Lt. Governor Patrick Announces Appointments to the Sunset Advisory Commission
October 26
AUSTIN – Today, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced the appointments of Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, Sen. Bob Hall, R-Canton, and Emily Pataki, Cedar Park, to the Sunset Advisory Commission. Sen. Birdwell has been appointed chair. Sen. Kirk Watson will continue to serve as the lieutenant governor’s appointee. The lieutenant governor issued the following statement upon making the appointments:
“An effective and efficient government is the hallmark of conservative leadership. Those principles have made Texas strong and I am confident that these appointees will work diligently to ensure that Texas state agencies continue to operate with efficiency and accountability to best serve the people of Texas.”
Emily Pataki is the lieutenant governor’s public member appointed to the commission. She currently serves as board president of Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc., and is a graduate of Yale University. She is also a board member of Atec, Inc., and the Association of Women in Energy.
The Sunset Advisory Commission reviews agencies that are scheduled to be abolished by the Texas Sunset Act. Their duties include conducting public hearings and issuing a report with findings and recommendations to the legislature.
Want new articles directly to your inbox?
Subscribe to our Publishing Service.
TCJL Files Amicus Brief in Discovery Dispute
On Friday TCJL filed an amicus curiae brief requesting that the Texas Supreme Court reconsider a late 1980s decision that opened the door to broad discovery sharing in Texas tort litigation. The case, In re Uber Technologies, Inc. (No. 22-0453), arose from an alleged...
SCOTX Denies Review in Three Permissive Interlocutory Appeals Cases
Subsequent to the decision in Industrial Specialists, LLC v. Blanchard Refining Company LLC and Marathon Petroleum Company LP (No. 20-0174), in which a divided Texas Supreme Court ruled that §51.014(f), CPRC, gives a court of appeals unfettered discretion to deny a...
County Courts Have Jurisdiction in Eminent Domain Cases Regardless of Amount in Controversy
In a case in which TCJL participated as amicus curiae, the Texas Supreme Court has reversed a split Waco Court of Appeals decision holding that a Walker County Court at Law did not have jurisdiction over an eminent domain case because the alleged damages exceeded the...