Tag Archives: The Lege

Texas SCOPE Act partially blocked

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

One of the many Internet/social media-related laws passed in the last legislative session(s) has been partially put on hold by a federal judge. A handful of new laws went into effect Sunday, including the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment … Continue reading →

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Paxton versus the State Fair

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. The state and its third biggest city are set to square off in court over a ban on guns at Texas’ most celebrated tribute to itself — the State Fair. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced … Continue reading →

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Can we get some help with these water repairs?

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t hurt to ask. Houston officials are seeking assistance from state lawmakers to help pay for some of the $4.93 billion in water utility improvements needed to prevent people from suffering widespread boil water notices and mass water loss, should … Continue reading →

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Shawn Thierry confirms our suspicions

Posted on September 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t let the door hit you, etc etc etc. State Rep. Shawn Thierry, a Houston Democrat who was defeated in her primary earlier this year, announced Friday she is switching to the Republican Party. Thierry was ousted by primary challenger … Continue reading →

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Can we un-stack the Lottery odds?

Posted on September 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Not sure this goes far enough. After assisting investors who stacked the odds to guarantee winning a $95 million Lotto Texas jackpot last year, Texas Lottery Commission officials said they have changed their procedures to prevent another such occurrence … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of HD112

Posted on August 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A top pickup opportunity for Dems, which could slam the brakes on vouchers for at least this session. Also an interesting race in its own right. Rep. Angie Chen Button, 70, is living the American Dream. After immigrating from Taiwan … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Texas anti-ESG law

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. A coalition of progressive business organizations is suing Texas over a 2021 law that blocks the state from investing in and contracting with companies that boycott the fossil fuel industry. The suit, filed in federal court in Austin … Continue reading →

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Election monitors coming

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

::rolls eyes:: The Secretary of State’s Office will again assign state inspectors to observe the handling and counting of ballots and monitor election records in Harris County, the state agency said while releasing a new audit outlining problems with the … Continue reading →

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More on Paxton’s “election fraud” raids

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just wild stuff. A Democratic candidate for the Texas House on Monday dismissed as “nonsense” a state investigation into a vote harvesting scheme that led authorities to confiscate her phone and search the homes of a legislative aide and … Continue reading →

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Another Loving County election tossed

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Wow again. The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals overturned results in a third race in the November 2022 general election in Loving County, Texas, the least-populous county in the United States, after a district court overturned two other close races … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s “election fraud” raids

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All sorts of warning bells here. The League of United Latin American Citizens plans to request a federal investigation into raids Attorney General Ken Paxton conducted this week as part of what he called an “ongoing election integrity investigation.” Gabriel … Continue reading →

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CD18 special election lineup set

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Erica Lee Carter and two people you’ve never heard of. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, will be the only Democrat on the ballot seeking to finish the late congresswoman’s term, priming Carter for a few … Continue reading →

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SCOTx declares 15th Court of Appeals to be legal

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for its grand opening. The Texas Supreme Court defended the state legislature’s creation of a statewide district court of appeals, holding the new court is constitutional. Dallas County and Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown challenged the constitutionality … Continue reading →

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CCA to take up Crystal Mason appeal

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I guess we’re doing this. Texas’ highest criminal court will hear the case of Crystal Mason, a Tarrant County woman whose voter fraud conviction was previously overturned. Mason, 49, has been a focal point in Texas’ tough-on-voter-fraud election laws. She … Continue reading →

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We have a statewide flood plan

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Now let’s see what we do with it. Texas officials adopted their first-ever statewide flood plan Thursday, recommending $54.5 billion worth of strategies and studies to protect the 1 in 6 Texans who live or work in flood hazard … Continue reading →

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From the “Definition of insanity” department

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’re just gonna keep doing this, aren’t we? Undaunted by legislative defeat more than a year ago, Las Vegas Sands, one of the world’s biggest casino operators, is gearing up for another push to legalize casino gambling in Texas and … Continue reading →

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We’re stuck with CenterPoint’s useless generators

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

So what can we do about them? CenterPoint Energy executives said Thursday the company cannot terminate its lease for barely used generators that have already cost the utility $800 million, shocking regulators who are now turning on the investment after … Continue reading →

