Tag Archives: The Lege

Elections of interest elsewhere in Texas

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting has started for the special election runoff in HD118. Early voting began Monday in San Antonio to see who will replace former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, a two-term Democrat who resigned from Texas’ 118th district in August to … Continue reading →

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Texas takes its shot at Roe v Wade

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We were always headed in this direction. It was just a matter of when we were going to get there. Texas on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to keep in place a law that imposes a near-total ban on … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court redistricting has begun

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans are apoplectic. I have no sympathy. The two Republican Harris County commissioners say a proposal by Democrats to re-draw commissioner precinct boundaries will cut services and dilute the influence of conservative residents. The proposed map by Precinct 1 … Continue reading →

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Comings and goings

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading →

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Chick-Fil-A and the “heartbeat” lawsuits

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’d forgotten all about this. A case that’s before the Texas Supreme Court this fall could have strong implications for the future of the state’s newly adopted abortion ban, the most prohibitive in the nation. The suit relates to a … Continue reading →

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A long story about the bail industry

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Judges set bail, but it’s the bondsmen who decide how much a defendant pays to get out of jail. The long-held 10 percent standard — with defendants or their loved ones paying a tenth of the bail amount … Continue reading →

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Congressional map passes

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And so the work is done. The lawyers are warming up their engines as we speak. The Texas Legislature has signed off on new congressional districts that shore up the GOP’s dominance and yield little ground to the people of … Continue reading →

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First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading →

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Justice Department officially asks SCOTUS to halt SB8

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The stakes are clear. Now we get to see if SCOTUS has any respect for the law. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to take up abortion providers’ challenge to Texas’ near-total abortion ban sooner than the high court … Continue reading →

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The Lege may fail to enshrine Abbott’s max anti-vaxx order into law

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One bit of good news. Legislation intended to block any Texas entity, including hospitals and private businesses, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees has stalled out in the Senate with less than two days left in the third special legislative … Continue reading →

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Down to the wire for Congressional redistricting

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Time is running out in this session. Of course, there’s always the next session shudder. A redraw of the state’s congressional map to include a decade of population growth could be headed to last-minute backdoor negotiations after the Texas House … Continue reading →

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The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

All but the Congressional maps are done. They’re just plowing through it. The Texas Legislature is nearing the end of its work to incorporate a decade’s worth of population growth into new political maps — pressing forward with efforts to … Continue reading →

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The poisoned fruit of the anti-Critical Race Theory tree

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pass stupid, racist laws, get stupid, racist outcomes. A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students … Continue reading →

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Justice Department goes to SCOTUS over SB8

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The Biden administration will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop enforcement of Texas’ near-total abortion ban, according to a Friday statement from a U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson. Courts have pingponged back and forth on the law’s … Continue reading →

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House passes anti-trans sports bill

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Disgraceful. The Texas House approved legislation on Thursday that would restrict transgender student athlete participation in school sports, clearing a notable hurdle for supporters of the measure after similar legislation sailed through the Senate and stalled in the House three … Continue reading →

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The Constitutional amendments

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember how in odd numbered years there are some number of constitutional amendments to vote on in November? This is the one thing that guarantees you have a reason to turn out regardless of what your city or school … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit does the expected with the SB8 appeal

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Was it ever in doubt? Texas’ near-total abortion ban can continue to be enforced while the law’s constitutionality is decided, a panel of federal appellate judges ordered late Thursday. The three justices of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Vote No on Prop 3

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, there are Constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall. Most of them are pretty innocuous, but one of them is not, and you should vote No on it. Proposition 3, on this year’s ballot, would enact a constitutional amendment … Continue reading →

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House approves its map

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting close to the finish line. The Texas House on Wednesday approved proposed political boundaries for the lower chamber’s 150 districts that aim to fortify Republicans’ strength in the state House for the next decade. House Bill 1, authored … Continue reading →

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Justice Department files its brief with the Fifth Circuit

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. They’re going to need a lot of it. The Biden administration urged the courts again to step in and suspend a new Texas law that has banned most abortions since early September, as clinics hundreds of miles away remain … Continue reading →

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HD118 runoff on November 2

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Should help a bit with turnout, I guess. Better than some random day in January, anyway. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that Nov. 2 will be the date of the special election runoff to replace former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, … Continue reading →

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An overview of abortion attitudes in Texas

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the Texas Politics Project: Since the political rise of the pro-life movement in the 1990s, it’s often been suggested that elected Republicans were less seriously committed to banning abortion than their public pronouncements may have conveyed. The rationale behind … Continue reading →

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For now, some Texas women can travel to other states for abortions

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. The new Texas abortion ban has spurred a flood of women traveling sometimes hundreds of miles to access the procedure in neighboring states. The law, which prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and calls for lets private citizens … Continue reading →

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We wait until at least Tuesday for a chance at justice with SB8

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Friday temporarily allowed Texas’ near-total abortion ban — the strictest in the nation — to again be enforced after freezing a federal judge’s temporary block of the … Continue reading →

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State appeals SB8 restraining order to Fifth Circuit

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure they expect the usual room service from the appeals court. It’s just a matter of how quickly they can get it. Texas asked a federal appeals court Friday to step in “as soon as possible” to restore the … Continue reading →

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Senate passes Congressional map

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Start the litigation countdown. Yes, I know, this still has to pass the House, but still. The Texas Senate approved a map Friday that would largely protect incumbents in Congress while reducing the number of districts in which Black and … Continue reading →

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Federal judge blocks SB8

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some justice for now, but we’ll see how long it lasts. A federal judge temporarily blocked Texas’ near-total abortion ban Wednesday as part of a lawsuit the Biden administration launched against the state over its new law that bars abortions … Continue reading →

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House committee advances anti-trans sports bill

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They finally found a path to pass it. They sure put plenty of energy into it. A Texas bill prohibiting transgender student athletes from joining school sports teams aligned with their gender identity is heading to the full Texas House, … Continue reading →

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If in Texas you can’t get justice…

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

…Try somewhere else. An abortion provider in Texas took the unusual step Tuesday of asking a federal judge in another state to declare unconstitutional the six-week-ban on the procedure that took effect last month in Texas. Lawyers for Dr. Alan Braid, … Continue reading →

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House committee advances revised map

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More changes sure to come. A Texas House committee on Tuesday voted out a revised draft to redraw the lower chamber’s districts, which will give Republicans stronger positioning in the House of the Legislature for the next decade. The committee … Continue reading →

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The Senate returns to its usual crap

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What an absolute disaster our state’s upper chamber is. The Texas Senate began work Monday on two Republican voting bills that have uncertain futures — one raising criminal penalties for illegal voting and another that got a recent boost from … Continue reading →

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SCOTx denies Planned Parenthood emergency request

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise, I suppose. The Texas Supreme Court denied a request Monday from Planned Parenthood to resume its lawsuit, filed in a state district court, that challenges the state’s near-total abortion ban. Planned Parenthood asked the all-Republican court last … Continue reading →

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One more lawsuit against Texas’ voter suppression law

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Mi Familia Vota: Non-profit civic engagement organization Mi Familia Vota, along with individual voters, filed suit today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio seeking to block a new voter suppression … Continue reading →

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The Women’s March, the next generation

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I look forward to a day when these aren’t necessary, but in the meantime I am grateful to all who cared enough to participate or were there in spirit. A crowd of more than 10,000 turned out Saturday in downtown … Continue reading →

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