Tag Archives: Rafael Anchia

Still no action on fixing birth certificates

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s shameful that this doesn’t have the votes to get out of committee. Prior to a hearing on a bill that would permit faith-based adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT people, Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) delivered an impassioned speech on … Continue reading →

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Joining together for equality

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. Standing alongside Democrats, a representative for the state’s powerful business lobby Tuesday denounced two proposed amendments to the state constitution aimed at bolstering protection for people acting on religious beliefs, which detractors say would legalize discrimination against … Continue reading →

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Trying again to fix birth certificates

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is encouraging. A Republican committee chairman smacked down an anti-LGBT witness Wednesday during a hearing on a proposal to allow same-sex parents to have both their names on the birth certificates of adopted children. Julie Drenner, of Texas Values, … Continue reading →

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Faith leaders rally for equality

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. Faith leaders from across Texas gathered Tuesday at the state Capitol, urging legislators to lift the state’s ban on gay marriage and pass laws forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While some cities — … Continue reading →

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Fixing birth certificates

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Trying again, with some hope for progress. The Texas Legislature added a provision to the Health & Safety Code in 1997 requiring supplemental birth certificates issued to adoptive parents to contain the name of one female, the mother, and one … Continue reading →

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Legislation to overturn same sex marriage ban filed

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s gotta do it, and you know it won’t be Republicans. Kriselda Hinojosa recalls how she unintentionally came out to her father in sixth grade. “He actually saw me kissing my girlfriend at the time,” Hinojosa said. “So he caught … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker discusses her possible political future again

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

After making a rousing speech at the TDP convention, Mayor Annise Parker talked about some possible paths she could take for a future statewide campaign. Parker said she would be interested in running for any number of statewide positions when … Continue reading →

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The farm team

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Roll Call takes a look at the Texas Democrats of the future. Democrats rarely fielded competitive Senate candidates over the past two decades — the party’s three best performers in that time span received 44 percent, 43 percent and 43 … Continue reading →

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More Democratic statewide possibilities

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From this story about Democratic hopes for Wendy Davis’ presumed gubernatorial candidacy comes these tidbits about who else might be on the ticket with her. State Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, told Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia this month that he … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte for Lite Gov?

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. Democratic operatives are scouring Texas to find worthy statewide candidates to run on a 2014 ticket with Sen. Wendy Davis. Davis is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether she’ll challenge for governor or opt to seek … Continue reading →

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Some last minute good news from the Lege

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Equality Texas: On May 15th, the Texas House passed an amendment by Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth that would prohibit state universities from requiring officially-recognized student organizations to abide by campus non-discrimination policies. The official vote on the Krause amendment … Continue reading →

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Ana Reyes makes history in Farmers Branch

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t pay much attention to Saturday’s elections, since there was nothing on the ballot for me and there were few races of interest around the state. One place where there were races worth watching was in Farmers Branch, and … Continue reading →

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Texas Lottery Commission dies and is reborn

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And we have our first curveball of the legislative session. The House voted Tuesday to defeat a must-pass bill reauthorizing the Texas Lottery Commission, a stunning move that casts doubt on the lottery as a whole and may potentially cost … Continue reading →

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The redistricting commission idea rides again

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Jeff Wentworth is no longer in the Senate, but his signature idea for a bipartisan redistricting commission still lives, now in an expanded form. State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) filed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday that would move responsibility for … Continue reading →

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Keeping the push for immigration reform

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Texas House: Democratic Texas House members [have] filed an immigration resolution that could serve as a litmus test for Republican support for reforms being suggested at the national level. House Concurrent Resolution 44, which urges the U.S. Congress … Continue reading →

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We need to fix birth certificates

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This needs to happen. Texas law prevents gay parents from both being listed on supplemental birth certificate forms for adoptive children. The forms provide space for only one mother, a woman, and one father, a male. The gender-specific language was … Continue reading →

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Repealing the Texas double secret illegal anti-gay marriage amendment

