Monthly Archives: May 2011

House gavels in and out

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. The House gaveled in shortly after 10 a.m. today and adjourned about 10 minutes later after Speaker Joe Straus announced that he’ll have a better idea about the special session’s schedule when the body reconvenes at 10 … Continue reading →

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Veasey’s Congressional plan

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We didn’t get a Congressional map from the Senate Redistricting Committee, though we may now get one in a special session but that didn’t stop State Rep. Marc Veasey from drawing his own before sine die. In Veasey’s map, thirteen … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the special session

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come back. And with the start of the special session comes a little surprise. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders hope to move through a series of bills quickly during the special session that begins … Continue reading →

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Texting while driving ban passed

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow, this managed to happen as everything else was going on at the end of the session. The Senate voted for a statewide ban on texting while driving Wednesday night, as an amendment added to another bill. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, … Continue reading →

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The Mayor and the firefighters

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the tone of this, I wouldn’t make too much of it. While looking for tens of millions of dollars through a combination of cuts, deferrals, savings and fee hikes, Mayor Annise Parker repeatedly has identified the Houston Fire Department … Continue reading →

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In your grill

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I love the opening to this story about the people who call Weber Grills for tech support, and the people who take those calls. Man. Meat. Fire. It is supposed to be a foolproof formula. But the guy at the … Continue reading →

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Davis filibusters SB1811, special session looms for tomorrow

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, filibustered for a little more than an hour Sunday night, probably killing a school finance and revenue bill critical to the budget (it’s still possible for a four-fifths supermajority of the Senate to … Continue reading →

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Special session for windstorm insurance looms

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Today may be sine die for the 82nd Legislature, but members should be prepared to come back later this summer. Legislative negotiators announced Saturday night that they could not reach agreement on a windstorm insurance reform bill, making a special … Continue reading →

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Smoking ban well and truly dead

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Nice try, but no dice. Many thought this was the year. But Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, acknowledged on Saturday that a measure establishing a statewide smoking ban in Texas is dead. Crownover blamed its failure on a “handful” of Senate … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for May 29

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t care when the solstice is, this is the official beginning of summer. And a day before the end of the Texas legislative session. You can’t tell me that’s a coincidence. Ever wonder what Weight Watchers was like in … Continue reading →

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There still could be a special session

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Even if the Lege manages to pass a school finance plan, there’s still an issue (not Congressional redistricting) that may force a special session: Windstorm insurance. “The governor stated to me this morning that if we were unable to reach … Continue reading →

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Vote on school finance today

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday night, the Lege finally reached an agreement on school finance, which is to say on how to distribute the $4 billion in cuts to public education to the school districts. Today the Lege gets to vote on that … Continue reading →

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Budget passes

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. The Texas House and Senate passed a state budget Saturday that cuts billions from public schools, state universities and health care for the elderly. The $172 billion legislation now goes to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature. Facing … Continue reading →

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Judge rules against Nikki Araguz

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is unfortunate. A judge has ruled that the marriage between a Wharton fire captain killed in the line of duty and his transgender wife was not legal, an attorney in the case said Tuesday. Frank Mann III, one of … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Sine die, already

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Monday is the last day of the session for the Texas Legislature. On behalf of all people who care about Texas, I think this sums it up: May we never have a session like this one again. What song would … Continue reading →

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Maybe Perry for President would be good for us

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When George W. Bush began being talked about as a Presidential candidate, the story line on him was that he was a well-liked, popular Governor who had bipartisan appeal and support in the state. Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock … Continue reading →

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TV recycling redux

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Back in 2009, the Lege passed a bill that would have required television manufacturers that sell TVs in Texas to set up a recycling program for old sets. This was modeled after similar legislation passed in 2007 for computers and … Continue reading →

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Anti-bullying bill passed

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There hasn’t been a whole lot of good news this session, but this certainly qualifies. Eight months after Cy-Fair middle school student Asher Brown’s suicide, the Texas Senate unanimously approved “anti-bullying” legislation aimed at giving school administrators authority to prevent … Continue reading →

