Committee

Texas Land Commissioner David Dewhurst last week presented aplan to a special senate committee on electric utilityrestructuring that would allow the land commissioner to convert thestate’s oil and gas earned from public lands into electricity andsell it to Texas schools, state agencies, and local governments.

The Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) executive committee (EC)approved standards for World Wide Web-based electronic commerce andtitle transfer tracking last week. The EC approved the first partof a series of standards designed to provide a 13-month transitionfor interstate gas pipelines from electronic bulletin boards tointeractive Web sites.

The Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) executive committee (EC)approved standards for World Wide Web-based electronic commerce andtitle transfer tracking last week. The EC approved the first partof a series of standards designed to provide a 13-month transitionfor interstate gas pipelines from electronic bulletin boards tointeractive Web sites.

Bill Richardson was sworn in as the new energy secretary onTuesday, one day after Senate Energy Committee Chairman FrankMurkowski (R-AK) cleared him of allegations that he may have misledCongress when testifying during his confirmation hearing last monthabout a job offer he made to former White House intern Monica S.Lewinsky.

The House Appropriations Committee Tuesday eliminated fiscalyear 1999 funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program(LIHEAP). Last month, the House Appropriations subcommittee onLabor, Health and Human Services and Education zeroed out fundingfor LIHEAP despite the Clinton administration’s request for morethan $1 billion in fiscal year 1999 funding. Tuesday’s actionclears the bill for consideration by the entire House ofRepresentatives.