Tag Archives: special session

I do not expect another Ardmore

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The AusChron tries to get out the Democrats’ strategy for Special Session 2. When the Texas House convened last last month to pass, on third reading and onto the Senate for final passage, Senate Bill 5, the omnibus abortion regulations … Continue reading →

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Burnam to re-file marriage equality bill for Special Session 2

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Upon the announcement [Wednesday] of a second special legislative session by Governor Rick Perry, as well as the Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Act, State Representative Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) today announced his intention … Continue reading →

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Time to lace up your Mizunos and head back to the Capitol

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Special Session 2 starts today. If you can be there to watch the proceedings in the Legislature, that would be great. RSVP here, and while you’re at it, give a Like to the Stand With Texas Women Facebook page. The … Continue reading →

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The 2011 maps are officially dead

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry has signed the redistricting bills, thus making the 2012 interim maps the official state-sanctioned maps and thus dropping any further pursuit of the maps drawn by the 2011 Lege. On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry signed all three redistricting … Continue reading →

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Still standing with Wendy

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let me just say that I hope Sen. Wendy Davis slept in yesterday, and did nothing more strenuous than channel surfing and ordering takeout. She’s earned a lazy day, and a lot more than that. And while she (hopefully) took … Continue reading →

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Smitherman says he’s in for Attorney General

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman is running for the 2014 Republican nomination for Attorney General, he confirmed to the Tribune. Public announcements via social media are planned for Monday. Smitherman told the Tribune he hopes to continue the … Continue reading →

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Filibusted

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I figure this is about how the Republicans think of Sen. Wendy Davis right now: Well, they probably think a few more things, too, but this is a family blog. If you didn’t stay up late last night and follow … Continue reading →

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RIP, Section 5

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are well aware that SCOTUS has dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. They actually left Section 5, which is what requires certain parts of the country (including Texas) to get preclearance on voting-related changes, intact, … Continue reading →

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No action on SB5 in the Senate

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The name of the game is running out the clock. Texas Democrats, far outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, are nonetheless on the verge of killing one of the most restrictive abortion proposals in the nation … Continue reading →

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Two contradictory polls about abortion

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The UT/Texas Trib poll painted a not-so-rosy picture for reproductive choice in Texas. Texas voters remain split on the permissibility of abortion but favor banning the procedure after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas … Continue reading →

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Last redistricting bill passes Senate, House debates abortion bills

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It was destiny. The Texas Senate on Sunday wrapped up final redistricting loose ends by concurring with changes made by the House to political boundaries for the lower chamber. In an 18-11 vote, the Senate signed off on a series … Continue reading →

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No override of Public Integrity Unit funding veto

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. A legislative move to restore state funding for the ethics-enforcing Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office died Friday afternoon. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said no vote is expected on House Concurrent Resolution … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting and abortion bills

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The House has passed SB 3, the redistricting bill for the state house map, on third and final reading. There was one last floor amendment today offered by State Rep. Toni Rose (D-Dallas), which moved Rose’s mother and … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting bills

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They accepted a couple of amendments but otherwise the process wasn’t much different from the Senate or the House committee. A daylong debate on redistricting maps in the Texas House drew frustration from Democrats and growing concern from Republicans on … Continue reading →

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Transportation funding advances

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Between redistricting and abortion, transportation funding has taken a bit of a back seat in the special session despite being the first additional item on the agenda. The Senate took the first step on that yesterday. Despite concerns raised by … Continue reading →

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Monday House action

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The main action on Monday in the House was the House Redistricting Committee hearing. Where there’s a redistricting hearing, there’s Greg with a liveblogging session. Pay close attention to the stuff Greg writes about the questions that the Dems, in … Continue reading →

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Turner seeks a way to get around Public Integrity Unit de-funding

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Sylvester Turner takes aim at one of Perry’s vetoes. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said he would propose a House Concurrent Resolution advocating restoration of funding for the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County district attorney’s office, which was … Continue reading →

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Senate approves redistricting bills

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As pro forma as they wanna be. The Texas Senate voted to ratify court-drawn political maps that were used for legislative and congressional races in 2012. The bills now head to the House. In party-line votes, Senators voted 16-11 to … Continue reading →

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Senate committee passed redistricting bills

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As is, no amendments. After a two-hour hearing this morning, the Senate redistricting committee voted out bills that would make the three interim legislative and congressional maps permanent. The votes on the bills were all on party lines 8-6. Greg … Continue reading →

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Redistricting deal in the works?

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Color me skeptical of this. The contours of an agreement might have emerged Monday as a special committee of the Texas House debated maps of congressional and legislative districts. A Republican lawmaker and an attorney for the Mexican American Legislative … Continue reading →

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Perry signs HB5, adds transportation to the special session

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There had been some buzz about a possible veto, but in the end this was to be expected. When Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 5 on Monday, he ended weeks of speculation that he might veto the high-profile education … Continue reading →

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Weekend redistricting update

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I couldn’t find any news coverage from Saturday’s Senate Redistricting Committee hearing at UH, so you should read Greg’s liveblog of the event to find out what happened. The roadshow is in San Antonio today, and there will be two … Continue reading →

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Feisty redistricting hearing in Dallas

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There really aren’t any other kind of redistricting hearings, when you get right down to it. Most of the testimony centered on whether to approve interim political maps used in the 2012 elections, or toss those lines out in favor … Continue reading →

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Redistricting hearings schedule

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Attend one if you can. Senate and House committees tapped to work on redistricting during the special session Tuesday released times, locations and dates for field hearings around the state. The Senate will hold two field hearings, one in Corpus … Continue reading →

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Transportation funding shouldn’t be intractable

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As previously noted, Sens. Tommy Williams and Robert Nichols want to take another crack at finding additional funds for transportation. The problem, as always, is political

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Still no call to expand the call

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry may yet expand the call of the special session, but so far he’s sticking to his script about dealing with redistricting first. Gov. Rick Perry is leaving the door open for more items on the agenda of the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Many questions at the redistricting hearing

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: The Legislature is currently considering whether to ratify maps drawn by the three federal judges and used in the 2012 elections. It became clear during Wednesday’s hearing that the judges and the lawyers in the case agree … Continue reading →

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Why a special session on redistricting won’t resolve anything

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: Intentional Fragmentation  In the other parts of the map, redistricting plaintiffs contend that the Texas Legislature intentionally diluted African-American and Hispanic voting strength by fragmenting cohesive communities. This fragmentation, they argue, is especially pronounced in the DFW … Continue reading →

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Calling to add to the call

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The special session is just a day old, and already legislators are lining up to extend its agenda to cover things that didn’t get done during regulation time. Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Senate Transportation Chairman Robert … Continue reading →

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Wrapping up the rest of the regular session

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So as we now know, a special session on redistricting has been called, though we don’t yet know what if anything else may be added later. I covered that last night, so let’s cover what else got done at the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Sine die, mofos

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Animal speaks for me: There may be a special session on redistricting or any number of other things, or there may not be. In a just world, everyone would get to go home and enjoy the summer. Unfortunately, this is … Continue reading →

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Don’t count your victories too soon

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

While I wouldn’t call this legislative session anything to be terribly happy about, it could have been far worse. That’s because a whole lot of nasty red meat bills never got voted on, and Democrats are justifiably happy about that. … Continue reading →

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