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some things you do because they’re the right thing to do. Reps. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, are seeking to reverse the state’s prohibition against gay marriage or same-sex civil unions. Their proposed constitutional amendments — HJR 77 … Continue reading →

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Texas’ public pension funds are solvent through 2075

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There was a hearing in the Lege this week about the state’s pension plans, and the good news is that they’re in pretty good shape. The better news is that the members of the Lege’s pension committee recognize that fact. … Continue reading →

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Cutting spending is always good for job creation

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It must be true. A study by the University of Texas at San Antonio estimated that 20 counties in the Eagle Ford Shale supported 47,097 full-time jobs in 2011, a number that’s expected to grow to 116,972 full-time jobs by … Continue reading →

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Examining the voter ID lie

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve complained quite a bit at how the media in Texas lazily reports the voter ID issue as a simple “he said/she said” dispute when a cursory examination of the facts shows how ridiculous the pro-voter ID case is, so … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on SCOTUS

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Responses to the State of Texas’ stay request for State House and State Senate elections were due Thursday. Responses to the stay request for Congressional elections, which was filed Wednesday, are due this morning. It’s not clear when SCOTUS will … Continue reading →

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Voter ID passes the House

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. There was a long and often contentious debate, but when you have a 2/3 majority as the Republicans currently do, you usually get what you want. Gov. Rick Perry declared the voter ID issue an emergency issue, which … Continue reading →

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The next step for voter ID

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Very likely, the courthouse. While the Democrats have little chance of stopping the bill from getting the votes to pass, this particular piece of legislation may very well be tied up in lawsuits for years. And today, Democrats can lay … Continue reading →

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More proof of my theory

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That would be my theory that fifty or sixty years ago, a number of terror cells infiltrated the US and impregnated a bunch of women with babies who were groomed from birth to become utter morons who would destroy the … Continue reading →

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Voter ID not about facts

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown admits that voter ID legislation has nothing to do with the facts. “There are a lot of things that we pass laws on down here that we don’t have a hard, firm fast number on. Uninsured … Continue reading →

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The DMN on the food stamp situation

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s depressing reading these articles, but it’s important to do so, to really understand why we’re so screwed up. First and foremost, it’s an attitude problem. As in, the people who have the most power over it have the least … Continue reading →

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Gearing up for the voter ID showdown

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

SB362 was not on the calendar today, but it is expected to be brought to the House floor before the Tuesday deadline for approving Senate bills, perhaps as early as tomorrow. House Dems had a press conference today, accidentally pre-empting … Continue reading →

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Campaign finance bill passes the House

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve had plenty of harsh things to say about House Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith this session, but he’s always been one of the good guys on campaign finance reform. Texas could start regulating how political parties use corporate and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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High school registrars

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the Republicans like voter ID. We shouldn’t be too surprised that they don’t much like voter registration. [The House] barely passed a bill Monday night that would allow high school principals to appoint four deputy registrars to … Continue reading →

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Busy day yesterday

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There were a lot of bills passed yesterday by one chamber or the other. My mailbox is full of press releases touting them. I’m going to go ahead and print them beneath the fold as a roundup. A few bills … Continue reading →

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Go Solar Texas

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You won’t see this ad in Houston, but it is running in other parts of the state in support of solar energy and legislation to promote solar energy in Texas. In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, ACT Texas gives us … Continue reading →

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Public financing for judicial races

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the other ethics and campaign finance reform bills that I mentioned previously, one other bill set to come up in committee hearings on Wednesday the 15th is HB3146 by Rep. Rafael Anchia, which would allow for the … Continue reading →

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Innocence, exoneration, and compensation

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen all of the stories about inmates being freed from jail in Texas after however many years inside, the result of DNA evidence proving they could not have committed the crime for which they were convicted. But what happens … Continue reading →

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Senate wraps up voter ID

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, after more debate and a bunch of Democratic amendments that were rejected by the same 19-12 vote, SB362 itself was passed on second reading in the Senate on a 19-12 party line vote. There were two amendments … Continue reading →

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