Tag Archives: Attorney General

The law and the Early To Rise petition process

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Much has been made about the obscurity of the state law that allows for the petition process that the Early To Rise folks have followed to put an item on the ballot that would raise money for pre-K education in … Continue reading →

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Finally, the Early To Rise plan

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is what we’ve got after their presentation to the HCDE Board of Trustees on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Harris County School Readiness Corp. pitched its plan to expand early education at a five-hour gathering with wary trustees for the … Continue reading →

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Early To Rise submits its petitions

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From here it gets real. The Harris County School Readiness Corp., a new nonprofit led by business and civic leaders, is calling for a ballot intiative to levy a 1-cent-per-$100 tax through the Harris County Department of Education to generate … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Garcia endorses the Early To Rise campaign

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It makes sense that he would. The group attempting to get a 1-cent tax hike on the November ballot to bolster early childhood education programs got a hearty endorsement from Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Wednesday, and announced it … Continue reading →

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Abbott and CPRIT

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Things Greg Abbott Should Have Been Doing Instead Of Filing All Those Lawsuits Against The Obama Administration, But Didn’t Do department. In the more than four years he served on the state cancer agency’s governing board, Texas Attorney … Continue reading →

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How I would campaign against Greg Abbott

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve been following Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign kickoff, you’ve probably noticed that in addition to being light on substance, the Attorney General has been hitting his personal story hard, in an attempt to portray him as some kind of … Continue reading →

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CSCOPE still in scope

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Every once in awhile, whether they intend to or not, the SBOE does something worthwhile. The State Board of Education concluded its July meeting without providing further guidance as to whether Texas school districts continued to use lessons from CSCOPE, … Continue reading →

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We’ll always have Kinky

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like cicadas on a four-year cycle, he keeps coming back. Kinky Friedman doesn’t know if he’s ready to jump back into Texas politics. But the cigar-chewing humorist and musician — known for the black attire and cowboy hats he normally … Continue reading →

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Patrick and Williams keep squabbling

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just as a reminder that Senate Republicans don’t need Democrats to stir up trouble, here’s a flare-up of an earlier kerfuffle. Fire one. In a recent interview with The Texas Tribune, my colleague, state Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the … Continue reading →

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Smitherman says he’s in for Attorney General

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman is running for the 2014 Republican nomination for Attorney General, he confirmed to the Tribune. Public announcements via social media are planned for Monday. Smitherman told the Tribune he hopes to continue the … Continue reading →

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Reed for AG?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is one of the stranger “draft somebody” movements I’ve seen. A movement has been building among local Republicans over the past few months to encourage Susan Reed to run for state attorney general in 2014. Reed, the hard-nosed, four-term … Continue reading →

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Weekend legislative threefer

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you heard on Friday was Rick Perry stamping his feet if he doesn’t get his way. Gov. Rick Perry is warning state legislators that it could be a long, hot summer in Austin if they don’t pass his … Continue reading →

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Baby Bush ready to claim his birthright

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps we should just skip straight to the coronation once George P. Bush figures out what office he wants. George Prescott Bush is gearing up to run for a little-known but powerful office in a state where his family already … Continue reading →

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Is there more redistricting for Texas in the cards?

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The short answer is it depends. For the most part, Republicans are content to keep the interim map used for the 2012 elections — if the courts allow it. “I don’t sense a lot of anxiousness from either the state … Continue reading →

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Parties split on waiting for SCOTUS

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: Lawyers for the Justice Department and intervenors in the Texas voter ID case told the court yesterday that the court should put off consideration of Texas’ claim that section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional until … Continue reading →

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DRT vs OAG: OAG wins

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the Daughters of the Republic of Texas have conceded in the fight over how the Alamo has been maintained. In a news release Tuesday, the Daughters acknowledged recent troubles at the shrine and … Continue reading →

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DRT vs OAG

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like a little holiday week controversy. A blistering report released Tuesday by the Texas attorney general’s office outlines a long list of problems and dysfunctions in the past management of the Alamo by the Daughters of the Republic of … Continue reading →

