Leticia Van de Putte

Legislature Passes Summer Electric Bill Relief For Burned Veterans

Eileen Pace — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:17:51 +0000

Veterans who have burn injuries can now ask their utility companies for discounts, no matter where in Texas they reside now that the Burned Veterans Bill has passed in the Legislature.

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte sought to expand the benefits of a bill passed in the last session to the statewide population of burned veterans.

Lawmakers Postpone Crucial Vote On High-Stakes Testing Bill

Ryan Poppe — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Lawmakers managed to postpone a high-stakes testing bill on the first Friday the Senate has worked this session.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said it was an agreement in principle that the Senate would take up and pass a House bill being carried by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, which reduces the number of end-of-course exams from 15 to five.

"But apparently a number of members - principally Democrat, but some Republicans - had not been in the meeting and felt like they had not been briefed enough. And I understand that, I understand that," Patrick said.

Van De Putte Helping Streamline G.I. Bill Assistance For Veterans

Eileen Pace — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:31:58 +0000

The Texas Senate has passed a bill that will help veterans more easily access their education funds under the G.I. Bill.

SB 1158, The Hazelwood Act, was designed to ensure veterans and their children that they would be exempt from specific tuition and fees at public institutions of higher learning in the State of Texas.

Websites Selling Sex Advertising Avoid Liability With Senate Bill Word Change

Paul Flahive — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:58:29 +0000

The idea behind Senate Bill 94 was to hurt human traffickers by shutting down their internet connection to customers. The law was intended to stop websites from selling ads for sex.

The women, who are often underage, are trafficked for sex, their traffickers get the money, and the websites also get a cut. The Aim Group, an online media analyst, estimated that Backpage.com took in $22 million last year from escort advertising.

New TEA Rating System: What Does It Mean To Be An "A" Student In An "F" School?

Ryan Poppe — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:55:11 +0000

State Sen. Leticia Van De Putte expressed her outrage and disappointment toward the Texas Education Agency commissioner and his re-vamped public schools rating system.

Van De Putte said Education Commissioner Michael Williams’ reason for changing the school rating system from language of "acceptable or unacceptable" to a report card system of an "A through F" is an insult.

Burned Veterans Statewide Could Get Summer Electric Bill Help

Eileen Pace — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:21:59 +0000

The Senate has passed Senate Bill 981, a bill giving electric utilities permission to help severely-burned war veterans with their high electric bills during the hot Texas summers.

A bill in the 2011 Legislature was passed for the same purpose, but it targeted only CPS Energy in San Antonio.

LGBT Workplace Equality Bill Would Ban Such Discrimination Statewide

Ryan Poppe — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:44:57 +0000

A bill in the Texas Senate authored by Sen. Leticia Van DePutte would make it illegal for any employer to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.

Bills Filed To Help Veterans Use Military Certification To Find Work

Ryan Poppe — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:50:25 +0000

A set of bills in both the Texas House and Senate are there to ensure that the state’s veterans are able to use military training to obtain jobs.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte authored the bill that ensures training and certifications obtained by veterans and their spouses while serving in the military immediately transfer with them into civilian life.

Villarreal & Van De Putte File Bills To Protect Hemisfair Redevelopment

Eileen Pace — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:05:00 +0000

Two San Antonio lawmakers have introduced companion bills at the State Capitol to facilitate the redevelopment of Hemisfair.

State law requires a public vote anytime park land is leased or sold to protect the park acreage from being reduced in size, but the Hemisfair master plan calls for establishing more park space than exists under its current configuration.

Veteran Education Requirements Putting Strain On Texas Colleges

Veronica Zaragovia, KUT News — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:58:41 +0000

Colleges and universities in Texas are struggling to pay for the tuition benefits they give to qualifying veterans and their dependents as part of a program called the Hazlewood Act.

As the number of veterans rises, higher education leaders say their institutions need help tackling the costs.

“We continuously get pulled at not to increase tuition. We don’t want to increase tuition. But those are the issues that we follow," Kenth Hance, Texas Tech University Systems Chancellor, says.