How Texas outsourced crucial state services for two decades — and got smoked. This is part of an occasional series. Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from James Frinzi, former lobbyist for 21CT. The Texas Health and … Read More
AUSTIN – For years, Texas state officials have boasted about a unique program they say enables the purchase of technology products at competitive prices without a costly and lengthy bidding process. But a Houston Chronicle investigation has found that the … Read More
In State Contracting, Failure Is an Option by Aman Batheja, The Texas Tribune February 1, 2015 How Texas outsourced crucial state services for two decades — and got smoked. In 1991, the Texas attorney general’s office signed an $11 million contract to … Read More
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, buffeted in recent months for its bungling of major contracts, purchases more technology products and services than any other state agency, with about $632 million in purchases since fiscal 2010. Combine that agency’s … Read More
As state and federal investigators continue to look into Austin tech firm 21CT’s no-bid contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, company executives in recent weeks have waged an aggressive public relations campaign, claiming the project was competitively … Read More
When a relatively small high-tech company lands a $20 million contract with a large state agency without having to compete for it, even though the company has no direct experience with the matter at hand, eyebrows raise and foreheads furrow, … Read More
AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the need for more oversight and transparency in state contracting is so great that it cannot wait for official action from lawmakers. In a letter to all state agency heads, Abbott ordered … Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday ordered state agency heads to enact stringent reforms to contracting practices by Sunday instead of waiting for new laws to pass the Legislature, one of his first acts as governor that frames his administration as … Read More
In a letter sent today to all state agency heads, Governor Greg Abbott called for higher standards in the State’s contracting and procurement process, including specific reforms aimed at restoring the public trust in the contracting process. Governor Abbott expressed … Read More
Weeks after calling for stronger rules to curb conflicts of interest in the wake of a no-bid contracting scandal at Texas’ massive health agency, state Sen. Jane Nelson filed a bill on Monday that would do just that. Nelson, a … Read More
For the most part, state agencies comply with existing contracting requirements, but several struggle with two basics: shopping for a vendor and monitoring that vendor’s performance, the Texas state auditor’s office said in a report on Tuesday. The report provided no new … Read More
Following a controversial no-bid deal at the Health and Human Services Commission, Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a bill on Monday that seeks to strengthen oversight of state contracting. Nelson’s legislation — Senate Bill 353 — would require an authority figure … Read More
Let’s forget for a moment about all the issues that divide us as Texans, from guns to abortion to Confederate flags on license plates. Let’s focus on something that nearly all of us can agree to hate – bad spending. … Read More
HOUSTON — The leader of the company at the center of Texas’s contracting scandal on Friday defended her firm and explained its recent controversial political donations but declined to provide specifics about the value it gave the state. CEO Irene … Read More
While a mushrooming scandal complete with state and federal investigations prompted two Texas state agencies to cancel contracts with Austin technology outfit 21CT last month, the state of Texas has not completely cut ties with the company. The Texas secretary … Read More
At the same time that Texas lawmakers are calling for more transparency at the state’s sprawling Health and Human Services Commission, officials there effectively have blocked the flow of public records that could provide answers to questions surrounding an unfolding … Read More
AUSTIN – Months before 21CT landed what is now the most controversial contract in Texas, it had to get approved to be eligible for no-bid state projects, and its effort did not start particularly well. Hindered by a lack of … Read More
AUSTIN — Hours after a Houston state lawmaker called on the company at the center of a no-bid contract scandal to disclose its investors, the CEO said in a blog post it firm has none. Seeking a subtle way to … Read More
The former lobbyist for the Austin tech company whose Medicaid anti-fraud contract is now the subject of criminal investigations is firing back at his former employer, accusing 21CT of trying to intimidate him into silence after he talked to the … Read More