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Patrick wants AG opinion domestic partner benefits

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta keep an eye on those tricky gays and the people who want to treat them as equals. State Sen. Dan Patrick on Friday asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office to issue an opinion on whether government entities that provide … Continue reading →

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AG shuts down bogus charity museum

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an extremely rare privilege to point out something of actual positive value done by our Attorney General. The doors will finally close on the Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio, a charity that raised millions of dollars under … Continue reading →

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Is the Amazon deal with the state legal?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman raises a great question about the settlement deal between Amazon and the state of Texas that will get the online retailer to start collecting sales taxes in Texas while forgiving back taxes the state says it owes. But … Continue reading →

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Bench slaps come in threes

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the tongue lashing they got from the DC Court in the voter ID preclearance trial, the Greg Abbott gang took fire from judges in two other cases recently. Trail Blazers has the highlights. First, some incredulity from … Continue reading →

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“Phantom” voters

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is a molehill, not a mountain. Sixteen small counties across Texas appear to have more registered voters on their rolls as of 2010 than qualified citizens of voting age – a phenomenon prompting conservative Washington, D.C., watchdog group to … Continue reading →

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More on those police “charities”

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Nice story in the Statesman about those law enforcement charities that call you for donations. The first time he got the call last year, Rodney Shaheen thought one of his children had been in a bad car crash. The name … Continue reading →

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Ames Jones resigns from the Railroad Commission

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We have our answer about how confident she was in her defense of that lawsuit. Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned from the Texas Railroad Commission on Monday to devote herself full time to running for state Senate District 25, she said … Continue reading →

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Sonogram lawsuit appeal

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state’s appeal of the injunction granted against the awful sonogram law was heard in court, but there’s no indication yet when the court will issue a ruling. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t … Continue reading →

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AG sues sham police charity

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has sued officials with the nonprofit Texas Highway Patrol Association and officials with a museum the association operates in San Antonio, claiming they have defrauded consumers by soliciting donations to help families of fallen … Continue reading →

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On voting rights

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Attorney General Eric Holder was in Austin last week to give a speech on voting rights and the things the Justice Department is doing to protect them. No, the location was not an accident. Giving his most expansive speech on … Continue reading →

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Margins tax lawsuit goes to Supreme Court

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Oral arguments for the lawsuit that claims the business margins tax is an unconstitutional income tax are being heard by the State Supreme Court this week. In a lawsuit filed in July, Allcat Claims Service LP , a Boerne insurance … Continue reading →

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Sonogram law still blocked

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas sonogram law, that was ruled unconstitutional before it could go into effect, will stay in legal limbo for the time being. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ordered the main provisions of the law were improper because they … Continue reading →

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TRO granted for redistricting plans

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The San Antonio panel this morning enjoined provisions of the Texas Election Code requiring counties to redraw precinct boundaries by October 1 and to issue new voter registration certificates to voters by December 6. The panel also enjoined … Continue reading →

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Beware the Texas Highway Patrol Association

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A public service announcement from Grits for Breakfast: This morning Grits received a solicitation phone call from a telemarketer who said he was from the “Texas Highway Patrol,” calling because “we’ve lost two troopers recently” and they wanted to “raise … Continue reading →

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Taking aim at the Voting Rights Act

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In responding to a petition by State Rep. Marc Veasey and State Sen. Wendy Davis to intervene against the state in its lawsuit to get the federal court to pre-clear the new maps, the Attorney General responded by saying that … Continue reading →

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AG rules Willingham case off limits for Forensic Science Commission

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The last shovelful of dirt is thrown. The Texas Forensic Science Commission’s investigation of the science used to convict Cameron Todd Willingham — executed in 2004 for an arson that killed his three children — may be at an end … Continue reading →

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Abbott takes his pro-pollution crusade to a new front

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is the sort of thing our Attorney General thinks is worth fighting for. Expanding on the push-and-pull between Washington and Texas on environmental regulation, the state’s attorney general has called federal regulations meant to cut greenhouse gases from auto … Continue reading →

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