Tag Archives: Chris Turner

Justice Department follows up with Tarrant County

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have committed to meeting with Tarrant County’s top Democrats to discuss the letter they sent requesting an investigation into voting rights. The Democrats, under the lead of U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Alisa Simmons, Chris Turner, Election 2020, Election 2024, Election 2026, elections administrator, Heider Garcia, Justice Department, Marc Veasey, Nicole Collier, Ramon Romero, Salman Bhojani, Tarrant County, Texas, Tim O'Hare, voter suppression | 1 Comment

A tale of two elections bills

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. Texas lawmakers have voted to reverse an expensive state law requiring election officials to replace all their current vote-counting equipment with technology that doesn’t exist. An unprecedented mandate the Legislature passed in 2021, without fully realizing its … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Bob Hall, Bryan Hughes, Chris Turner, Election 2020, Election 2022, Election 2024, Electronic Registration Information Center, electronic voting machines, HD26, Jacey Jetton, Jane Nelson, John Bucy, Secretary of State, Texas, The Lege, voter registration, voter suppression, Williamson County | Comments Off

Tarrant County Dems seek Justice Department investigation of voting rights issues

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Elected officials who represent Tarrant County’s minority communities have asked the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to investigate County Judge Tim O’Hare and other county officials over concerns that their actions will diminish voting rights. The letter, signed by … Continue reading →

House passes bill to outlaw cities

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s not literally what this does, but it may as well be. In a major escalation of Republicans’ efforts to weaken the state’s bluer cities and counties, lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are advancing a pair of bills that would … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Brandon Creighton, Chris Turner, Dustin Burrows, Greg Abbott, local control, Senate, Texas, Texas Municipal League, The Lege | Comments Off

“Big boy pants”

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some hot Dutton on Patrick action going on here. Another partisan stalemate has broken out in the final days of the second special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott this year, again imperiling the jobs of 2,100 legislative staffers along … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, critical race theory, Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Greg Bonnen, Harold Dutton, line item veto, Senate, special session, Texas, The Lege, transgender rights, veto | Comments Off

Is it really a quorum?

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It is if no one is counting too closely. Texas House Republicans finally got their long-sought quorum Thursday — by the skin of their teeth. There were 99 members registered as present Thursday evening, the exact number needed to end … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Ana Hernandez, Armando Walle, Art Fierro, Chris Turner, Congress, Dade Phelan, Garnet Coleman, Jake Ellzey, James Talarico, Joe Moody, Leo Pacheco, Mary Gonzalez, quorum, Ron Reynolds, SCOTUS, Senate, special election, special session, Texas, The Lege, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

Still no Dems arrested yet

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Finally, a story that points out the same thing I’ve been saying about those arrest warrants. More than a week after Republicans in the Texas House voted to authorize arrests of their quorum-busting Democratic colleagues, no such roundup has come … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Celia Israel, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Jim Murphy, Jon Rosenthal, quorum, special session, Texas, The Lege, Vikki Goodwin | 4 Comments

Still no quorum, and no Dem legislators rounded up yet

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And I’m still not sure what exactly will happen when and if a law enforcement officer stumbles across one of the wayward legislators. The hunt for missing Democratic Texas House members escalated late Thursday and Friday, as the sergeant-at-arms and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Gina Hinojosa, Jasmine Crockett, Joe Deshotel, Jon Rosenthal, Justice Department, NAACP, quorum, Ron Reynolds, special session, Texas, The Lege, Vikki Goodwin | Comments Off

Supreme Court upholds Abbott’s power grab

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Texas Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from several Democratic House members and state employees asking the justices to overturn Gov. Greg Abbott’s veto of legislative funding in the upcoming two-year state budget. Abbott vetoed the funding … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Greg Abbott, line item veto, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, veto | 23 Comments

Meet the new special session

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Same as the old special session, at least at first. It appears likely that not enough Democrats will show up for the Texas House to conduct business when a second special legislative session convenes Saturday. Some of the more than … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Alma Allen, Ana-Maria Ramos, Attorney General, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, budget, Celia Israel, Chris Turner, Christina Morales, Craig Washington, Dade Phelan, Donna Howard, Eddie Rodriguez, Gene Wu, Gina Hinojosa, Greg Abbott, Jake Ellzey, James White, Jarvis Johnson, Jasmine Crockett, Jon Rosenthal, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Legislative Budget Board, line item veto, Liz Campos, Mary Ann Perez, Nicole Collier, quorum, Ray Lopez, Ron Reynolds, Senfronia Thompson, Shawn Thierry, special session, Supreme Court, Terry Meza, Texas, The Lege, Trey Martinez-Fischer, veto, Vikki Goodwin, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act | 3 Comments

Day 13 quorum busting post: Just a reminder, the voter suppression bill still sucks

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that in a minute, but first there’s this bit of business. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, signed a civil warrant for the arrest of state Rep. Philip Cortez, a San Antonio Democrat who rejoined his colleagues … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged absentee ballots, Andrew Murr, Bryan Hughes, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Diego Bernal, John Turner, Nicole Collier, Philip Cortez, quorum, Secretary of State, Senfronia Thompson, special session, Texas, The Lege, voter suppression, Williamson County | 3 Comments

Day 4 quorum busting post: You may have won a free trip home!

