Tag Archives: David Dewhurst

White rakes it in for his Senate bid

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Among other things, today is the deadline for federal candidates to report their campaign finance status. Of the many contenders for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat, whenever that becomes available, I think it’s safe to say that Bill White had … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on White rakes it in for his Senate bid

UI update

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The headline says it all: GOP holds key to unemployment stimulus dollars. Against the wishes of Gov. Rick Perry, lawmakers are pressing ahead with efforts to claim $555 million in federal economic stimulus money for unemployment benefits. With all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on UI update

Taking taxation aversion to its logical extreme

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story just boggles my mind. Think traffic congestion is bad now? Wait until 2012. That’s when Texas’ highway fund — which relies on a motor fuels tax that hasn’t been raised since 1991 — will be out of money … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Taking taxation aversion to its logical extreme

Rodney Ellis

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Nice profile of State Sen. Rodney Ellis, which talks about his propensity for introducing long-shot bills, and his persistence in getting some of them passed over the course of multiple sessions. This bit summarizes it well: “Occasionally, Senator Ellis will … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rodney Ellis

Danno says his vote on redistricting commission was a mistake

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s SB315, which passed on second reading last week in the Senate, may not make it to third reading because Wentworth no longer has enough votes to suspend the rules and bring it back to the floor. The … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Danno says his vote on redistricting commission was a mistake

House passes veto override resolution

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised that this got taken up so (relatively) quickly, but not at all surprised that it passed. The House today passed a measure that would allow Texas voters to decide whether to allow the Legislature to override … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House passes veto override resolution

The Heflin plan for voter ID

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

While I still have hope that voter ID can be stopped one more time, I can certainly understand the viewpoint that a sufficiently determined Republican majority can push through what it wants to if it really tries, especially if we … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Heflin plan for voter ID

Voter ID: That’s it for now

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In case you hadn’t already heard, the measure was passed out of committee – which was the full Senate in this case – by the predicted party-line vote, which was actually 20-12 since Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, sitting in the cheap … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Voter ID: That’s it for now

Dewhurst makes the case against Voter ID

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That wasn’t his intent, of course, but it’s clear to see in his plea for a “compromise” on the measure that the more people like Lt. Gov. Dewhurst argue for voter ID legislation, the more obvious it is that they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dewhurst makes the case against Voter ID

Reason #437 why I’m skeptical of the gambling industry

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The regulatory agency that oversees horse and dog tracks in Texas is begging for a handout to make it through the end of the fiscal year. Faced with a 14 percent, nearly $678,000 shortfall, the commission that oversees horse and … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Reason #437 why I’m skeptical of the gambling industry

PPP on the Texas Senate race

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Public Policy Polling follows up its snapshot of the Republican GOP matchup for Governor with a poll of Senate possibilities. We tested Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and state Senator Florence Shapiro on the Republican side against … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on PPP on the Texas Senate race

Steroid madness

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Can we please declare victory in the war on steroids in Texas high schools and move on to something more productive? Only 11 Texas high school students proved positive for steroid use among nearly 29,000 students tested in the last … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Steroid madness

Voter ID already moving in the Senate

Posted on February 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the relative quiet in the Lege these past few weeks, because it will be coming to an end soon. The controversial Voter ID bill that triggered a nasty Senate fight last month over a rules … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Voter ID already moving in the Senate

Senate committees

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Elise Hu has the list of committees and members for the State Senate, which came out yesterday. Not much drama here – as she noted, Sen. John Carona, the on Republican vote against changing the rules for voter ID bills, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate committees

The Speaker speaks

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Evan Smith had a sit-down with new Speaker Joe Straus, which was broadcast Thursday on KLRU in Austin. You can watch the video of it at that link; it’s a little less than 30 minutes. Straus has made a good … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Speaker speaks

We have the beginnings of a budget

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And with it, some idea of how deep the hole is. Maintaining basic state services over the next two years will cost Texas almost $84 billion, $3.7 billion more in general revenue than the state expects to raise during that … Continue reading →

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

Beware Lt. Govs. bearing gifts

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On the surface, hearing that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst now favors tuition re-regulation sounds like a good thing. A lot of people, Democrats especially, have been screaming about this for months. But as always, the devil is in the details. … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Beware Lt. Govs. bearing gifts

Kay and Rick on the money

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, there was never any doubt that they’d be swimming in cash. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison moved nearly $8 million into her state campaign finance account last year — a high-stakes signal that she is committed to running for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Nation on the state of the state

Posted on July 8, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll recommend this Nation article about the resurgence of the Democratic Party in Texas. It’s cool to see people you know get quoted in a story like that, which is a good if somewhat rah-rah overview of the state of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008, Election 2010, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Nation on the state of the state