Tag Archives: The Lege

The TEA takeover has begun

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

At least the suspense is over. That’s the extent of my optimism about this. State education leaders notified the Houston Independent School District on Wednesday that they are resuming the process of stripping all power from the district’s elected school … Continue reading →

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Founder of that voter roll maintenance program that election denialists hate has stepped down

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure this will calm everyone down and restore the faith everyone once had in this program. Right? David Becker, an election law advocate who helped create the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), is vacating his position on its board … Continue reading →

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The latest obsession of election denialist crackpots

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

You may want to sit down before you read this. In virtual meetings taking place over a year, right-wing activists and Republican legislators have stoked concern over a multistate coalition that Texas and more than 30 other states use to … Continue reading →

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The Lege still doesn’t want to pay for Paxton’s whistleblower sins

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Who can blame them? Now midway through the legislative session, Paxton and state lawmakers are at a standstill, and taxpayers are caught in the middle. Lawmakers have so far declined to include the settlement money in any budget bills, while … Continue reading →

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Chron story on Fair For Houston

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Local advocates have launched a petition drive aimed at increasing the city’s voice on the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a 13-county regional planning council that has been criticized by Houston leaders for what they consider unfair federal fund allocation. Consisting of … Continue reading →

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The next frontier in forced birth litigation

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is truly wild, and potentially very scary. A Texas man is suing three women under the wrongful death statute, alleging that they assisted his ex-wife in terminating her pregnancy, the first such case brought since the state’s near-total ban … Continue reading →

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Chron story on the anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. A bill that would reshape future legal battles over Texas’ public beach boundaries is stirring backlash from advocates and former state leaders, who claim the proposal would give beachfront property owners the green light to vacuum up … Continue reading →

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HISD ends lawsuit against TEA

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A formality at this point. The Houston Independent School District board voted on Thursday night to end its lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency, effectively ending the district’s legal fight against an attempted state takeover.  The motion passed with support of eight of the … Continue reading →

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The whistleblowers’ un-settlement

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Plot twist! The whistleblowers who sued Attorney General Ken Paxton say they’re headed back to court unless he agrees that the Legislature must approve their proposed $3.3 million settlement before the current legislative session ends in May. They are the … Continue reading →

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Wheatley’s fate

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We may learn today of the TEA’s intentions with HISD. Whatever does happen, let’s remember that in the end this will affect a lot of people, and some of them are not happy with the position they’ve been put in. … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Shall” versus “may”

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing touches on a subject I’ve mentioned before. As concerns grow about the Texas Education Agency ousting the Houston Independent School District’s elected board, a question with major practical and political implications has emerged: Are state officials legally mandated … Continue reading →

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The forced-birth zealots target the Internet

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to be an alarmist, but we live in a time and a place where stuff like this has to be taken seriously. A proposed state law in Texas would force Internet service providers to block websites containing information … Continue reading →

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One small gun loophole may get closed

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Take your wins where you can find them. Texas lawmakers are working to plug a gap in a 2009 law that was meant to keep people with a history of serious mental health issues from legally acquiring firearms. Bipartisan legislation … Continue reading →

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Five women harmed by Texas’ anti-abortion law file a lawsuit over it

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this ought to be interesting. Five women who say they were denied abortions despite grave risks to their lives or their fetuses sued the state of Texas on Monday, apparently the first time that pregnant women themselves have taken … Continue reading →

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Bills filed to stop the TEA takeover of HISD

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Feels too late to me, but it can’t hurt to try. State senators have filed the first bill to soften the law that triggers school district takeovers. State Sens. Carol Alvarado, Borris Miles and John Whitmire filed Senate Bill 1662 in response to the threat of … Continue reading →

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The past history of TEA takeovers

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As of Monday afternoon there’s still no word from the TEA about the fate of HISD, so while we wait we ponder what history can teach us. Assuming that history doesn’t contain anything gay or CRT-related so we’re allowed to … Continue reading →

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What does Florida have against bloggers?

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

These are the questions we must ask ourselves these days. Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register … Continue reading →

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So is there anything that can be done to derail the TEA takeover?

