Monthly Archives: July 2021

Day 2 quorum busting omnibus post

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna round up a few stories here. Don’t know how often I’ll be this energetic, or how often there will be this many stories that I see that are worth commenting on, but it is Day Two. We’re just getting … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against “heartbeat” abortion law

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Normally, I’d say this has an excellent chance of success, given that all previous litigation over such bans have been wins for the plaintiffs. But we are in uncharted territory here. Two months after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law … Continue reading →

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Senate Republicans advance their anti-trans sports bill

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There were enough of them on the committee to have a quorum by themselves, so they did the thing that they do. Legislation that would limit transgender students’ participation in school sports advanced out of a Senate committee on Monday after … Continue reading →

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Lee Merritt officially joins the AG race

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We now have a contested Democratic primary for Attorney General. Lee Merritt, the nationally known civil rights attorney, is officially running for Texas attorney general as a Democrat. Merritt is set to launch his campaign at a 9 a.m. news … Continue reading →

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Quorum broken again

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives left the state Monday afternoon en route to Washington, D.C., in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in … Continue reading →

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More federal stimulus money for education coming

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas soon will receive another $4.1 billion in federal stimulus money to address the post-pandemic needs of public school students, many of whom fell behind academically during months of remote learning. The funding comes come as the U.S. Department … Continue reading →

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The risk of being unvaccinated

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The numbers don’t lie. Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren’t vaccinated, a staggering demonstration of how effective the shots have been and an indication that deaths per day — now down to under … Continue reading →

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Yeah, Greg Abbott has a ton of money

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the one thing he’s really good at. Gov. Greg Abbott is starting his 2022 reelection campaign with $55 million in the bank, a staggering figure even by the already high standards for which his fundraising is known. His campaign … Continue reading →

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Bad bail bill 2.0

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This was also happening over the weekend. Days into a short legislative session, Texas lawmakers are moving quickly to pass a GOP priority bill that would make it harder for some people who have been arrested but not convicted to … Continue reading →

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Charter amendment referendum likely #2 on its way

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pending signature verification. The Houston firefighters’ union says it has collected enough signatures on a petition to make it easier to bring contract talks with the city to binding arbitration. The city secretary now must verify at least 20,000 signatures, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for July 11

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

“Now a new FX TV series based on the [Alien]franchise is in the works from Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley—who says it’s about time for the facehuggers and xenomorphs to sink their claws into the white-collar executives who have been responsible … Continue reading →

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The Lege has its voter suppression hearings

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

People showed up to say something about it, that much is for sure. Hundreds of Texans lined up at the state Capitol on Saturday for their first opportunity during the special legislative session to testify before lawmakers over the renewed … Continue reading →

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The arrest of Hervis Rogers is a travesty

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You should be very mad about this. A Houston man who made headlines last year for standing in line six hours to vote at Texas Southern University was charged this week by Attorney General Ken Paxton with casting that ballot … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Gonzalez gets a confirmation hearing date

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez’s nomination to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 15, the committee announced Wednesday. President Joe Biden nominated Gonzalez to lead … Continue reading →

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KPFT station for sale

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not cheap, I’m sure. A mainstay of Montrose, public radio station KPFT, could be headed elsewhere in Houston, signaling to some a changing of the guard in one of Houston’s most eclectic enclaves. In an email to members, Pacifica Foundation, … Continue reading →

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The unholy mess that is Allen West

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Republicans elected him to be their State Chair, and they deserve all of the chaos and discord he has sown in his self-promoting regime. But now that he’s running for Governor, the rest of us have to pay attention … Continue reading →

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FBI looking into Constable “bachelor party sting” mess

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Never a good sign. Federal investigators are probing the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office after several current and former female employees accused superiors of sexually exploiting them during undercover anti-human trafficking operations, a lawyer for the women confirmed Thursday. … Continue reading →

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The next level of vaccine resistance

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m speechless. Some Texas Republicans are pushing back against President Joe Biden’s push for greater outreach to get more Americans to receive COVID-19 shots, as vaccination drives in states like Texas have stagnated. “Not on my watch!” Attorney General Ken … Continue reading →

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State House takes a step toward reinstating legislative funding

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but it’s just a first step. Texas lawmakers are moving swiftly to reinstate funding for the Texas Legislature, vetoed last month by Gov. Greg Abbott, that affects the salaries of more than 2,100 employees across several state agencies The … Continue reading →

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Disabled voters worry about getting screwed by SB7

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It won’t be called SB7 in the special session on voter suppression, but you know what I mean. Texas Republicans have pursued broad efforts this year to ratchet up voting restrictions in the aftermath of a high-turnout election that saw … Continue reading →

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Testify, George P!

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m ready for this. A congressional panel is set to review the Texas General Land Office’s denial of federal flood mitigation funding to Houston and Harris County, the latest in an ongoing spat over more than $1 billion in aid … Continue reading →

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Our Delta future

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t expect anything to change, except for the number of people getting sick and dying. The new and highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus may have sparked the recent outbreak of 125-plus cases of COVID-19 linked to a Houston-area … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here are your new SB7s

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the House. The Texas House is starting off on a new foot on the contentious elections proposal that blew up the regular legislative session. As a special session reviving the Republican-priority bill got underway Thursday, there were … Continue reading →

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Other questions from McConaughey Poll II

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Part Two of my look at the June DMN/UT-Tyler poll, which has its share of interesting results. Still, not everything is coming up roses for Abbott. His job approval rating is respectable, with 50% approving of his performance and 36% … Continue reading →

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Here’s your special session agenda

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They call this “red meat”, but it’s really just bullshit. Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the agenda for the special legislative session that begins Thursday, asking lawmakers to prioritize 11 issues that largely appeal to conservatives who wanted more out … Continue reading →

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Abbott tells the PUC to, like, “do something” about electricity and stuff

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a Very Serious man making Very Serious proposals. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday gave state electricity regulators marching orders to “improve electric reliability.” In a letter to the Public Utility Commission, Abbott directed the three-person board of directors, who … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of July 5

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a thoughtful and reflective Independence Day week as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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The return to normal

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of us are going back to pre-pandemic life. Some of us have more justification for it than others. As an increasing number of Texans get vaccinated against COVID-19, most voters here are returning to their pre-pandemic lives — or … Continue reading →

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McConaughey Poll II: It’s all still ridiculous

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, none of the canonical sequel subtitles fit here. Gov. Greg Abbott, after trailing potential challenger Matthew McConaughey in the spring, has rebounded and now has a slight — but not statistically significant — lead over the movie star in … Continue reading →

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We will have that charter election

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For that thing I still don’t have a pithy name for. Someone form a PAC and throw me a bone here. A petition filed in April by a group seeking to give City Council members the ability to place items … Continue reading →

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Back to the public input phase for I-45

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They hear, but will they listen? Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State House district changes by county

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading →

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The response to the lawsuit over the line item veto

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I know, scintillating headline, but there’s plenty of action here. The state is defending Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent veto of legislative funding as a bipartisan group of former state leaders — as well as more Democrats — weigh in against … Continue reading →

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

Sen. Jane Nelson to retire

Posted on July 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More changes coming. State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, announced Monday she is not running for reelection. Nelson has been the top budget writer in the Senate and is the most senior Republican in the chamber. “It has been a … Continue reading →

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