Category Archives: That’s our Lege

How the hemp industry wooed Greg Abbott

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting stuff here, and a reminder that some things are eternal. Colton Luther, a 29-year-old from Houston who hosts the cannabis podcast “Puff and Prosper,” isn’t your typical Austin lobbyist. But in July, Luther sat across from Gov. Greg … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A brief note about a poll

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This poll. Only one-third of Texas voters approve of the GOP-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional map, according to a recent statewide poll, which found that independent and Democratic voters overwhelmingly opposed the mid-decade redistricting and would rather give … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THC vape pens are now illegal

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For those who need to know. Vapes containing THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8 [are now] illegal to sell in Texas […] under a law passed earlier this year. Senate Bill 2024, while narrower than efforts to outlaw all … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Summer Willis Act

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Too much of what we got from the Legislature this year was garbage. Wingnut Republican priorities are the only things that really matter to them, and we got a lot of it. But some decent things made it through, and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The Summer Willis Act

The latest abortion news

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here. The Texas Senate passed new bounty hunter-style abortion legislation Wednesday night to quash mailed abortion pills, targeting a method that has slipped through the cracks of abortion bans and contributed to the slight rise in the total number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The latest abortion news

Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of jokers. Efforts to overhaul local emergency response to disasters failed after the Texas Senate concluded its business early Thursday without taking up the House’s version of a bill that would have mandated new training and licensing … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Ivermectin for everyone!

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? The Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make ivermectin — a drug used mostly in this country to treat livestock for parasites — available to Texans without a prescription. The latest legislative action moves … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ivermectin for everyone!

Camps oppose floodplain restriction

Posted on August 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I gotta say, I’m not sure who they think will be sympathetic to this. Leaders of three Kerr County youth camps wrote to Texas House lawmakers Friday opposing legislation that would prohibit the state from licensing camps with cabins in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What the Lege has done since redistricting

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of headlines to ponder, now that the redistricting bill has been signed. Texas House greenlights ‘bounty hunter’ abortion pill ban Texas House OKs transgender bathroom ban after years of GOP attempts Yep, definitely doing the hard work … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What the Lege has done since redistricting

STAAR to be replaced with even more tests

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so glad my kids have graduated. The Texas House on Tuesday greenlit plans to scrap the STAAR test, clearing a path to replace the state exams with three smaller ones given throughout the year. The plan passed, 78-58, over … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on STAAR to be replaced with even more tests

The Alvarado filibuster

Posted on August 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. State Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston plans to filibuster the House-passed redistricting map during floor debate on Friday in a last-ditch effort to delay passage of the plan to create five new winnable seats for the GOP. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Alvarado filibuster

House passes redistricting bill

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I was going to put this as the last item in the earlier post, but I didn’t want to change that post’s title and I also didn’t want to gloss over that this happened. We knew it was going to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Beto scores a win against Paxton

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. An El Paso judge this week temporarily stopped Attorney General Ken Paxton from prosecuting former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s political group, Powered by People, after Paxton moved to block the organization from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Beto scores a win against Paxton

And they’re back

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Quorum time again. Texas House Democrats announced they would return to Austin Monday, ending a two-week walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage. “We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on And they’re back

The “Faux Faculty Senate”

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I love this bit of resistance, as I deplore the reason for it. In response to Texas’ crackdown on faculty governance, two University of Houston professors are pushing back by creating their own “Faux Faculty Senate” to give faculty a … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The private school grift is gearing up

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What happens when you spend a billion taxpayer dollars with no oversight and no accountability? We’re about to find out. For about eight years, a Houston private school has followed a unique pattern when appointing members to its governing board: … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Special Session 2: [Insert dumb sequel name here]

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As promised/threatened. With the Texas House still frozen by Democrats’ absence from the state, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called a second special session to begin less than two hours after the Legislature gaveled out the first overtime round. The … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The end (of the quorum break) is near

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And getting nearer. The House Democrats who fled Texas to block GOP redistricting appear likely to return in the coming days, according to a press release they issued Thursday. The caucus said its members will return if Republicans follow through … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The end (of the quorum break) is near

Everything happens on Tuesday

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when I said yesterday that there was still no quorum and not much had happened? That was then, this is now. The Supreme Court will take its sweet time in deciding on those quo warranto filings to expel … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Still no quorum

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sitting here waiting for the Supreme Court to take up those ridiculous quo warranto actions by Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton and have been hesitant to start writing something for fear that I’ll have to trash it and start … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Comparing the districts

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As I write this on Sunday, there’s a lot we don’t know about how this saga ends. I feel confident saying that at some point there will be a quorum and a new map will be passed. Beyond that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A win for cottage foods

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nice to know that at least one good thing came out of the regular session. Bee Boyd slid on a baking mitt, fittingly decorated with bees, before pulling open the oven door. They took a quick glance at the puffy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A win for cottage foods

Quorum break Day 5 roundup: Help an ideological enemy out?

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows are asking an Illinois court to enforce arrest warrants against Democratic lawmakers who have left the state to delay passage of a GOP-backed congressional map. Burrows issued civil arrest … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Quorum break Day 4 roundup: So what is the FBI doing?

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody knows. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced that the FBI has granted his request to investigate and locate the Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an attempt to stop the passage of new GOP-favored congressional maps. A spokesperson … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Quorum break Day 4 roundup: So what is the FBI doing?

Quorum break Day 3 roundup: Of course there’s a bomb threat

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose something like this was inevitable. Texas House Democrats in Illinois to block GOP redistricting were evacuated from their hotel Wednesday morning due to a bomb threat, lawmakers and local police said. A press conference scheduled for 12:30 p.m. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Operation Lone Star boondoggle

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Money, money, money… Maverick County Attorney Jaime Iracheta works in a freshly refurbished, wood-paneled office with a matching desk and leather couch set. He holds meetings in a video-equipped conference room and drives to work in a heavy-duty Chevy Silverado … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Quorum break Day 2 roundup: Paxton hauls out a big threat

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He seems destined to fail, but we’re going to go through the motions anyway, I guess. Attorney General Ken Paxton will ask for a court ruling declaring vacant the seats of any lawmakers who are not back to work by … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Quorum break Day 2 roundup: Paxton hauls out a big threat

State House Dems break quorum

Posted on August 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on. Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday in a bid to block passage of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year, raising the stakes in what’s poised … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Hill Country flood hearings

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Brutal. Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator acknowledged Thursday that he was ill and asleep when rain inundated the Hill Country community early July 4. Will Thomas told lawmakers during a legislative hearing in Kerrville that his wife woke him at … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Q&A on redistricting

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From Bolts Magazine: The Texas legislature began meeting in a special session last week to adopt a new congressional map that will, they hope, provide additional seats to the GOP in next year’s midterms. On Wednesday, Republicans released a draft … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friday redistricting roundup

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take a moment and pour one out for the real victims of the proposed Congressional redistricting, Texas’ Republican Congressional incumbents. Democrats aren’t the only ones who won’t be happy with the way Texas Republicans on Wednesday proposed redrawing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

And just like that we have a map

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That sure was fast. Good thing all those hearings are over. Texas GOP lawmakers released their first draft of the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, proposing revamped district lines that attempt to flip five Democratic seats in next year’s midterm … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments