Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

More birth control by mail options

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. “We want women to see us and say, ‘These are people who believe that if you want birth control you should have it,’” said Hans Ganeskar, co-founder and CEO of Nurx, a California-based site founded in 2015 … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s preemptive “sanctuary cities” lawsuit dismissed

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Wednesday dismissed the state of Texas’ lawsuit against Travis County and other defendants over the state’s new immigration enforcement law. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a pre-emptive lawsuit shortly after the bill was … Continue reading →

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Ethics, schmethics

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This little exchange says so much about our weak and insecure Governor. The fireworks began with a press conference called by GOP Rep. Sarah Davis, chair of the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics. Davis, flanked by both Democratic … Continue reading →

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Halfway through the session

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The House is doing House things, and that’s fine. Brushing aside concerns that they are not moving swiftly enough to enact Gov. Greg Abbott’s 20-point agenda, Texas House members opened the second half of the special session Wednesday with a … Continue reading →

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Republican voters are “meh” on the bathroom bill

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Texas Association of Business conducted surveys in five GOP-controlled legislative districts across the state the week of July 24th. “Texas business has long opposed the bathroom bill because it is unnecessary and will have significant negative … Continue reading →

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The economic impact of SB4

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It could be big. Representatives from Texas’ business, local government and higher education sectors argued Tuesday that the state’s new immigration-enforcement law, which is slated to take effect Sept. 1, could do billions of dollars in damage to the Texas … Continue reading →

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Dear business community: Dan Patrick is not your ally

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full Chron story about the latest group of business leaders to call for a stop to the bathroom bill. I want to focus on one key aspect of this: A week after police chiefs from Houston, San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Still more big businesses against the bathroom bill

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like there’s a strong, overwhelming consensus or something. Top executives of big oil companies and other major Houston firms and organizations on Monday weighed into the political dogfight over the controversial bathroom bill, calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to … Continue reading →

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Pushing the NFL Draft angle

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Every angle is going to be needed, and this is one that ought to speak to some folks. The Cowboys’ efforts to land the NFL draft and how it could be derailed by the legislative push for a bathroom bill … Continue reading →

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The bathroom bill would affect disabled people, too

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another problem caused by this harmful “solution”. As lawmakers this summer debate yet another controversial measure regulating bathroom use based on biological sex, disabled Texans say they — like many transgender men and women — believe the Legislature is … Continue reading →

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More on Jeffrey Payne

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib talks to the first declared Democratic candidate for Governor. The Tribune spoke to Payne about his ideas for the state and how he plans on building momentum ahead of the election to mobilize Texans. The following is an … Continue reading →

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House takes a different direction on trees

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Better than the Senate version, for sure. The Texas House added a potential wrinkle to Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda on Thursday, giving early approval to a bill that would allow property owners to plant new trees to offset … Continue reading →

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The bathroom bill in the House

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly good news here. Dangerous. Discriminatory. Chilling. Hurtful. Those are words used by House State Affairs Chairman Byron Cook to describe bathroom legislation headed to his committee in the Texas House in the coming days. The Republican from Corsicana said … Continue reading →

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Abbott versus the cities

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing story. If Gov. Greg Abbott has disdain for how local Texas officials govern their cities, it didn’t show in a Wednesday sit-down with three mayors who were among 18 who jointly requested a meeting to discuss legislation that … Continue reading →

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Law enforcement against the bathroom bill

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Add another group to an ever-expanding list. Police chiefs from three of the five biggest cities in the state gathered at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday to spurn proponents’ claims that such legislation is needed to protect privacy, arguing that … Continue reading →

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Senate has mostly completed the Abbott special session agenda

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to hit the highlights here because this stuff is happening quickly and often late in the day, but most of the Abbott 20-point special session agenda has been turned into bills that have as of this morning … Continue reading →

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War on local control update

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Example one: Sen. Craig Estes’ Senate Bill 18 would require cities and counties to get voter approval if they plan to spend a certain amount more than they did in a previous year. His bill ties such an election trigger … Continue reading →

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Anticipating the future bathroom-related litigation

