Category Archives: That’s our Lege

We’re going to vote on making an income tax double secret illegal

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s definitely time for sine die. Texas voters will decide in November if they want to bar the imposition of an income tax, following approval of the constitutional amendment by the state Senate on Monday. The Texas House had approved … Continue reading →

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Senate approves one medical marijuana bill

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A pleasant surprise. Marijuana advocates were handed an unlikely victory Wednesday after the Texas Senate advanced a bill greatly expanding the list of debilitating medical conditions that can legally be treated by cannabis oil in the state. Although the upper … Continue reading →

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A strange way to improve ballot access

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hard not to see partisan motives in this. A bill on track to reach Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk appears designed to make it easier for Green Party candidates and harder for Libertarian candidates to get on the Texas ballot in … Continue reading →

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Daylight Saving Time lives

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, thank goodness. A House-approved plan to stop Texans from having to change clocks twice a year and let them pick either daylight saving or standard time year-round is dead. On Monday, author Rep. Lyle Larson said he was “very … Continue reading →

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Sometimes, bad bills do die

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The calendar giveth, and the calendar taketh away. One of the the biggest priorities for Texas Republicans this session appears to be on the verge of legislative death. A series of bills that would broadly prohibit local governments from regulating … Continue reading →

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There’s always time for an attack on Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This one comes with an attack on local control, so it’s a twofer. Texas and its local governments would no longer be able to partner with abortion providers or their affiliates — even for services like sexual health education and … Continue reading →

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Bullet train dodges more bullets

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

More good news for Texas Central. The Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project dodged a bullet this week when lawmakers hashing out the state budget released their decision to strike a provision that could have delayed the project. A committee of Texas … Continue reading →

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So long, red light cameras

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Like ’em or not, they’re on their way out, barring a veto from Greg Abbott. The Republican-led push to rid Texas intersections of red-light cameras moved one step closer to becoming law after the state Senate signed off on a … Continue reading →

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Anti-Israel boycott law amended

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For whatever this is worth. Gov. Greg Abbott this week signed a bill into law that limits the scope of a controversial anti-Israel boycott law, just weeks after a federal judge temporarily blocked its enforcement in an ongoing First Amendment … Continue reading →

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SB9 clears House committee

Posted on May 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let the stalling tactics begin! The House Elections Committee voted Friday to advance a controversial election bill, setting up a race to get it onto the full chamber’s agenda ahead of bill-killing deadlines that start this weekend. The committee approved … Continue reading →

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So what’s happening with SB9, the vote suppression bill?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The big House committee hearing was on Wednesday. Filed in early March, Senate Bill 9 by Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes emerged as a priority for Senate leadership and first appeared to seize on bipartisan support for modernizing outdated voting … Continue reading →

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Undead “religious liberty” bill passes Senate

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Scott Braddock: On a vote of 19 to 12, the Texas Senate votes to advance the Holy Chicken Nugget bill to third reading #TxLege — Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) 6:32 PM – 15 May 2019 … Continue reading →

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House votes to raise smoking age

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This could happen. The Texas House voted Tuesday to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21, except for military personnel. Senate Bill 21 received preliminary approval from the lower chamber more than one month after the Senate approved … Continue reading →

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A tale of screwed cities

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my unofficial title for this legislative session. The interest group representing Texas cities used to be one of the most powerful legislative forces at the Capitol. This session, it has become the GOP’s most prominent adversary. Its members have … Continue reading →

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We could have had an excise tax on e-cigarettes

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

But then Greg Abbott got involved. At the urging of the nation’s biggest tobacco company, Gov. Greg Abbott launched a late-hour push to change Texas legislation creating a 10% state retail excise tax on e-cigarette and vapor smoking products. That … Continue reading →

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“What is dead may never die”, bad bills edition

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That nasty anti-LGBT bill that was killed in the House has been revived in the Senate. After LGBTQ lawmakers in the Texas House killed a religious liberty bill they feared could be dangerous to their community, the Texas Senate has … Continue reading →

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Bad bill alert: SB9

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’re a bit more than two weeks out from the end of this legislative session. It feels like it’s been pretty quiet, but perhaps that’s just in comparison to the last session when it was a nonstop fight over the … Continue reading →