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think the Dems are going to claim this prize. The push to bring fugitive Texas Democrats back to Austin could be reaching new heights. House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday said he will charter a plane Saturday from … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Garnet Coleman, Joe Moody, Nicole Collier, quorum, Rafael Anchia, special session, Ted Cruz, Texas, The Lege, voter suppression | 5 Comments

Day 2 quorum busting omnibus post

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna round up a few stories here. Don’t know how often I’ll be this energetic, or how often there will be this many stories that I see that are worth commenting on, but it is Day Two. We’re just getting … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged abortion, bail, Bryan Hughes, budget, Chris Turner, critical race theory, Dade Phelan, Eddie Morales, Garnet Coleman, Greg Abbott, Joe Biden, Joe Manchin, John Turner, Jon Rosenthal, Killer Ds, Kyrsten Sinema, line item veto, Morgan Meyer, Odus Evbagharu, Penny Shaw, quorum, Rafael Anchia, redistricting, Rhetta Bowers, Ryan Guillen, Senate, Senfronia Thompson, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, Tracy King, transgender rights, veto, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Will Metcalf | 13 Comments

Quorum broken again

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives left the state Monday afternoon en route to Washington, D.C., in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Greg Abbott, line item veto, quorum, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, transgender rights, veto, voter suppression | 12 Comments

Here are your new SB7s

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the House. The Texas House is starting off on a new foot on the contentious elections proposal that blew up the regular legislative session. As a special session reviving the Republican-priority bill got underway Thursday, there were … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Andrew Murr, Bryan Hughes, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, DPS, Greg Abbott, Jessica Gonzalez, poll watchers, Secretary of State, Senate, special session, Texas, The Lege, voter registration, voter suppression | Comments Off

The response to the lawsuit over the line item veto

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I know, scintillating headline, but there’s plenty of action here. The state is defending Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent veto of legislative funding as a bipartisan group of former state leaders — as well as more Democrats — weigh in against … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged Bill Ratliff, budget, Chris Turner, Constitution, Dade Phelan, Greg Abbott, Jimmie Don Aycock, Joe Straus, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, line item veto, Lyle Larson, Pete Laney, Sarah Davis, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, veto | 4 Comments

Lawsuit filed over veto of legislative budget

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. And necessary. A group of Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers is asking the Texas Supreme Court to override Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent veto of a portion of the state budget that funds the Legislature, staffers there and legislative … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged AFL-CIO, budget, Chris Turner, Greg Abbott, James Talarico, line item veto, Rick Perry, Rosemary Lehmberg, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, veto | 2 Comments

Abbott follows through on veto of legislative funding

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So here we go. Gov. Greg Abbott followed through Friday on a threat to veto a section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies. The governor’s move targeting lawmaker pay comes after House … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, line item veto, quorum, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, veto | 4 Comments

The next voter registration project

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Necessary, but not sufficient. Texas Democrats’ takeaways from the 2020 election are clear: to take back our state from Texas Republicans, Democrats need to register more voters. With Republicans’ increasing extremism and relentless attacks on Texans this spring, the stakes … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged Carol Alvarado, Chris Turner, Election 2020, Election 2022, Nicole Collier, Project Texas, Rafael Anchia, Royce West, Senfronia Thompson, Sheila Jackson Lee, TDP, Texas, The Lege, voter registration, voter suppression | 3 Comments

The Trib adds on to the updated date rape drug story

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I was a little surprised when there wasn’t a Texas Tribune story about the revelation that the date rape drug allegation levied against a lobbyist turned out to have been fabricated. They’re usually pretty quick on stuff like that, even … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, DPS, HillCo Partners, Joe Pickett, sexual harassment, Tan Parker, Texas, The Lege, Travis County | 6 Comments

House passes its bill to limit Governor’s emergency powers

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure if this is going to make it through the Senate. The Texas House on Monday gave preliminary approval to a sweeping bill that would reform the governor’s emergency powers during a pandemic and involve the Legislature during such … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, coronavirus, Dade Phelan, Dustin Burrows, emergency powers, face masks, Governor, Greg Abbott, local control, quarantine, Senate, special session, Texas, Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute, The Lege, Tony Tinderholt | 11 Comments

Again with defining the Governor’s powers in an emergency

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The legislative process has begun, and I feel like we’ve already lost the plot. For roughly the past year, Republicans and Democrats have picked apart the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — and particularly how Gov. Greg Abbott has … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Carol Alvarado, Chris Turner, Constitution, coronavirus, Dade Phelan, Dan Patrick, Dustin Burrows, emergency powers, Greg Abbott, local control, Senate, special session, Steve Toth, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

The traveling Paxtons

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? While millions of Texans languished in their homes last week without heat, many of them racking up astronomical electricity bills, the state official in charge of consumer protection left to take an out-of-state trip. According to a campaign spokesman, … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Angela Paxton, Attorney General, blackouts, Chris Turner, coronavirus, ERCOT, Freeze 2021, Google, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Senate, Texas, Utah | 17 Comments

