Tag Archives: The Lege

Can we get enough people vaccinated?

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to take a lot of work. In poll after poll, alarming numbers say they don’t plan to be inoculated with the vaccine, whose 95 percent efficacy rate in trials exceeded everyone’s expectations. It’s scientists’ nightmare: create one of … Continue reading →

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Is Greg Abbott now an obstacle for Texas Central?

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This Texas Monthly story suggests that maybe the answer to that question is Yes. Earlier this year, after six years of legal battles brought by property owners and local governments, the rail project finally looked to be chugging along. Texas … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Comparing to 2012 and 2016

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts I had meant to get to this last week, but SeditionPalooza took up too much of my time, so here we are. The intent of this post is to compare vote … Continue reading →

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One possible path for police reform in the Lege

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which oversees licensing of the state’s 102,000 police officers and jailers, could be in for a major overhaul, state officials hinted Monday morning. “This is the time to get … Continue reading →

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STAAR yes, school ratings no

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like this is where we were always headed. Texas public school students will still take the STAAR test this spring, but the state will not rate schools and districts based on their results, the Texas Education Agency announced Thursday. … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Natasha Ruiz” indicted

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, an update to the weirdest local election story of the year. A grand jury has indicted two Houston residents on election fraud charges, accusing them of orchestrating a phony candidacy of a woman that forced longtime state … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State Rep districts

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts We move now to State Rep districts, which is my usual currency since they provide complete coverage of the county with no partial pieces. You can also get a much more nuanced view of how things have … Continue reading →

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More about how the Lege will operate

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of questions to be answered. As the latest discussions over how the Texas Legislature should operate during a pandemic continue to surface, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told members of the Texas Senate this week that people wishing … Continue reading →

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2020 precinct analysis: Introduction and overview

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So I finally got a full canvass of the 2020 election in a nice and convenient spreadsheet form. I spent a fair amount of the Thanksgiving week doing what I usually do with it, to generate totals for all of … Continue reading →

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Will we get redistricting hearings?

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Please? Voting groups in Texas want lawmakers to open up the state’s redistricting process to the public before they redraw political boundaries next year. Public hearings are aimed at giving communities input in the process. But since the pandemic, those … Continue reading →

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Can we please not screw the schools right now?

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Really, we don’t have to do this. Across the Houston region and Texas, school districts that lost enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic are facing a drop in state funds starting in January if the Texas Education Agency or state lawmakers … Continue reading →

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How is the Lege going to operate?

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be an interesting session. In the most detailed public glimpse yet at how the 2021 legislative session might play out during a pandemic, the chair of the committee that handles administrative operations in the Texas House told … Continue reading →

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Counties of interest, part six: Central Texas

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 – Counties around Harris Part 2 – Counties around Dallas/Tarrant Part 3 – Counties around Travis Part 4 – Counties around Bexar Part 5 – East Texas We move on now to counties in Central Texas, which for … Continue reading →

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More on DPS and data protection

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A followup from the DMN about that data breach involving every drivers license number you’ve ever had. Some other states do not sell [drivers’ license] data, but Texas does. State lawmakers could change the law in their 2021 session. I … Continue reading →

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So now we start to prep for redistricting

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s gonna make for a long session, or more likely sessions. Wielding the map-drawing power will not be entirely painless for Republicans, who have seen their grip on dozens of state and federal districts erode since the last round of … Continue reading →

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More on police oversight boards

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ours in Houston isn’t very good. Some other cities do it better. We can learn from them. Houston’s police oversight board is the weakest among Texas’ five largest cities and suffers from “a complete lack of transparency and public reporting,” … Continue reading →

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I remain pessimistic about the chances of good voting bills passing

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story suggests that with Republicans doing well in the high turnout 2020 election, and with the emergency measures that were implemented to expand voting access, the odds of getting a bill passed to make some forms of voting … Continue reading →

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Our nanny state and vote by mail applications

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Paul Bettencourt purses his lips and wags his finger and is very disappointed in your county government. Republican state lawmakers have filed bills to codify the Texas Supreme Court decision that blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications … Continue reading →

