Texas Spends $180 million on Foster Care Suit

Texas Spends Over $180 million on Foster Care Suit

Using the state’s open records law, the Dallas Morning News obtained records of the amount spent so far by Texas on a class-action lawsuit over foster care. The amount, totaling more than $180 million, comes from expenditures ranging from additional employees to computer upgrades to lawyers’ fees. According to the investigation, the case was originally brought in 2011 on behalf of over 12,000 children in long-term care by the advocacy group, Children’s Rights. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission regulates foster care providers.

Iowa Proposes Eliminating or Consolidating 111 State Boards and Commissions

A task force established by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds “as part of her overall streamlining of the executive branch,” according to Quad-City Times, recommends eliminating or consolidating 111 of Iowa’s state boards and commissions—leaving 145 in place. Finding 5 in the report stated: “Iowa requires a license or certification for many of its occupations and its standards across all license types are inconsistent, ineffective and unequal.” Lawmakers plan to consider the recommendations of the Board and Commission Review Committee during the 2024 session of the Iowa Legislature. View the full report from the review committee (over 500 pages) on the Iowa Department of Management’s website.

Mont. Occupational Licensing Ranking

The 2023 State Occupational Licensing Index (SOLI) ranked Montana by the number of licensed occupations, focusing on the 331 occupations in the Knee Regulatory Research Center licensing database. Montana establishes minimum entry requirements for 163 of those occupations; six of those occupations require licensure in 20 states or fewer nationally. A crane operator, for example, requires licensure in only 12 other states. In the 2023 SOLI, Montana ranks 43rd nationally—with 1^st the most burdensome.

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