Tag Archives: Burt Solomons

Redistricting trial set for July

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The San Antonio federal court has set a date in July of 2014 to resolve the litigation relating to the 2011 and 2013 redistrictings. A federal three-judge panel in San Antonio on Friday issued a schedule for the case, mostly granting state … Continue reading →

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More on the size of the SBOE and its districts

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is holding its hearing today on whether the 15-member State Board of Education and its ginormous districts are appropriately sized. A House Redistricting committee will study the merits of expanding the board to creating smaller districts, … Continue reading →

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Down to the wire for “sanctuary cities”

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an 11th hour lobbying effort to stop the “sanctuary cities” bill as it is. As two of Texas’ most politically-involved business leaders emerged as opponents, a bill banning “sanctuary cities” lost crucial momentum Friday, raising the possibility the measure … Continue reading →

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House approves Congressional map

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, that was quick. Rejecting charges that the GOP plan to redraw congressional district boundaries discriminates against minorities and punishes Austin, the Texas House just tentatively approved the partisan plan 93-48. The new map in a revised Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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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 →

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House Redistricting committee approves modified Congressional map

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Even quicker than the Senate committee. The Texas House Redistricting Committee approved a new version of the Congressional map that makes a few tweaks, mainly in North and South Texas. But the overall goal remains the same: Maintain and expand … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Solomons admits his map is a joke

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

OK, that’s not quite what he said, but you get the idea. A top state Republican said Thursday that the newly proposed congressional map, which includes an odd-looking “horseshoe” district stretching from the northwestern edge of Harris County to the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Senate Dems block “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They did it as they said they would. The state’s contentious sanctuary cities bill failed to move out of the Senate late Tuesday — a move some senators said effectively killed one of the most controversial measures the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

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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 →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill gutted in committee

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming. In a surprise move that could effectively kill HB 12, the sanctuary cities bill that Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item, a Senate committee today replaced the immigration language with a homeland security bill by … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” ban passes the House

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose we should get used to the phrase “cutting off debate” because that seems to be the norm these days. After taking the unusual and controversial strategy of cutting off debate, the Texas House late Monday voted 99 to … Continue reading →

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Sanctuary cities bill delayed

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another point of order sends another “emergency” bill back to committee. The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill hit a roadblock in the Texas house late Friday when a point of order derailed the legislation and knocked it off the calendar. The … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill on the House calendar

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to Somos Tejanos, the so-called “Sanctuary cities” bill HB12 is on the House calendar for Friday, May 6. It had originally been scheduled for Cinco de Mayo, but I guess someone decided the optics of that weren’t so good. … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Outside the urban areas, part 2

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More districts to look at for Democratic opportunities outside of the traditional urban areas. District: 45 Incumbent: Jason Isaacs (first elected in 2010) Counties: Blanco, Hays Best 2008 Dem performance: Barack Obama, 46.78% Patrick Rose won this district in 2002, … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting map

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib stayed up all night to see how it ended. The Texas House tentatively approved new political districts early this morning on a 92-52 vote after hours of nips and tucks that left the proposal they started with mostly … Continue reading →

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House approves SBOE map

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One down, three to go. A new map for the 15-member Texas State Board of Education became the first redistricting proposal to make its way through the Texas House Thursday afternoon, winning approval on a vote of 99-45. State Rep. … Continue reading →

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Solomons State House map 2.0

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ and check out Plan H134 for a revised State House map from House Redistricting Chair Burt Solomons. Here’s the Harris County view: Still 24 districts, with either Rep. Scott Hochberg or Rep. Hubert Vo on the outside … Continue reading →

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First State House redistricting plan is up

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Go here, click Select Plans, then Base Plan, then choose Plan H113. The first thing I noticed is that it did in fact reduce Harris County to 24 members. Here’s a screen grab: HD149 is the odd district out – … Continue reading →

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So what is the point of the SBOE, anyway?

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another story about the difficulties of SBOE redistricting, and it’s got me wondering why we bother having an elected body called the State Board of Education. This legislative session, lawmakers are working on redrawing the 15 districts based on … Continue reading →

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The redistricting process gets started in the Lege

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: The public version of drawing new congressional maps for Texas started [Thursday] morning with committee hearings and the unveiling of a proposal from a coalition that insists at least two of the four new districts should have … Continue reading →

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SBOE map approved by House committee

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One down for the House Redistricting Committee. A House Redistricting Committee approved a new map for the State Board of Education [Friday] afternoon on a vote of 12-4. The map now moves to the full House. State Rep. Carol Alvarado, … Continue reading →

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SBOE redistricting

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee gets to work. It would be easier to draw new State Board of Education districts to reflect the state’s booming Hispanic population growth if there were more than 15 seats, a state lawmaker said Friday while … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill passes out of House committee

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And another so-called legislative emergency gets voted on. Legislation banning “sanctuary city” policies in Texas was voted out of the House State Affairs Committee today, sending the bill to the full House for consideration. HB12 by Rep. Burt Solomons would … Continue reading →

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Here come the “sanctuary city” bills

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege gets set to tackle another “emergency”. Top state lawmakers filed the latest legislation Wednesday to prohibit so-called sanctuary city policies, saying local governmental bodies would risk losing state grant money if they prohibit enforcement of state or federal … Continue reading →

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Voters say they don’t want spending cuts

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to one poll, anyway. Voters gave Republicans an overwhelming victory in November, leaving the GOP with nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Legislature and every statewide office. Many have interpreted the election as a clear call for spending … Continue reading →

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In case you need a reminder to vote this November

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What we have to look forward to in Austin next year if nothing changes. Legislators next year will face severe budget problems, divisive redistricting, school funding troubles and reviews of major state agencies, including the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality … Continue reading →

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Solomons and Berman, not BFFs

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This may be my favorite letter from one legislator to another of all time. Any time a missive starts with “You are a liar”, you know it’s going to be fun. By my count, Rep. Burt Solomons used the words … Continue reading →

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