Good. Legislation allowing Texas drivers to prove their insurance coverage with a wireless communications device is on its way to the governor after winning final approval from the Senate on Thursday. The measure by Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, would bring Texas in line with six other states that already enable drivers to prove insurance coverage [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Glenn Hegar’
Is this the end for the Railroad Commission?
For the name, I mean, not the Commission itself. After 40 minutes of discussion about a bill that would rename the Railroad Commission of Texas and make other significant changes to the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, the Senate passed the measure Thursday with a 21-0 vote. Senate Bill 212, carried by [...]
Bad ideas never die
And so we find ourselves once again talking about tax breaks for yacht buyers. From capping the sales tax on yachts to phasing out the state business levy, some lawmakers are pushing for tax breaks even as others say the system is already riddled with too many special-interest exemptions. The breaks are most often cast [...]
January finance reports for area legislative offices
Just to complete the tour of semiannual finance reports, here’s a look at the cash on hand totals for area legislators. First up, the Harris County House delegation. Patricia Harless, HD126 – $308,221 Dan Huberty, HD127 – $69,058 Wayne Smith, HD128 – $218,425 John Davis, HD129 – $99,962 Allen Fletcher, HD130 – $46,559 Alma Allen, [...]
The state takes a stand against fish fraud
Rest easy, fellow Texans. The scourge of fishing fraud has been dealt a heavy blow by the Legislature. Fraudulent fishermen better reel it in. The Senate passed a bill [last week] to make cheating in a fishing tournament up to a third-degree felony, sending the measure on to the governor. HB 1806 expands existing law [...]
Outdoors legislative update
This is about the time of year when Shannon Thompkins, the Chron’s outdoor sports writer, devotes a column to what’s going on in the Legislature with bills that are about outdoor activities. I always look for them because he writes about bills that I may not have heard about. Here’s this year’s effort, which not [...]
Senate says “good-bye” to Railroad Commission
Something like this has been talked about for a long time, now we’ll see if it actually happens. The Senate approved a bill [Monday] that would change the name of the Railroad Commission to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission and reduce the size of the commission from three elected members to one elected commissioner. [...]
More on worker’s comp fraud
Elise Hu has a followup to her story from last week about worker’s comp fraud and the lack of investigation of same. It seems she attracted the attention of the Lege. “My primary concern is patients getting improper treatment — things that are going to end up hurting them or getting them hooked on painkillers,” [...]
Sealy’s uncertain future
After BAE Systems officially lost the Army truck deal, the city of Sealy and the surrounding Austin County are pondering what the effect will be. The impending loss or transformation of its largest employer will have a staggering effect on Sealy, stripping away jobs and tax revenue and stunning business owners and residents who know [...]
Special session speculation
We all know that the Lege adjourned without finishing all its business. A lot of people are speculating there will need to be a special session to deal with it. At this time, Governor Perry is not one of those people. Gov. Rick Perry said today he didn’t rule out calling a special session to [...]
Red light camera ban appears dead
So says the Star-Telegram, which has been the go-to source for these stories. A final version of legislation restructuring the Texas Department of Transportation is not expected to include a ban on red-light cameras or a local option provision allowing county elections to raise money for road and rail projects, lawmakers said Saturday. Members of [...]
The Senate TxDOT sunset bill is not the House TxDOT sunset bill
As we know, the massive House sunset bill for TxDOT, HB300, contained a boatload of amendments that greatly altered the original bill, including one that would make TxDOT a 15-member elected commission and one that would have outlawed red light cameras. As I suggested, however, the Senate version of this bill would look quite a [...]