Tag Archives: Dade Phelan

Two out of three state leaders open to expanded gambling

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, two out of three ain’t bad, but it also ain’t enough. House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday left the door open to legalizing sports betting and casino gambling in Texas, the latest sign that opposition may be … Continue reading →

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The Lege does its housekeeping

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In the Senate, they drew their lots to see who would have to run again in 2024. It was the luck of the draw for Texas senators on Wednesday as they drew lots to decide which half of them would … Continue reading →

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HD135 election contest dismissed

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: This week, Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan dismissed the election contest filed by Mike May, the candidate who lost to Representative Jon Rosenthal in the 2022 election for house district 135. The case was dismissed … Continue reading →

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Dade Phelan easily re-elected Speaker

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

No drama, as expected. Texas House of Representatives members on Tuesday voted 145-3 to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to a second term as speaker — the most powerful position in the lower chamber. He defeated state Rep. Tony … Continue reading →

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Will we finally close the “dead suspect” loophole?

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The short answer is no we won’t, but it will be worth the effort anyway. In November, state Representative Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat who served on a committee that investigated the Uvalde killings, filed House Bill 30, a … Continue reading →

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Candidate who lost by 15 points files election contest

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Utterly ridiculous, and will hopefully be treated that way. A losing Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives is challenging his defeat and asking the Legislature to void the results of the election. Republican Mike May this week filed … Continue reading →

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We have already entered Speaker’s Race season

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And I’m already exhausted. State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, announced Friday he is running for speaker, challenging fellow Republican Dade Phelan. Tinderholt is one of the furthest-right Republicans in the chamber, and in a statement, he made clear he would … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems ask Paxton to release Uvalde info

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

He won’t, because he sucks, but you gotta ask. Nine Democratic members of the U.S. House from Texas on Tuesday called on Attorney General Ken Paxton to order the release of government records related to the May 24 school shooting … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of resistance to releasing information about Uvalde

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The City of Uvalde and its police department are working with a private law firm to prevent the release of nearly any record related to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two teachers … Continue reading →

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What was DPS doing during the Uvalde massacre?

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not much, it would seem. As many as 13 troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety waited in a hallway at one point during a gunman’s rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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If committees are all we’re going to get, then let’s get something from the committees

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not too much to ask, I hope. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced the creation of a legislative committee to investigate the Uvalde shooting. “The fact we still do not have an accurate picture of what exactly happened … Continue reading →

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The very least Greg Abbott could do

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You can always count on him for that. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday called on the Texas Legislature to form special committees to make legislative recommendations in response to the Uvalde school shooting. In a letter to House Speaker Dade … Continue reading →

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Republicans threaten businesses over abortion access

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

If you didn’t see stuff like this coming, you haven’t been paying attention. With Texas poised to automatically ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, some Republicans are already setting their sights on the next target … Continue reading →

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Fraudit funding

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bullshit all the way down. GOP leaders on Friday approved shifting $4 million in emergency funds for the Texas secretary of state’s office to create an “Election Audit Division” at the agency, which will spearhead county election audits as … Continue reading →

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House passes anti-trans sports bill

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Disgraceful. The Texas House approved legislation on Thursday that would restrict transgender student athlete participation in school sports, clearing a notable hurdle for supporters of the measure after similar legislation sailed through the Senate and stalled in the House three … Continue reading →

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House committee advances anti-trans sports bill

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They finally found a path to pass it. They sure put plenty of energy into it. A Texas bill prohibiting transgender student athletes from joining school sports teams aligned with their gender identity is heading to the full Texas House, … Continue reading →

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Sine die’d

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Special session 2.0 is over. And what a lousy thing it was. The Texas Legislature adjourned its second special session Thursday evening, ending a nearly 30-day stretch that was called to pass a GOP elections bill after House Democrats carried … Continue reading →

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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 →

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We have a quorum

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. For the first time in nearly six weeks, enough lawmakers were present in the Texas House on Thursday for the chamber to conduct business — opening the door for the passage of the GOP priority elections bill that prompted … Continue reading →

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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 →

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SCOTx confirms quorum-busting Dems can be arrested

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I thought this had been settled already, but I guess not. Texas House Democrats who refuse to show up to the state Capitol in their bid to prevent Republican lawmakers from passing a voting restrictions bill can be arrested and … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Alvarado’s filibuster ends

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was a strong effort, and she deserves credit for it. After 15 hours of speaking nearly nonstop against the GOP’s priority elections bill, State Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Houston Democrat, concluded her filibuster on Thursday morning. “Voter suppression anywhere … Continue reading →

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The Alvarado filibuster

Posted on August 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Wear comfortable shoes, Senator. The GOP voting restrictions push that left the Texas House scrambling to round up absent Democrats also shut down work in the Texas Senate on Wednesday evening as state Sen. Carol Alvarado launched into a filibuster … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court tosses no-arrest order

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Things just got more interesting. House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a state district … Continue reading →

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You can’t arrest the quorum-busters, at least not yet

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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UT/Trib poll: Abbott has the best of a bunch of weak approval numbers

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Same story, new chapter, Texas voters are split over whether they approve of Gov. Greg Abbott’s job performance, though he remains popular with Republicans and more popular among Texans than President Joe Biden, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas … Continue reading →

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