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Another microbrewer comes to town

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The beer scene in Houston keeps getting better. Eric Warner was at the well-regarded Flying Dog Brewery in Colorado for a decade, as brewmaster and then as chief executive. While there, the brewery came out with such beers as Snake … Continue reading →

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Maybe the problem is that the national GOP isn’t nutty enough

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Have no fear, Texas may come to the rescue. First, there’s Dan Patrick. Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick announced this morning he’s forming an exploratory committee for the US Senate seat being abandoned by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison . Patrick … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten – Songs of the Century, part 3

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with songs in my collection from the Songs of the Century as compiled by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. 1. Take Five – Dave Brubeck (#49) 2. America The Beautiful – Ray … Continue reading →

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HCC redistricting

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out that the HCC Trustees have done some work on redistricting for themselves. Their meeting agenda for May 19 lists “Resolution Accepting Draft Plans for Redistricting of HCCS Board of Trustees Districts and Confirming Public Hearings” as the fourth … Continue reading →

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Bradley and Lowe fail to get confirmed

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Time for some new chairpersons. Gov. Rick Perry’s appointments of John Bradley as head of the Forensic Science Commission and Gaile Lowe as State Board of Education chair are officially toast, Senate Nominations Chairman Bob Deuell, R-Greenville said. “They’re sine … Continue reading →

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Primary date will not be moved

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A bill that would have moved the primary elections in Texas to April was amended at the last minute to move up the filing deadline instead. After a testy exchange, House lawmakers gave initial approval to a voting bill that … Continue reading →

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RIP, HB602

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. Texans won’t be buying liquor on Sunday and the state’s 29 brewpubs won’t be competing with their out-of-state rivals on local grocery shelves. And Texas breweries or liquor distillers still can’t sell a 12-pack of beer or a souvenir … Continue reading →

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We have a budget

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Such as it is. Budget negotiators met briefly this morning and voted 9-1 to adopt a conference committee report that cuts the state budget over the next biennium by $15 billion, or 8 percent. The total amount of funding from … Continue reading →

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Will Perry call a special session to force the Lege to draw a Congressional map?

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Gov. Rick Perry today said state lawmakers should be the ones to draw new congressional districts, not judges. “I do think that the responsibility is with the members of the Legislature,” Perry said this morning. “To allow the courts … Continue reading →

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It’s different when it’s his junk that’s getting touched

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, the irony. The senator was in high dudgeon. “This was a come and take it moment for the state of Texas!” Dan Patrick proclaimed, trying to rally his fellow senators to stand up against the Feds, those high-handed intruders … Continue reading →

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One good thing that can be said about this session

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A fair number of innocence-related bills have been passed this session. Some of them might have been passed in 2009 had it not been for the voter ID-killing chubfest, for others it was just that the stars finally aligned. Grits … Continue reading →

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Watered down payday lending bills pass Senate

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s inadequate, but it’s the best we’re going to get out of this Legislature. Senators took the plunge into payday lending reform Monday, passing two House bills that bring some oversight to the largely unregulated industry in Texas. Sen. John … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of May 23

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The entire membership of the Texas Progressive Alliance was actually raptured this past weekend, but thanks to our foresight and the scheduling capabilities of our blogging software we were able to put together a weekly roundup for you anyway. Because … Continue reading →

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Senate Dems block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They did it as they said they would. The state’s contentious sanctuary cities bill failed to move out of the Senate late Tuesday — a move some senators said effectively killed one of the most controversial measures the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

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If fixing the streets is easy, then tell us how to do it

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray writes about a guy who thinks Houston’s streets could be much more user friendly if only we tried a little harder to make them be. “Houston’s streets behave like alleys,” Nathan Norris shouted to the 20 or so … Continue reading →

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More on that Rebuild Houston push poll

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Remember that push poll on Rebuild Houston? The results are out and they’re pretty much what you’d expect. A state district judge could decide this week whether to hold a trial on the validity of November’s election in which voters … Continue reading →

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