The bill for investigating the actions of a University of Texas System regent has totaled nearly $600,000.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Houston lawyer Rusty Hardin's firm billed the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations $588,000 to investigate Regent Wallace Hall. The final invoices were released Tuesday.
Jason Embry, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Straus, says Hardin agreed to limit the charge to the state to $500,000.
The panel found grounds to impeach Hall but has yet to vote on formal charges
Hall is accused of abusing his authority as a regent with massive record requests, bullying staff and releasing private student information in an effort to topple Austin campus President Bill Powers.
Hall denies wrongdoing. Powers recently agreed to step down in June 2015.