When it comes to reimbursing state employees for education costs, the Texas Department of Transportation is far more generous than other state agencies. After reporting this month that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission paid a top aide’s $97,020 MBA tuition, … Read More
AUSTIN – The widening fallout from a no-bid contract scandal claimed the job of a fourth top state official Friday when Health and Human Services Commission deputy chief of staff Casey Haney said he, too, would resign. Haney, a trusted … Read More
In the latest in a string of high-profile resignations at the Health and Human Services Commission, Casey Haney — who received $97,000 in college tuition against agency policy — quit Friday. Haney, who was deputy chief of staff for Executive … Read More
The assistant to Texas Health and Human Services Commission chief Kyle Janek who received a pre-paid MBA at taxpayer’s expense resigned on Friday. “It is clear that my continued employment is a distraction from the work of you and the 54,000 … Read More
Amid calls for Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek to resign over a contracting scandal, sources close to Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Thursday Abbott won’t make a decision about Janek’s future until after the completion of state … Read More
AutosJobsReal Estate 45° eNewspaper Subscribe Sign In HOUSTON POLITICS & POLICY HOMELOCALUS & WORLDSPORTSBUSINESSOPINIONARTS & ENTERTAINMENTLIFESTYLEINSIDER HoustonPolitics & PolicyEducationElection 2014HC InvestigationsMost-read StoriesSpecial SectionsObituaries Free Access View You’ve been granted free access to this Houston Chronicle article. AUSTIN – The chief … Read More
One month after she was put on paid administrative leave, Erica Stick has resigned as chief of staff at the Health and Human Services Commission. In December, Stick — the wife of embattled former commission chief counsel Jack Stick — … Read More
Today, Sen. John Whitmire sent a letter to HHSC Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek suggesting he resign immediately for “the best interest of the State of Texas.” “Enough is enough” The Austin American Statesman quoted Whitmire as telling them, “Enough is enough. I … Read More
Veteran state Sen. John Whitmire has called for the resignation of Kyle Janek, the top official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is now at the center of state and federal investigations for its multimillion-dollar, no-bid deals … Read More
Controversial no-bid contracts that resulted in a firing, a resignation, and an apparent criminal investigation into the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have spurred further inquiry from both the governor’s office and the agency’s executive commissioner. Gov.-elect Greg Abbott … Read More
AUSTIN – The director of Texas’ massive state health agency personally pushed lawmakers to approve a $90 million extension of a major contract even after news reports showed the initial deal was awarded without competition and potentially subject to conflicts … Read More
On the eve of the semi-annual campaign finance reporting deadline, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott’s office confirmed he returned a $10,000 campaign contribution from the CEO of the beleaguered company at the center of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission contracting … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek today announced that he’s assembling a team of experts to help strengthen oversight and monitoring of contracts. “The primary way we deliver services across our agencies is through contracts, and it … Read More
Since November, the chief executive of Austin tech company 21CT has repeatedly said she first met Jack Stick in 2011, when she and the former state official began brokering a multimillion-dollar, no-bid deal that is now the subject of a … Read More
If Jack Stick could be any animal, he would be a liger. A cross-breed between a lion and a tiger might seem like a whimsical answer to the question posed in the 2011 job interview, just before he was hired … Read More
In an era when Texas government is supposed to be efficient, cost-effective and mindful of taxpayer dollars, a miracle to be emulated by other states thanks to the Perry administration, the media continues to uncover incredible betrayals of public trust … Read More
AUSTIN, TEXAS A top deputy at Texas’ massive state health agency received the job without any competition and then was granted nearly $100,000 to pay for his graduate school tuition, according to state records. Casey Haney, a former aide to … Read More
In violation of its own policy, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission paid $97,020 so a top aide to Commissioner Kyle Janek — and former aide to ousted chief counsel Jack Stick — could pursue an MBA degree, The … Read More
AUSTIN – A well-connected former political aide landed a lucrative job at Texas’ sprawling state health commission without having to apply, and then got his boss to give him a lump sum of nearly $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund … Read More