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Revitalizing recycling

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. On Monday, bipartisan legislation designed to help offset the sapped demand for recyclables abroad cleared a final legislative hurdle at the Texas Capitol. Senate Bill 649, which passed the Senate last month on a 21-10 vote, cleared … Continue reading →

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Cable franchise fees

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember how the city of Houston had to lay off a bunch of workers to to close a $179 million budget deficit? Well, there’s more where that came from. The Texas House on Thursday approved legislation that would limit … Continue reading →

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Senate protects Confederate monuments

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I will never understand this. After nearly four hours of testimony and an emotional show of opposition from some legislators of color in the Texas Senate, the upper chamber approved Tuesday a bill that would expand protections for historical monuments. … Continue reading →

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Score one for the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Hours before a key deadline, Rep. Julie Johnson used a legislative maneuver known as a “point of order” to bump [a bill that LGBT rights advocates said would have perpetuated anti-gay discrimination] from the debate calendar. It’s now effectively … Continue reading →

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House passes a bail reform bill

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For what it’s worth. The Texas House gave an initial stamp of approval Thursday to a bill that addresses bail practices, which courts recently deemed unconstitutional in the state’s two most populous counties for discriminating against poor criminal defendants who … Continue reading →

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House passes two bills to expand medical marijuana use

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Bill Number One: The Texas House on Monday advanced a bill that would expand the list of debilitating conditions that allow Texans to legally use medical cannabis. House Bill 1365 would add Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease, muscular dystrophy, post-traumatic stress disorder, … Continue reading →

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Measles, schmeasles

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Eh, no biggie. With U.S. measles cases this year reaching historic levels since being practically eradicated nearly 20 years ago, a host of bills targeting vaccination policies in Texas don’t appear to be gaining traction in the Legislature. The U.S. … Continue reading →

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Once again with how the property tax system is rigged

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Your taxes are higher than they need to be so that large commercial properties can have lower taxes. As property owners across Texas receive their notices this month of their tax values, appraisers are bracing for another round of appeals … Continue reading →

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House passes bill to legalize fantasy sports

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, what do you know? The Texas House gave an initial stamp of approval Wednesday to a bill that would classify fantasy sports as games of skill, not of chance, that are therefore legal. House Bill 2303 by state Rep. … Continue reading →

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Still waiting to see if an anti-Texas Central bill passes

Posted on May 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still time, and anything can happen in the Lege, but so far it’s looking like Texas Central will make it through more or less unscathed. High-speed rail developers have been eyeing a 240-mile stretch of mostly rural land sandwiched … Continue reading →

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Senate passes scooter safety bill

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Texans could soon be banned from riding electric scooters along sidewalks in the cities where the divisive devices have recently popped up. The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would add that prohibition and require that scooter … Continue reading →

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One anti-worker bill made slightly less bad

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a bad bill, just not maximally bad. Republicans’ legislative efforts to ban cities from mandating benefits for employers’ workers took another twist late Wednesday night after a Texas House committee added protections for LGBTQ workers that the state … Continue reading →

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More action on the school finance/property tax front

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Tuesday: The Texas House gave preliminary approval to a priority property tax reform package Tuesday, teeing it up for negotiations with the Senate and impelling the upper chamber to act on an omnibus school finance measure. Together, the education … Continue reading →

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House votes to ease up a bit on pot

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a small step forward, but it’s a step forward. After a brief discussion, the Texas House gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would reduce the penalties for low-level possession of marijuana — a move lauded as a … Continue reading →

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School finance and property tax update

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. Blasting the Senate for taking a symbolic approach on school district taxes, a panel of House lawmakers heavily altered then approved the upper chamber’s version of priority property tax legislation late Thursday. And committee members pointedly included … Continue reading →

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A first attempt at regulating scooters

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A bill by Sen. Royce West may impose some rules on e-scooters. Under existing law, a city or county may prohibit the operation of a motor-assisted scooter on a street, highway or sidewalk if its governing body finds the prohibition … Continue reading →

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House liberalizes beer sales

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It was a bit of shenanigans, but all things considered that seems entirely fitting. The Texas House voted Thursday to extend beer and wine sales on Sundays and to let craft breweries to sell beer to go. Those new expansions … Continue reading →

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