Tag Archives: The Lege

Virginia Supreme Court hears redistricting challenge

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was redistricting day in court. The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the legality of a constitutional amendment voters approved last week that allows Democrats to implement a more favorable congressional map ahead of the midterm elections. … Continue reading →

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Thankfully, a lot of those recent forced birth lawsuits are crappy

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They have a key thing in common, beyond the misogynist zealot lawyer who runs them. Jerry Rodriguez appeared to be a deeply aggrieved man—the victim of a scheme orchestrated by his girlfriend’s domineering ex-partner to “murder” not one, but two, of … Continue reading →

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Unelected HISD Board votes to fire HISD union leader

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

What the hell are we doing here? Houston ISD’s appointed board of managers voted Thursday to terminate a teacher union leader even though an independent hearing examiner initially recommended that the district reinstate the longtime educator. All six members who … Continue reading →

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Virginia approves its new Congressional map

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that plan to hold onto the Republican majority in Congress going? In yet another loss for president Trump and his floundering gerrymandering blitz, Virginia voters approved a Democratic-led redistricting measure on Tuesday that will likely give Democrats four additional congressional … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows Ten Commandments law to be enforced

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They do what they always do. Texas can enforce a state law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A 9-8 majority of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Mike Miles’ money maker

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff from the Observer. Houston ISD pays its state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, a base salary of $462,000, and the district also gave him a bonus of $173,660 approved by its state-appointed board in September. Yet, all along, the leader … Continue reading →

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Camp Mystic again ordered to not touch flood-damaged cabins

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is always so hard to read about. A state district judge has ordered Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp where 27 people died during last summer’s deadly flood in the Texas Hill Country, not to alter, demolish, repair or … Continue reading →

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AI and prediction markets need to be kept out of elections

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Ain’t gonna happen this year, though. Artificial intelligence and prediction markets have opened new frontiers in Texas politics, but one expert said the growth of platforms like ChatGPT and Polymarket is far outpacing legislative efforts to limit their impact on elections. It’s … Continue reading →

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Court blocks changes to Historically Underutilized Business Program

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Travis County district court judge granted a request for a temporary injunction to block the latest rule changes to the state’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program. The injunction reverts HUB program back to its original regulations, but the … Continue reading →

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House Dems fined for most recent quorum break

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not the end of the story. A committee of the Texas House of Representatives voted late Friday afternoon to impose financial penalties totaling nearly $422,000 on Democratic House members who broke quorum last August to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from … Continue reading →

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Sorry, but data centers don’t need those tax breaks

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Let them pay their taxes. Texas will lose out on at least $3.1 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. That … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp ban paused

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

For now. A Travis County district judge has temporarily lifted a statewide ban on the sale of natural smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, until at least April 23. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the Texas … Continue reading →

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Feds aim to screw Colony Ridge residents in their settlement

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Totally on brand. In December 2023, the U.S. Justice Department sued a Texas land developer it accused of duping tens of thousands of Hispanic residents into predatory mortgages, a landmark case for the Biden administration. Colony Ridge, which sold plots … Continue reading →

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A brief history of May regular elections in Harris County

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there is a special election on May 2 in SD04, which happens to be the uniform election date in May for 2026. We are not accustomed to voting in May in Harris County, especially not in even-numbered … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over ban on smokable hemp

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and … Continue reading →

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We have our first real voucher loophole

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not the last. A Florida-based virtual school could receive Texas taxpayer funds through the state’s new $1 billion private school voucher program, despite provisions in the law meant to block out-of-state schools from joining the program. State records show … Continue reading →

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Using AI to ban books

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

And also to review books that have been challenged. The AI vendors want a piece of the action either way. Conservative parents’ advocacy groups have been experimenting with using commercially available artificial intelligence tools to help them flag more books … Continue reading →

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Harris County files amicus brief in lawsuit over the Historically Underutilized Business Program

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County filed an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs in Ipsum General Contractors, LLC, et al. v. Kelly Hancock, et al., urging the court to restore the State of Texas’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program and halt recent … Continue reading →

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Vouchers are for white private school kids

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Shocking, I know. Most of Texas’ school voucher applications come from white families and children who previously attended a private school or home-school. The Texas comptroller’s office, which manages the program, released preliminary data before applications for families interested in … Continue reading →

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No more smokable hemp

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

You can still smoke what you already have, though. Smokable hemp products are effectively illegal in Texas starting today as new rules on cannabis compounds take effect. The rules, adopted by the Department of State Health Services, mark the most sweeping change … Continue reading →

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Schools in flood zones

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t good. Nearly 400 Harris County schools could move to higher-risk flood zones, according to new maps released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The new maps dramatically expand Harris County’s 100-year and 500-year floodplains, moving hundreds of schools and other … Continue reading →

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That’s one way to promote growth

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

But don’t expect it to happen. The study ordered last week by House Speaker Dustin Burrows to examine whether Texas could actually gobble up some of the counties on the eastern rim of New Mexico has some political figures seeing … Continue reading →

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Four HISD schools achieve some separation from Mike Miles

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This seems like a good thing. They all wanted it, I don’t see any quotes from opponents in the story. Am I missing something? Four of Houston ISD’s most prestigious magnet high schools will have new outside managers, after the … Continue reading →

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From the “Don’t run if you don’t intend to try” department

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is all so dumb. Kelly Hall and his co-worker were playing the video game “Call of Duty” in the office of their Austin towing company, waiting for customers, when his friend turned his attention to another television. The election … Continue reading →

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Spring ISD hoping to avoid HISD’s fate

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck, y’all. Spring ISD has just a few more months to turn around a struggling high school or risk a state takeover of the entire district — but school leaders are optimistic that early test scores show improvements. After four … Continue reading →

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So how do first responders handle autonomous vehicles?

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This story raised more questions than it answered for me. A viral image from the March 1 shooting in downtown Austin — an autonomous vehicle blocking an ambulance from reaching the scene where a gunman fatally wounded three people and … Continue reading →

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SCOTx allows intrusive data requests against PFLAG

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Texas Attorney General’s Office can require LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG to turn over documents related to an investigation into medical care for transgender minors. The court overturned a previous … Continue reading →

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Ivermectin 4Ever

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I got nothing. MaryJo Perry raises animals on her property outside of Jackson, Miss., and uses ivermectin to treat her cattle. To her, the drug is as familiar, safe, cheap and effective as vitamins: “We’ve been using it on the … Continue reading →

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When hand counts go wrong

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There are supposed to be consequences for this. But will there be? Calhoun County finished submitting its primary election results to the state Friday morning after county Republicans, who hand counted their primary ballots, missed a deadline in state law … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Comptroller’s anti-minority business program shenanigans

Posted on March 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Four business owners and a trade association sued the state of Texas on Monday, seeking to reverse acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s emergency rules altering a state program intended to give additional exposure to economically disadvantaged groups in government contracting. … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court reaffirmed in a new ruling on Wednesday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on the 2026 primaries

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have full turnout numbers yet, but as of Wednesday some 363,826 votes were cast in the Democratic primary for Senate in Harris County, while there were 197,389 votes cast on the Republican side. About 140K votes were cast … Continue reading →

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A few followup items from Tuesday

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is officially my favorite story from the primaries. Texas congressional candidate Vince Shlomi, known as the “ShamWow guy,” is suing the Republican Party of Texas, accusing it of “rigging” the primary after he says the party removed his nickname from the … Continue reading →

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2026 primary results: Harris County

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Going to bullet point this one, with updates to come later, as most Election Day votes are still out as I write this: – Christian Menefee and Al Green appear headed to a runoff in CD18. Menefee had a sizeable … Continue reading →

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