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It will be a matter of when, not if, should a bathroom bill passes. [B]oth sides agree if any version of the bathroom bill becomes law, it will likely trigger a protracted legal battle that could have implications for the … Continue reading →

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Tom Wakely

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

As noted in the update and comments to Wednesday’s post about our first Democratic candidate for Governor, we now have a second such candidate, Tom Wakely. PDiddie brings word of Wakely’s announcement, which he made on Down with Tyranny, a … Continue reading →

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Mayors to Abbott: Don’t mess with our cities

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck getting through. Less than 24 hours after Gov. Greg Abbott blasted local government restrictions like tree ordinances as a threat to the “Texas brand,” city government leaders statewide are seeking a meeting with the Republican leader. “We would … Continue reading →

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Jeffrey Payne

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There’s at least one person who wants to run for Governor against Greg Abbott. Democrat Jeffrey Payne of Dallas says he’s going to try. “I love Dallas, and I love Texas.” Hours before Abbott’s announcement, Payne filed his paperwork at … Continue reading →

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Long read on the ongoing bathroom bill fight

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Daily Beast. Covers a lot of ground, some of which is familiar but quite a bit of which is new or at least additive. A small sample: Two bills, HB 46 and HB 50, have so far been … Continue reading →

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Special session starts today

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It was a good summer before now, but all of that comes to an end today. In the best case scenario, the sunset bills get passed and nothing else happens. I don’t know what will happen, but at least the … Continue reading →

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News flash: Businesses still hate bathroom bills

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

IBM hates them. As state lawmakers return to Austin for legislative overtime, tech giant IBM is stepping up its fight to defeat legislation it says would discriminate against children and harm its Texas recruiting efforts. In an internal email sent … Continue reading →

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This special session is going to be so much fun

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So much repressed hostility… Five days before the Texas Legislature is scheduled to open a special session, it is clear the relationship between the leaders of the House and Senate remains as strained as it was at the end of … Continue reading →

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Who will run statewide for the Dems?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For several statewide offices, it is unclear at this time who might run. Lillie Schechter, the new chairwoman of the Harris County Democratic Party, has watched in recent months as at least seven candidates have come through the doors of … Continue reading →

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There is trouble with the trees

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More to the point, there is trouble with the idea that municipal tree ordinances are somehow a bad thing, but that’s where we are, and it’s got some folks worried. More than 40,000 trees were lost to [Hurricane] Ike, according … Continue reading →

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Who wants to give Greg Abbott power over their health insurance?

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I sure don’t, but then I’m not the median voter in this state. The Senate Republicans’ health care plan would give governors virtually unchecked discretion over health insurance plans. In red states with governors hostile to health care expansion, such … Continue reading →

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Special session officially set

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves, it starts next week. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration for a special session of the Texas Legislature Monday, formally inviting lawmakers back to Austin to pass “sunset legislation” that will keep several key state agencies open. The … Continue reading →

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“America’s future is Texas”

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that long story in the New Yorker that everyone is talking about. It covers basically the entire legislative session with a bunch of preliminary background info, most of which is very familiar to all of us, so I’m just … Continue reading →

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Trump DOJ says all is swell with voter ID now

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Of course they do. Texas’ new voter identification law fully absolves the state from discriminating against minority voters in 2011, and courts should not take further action in a battle over the state’s old voter ID law, President Donald Trump’s … Continue reading →

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What West Texas can do to improve their schools

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an op-ed from the Statesman about one educator in West Texas who has had enough. My hero this week is Graydon Hicks, Fort Davis superintendent of schools. A West Texas publication published his open letter to Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

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Texas will turn over some voter info to Trump vote “fraud” commission

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Texas will hand over personal information of the state’s more than 15 million voters to President Donald Trump’s commission that is looking into voter fraud. Secretary of State Rolando Pablos said his … Continue reading →

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SB4’s day in court

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sparks were flying. Opponents of Texas’ state-based immigration law told a federal judge Monday that allowing the controversial measure to stand would pave the way for a nationwide police state where local officers could subvert the established immigration-enforcement powers of … Continue reading →

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