Tag Archives: Kel Seliger

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

Special session is called

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And no one is surprised. With the ink barely dry on the bills passed during the 83rd Legislature’s regular session, Gov. Rick Perry called lawmakers back into an immediate special session to consider redistricting measures for the Legislature and the … Continue reading →

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

Fewer tests in the future

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re tired of standardized tests, this will be good news for you. Under House Bill 866 by state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble, which passed the Senate on Tuesday night, students who do well on state exams in third and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fewer tests in the future

Abbott predicts special session for redistricting

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

For the first time, someone says out loud the rumor of a special session on redistricting. Attorney General Greg Abbott let House members know in the Republican caucus meeting on Tuesday that he expects and is hoping for a special … Continue reading →

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

Dark money

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a small step, if it’s allowed to be taken, but the bill to require donor disclosure on so-called “dark money” is a step in the right direction. Senate Bill 346 takes direct aim at the cloak of anonymity that … Continue reading →

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

Senate passes amended HB5

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate has passed its version of House Bill 5, which makes sweeping changes to standardized testing and curriculum requirements for high school students. Texas high school students would have new curriculum requirements under legislation unanimously passed by the Senate … Continue reading →

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

Redistricting remains a partisan issue

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not surprised by this, right? Amarillo Sen. Kel Seliger offered a redistricting bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee that would formally adopt interim maps drawn by a federal court in San Antonio last year. The maps for Congressional, … Continue reading →

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

Senate committee to take up interim maps bill

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The Texas Senate’s state affairs committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, April 18, at 2 p.m. (or upon adjournment) to consider SB 1524 – State Sen. Kel Seliger’s bill to adopt the court-drawn interim maps as … Continue reading →

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

Abbott asks for the interim maps

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The recently dormant Texas redistricting issue woke up Thursday with a disagreement between the state’s attorney general and a Latino legislators’ group. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has called on the Legislature to make the current — and … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Abbott asks for the interim maps

The redistrictor’s dilemma

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some fascinating news from Texas Redistricting. Friday’s bill filing deadline in the Texas Legislature brought bills by State Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) – chair of the House redistricting committee – and State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) to make permanent … Continue reading →

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

More STAAR changes proposed

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone’s least favorite standardized test is a fat target these days. State Sen. Kel Seliger, the Amarillo Republican who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, filed a bill Tuesday offering broad changes to student assessment and high school graduation requirements … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More STAAR changes proposed

The split primary blues

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans have them. Republican lawmakers turned up the heat on the Texas GOP leadership Wednesday, asking them to keep Texas’ primaries on a single election day while their own party continues to push for two primaries, one in March and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The split primary blues

Expand the Senate?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I think there’s a lot of merit to this. From state Sen. Kel Seliger, a member of the smaller-government Republican Party and an architect of the Legislature’s redistricting maps that were nixed by federal judges last week, comes this: Consider … Continue reading →

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

Veasey joins in redistricting litigation

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Add another redistricting lawsuit to the pile. Brought by state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, the lawsuit is another attempt to get a three-judge panel hearing redistricting cases to reconsider the entire state map by focusing on how the districts … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Opening bids on the next deficit

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Do I hear $7 billion? Ten billion? How about $15 billion? Early projections indicate that when the Legislature convenes in 2013 it could face another revenue shortfall. Not as severe as this year’s $27-billion gap, but still problematic. “I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Is now the time for the Wentworth redistricting bill?

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Postcards says “Maybe”, but I remain skeptical. In both 2005 and 2007, the state Senate approved a bill to establish a Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission, in part to remove the contentious and partisan process from the plate of the state … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Is now the time for the Wentworth redistricting bill?

Plans from an alternate universe: The Veasey-West plan

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Congressional redistricting, which took so long that it couldn’t be done during the regular session, has zipped through the special session, thanks in no small part to the virtual elimination of public testimony. At this point, the full House needs … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

WaPo on Texas redistricting

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Fix makes a few curious statements about the proposed Congressional redistricting map for Texas. Despite the Lonestar State voting 55 percent for Republicans in the 2008 presidential race, the GOP-controlled legislature’s proposed map features 26 districts that went for … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Updated Seliger-Solomons numbers

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I had previously run the numbers for the new Congressional districts in the Seliger-Solomons plan. Now that we’ve gone from Plan C125 to Plan C130, let’s see what they look like now. Here’s a side-by-side comparison, with the districts grouped … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Senate approves Congressional map

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the House. A new redistricting map, drawn to promote and protect Republican interests in the U.S. Congress, sailed out of the GOP-led state Senate Monday. The map, predictably approved 18-12 along strict party lines, would give Republicans a … Continue reading →

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

Who’s running for what where?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Cillizza notes an old familiar face who’s back on the scene. Former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) is running again after losing his seat to businessman Francisco Canseco (R) last fall. Rodriguez won the seat in an 2006 special election, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who’s running for what where?

Seliger-Solomons 2.0

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us and have a gander at Plan C130 to see the version of the Seliger-Solomons Congressional plan that was passed last night by the Senate redistricting committee. The biggest changes are in and around Harris County, mostly due … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Senate committee approves redistricting map

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. A state Senate panel, voting along strict party lines, approved a Texas Congressional redistricting plan designed to increase Republican strength in the U.S. Congress. The Senate redistricting committee voted 8-4 to send the map to the full … Continue reading →

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

More on the Seliger-Solomons plan

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Dunham has a nice analysis of the proposed Congressional map that’s worth your time to read. I disagree with him on two related points. Republicans successfully shored up three districts they captured from Democrats in the past two election … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Seliger-Solomons Congressional map is out

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s a joke. Seriously, I can’t describe it any other way. Look at the following districts – go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ and look up Plan C125 – and tell me how they can possibly satisfy any rational legal argument for … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

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 →

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

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 →

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

Lege officially punts on Congressional redistricting

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you had told me at the beginning of the session that this would happen, I would not have believed you. The chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, just confirmed to LegeLand that it won’t happen this … Continue reading →

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

House approves Senate redistricting map

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Three down, one to go. The Texas House today gave preliminary approval to the Senate redistricting map that would give Travis County four state senators. The sponsor of Senate Bill 31, Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, pushed to pass the map … Continue reading →

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

Senate approves modified Senate map

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: The Texas Senate approved new political districts that protect all of the Republican and all but one of the Democratic incumbents in that body, but stalled on a House redistricting map already approved in the House. […] … Continue reading →

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

Senate redistricting map approved by committee

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long. Rejecting pleas to keep most of Travis County in a single Senate district, the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting [Friday] morning approved a plan that will divide the capital city into four senatorial districts. The Republican-dominated … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate redistricting map approved by committee

Senate redistricting hearing

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So the Senate Redistricting Committee hearing was today. See if you can spot a theme here. Sen. Kirk Watson expressed his dissatisfaction with the map that was introduced by Sen. Kel Seliger. At a morning hearing of the Senate Select … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate redistricting hearing

Senate map is out, controversy precedes it

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before we had a State Senate map, we had a brawl brewing over one proposed district on it. Accusing the state Senate’s Republican leaders of a “shameful partisan attack,” Sen. Wendy Davis said Tuesday that a new redistricting map for … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Messing with Doggett

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure the Republicans would love to draw Lloyd Doggett out of existence if they can. The question is whether they can do it without causing other problems elsewhere. Republicans have tried to oust Doggett before by drawing a district … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Messing with Doggett