Tag Archives: John Carona

Microbreweries win their distribution rights lawsuit

Excellent news. A Texas law that prohibits brewers from selling territorial rights to distribute their beer is unconstitutional, a judge ruled Thursday, serving up a major victory to beer companies seeking to expand their presence in stores, bars and restaurants … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Microbreweries win their distribution rights lawsuit

Beer legislation 2.0

Just because craft brewers succeeded in passing a bill allowing them to sell beer for consumption on their premises last session doesn’t mean there isn’t more that can be done to advance the cause of beer freedom. Twinned bills introduced … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trying again with online voter registration

My State Rep., Carol Alvarado, would like for you to be able to register to vote online. Can I just state the obvious? Why can’t we register to vote online? I manage my banking online, I do my taxes online, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Microbreweries file lawsuit over distribution rights

Interesting. Three Texas breweries filed a lawsuit against the state on Wednesday seeking to to overturn a 2013 law they say violates the Texas Constitution by forcing them to give away their territorial distribution rights for free. In their complaint, … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Microbreweries file lawsuit over distribution rights

Chron overview of the AG race

Couple of interesting tidbits in here. A tea party darling with a dozen years in the state Legislature, Sen. Ken Paxton has avoided the media since admitting to a third-degree felony violation of state securities law in late April. Spokesman … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chron overview of the AG race

The Senate is likely to get stupider again

The cause. The Texas Tech University System Board of Regents officially named state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, the sole finalist to be the system’s next chancellor in a press release issued Monday afternoon. Duncan is expected to start in his … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Primary results: Legislature and Congress

The big news on the Democratic side is the close loss by longtime Rep. Lon Burnam in HD90, who fell by 111 votes to Ramon Romero Jr. I know basically nothing about Rep.-elect Romero, but I do know that Rep. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A preview of the next beer battle

Texas microbreweries are now officially selling their wares on premise. Woo hoo! In business for nearly 19 years, Saint Arnold Brewing Co. sold its first cold one directly to a customer [in June], thanks to a new law liberalizing the … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A preview of the next beer battle

What we missed by not getting a payday lending bill

Better Texas Blog reminds us of what could have been SB 1247, the omnibus reform bill filed by Sen. John Carona … included the ability to repay standards, loan limits, and refinance limitations, among numerous other provisions. According to the … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Patrick involved in another Senate squabble

Must be something in the water. A powerful Republican urged the Senate last week to strip a plum committee chairmanship from a GOP colleague who voted against the state budget, six senators said Friday. Chief Senate budget writer Sen. Tommy … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Taking back the Texas Senate

Colin Strother says the Democrats should not overlook opportunities to make gains in the upper chamber of the Legislature. The conventional wisdom is that Democrats need a miracle to pick up any single seat, much less turn the chamber Blue. … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Craft beer bills pass the House

Hallelujah! A raft of bills that would dramatically alter the way beer is sold and consumed in Texas sailed through tentative approval from the House on Friday after a lengthy and disputatious process between brewers and beer distributors. If finally … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Payday lending prospects look grim in the House

From the Observer: Late into the night on Monday, the payday loan industry strutted its stuff before a very friendly House committee. The hearing came just a week after the Senate passed a surprisingly tough bill that the industry insists … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Improved payday lending bill passes the Senate

Good news, if it goes anywhere. The Texas Senate approved a bill to regulate short-term lenders on Monday night, a milestone some thought the chamber wouldn’t reach after a personal and divisive floor fight on Thursday. But with the measure’s … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

That’ll just about do it for gambling this session

Sen. Carona calls the chances “slim”, but it sounds like slim just left town to me. [Sen. John] Carona, chairman of the Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee, said last week he expected to vote his sweeping gambling bill out of … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on That’ll just about do it for gambling this session

Division over the payday loan bill

Quite a heated little fight in the Senate yesterday. An ugly scene erupted in the Texas Senate today, with Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) suggesting that some of his Republican colleagues were “shills” for the payday loan industry and worrying that … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on the potential Coushatta casino

The Houston Press cover story from last week is about the Alabama-Coushatta tribe’s efforts to get a casino again. It covers a lot of the same ground as that Chron story I blogged about on Sunday, but it also reminds … Continue reading

Posted in Jackpot! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on the potential Coushatta casino

