Bastrop County rejected an approximately $9.8 million construction proposal for projects to the Bastrop County Courthouse and Jail Complex during a Dec. 22 meeting.

In a nutshell: The approximately $9.8 million construction proposal from QA Construction was the only one Bastrop County received.

“This proposed pricing is not considered fair and reasonable,” Leon Scaife, a purchasing agent for Bastrop County, said in a staff report.

The budget, he emphasized, is about $4 million.

“A lot of the [45] contractors that showed up knew right off the bat that [this project] was outside of their wheelhouse, but we expected more than one [proposal] to come in for this,” Scaife said.

Bastrop County Emergency Service District No. 3 is in the midst of a year-long transition away from using Acadian Ambulance as a vendor.

The details: Allen Johnson, executive director of ESD No. 3, is hopeful to begin the district-operated model on or around Oct. 1.

“We are actively executing elements of the transition plan,” he told Bastrop County Commissioners Court in a letter. “One of the first tasks is obtaining our EMS Provider License from the Texas Department of State Health Services.”

Here are five of the most-read CI Texas stories from this year and the latest updates on these trending topics.

1. Texas Senate passes bill that would nearly double property tax exemption for seniors, people with disabilities: Elderly and disabled homeowners were set to receive a $200,000 property tax exemption this year.

2. Texas House bill would make it easier to remove students from the classroom: The law gives teachers more discretion to remove students from the classroom if they are repeatedly disruptive or threaten the safety of others.

3. What to know about the 17 state propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot: Nearly 3 million Texans voted in the November election, approving all 17 constitutional amendments.

4. Texas House bill would prohibit cellphone use in K-12 schools: Under House Bill 1481, cellphones and other personal communication devices are prohibited bell-to-bell in Texas public schools.

5. Texas families can now access 2022-23 A-F school accountability ratings after multiyear legal battle: The state later released ratings for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years in August.