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Harris County got rid of cash bail for minor crimes. GOP lawmakers want to walk that back.
March 6, 2021
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Recent reforms that let more people accused of minor offenses be released without posting cash bonds appear to be working, new research shows. But Houston area lawmakers want to roll them back.Kathy Willens, STF / Associated Press
Eager to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit, Texas most populous county over the past two years has stopped requiring most people accused of low-level crimes from putting up cash to get out of jail on bond.
Tens of thousands of people accused of misdemeanors not involving some specific circumstances, like domestic abuse or previous bond violations, have been freed without cost while awaiting trial.
Texas will not fix ERCOT s $16 billion power billing mistake
MITCHELL FERMAN, The Texas Tribune
March 5, 2021
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An electricity power station at Dallas and Live Oak. Whether most electricity bills will go up following the recent power crisis will depend on several factors.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Texas’ utility regulator had an opportunity Friday to eliminate some of the $16 billion that the state’s the grid operator erroneously overcharged power companies during last month’s deadly winter storm but the board of the Public Utility Commission chose not to do so.
Some Texas electricity customers could have benefited from a decision to readjust the electricity market prices for the week of the storm, according to PUC Chair Arthur D’Andrea and some independent analysts. But other customers could have been harmed by such a move, D’Andrea said.
ERCOT overcharged power companies $16 billion for electricity during winter freeze, firm says
Mitchell Ferman, ERIN DOUGLAS, The Texas Tribune
March 4, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail ERCOT overcharged power companies $16 billion for electricity during winter freeze, firm says was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas made a $16 billion error in pricing during the week of the winter storm that caused power outages across the state, according to a filing by its market monitor.
Potomac Economics, the independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT, wrote in a letter to the Public Utility Commission that ERCOT kept market prices for power too high for nearly two more days after widespread outages ended late Feb. 17. It should have reset the prices
Fired ERCOT leader refuses more than $800,000 severance pay in storm aftermath
ERIN DOUGLAS, The Texas Tribune
March 5, 2021
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Bill Magness, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO who was terminated by his board Wednesday, said he will not seek or accept severance pay, according to a spokesperson. He would have been owed more than $800,000, his contract shows.
The board for the nonprofit entity that operates and manages the electricity grid that covers much of Texas voted Wednesday in favor of his 60-day termination notice.
Magness was terminated without cause, a spokesperson said. According to the terms of his employment contract, his severance pay would have been equivalent to one year of his current base salary, which is more than $800,000.