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More on the cryptomining noise problem

Posted on August 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It does sound like hell. Over the course of several months in 2024, TIME spoke to more than 40 people in the Granbury area who reported a medical ailment that they believe is connected to the arrival of the Bitcoin … Continue reading →

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Another complaint filed over abortion denial

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not a lawsuit but a federal complaint about improper emergency care. Two women have filed complaints with the federal government alleging that Texas hospitals denied them abortion care necessary to treat their ectopic pregnancies. The complaints were filed August 6 … Continue reading →

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A checklist for CenterPoint

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said on multiple occasions as various officeholders have (correctly and justifiably) dumped on CenterPoint that they owe us a list of actual things they intend to do about them. This op-ed by Sandra Haverleh of the Texas Consumer Association … Continue reading →

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Accountability ratings release halted

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. A Travis County judge has blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its ratings of the state’s school districts and campuses for a second year in a row. Judge Karin Crump on Monday issued a temporary restraining order after … Continue reading →

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News flash: Ted Cruz is extremely anti-abortion

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s cut to the chase here, shall we? Texas Democrats are making abortion rights a major campaign issue after Republicans in the state banned the procedure, and U.S. Rep. Colin Allred is casting Ted Cruz’s views as “extreme” in his … Continue reading →

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Going younger at HPD

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Mayor John Whitmire wants to tap into a younger audience for police recruits, but doing so may require going to Austin and changing state law. During a news conference introducing new Police Chief Noe Diaz, the … Continue reading →

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Two more small updates on CD18

Posted on August 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I learned two things of interest from this Houston Landing story about the CD18 situation. The bulk of the story is about the candidate forum today and the recent Zoom interviews that candidates did (see here for more on each), … Continue reading →

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What’s in a name, Bexar County GOP 2024 version

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. Bexar County GOP officials said they may file a lawsuit against Texas House District 118 candidate Kristian Carranza, a Democrat, alleging that she changed her last name from Thompson to appeal to voters on the city’s largely Latino South … Continue reading →

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A high level overview of passenger rail in Texas

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening, mostly talk for now but maybe there will be more. A robust passenger rail system has long been seen as a pipe dream in car-dependent Texas. But a glut of federal dollars for rail projects and a … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over another social media law

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be litigating this past legislative session for a long time. Two tech industry groups, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block a new Texas law that would require platforms … Continue reading →

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The House gets its turn to yell at CenterPoint

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They mostly focused on tree maintenance, which seems reasonable enough. House lawmakers on Wednesday questioned CenterPoint Energy’s tree maintenance ahead of Hurricane Beryl, in which tens of thousands of trees knocked out power lines, shutting off electricity to 2.3 million … Continue reading →

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Who’s going to pay for derecho damage?

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Well, CenterPoint would like for that to be us. CenterPoint Energy expects to incur as much as $1.8 billion in costs from its efforts to restore power after May’s severe storms and July’s Hurricane Beryl, company executives said during a … Continue reading →

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So about those generators CenterPoint bought…

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m fine with all of this, but it shouldn’t be the endpoint of the conversation. It’s not even the main point. A state lawmaker said Monday he was considering pushing legislation to recoup some of the $800 million CenterPoint Energy … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over San Marcos marijuana decriminalization ordinance tossed

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

For now. A Hays County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the City of San Marcos in response to a proposition decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession. Judge Sherri Tibbe dropped Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s suit against San Marcos on Monday. … Continue reading →

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More on Ken Paxton’s ethicslessness

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, that’s a word. It’s also a good description of the state of our Attorney General. Three decades following its inception, the [Texas Ethics C]ommission is toothless. Compliance of Texas’ ethics laws is largely voluntary. That’s because the agency relies … Continue reading →

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July 2024 campaign finance reports – State offices

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Senate and Congress For the first time in awhile that I can remember, there’s not really a state or statewide legislative race generating much interest in Harris County. The candidates and incumbents for the Court of Appeals benches have … Continue reading →

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CenterPoint gets its first grilling

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure there will be more of this to come. But we need action, not just talk. Texas utility regulators grilled CenterPoint Energy executives Thursday over their performance in the days following Hurricane Beryl, when millions of Houston-area residents lost … Continue reading →

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