Tag Archives: Tommy Williams

What they didn’t tell us about voter ID

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans knew fully well that their voter ID bill would disenfranchise a lot of people. They just didn’t care. Republican state officials working to pass a voter photo ID law in 2011 knew that more than 500,000 of the state’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SD04: Creighton defeats Toth

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I went to bed before the final wrapup stories were written, but trust me, Rep. Brandon Creighton is now Sen. Brandon Creighton. In early returns in the race to succeed Sen. Tommy Williams, state Rep. Brandon Creighton was ahead of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SD04: Creighton defeats Toth

Endorsement watch: Chron for Creighton

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, did you know that there’s an election coming up? It’s the special election runoff for SD04 to succeed Tommy Williams and it features the ghastly Rep. Steve Toth and the slightly less ghastly Rep. Brandon Creighton. The Chron, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Senate is likely to get stupider again

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

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

SD04 special election results

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Creighton versus Toth in the runoff, as expected. Preliminary voting results show that Montgomery County state representatives Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, and Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, will face off in a June runoff for the District 4 seat. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SD04 special election results

Early voting for SD04 special election begins today

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Go make the best of the bad choices being offered. Early voting begins Monday in a special election to fill the seat vacated last year by former state Sen. Tommy Williams. The Woodlands Republican left the upper chamber last October … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Early voting for SD04 special election begins today

Endorsement watch: The not-so-special SD04

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Before we get to the primary runoffs, we must first settle the special election business in SD04. The Chron attempts to pick the best of a mostly sorry lot of candidates to replace Sen. Tommy Williams. Residents of state Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: The not-so-special SD04

Another trip down Demography Lane

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Sunday Chron op-ed pages: Texas is headed for the ditch, but few people are aware of the state’s perilous path. The demographers have seen the future, though, because it’s foretold in their numbers. And they’ve been sounding the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another trip down Demography Lane

Oh yeah, that other election

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve had the primary, and we’ll have the runoff in late May. In between, there’s the special election in SD04 to replace Tommy Williams. Overshadowed by a heated primary season, a special election will be held on May 10 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Oh yeah, that other election

Montgomery County voting shenanigans

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating story out of Montgomery County in which a handful of self-styled activists in Montgomery County attempt to register to vote in a Road Utility District (RUD), a taxing entity that has literally almost no voters, and wind up getting … Continue reading →

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

January campaign finance reports for Harris County legislative candidates

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This could take awhile, and that’s with me limiting myself to contested races. First, the Senate. SD04 Brandon Creighton Steven Toth SD07 Paul Bettencourt James Wilson Jim Davis SD15 John Whitmire Damian LaCroix Ron Hale SD17 Joan Huffman Derek Anthony … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Pennington

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses CM Oliver Pennington for a third term. For the past four years, District G has been ably represented by attorney Oliver Pennington. We recommend a vote for Pennington to continue his service at city hall. Pennington, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Pennington

Lege may have found a way on transportation funding

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As of Thursday, Special Session 3: Beyond Thunderdome was looming. Both chambers of the Legislature were filled with activity Thursday afternoon but they ended up essentially where they had started: waiting on House and Senate negotiators to come up with … Continue reading →

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

Patrick and Williams keep squabbling

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just as a reminder that Senate Republicans don’t need Democrats to stir up trouble, here’s a flare-up of an earlier kerfuffle. Fire one. In a recent interview with The Texas Tribune, my colleague, state Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the … Continue reading →

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

Even Rick Perry thinks the slash and burn crowd is nuts

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Insert pithy quote about reaping and sowing here. Gov. Rick Perry shot back Monday at conservative critics who say the state budget is growing too fast, offering the clearest signal yet that he plans to sign the two-year, $197 billion … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry signs HB5, adds transportation to the special session

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There had been some buzz about a possible veto, but in the end this was to be expected. When Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 5 on Monday, he ended weeks of speculation that he might veto the high-profile education … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perry signs HB5, adds transportation to the special session

Patrick involved in another Senate squabble

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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

