Tag Archives: Rick Perry

Senators versus TCEQ

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If there were a competition for the most toothless (least toothful?) state regulatory agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) would surely be a contender for the title, most likely along with the Texas Ethics Commission. It’s gotten bad … Continue reading →

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House budget conferees announced

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Elise Hu names names. State Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, House Appropriations Chairman State Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Webb, House Appropriations Vice-Chair State Rep. Ruth Jones-McClendon, D-San Antonio State Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Houston Give credit to Burka … Continue reading →

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I hate you! Please help me!

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I hate you! [Governor Rick] Perry will moderate a forum Monday on President Barack Obama’s first 100 days. Expect more talk about out-of-control Washington spending, says spokesman Mark Miner, with much time spent listening to people at the Dallas-area stop … Continue reading →

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Busy day yesterday

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There were a lot of bills passed yesterday by one chamber or the other. My mailbox is full of press releases touting them. I’m going to go ahead and print them beneath the fold as a roundup. A few bills … Continue reading →

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Perry’s ongoing war on the unemployed

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You have to say this about Governor Perry: He never goes off message, no matter how ridiculous that message may be. Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday re-stated his opposition to legislation that would allow the state to accept federal stimulus … Continue reading →

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It would be OK with me if all those who favor it decide to leave

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I ask a question about secession. Is that really what the GOP base is about these days? I get an answer. Do you think Texas would be better off as an independent nation or as part of the United States … Continue reading →

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Everyone has an opinion on Kay and Rick

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former Congressman Martin Frost thinks Rick Perry has a good shot at winning his primary against Sen. Hutchison. Perry, who won with less than 40 percent in a four-way general election field in 2006, is not popular with the general … Continue reading →

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Sometimes the clock is your friend

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said many times by now that the slow pace of this legislative session will threaten the prospects of many a bill. In some cases, that’s a good thing. After months with little or no action, Texas lawmakers are stirring … Continue reading →

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Another chance to slap the Governor

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege has had a few opportunities to express its opinion about Governor Perry and his “leadership” this session. Passing the unemployment insurance bill, inserting the budget amendment that would strip funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund in the event … Continue reading →

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Texas secession: Views differ

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Rick Perry has found his audience for secession talk: Ron Paul Nation. If you don’t feel like sitting through that (can’t say I blame you), Bud Kennedy gives the capsule review: [Paul calls] secession “very much an American … Continue reading →

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Keep your eye on the ball, Tom

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: So how does a former ambassador gird for a possible battle with the ever-black-hatted, cigar-chomping Kinky Friedman for the Democratic nod for governor? Campaign honchos who faced the finger-in-the-eye-of-the political-establishment candidate in … Continue reading →

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Senate passes SB1569, but may not be able to override a veto

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate passed SB1569, the bill that accepts stimulus funding for unemployment insurance, by a 19-11 vote today. As Elise noted on Twitter, two Senators flipped to No for final passage; one other Senator was either absent or did not … Continue reading →

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House passes budget, slaps Perry

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Chris Turner, on Twitter: At 3:56 am, the House unanimously passed the budget. Believe it or not, that was earlier than was originally anticipated. The pregame chatter was that the House would have to reconvene today to finish … Continue reading →

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“With Brinkley and Huntley describing contrapuntally the cities we have lost”

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Be careful what you vaguely allude to in a plausibly deniable way in front of a frothing crowd that knows exactly what you’re talking about and is loving every word of it” department: Rasmussen: “75% [of Texans] Opt … Continue reading →

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Stem cells and the budget battle

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Other than voter ID, we really haven’t had a big fight in the Lege this session. Burka thinks Sen. Steve Ogden’s scurrilous stem cell rider could be the next big brawl. The Ogden rider is not in the House bill, … Continue reading →

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Senate approves stimulus funds for unemployment insurance

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Senate tentatively approved Sen. Kevin Eltife’s bill to change the state’s unemployment laws so that Texas can accept an estimated $555 million in federal stimulus dollars. […] Eltife’s bill was supported by 22 senators and opposed by … Continue reading →

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Perry walks back secession talk

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the sun rises in the east, so do politicians who say stupid things revise and extend those remarks afterward when people start asking them questions about what they really meant. And so it was the case with Rick Perry, … Continue reading →

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Perry says “Look at me!”