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DPS needs to do better with data protection

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. You’ve been hacked. We’ve all been hacked. No one else has said it, but The Watchdog will. This is likely the largest and one of the more significant data breaches ever to hit Texans. About 27.7 million Texas driver’s … Continue reading →

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Remote learning has been hard for many students

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is a problem that I don’t think we’re prepared to deal with. Students across Greater Houston failed classes at unprecendented rates in the first marking period, with some districts reporting nearly half of their middle and high schoolers received … Continue reading →

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

Not everyone wants to skip the STAAR

Posted on November 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There are no kids in this group. Fourteen Texas school superintendents, including those leading Dallas, Fort Worth and Aldine ISDs, joined with several business and education advocacy organizations Thursday to voice support for continuing to give standardized tests to students … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Legislators call for no STAAR test this year

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me, and very fine by my kids. A bipartisan group of 68 Texas House representatives signed a letter calling on the Texas Education Agency to cancel the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam or at minimum … Continue reading →

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Texas Central once more gets to deal with the Lege

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They’re both farther along, and not as far along, as they might like heading into this session. Less than two months before the Texas Legislature begins its next session, the yearslong battle over a controversial high-speed rail project is expected … Continue reading →

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Please stop with the straight ticket voting anecdotes

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Either bring me some real data or leave these just so stories alone. Judging from Donald Trump’s unpopularity in Dallas County, Morgan Meyer and Angie Chen Button should have been doomed this November. Meyer and Button are the only two … Continue reading →

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A closer look at county races, Part 2

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Part One is here. As before, this is about taking a closer look at the counties where Democrats made gains from 2016. Collin County: Our reach may have exceeded our grasp, but it’s important to note that progress was made. … Continue reading →

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Who’s concerned about the state’s coronavirus spike?

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not Greg Abbott, or Dan Patrick, or Ken Paxton, that’s for sure. The Oregon governor is calling it a “freeze.” In New Mexico, it’s a “reset.” Across the country, state elected officials are frantically rolling back their reopening plans to … Continue reading →

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A closer look at county races, Part 1

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In this series of entries, I’m going to take a trip through the local election results pages on some counties of interest, to get a closer look at how they went this year and how that compares to 2016. We … Continue reading →

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A bill to ban no-knock warrants

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Probably won’t go anywhere, but well worth the effort. A bill pre-filed this week by state Rep. Gene Wu would ban no-knock warrants across Texas, marking the first major legislative response to last year’s botched drug raid that led to the deaths of … Continue reading →

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Harris County posts updated election results

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter: . That won’t affect most races, and it probably does not affect any Harris-County specific races. But if provisional ballots are like that statewide, it could affect larger, close elections. I’m particularly watching Chief Justice for the 14th … Continue reading →

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There’s a raft of pro-pot bills that have been filed so far

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And one formidable obstacle to them all, in the form of Lt. Gov. Dan “One Million Dollars!” Patrick. Texas lawmakers set a record with over 60 marijuana-related bills in 2019 — and this year, they’ve already introduced 11 measures that … Continue reading →

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Harris County reaches bike trail deal with CenterPoint

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Biking between bayous in Harris County is closer to reality, now that local leaders and the monopoly that manages local power lines have inked a deal. Harris County officials Tuesday approved an agreement between the county and CenterPoint Energy … Continue reading →

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More early data from State Rep districts

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Derek Ryan on Twitter: . President Trump won House District 74, a Democrat-held district in West Texas along the border, with 53.1%. He also won House District 31, a Democrat-held district in South Texas with 56.2%. — Derek Ryan … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead to 2022

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with the brain dumps, which are my post-election tradition. This is a collection of thoughts about the next big election, in 2022. As I said earlier, I take no position on the question of what effect the disparity in … Continue reading →

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What might the Lege do to make voting easier, or harder?

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I confess, I didn’t read most of this story about the various problems some people had in voting, and the various theories as to what was happening during voting, mostly because it contained way too many quotes from Jared Woodfill. … Continue reading →

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