A few names begin to emerge for CD06

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos Elections: A special election will take place later this year to succeed Republican Rep. Ron Wright, who died Sunday after contracting COVID-19, and a few names have already surfaced in both parties as possible special election candidates. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged Beverly Powell, Bill Waybourn, Cary Moon, CD06, CD28, Chris Turner, Ciro Rodriguez, Congress, coronavirus, David Cook, David Hill, Election 1997, Election 2018, Election 2020, Election 2021, Frank Tejada, Jana Sanchez, Jeff Williams, Joe Barton, Ron Wright, special election, Stephen Daniel, Susan Wright, Tarrant County, Texas | 2 Comments

Will the Lege cut Ken Paxton’s budget?

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The first draft budget includes a significant cut, but it’s early days. Already under investigation by the FBI and facing calls to resign from both the left and the right, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton now has the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Google, Jane Nelson, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Paul Bettencourt, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 5 Comments

Speaker’s race? What Speaker’s race?

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that one of the three most powerful political offices in the state is on the ballot this November, even if it’s largely invisible to us. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson fielded a question last week that’s been on … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Paddie, Chris Turner, Craig Goldman, Dade Phelan, Dennis Bonnen, Donna Howard, Election 2020, Four Price, Geanie Morrison, James Frank, Jim Dunnam, Joe Moody, Joe Straus, Matt Krause, Oscar Longoria, Rafael Anchia, redistricting, Senfronia Thompson, Speaker's race, Texas, The Lege, Tom Craddick, Trent Ashby, Trey Martinez-Fischer | Comments Off

And so the re-reopening begins

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Are we really ready for this? Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that most of Texas will be able to loosen some coronavirus restrictions, including letting many businesses increase their capacity to 75%, as soon as Monday. Retail stores, restaurants and … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged antigen tests, Chris Turner, coronavirus, face masks, Greg Abbott, hospitals, local control, quarantine, Texas, Texas Department of State Health Services | 7 Comments

Interview with Rep. Chris Turner

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve done two interviews about redistricting so far, with both of them focused on the litigation aspect of it, which in turn had a focus on Congress. Today I want to pay more attention to the Legislature, which is not … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, Election 2008, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2020, HD101, redistricting, SBOE, Senate, Tarrant County, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

So how’s that reopening going?

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Well, there’s more of it. Gov. Greg Abbott announced his third phase Wednesday of reopening Texas businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing virtually all of them to operate at 50% capacity. That is effective immediately, and there are “very limited … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged Chris Turner, contact tracing, coronavirus, face masks, Greg Abbott, hospitals, Peter Hotez, quarantine, Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, Steve Toth, Texas | 11 Comments

A bipartisan equality bill

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the effort, but we can’t expect too much to come of this. Five Democratic and two Republican state legislators announced plans Wednesday to file a bill next legislative session that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in housing, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Attorney General, Chris Turner, coronavirus, Dan Patrick, economy, Election 2020, Election 2022, Garnet Coleman, gay rights, Governor, Greg Abbott, HD134, HD32, Jessica Gonzalez, Ken Paxton, Lite Gov, Rafael Anchia, Ray Perryman, Sarah Davis, Senate, Senfronia Thompson, Texas, The Lege, Todd Hunter, transgender rights | Comments Off

So now what with Bonnen?

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats will wait and see. On Thursday night, as Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s political fate continued to hang in the balance, some of the most influential Democrats were in El Paso for a town hall and were split on … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Celia Israel, Chris Turner, Dennis Bonnen, Donna Howard, Dustin Burrows, Election 2020, Empower Texans, Jeff Leach, Joe Moody, Justin Holland, Matt Shaheen, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Scott Sanford, Speaker's race, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

Our first look at how Engage Texas will operate

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting move. As people filed in and out of the massive driver license office in Southwest Houston on Tuesday morning, two workers at a tent affiliated with a conservative advocacy group asked if the passersby would sign a petition or … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Chris Turner, DPS, Election 2018, Election 2020, Engage Texas, Fort Worth, Harris County, Hurst, Texas, voter registration, Williamson County | 2 Comments

Time to investigate

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

So, hey, that conversation we now know Dennis Bonnen had with MQS? The subject of that conversation, which involved a quid-pro-quo access-for-political-activity proposal, may be a violation of house rules. So, the relevant committee will have a look-see to check … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Chris Turner, Dennis Bonnen, Election 2020, Empower Texans, Jason Villalba, Matt Krause, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Morgan Meyer, Nicole Collier, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Where goes the tax swap plan from here?

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the double down. Showing their usual united front, the state’s “Big Three” political leaders on Friday tried to remake their case for why the Texas Legislature should deliver on long-term, ongoing property tax relief before the session … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, constitutional amendments, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, Kirk Watson, Larry Taylor, Legislative Budget Board, property taxes, sales taxes, school finance, school finance reform, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

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