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In advance of yesterday’s teabag-a-rama, Governor Rick Perry made a successful ploy for a little national attention. WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY Tue Apr 14 2009 08:44:54 ET AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. … Continue reading →

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Extending Medicaid

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas likes to bill itself as a business-friendly state. But there’s one thing that a lot of businesses want that the Republican leadership has been unwilling to entertain, and that’s to make Medicaid renewals an annual event instead of every … Continue reading →

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UI update

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The headline says it all: GOP holds key to unemployment stimulus dollars. Against the wishes of Gov. Rick Perry, lawmakers are pressing ahead with efforts to claim $555 million in federal economic stimulus money for unemployment benefits. With all of … Continue reading →

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Court issues injunction against DPS over drivers license rules

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

A district court judge has suspended the new drivers license rules implemented by the Department of Public Safety pending a civil trial on the grounds that DPS didn’t have the authority to do what it did. The rules prevent thousands … Continue reading →

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Taking taxation aversion to its logical extreme

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story just boggles my mind. Think traffic congestion is bad now? Wait until 2012. That’s when Texas’ highway fund — which relies on a motor fuels tax that hasn’t been raised since 1991 — will be out of money … Continue reading →

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The Ike Dike

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This certainly sounds like a promising idea. Protecting the region from a hurricane’s storm surge, says William Merrell of Texas A&M University at Galveston, is simple: Extend Galveston’s seawall to the island’s West End, build a similar structure along Bolivar … Continue reading →

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Oh by the way, the unemployment trust fund is going broke

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Floor Pass has the bad news. The Texas Workforce Commission released its latest projection for the unemployment insurance trust fund balance, and the news is even worse than last month’s. TWC estimates the fund’s balance will have plummeted to just … Continue reading →

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House panel passes its budget

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The House Appropriations Committee takes care of business. House budget writers today backed a $178.4 billion, two-year state budget that would give a $1,000 bonus to state government employees [who make less than $100,000 a year], retired teachers and retired … Continue reading →

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Two immigration stories

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry writes a letter to the Department of Homeland Security. Perry asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week to take a series of steps to improve information-sharing between federal, state and local law enforcement. The Homeland Security-related issues … Continue reading →

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House passes veto override resolution

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised that this got taken up so (relatively) quickly, but not at all surprised that it passed. The House today passed a measure that would allow Texas voters to decide whether to allow the Legislature to override … Continue reading →

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Senate committee passes unemployment insurance reform

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think, after all the high-profile squabbling over stimulus funds for the unemployment insurance trust fund, that the news of SB1569‘s advancement in the Senate might get a bit more notice than this, but apparently not. The only other story … Continue reading →

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Innocence, exoneration, and compensation

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen all of the stories about inmates being freed from jail in Texas after however many years inside, the result of DNA evidence proving they could not have committed the crime for which they were convicted. But what happens … Continue reading →

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“Play to extinction”

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In my previous post on gambling, in which I presented the economic case for “racinos” as made by the racetracks, I alluded to the moral case against gambling. Bringing moral arguments into political discussions is fraught with pitfalls, but sometimes … Continue reading →

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Senate panel approves budget

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Lege has one task they absolutely must do every biennium, and that’s pass a budget. The Senate Finance Committee has taken its first step towards doing that. A two-year state budget that accepts federal stimulus money … Continue reading →

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Redistricting commission advances

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know about Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s biennial efforts to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission for Texas. On Monday, those efforts advanced forward a step. By a vote of 21-10, senators approved Senate Bill 315 that would create the nine-member commission … Continue reading →

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Meet Tom Schieffer

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Real good interview by BOR’s Todd Hill with prospective Democratic candidate for Governor Tom Schieffer. I’ve said before that while I’m glad to see a Democrat with some stature take steps towards the Governor’s race, Schieffer is a big unknown … Continue reading →

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Not everybody isn’t hiring

Posted on March 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The downturn in the economy has created an opportunity for the Houston Police Department to bolster its ranks. A year ago, the Houston Police Department could barely muster enough recruits to fill a 70-seat academy class. Now with 1,000 applicants … Continue reading →

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