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Probably not. I mean, I really appreciate the engagement and the passion, but we’re at the end of the road here, a road that started almost six years ago. Sometimes you just run out of things to do. With time … Continue reading →

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Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not much one can say in this position. Superintendent Millard House II said it’s business as usual in the state’s largest school system until the Texas Education Agency pulls the trigger on its rumored takeover plan. He used the start … Continue reading →

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Are there more parks like Fairfield Lake out there?

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, there are others, but most are not likely to go away any time soon. We hope. Recent news that Texas’ Fairfield Lake State Park is closing to make way for a new upscale gated community raised a question: How … Continue reading →

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Former Land Commissioners oppose anti-Open Beaches bill

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Among coastal states Texas is unique. The 1959 Texas Open Beaches Act (TOBA), as well as time-honored common law and tradition in existence since long before 1959, provides that Texas beaches are open to the public. In … Continue reading →

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So it looks like that TEA takeover of HISD is going to happen

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Mayor Sylvester Turner sounded alarm bells Wednesday when he announced that he has heard from multiple sources that the state intends to take over Houston ISD as early as next week. “I’m talking to legislators, and what they’re saying … Continue reading →

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So about that DPS delay in notifying the victims of the credential stuffing attack

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their explanation. [DPS Director Steve] McCraw said DPS officials kept the news under wraps to avoid jeopardizing the agency’s investigation, including efforts to arrest the fraudsters who organized the scheme. The explanation came in response to questioning from state … Continue reading →

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DPS victimized by credential stuffing attack

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the technical term for this. The Texas Department of Public Safety was duped into shipping at least 3,000 Texas driver’s licenses to a Chinese organized crime group that targeted Asian Texans, DPS Director Steve McCraw told a Texas House … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We do need more felony courts

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good start. County officials are considering adding new district courts and making more room for detainees in an effort to reduce to county’s court backlog and alleviate overcrowding at the Harris County Jail. During Commissioners Court on … Continue reading →

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Lege targets Harris County election administrator

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We knew something like this was coming. House and Senate bills filed by Republican lawmakers in response to Harris County’s mismanagement of its recent elections could give the Texas secretary of state the authority to step in, suspend county election … Continue reading →

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Actually, we could have saved Fairfield State Park

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Well, well, well. State officials passed up an offer to save Fairfield Lake State Park this month, just days before the Texas parks department celebrated its centennial, according to newly uncovered text messages. The 1,821-acre park sits on land the … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds remain protected from prosecution

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, in the kind of world where this is needed at all, for now. A federal judge issued a favorable ruling for Texas abortion funds, indicating they likely cannot be criminally charged for helping people travel out of state … Continue reading →

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A bigger House

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Proposals like this come along every few years. The size of the House of Representatives hasn’t kept up with population growth for a very long time—in fact, it hasn’t even tried to—but one congressman has a solution. Democratic Rep. Earl … Continue reading →

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The Denton experience with marijuana decriminalization

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a challenge. Four months after a majority of voters approved Proposition B, Denton’s misdemeanor marijuana decriminalization ordinance continues to be a difficult issue for city staff to implement completely, according to City Manager Sara Hensley on Tuesday. Hensley, … Continue reading →

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In support of Crystal Mason

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hoping for the best. The same month Tarrant County officials announced the creation of an election integrity task force, a group of 14 bipartisan prosecutors threw their weight behind an effort to acquit the woman at the center of a high-profile … Continue reading →

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Paxton makes his plea to the Lege

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s more accurate to say that one of his assistants pleaded for him while he mostly sat silent, but whatever. Days after the Texas house speaker openly opposed using taxpayer dollars to settle a whistleblower suit against Attorney General Ken … Continue reading →

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Why should Ken Paxton’s whistleblowers suffer for his sins?

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question their lawyers ask in a DMN op-ed. The whistleblower suit is currently pending at the Texas Supreme Court on appeal of an esoteric argument made by the attorney general. Recently, the Office of the Attorney General and … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit again takes Paxton off the hook for testifying in abortion funds’ lawsuit

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like deja vu all over again. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not have to testify in court as part of a lawsuit over whether abortion funds can help people access the procedure in states where it’s still legal. … Continue reading →

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