Senate to consider expanded gambling

I didn’t really take it seriously when I heard that Sen. John Carona had filed his own gambling expansion legislation, but it seems it’s got some traction. A proposal from Dallas Republican Sen. John Carona would establish a commission that … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Somewhat improved payday lending bill passes Senate committee

I still don’t think it’s good enough. Breathing new life into a proposal that was doomed by the opposition of consumer groups only last week, a Texas Senate committee approved strengthened legislation Tuesday that imposes restrictions on the payday loan … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Payday lending legislation may go nowhere

I can’t say I’m surprised, since Sen. John Carona’s most recent version of a payday reform bill was not met well by advocates for consumers and the poor. Among other things, Carona’s proposal would limit the maximum size of loans … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Payday lending legislation may go nowhere

Craft beer bills pass out of the Senate

A good day indeed. The Texas Senate voted Monday to give craft brewers and brewpubs new opportunities to sell their beer. “To see that happen was amazing,” said Scott Metzger, a San Antonio brewpub owner who worked with other brewers, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

It’s good to be a payday lender

Bleah. Earlier this legislative session, a chief of staff for a senator noted that the $4 billion Texas payday and auto-title loan industry would soon grow powerful and lucrative enough that the Texas Legislature would be unable to take it … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why do we give tax breaks to country clubs?

As you know, I’ve talked before about sunsetting tax expenditures. Sens. John Carona and Rodney Ellis have filed a bill to require a periodic review of the many exemptions, exceptions, and other special cases in the tax code, with the … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gambling interests narrow their focus

This is usually how it goes. Let Texans Decide, a pro-gambling organization that is fronted by former state Sen. John Montford, was aligned at the beginning of the 2013 legislative session with big casino interests in a call for full-scale … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Craft beer legislation advances

Moving forward. Legislation authorizing the most significant changes in 20 years to the way beer is bought and sold in Texas passed a key Senate committee Tuesday with broad support. Under terms of the bills, Houston’s Saint Arnold and other … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on sunsetting tax expenditures

I say again, this is a good idea that really needs to happen. The Texas tax code is rich with tax breaks. There are tax breaks for industries relocating to the state and for anyone with an Internet connection. Tax … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Craft beer bills get their hearing

From the Trib: The Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday acted as legislative referee over bills that would allow craft breweries to sell on their premises and self-distribute in Texas, but critics said the legislation would hurt the state’s … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I knew all this beer harmony couldn’t last forever

We have some legislative beer controversy on our hands. Texas brewers would lose a potential source of capital and some flexibility in negotiating sales under a bill before the state Senate. The Texas Craft Brewers Guild immediately opposed the legislation, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here come the craft beer bills

From Brewed and Never Battered. Senator Kevin Eltife (R-District 1) introduced bi-partisan legislation along with Co-Authors, Senators Brian Birdwell (R-District 22), John Carona (R-District 16), Eddie Lucio (D-District 27), Leticia Van de Putte (D-District 26), Kirk Watson (D-District 14), and … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sunsetting tax expenditures

Sens. John Carona and Rodney Ellis have the right idea. Over the past 18 months, many of our constituents told us they have trouble finding a reliable, accurate and up-to-date source of information on these tax breaks, exemptions and special … Continue reading

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What does it mean to be a “craft” beer?

The Chron has a Q&A with beer aficionado Jenn Litz that raises an interesting question. Q: How are the major breweries responding to the craft beer trend? A: Mostly through the acquisition route. They know the milliennials are drinking craft, … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The payday lenders won’t go without a fight

Where there’s a fight, there’s sure to be lots of money. Payday lenders were big spenders in the most recent Texas political campaigns – contributing more than $1.6 million to state races in the 2012 election cycle and giving most … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The payday lenders won’t go without a fight

The payday lenders’ new tricks

You really need to read Forrest Wilder’s story about the latest scheme by payday lenders to skirt regulation. As serendipity would have it, I had stumbled onto the latest mutant creature in the wild and wooly world of Texas payday … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Lege will take another crack at payday lending

I’m glad to see this, because the Lege definitely left business unfinished last time. About 83 percent of customers in Beaumont and 75 percent in the Houston and San Antonio metro areas are locked in a loan renewal cycle, latest … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments