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress asked us to estimate the effect on Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) funding to urban areas if a certain stop-loss provision is enacted. The CARE Act, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was enacted to address the needs of jurisdictions, health care providers, and people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). In December 2006, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 (RWTMA) reauthorized CARE Act programs for fiscal years 2007 through 2009. In July 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3293, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2010, which contains a stop-loss provision covering CARE Act funding for urban areas that receive funding under the CARE Act. This bill has not been passed by the Senate. Under the CARE Act, funding for urban areas--Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMA) and Transitional Grant Areas (TGA)--is primarily provided through three categories of grants: (1) formula grants that are awarded based on the case counts of people with HIV/AIDS in an urban area; …

These guidelines describe the design and construction requirements of a proposed dam or the reconstruction, modification, enlargement, rehabilitation, alteration, or repair of an existing dam in Texas.

A report of a study detailing the sea floor communities that live in association with hydrocarbon seepage and on hard ground in the deep Gulf of Mexico.

This document details changes in landscape irrigation rules, licenses, and registration.

Summary describing the work completed at TDI-Brooks International Inc. for Investigations of Chemosynthetic Communities on the Lower Continental Slope of the Gulf of Mexico (Chemo III). It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

This is a general guide to laws and regulations about underground and aboveground storage tanks and an aid in minimizing potential risks.

This is a general guide to laws and regulations about underground storage tanks (USTs) and an aid in minimizing potential risks.

This report examines the destabilizing effects of climate change and how the military could be used to mitigate global warming and to assist at-risk peoples and states to adapt to climate change.

This report describes the process of creating continuity and sustainability for demonstration and validation (DEMVAL) assets at the National Security Technology Incubator (NSTI). The DEMVAL asset program is being developed as part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP), funded by Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The mission of the NSTI program is to identify, incubate, and accelerate technologies with national security applications at various stages of development by providing hands-on mentoring and business assistance to small businesses and emerging or growing companies. Part of this support is envisioned to be research and development of companies’ technology initiatives, at the same time providing robust test and evaluation of actual development activities. This program assists companies in developing technologies under the NSTI program through demonstration and validation of technologies applicable to national security created by incubators and other sources. The NSPP also will support the creation of an integrated demonstration and validation environment. Development of the commercial potential for national security technologies is a significant NSTI focus. As part of the process of commercialization, a comprehensive DEMVAL program has been recognized as an essential part of the overall incubator mission. A number of resources have been integrated into …

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; Maximum distance that a county may require that a sexually oriented business be located from a residence, church, elementary school, and other designated facilities (RQ-0680-GA)

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1983, the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission; and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have partnered to protect and restore the deteriorated Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The partners established the Chesapeake Bay Program (Bay Program) to manage and coordinate a variety of restoration activities and in their most recent agreement, Chesapeake 2000, which was signed in June 2000, they established 102 commitments for the Chesapeake Bay, which were organized under five broad restoration goals to be achieved by 2010. In October 2005, we issued a report in which we reviewed the management, coordination, and reporting mechanisms used by the Bay Program. Our review found that the Bay Program had (1) developed more than 100 measures of restoration but lacked an integrated approach for measuring the progress being made in restoring the bay, (2) reported on individual species and pollutants but lacked independent and credible mechanisms to report on overall bay health, and (3) developed numerous plans for accomplishing its restoration commitments but lacked a comprehensive strategy that could provide a roadmap for accomplishing the goals outlined in Chesapeake 2000, and …

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 a county policy prohibiting the rehire of an individual within one year after terminating an employment relationship with the county applies to the hiring of a deputy constable (RQ-0681-GA)