Who will be on the Ten Best and Ten Worst lists?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib starts the speculation. Texas Monthly‘s list of the best and worst legislators of the 83rd session doesn’t come out until June 12, but why should Paul Burka and his colleagues have all the fun? Use this interactive to … Continue reading →

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

Transportation funding shouldn’t be intractable

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As previously noted, Sens. Tommy Williams and Robert Nichols want to take another crack at finding additional funds for transportation. The problem, as always, is political

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

The special session won’t be so short

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The original idea behind the special session on redistricting was that it would be a quickie – gavel in, vote to adopt the interim maps as permanent, maybe vote on a few wingnut wish list items, and gavel out again. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Combs not running for re-election

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And a domino falls. Comptroller Susan Combs opened up the logjam that has been statewide office in Texas by announcing Wednesday that she will not seek election in 2014. Announcements were immediately flying with state Rep. Harvey Hildebran, R-Kerrville, throwing … Continue reading →

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

Calling to add to the call

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The special session is just a day old, and already legislators are lining up to extend its agenda to cover things that didn’t get done during regulation time. Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Senate Transportation Chairman Robert … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Calling to add to the call

We appear to have a budget

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Took them long enough. After days of jockeying and one-upsmanship, the Texas House and Senate each approved measures Wednesday evening critical to passing their next two-year budget. “The results of these two bills together is a good conservative budget, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We appear to have a budget

Someone attempted to do something about MBIA and the Sports Authority

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And others expressed their disapproval about it. What the “it” is, and who it was that was trying to do “it” remain unclear. A surprise legislative maneuver has local government lobbyists scrambling to defend the agency that pays the debt … Continue reading →

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

Budget deal reached

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And the crowd goes wild. Top House and Senate negotiators agreed to a two-year budget for the state of Texas Friday that restores about $4 billion of $5.4 billion in cuts to public education made in 2011. It also creates … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Budget deal reached

Maybe I buried Medicaid expansion too soon

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I still think it’s dead, but I could be wrong about that. The fate of Medicaid reform in Texas could rest solely on an up-or-down vote on the 2014-15 budget. State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, a member of the conference … Continue reading →

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

Perry works against his own stated interests

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t understand this at all. A bill that would have increased vehicle registration fees to raise money for transportation projects met its demise in the Texas House on Thursday. House Bill 3664 by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Drivers licenses for all – maybe

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not quite drivers licenses, exactly, but close enough. A Dallas Democrat has teamed up with two powerful Republicans to craft a compromise version of a bill that would give immigrants here illegally the ability to drive legally in Texas and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Drivers licenses for all – maybe

Senate officially taps the Rainy Day Fund

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Well done. Texas senators hammered out a sweeping deal to increase state funding for water and transportation projects and schools on Tuesday, tackling some of the thorniest issues of the legislative session all at once. The senators voted 31-0 for … Continue reading →

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

Still arguing about road funding

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I still don’t quite get why the obvious solution is so blithely dismissed. With most of the work of developing a state budget behind them, lawmakers can now drill deeper into the state’s spending plan to find a way to … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still arguing about road funding

Senate to tap that Rainy Day Fund

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is just sitting there, not doing any good if it’s unused. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, laid out an ambitious plan to spend $6 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund on Thursday morning while also … Continue reading →

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

Williams’ “Medicaid” plan

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m really not sure what to make of this. State Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, is crafting a Medicaid reform plan that would use premium tax revenue to subsidize private health plans for uninsured Texans, his office confirmed on Tuesday … Continue reading →

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

Senate passes its budget

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let the damning with faint praise for this jerry-rigged excuse for not adequately funding our needs yet not eviscerating them as badly as last time begin. The Texas Senate approved a $195.5 billion two-year budget Wednesday, with Democratic state Sens. … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We have a budget

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. The 15 members of the Senate Finance Committee unanimously voted on Wednesday for a $195.5 billion two-year budget that undoes some of the cuts from the 2011 legislative session. The budget, which now heads to … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We have a budget