Tag Archives: Senate

Sheriff Gonzalez approved by Senate committee

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We are one step closer to needing a new Sheriff. The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday advanced the nominations of two Texans tapped by President Joe Biden to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Census Bureau. While San … Continue reading →

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Big XII visits the Lege

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something to do, anyway. As the University of Texas prepares for a jump from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, state lawmakers are working to determine how the move will affect the rest of the state — and … Continue reading →

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The march for voting rights

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good work, but it can’t be the end. Saturday marked the third time in as many months that former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke has headlined a voting rights rally at the Texas Capitol, as Democrats hope to keep momentum with … Continue reading →

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Day 17 quorum busting post: Testify

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, Ms T. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson described to a U.S. House committee on Thursday occasions in 2010 and 2012 when white Republican poll watchers showed up at a Houston polling place where she and many other Black … Continue reading →

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UT and OU make it officially official

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Smell ya later, Big XII. After a week of speculation, the University of Texas at Austin announced Tuesday that alongside the University of Oklahoma it has asked to join the Southeastern Conference starting July 1, 2025. The news came a … Continue reading →

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Some legislators want to keep UT out of the SEC

Posted on July 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is kind of hilarious. As the college athletics world roils over the possibility of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 conference, a group of Texas legislators with ties to other universities in … Continue reading →

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Day 9 quorum busting post: See you in August

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your endgame, more or less. Texas House Democrats will not return to the state until after the special session of the Legislature is over, one of the leaders of their walkout confirmed Tuesday. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San … Continue reading →

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Abbott preps another shot at trans kids

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What an asshole. Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he was preparing to take action to restrict transition-related medical care for transgender minors in Texas after legislation to do so failed during the regular session. “I have another way of achieving … Continue reading →

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The DACA ruling

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A federal judge in Texas ruled Friday that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that allows certain immigrants to temporarily avoid deportation and receive renewable work permits, is illegal and ordered the Biden administration to stop granting new … Continue reading →

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Day 3 not as long omnibus quorum busting post

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s jump right in… Who’s paying for Texas Democrats’ trip to DC? Beto O’Rourke has already raised $400K. Beto O’Rourke’s political action committee has raised nearly half a million dollars to support Texas Democrats’ escape to Washington, D.C., he said … 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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Senate Republicans advance their anti-trans sports bill

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There were enough of them on the committee to have a quorum by themselves, so they did the thing that they do. Legislation that would limit transgender students’ participation in school sports advanced out of a Senate committee on Monday after … Continue reading →

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Bad bail bill 2.0

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This was also happening over the weekend. Days into a short legislative session, Texas lawmakers are moving quickly to pass a GOP priority bill that would make it harder for some people who have been arrested but not convicted to … Continue reading →

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The Lege has its voter suppression hearings

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

People showed up to say something about it, that much is for sure. Hundreds of Texans lined up at the state Capitol on Saturday for their first opportunity during the special legislative session to testify before lawmakers over the renewed … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Gonzalez gets a confirmation hearing date

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s nomination to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 15, the committee announced Wednesday. President Joe Biden nominated Gonzalez to lead … Continue reading →

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State House takes a step toward reinstating legislative funding

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but it’s just a first step. Texas lawmakers are moving swiftly to reinstate funding for the Texas Legislature, vetoed last month by Gov. Greg Abbott, that affects the salaries of more than 2,100 employees across several state agencies The … 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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Sen. Jane Nelson to retire

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More changes coming. State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, announced Monday she is not running for reelection. Nelson has been the top budget writer in the Senate and is the most senior Republican in the chamber. “It has been a … Continue reading →

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First post-legislative session voting rights lawsuit filed

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not the last. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, a Latino civil rights group and a voting rights group say a bill signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week that prevents Texans from using a commerical … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Everyone’s waiting on Beto

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pardon me while I brew myself a cup of tea and stare meaningfully out the window. Texas’ Republican statewide primaries are heating up as challengers emerged in recent weeks for both Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. But … Continue reading →

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They’re coming back

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Gov. Greg Abbott has set a special session of the Texas Legislature starting July 8, his office announced Tuesday. Abbott’s office did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda and said in … Continue reading →

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You can announce any time now, Beto

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sunday at your rally would have been a good time, but honestly I’m not too picky about that. About three weeks after Texas Democrats staged a dramatic walkout to temporarily kill a GOP-led voting restrictions bill, dozens of the party’s … Continue reading →

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Why the push for casinos failed

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long story with a detailed answer to what is honestly a straightforward and easy to understand question. In its effort to bring casinos to Texas, Las Vegas Sands — the gaming empire started by the late Republican megadonor … Continue reading →

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The Texas Dem legislators and the push for federal voting rights legislation

Posted on June 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We know this happened. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday pointed to Texas Republicans’ push for sweeping new voting restrictions as a key illustration of the need to restore federal oversight of elections. While meeting at the White House with … Continue reading →

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Juneteenth

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. And a little bit surprising. But very cool. As soon as U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee heard that the U.S. Senate had passed legislation on Tuesday making Juneteenth a federal holiday, the Houston Democrat said she began pushing … Continue reading →

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State Rep. James White not running for re-election

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, has decided not to seek reelection, he told East Texas TV station KLTV in a roundtable with lawmakers. And he hinted to another news station that he’s … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The median districts

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading →

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Betsy Price to run for Tarrant County Judge

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t usually pay much attention to county races outside the Houston area, but there are some points of interest to discuss about this. Outgoing Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price is running for Tarrant County judge in 2022, attempting a … Continue reading →

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From the “Oops, how did that get in there?” department

Posted on June 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how the final version of SB7, the one that emerged from behind closed doors in conference committee, had a provision in it that would have made it a lot easier to overturn the result of an election via legal … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State House districts 2020, part 2

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading →

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Buckingham to run for Land Commissioner

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the sound of opportunity knocking. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, is set to run for land commissioner, according to two sources familiar with the decision not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Buckingham has made calls to potential supporters … Continue reading →

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We go to the next freeze with the power grid reform we have, not the power grid reform we wanted

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is, and what it is isn’t much. Texas lawmakers on Sunday passed a final proposal to shore up the state’s power grid in response to this year’s deadly outage crisis, agreeing on a raft of reforms … Continue reading →

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No limits imposed on Governor’s powers in an emergency

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. The state Legislature won’t curtail Gov. Greg Abbott’s pandemic powers, after members of the House and the Senate failed to hash out their differences over it. The measure, House Bill 3, was priority legislation in the … Continue reading →

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More on the post-quorum break fallout

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story mostly centers on the perspective of the Black legislators during the SB7 fight, and it’s a good read for that, but I want to focus on this bit here: While the legislation in the Senate partly targeted … Continue reading →

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