Tag Archives: Byron Cook

Paxton to be deposed in Servergy-related lawsuit

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This gets into some deep lore about the Paxton crime saga. Attorney General Ken Paxton will face lawyers for the men who accused him of securities fraud seven years ago in a one-hour deposition after the November elections. The Dallas … Continue reading →

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Runoff races, part 4: Republicans

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Again, not going to spend too much time on this, but here are the US House and State House races for which there are Republican primary runoffs: Dist Candidate March% ========================= CD02 Roberts 33.03% CD02 Crenshaw 27.42% CD05 Gooden 29.97% … Continue reading →

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Did Greg Abbott oppose the bathroom bill?

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Color me skeptical. Gov. Greg Abbott himself was opposed to the controversial “bathroom bill” that dominated debate at the Texas Capitol for much of 2017, according to a state representative involved in keeping the legislation from passing the Texas House. … Continue reading →

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No, the bathroom bill issue hasn’t gone away

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg tries to argue that the bathroom bill issue has faded away this election, but I don’t buy it and I don’t think she does, either. But there’s one hot-button issue that’s been notably absent: the bathroom bill. And … Continue reading →

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Speaker Straus not running for re-election

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A bombshell no one saw coming. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican, announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election in 2018, a decision that has the potential to upend the political balance of power in the … Continue reading →

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Halfway through the session

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The House is doing House things, and that’s fine. Brushing aside concerns that they are not moving swiftly enough to enact Gov. Greg Abbott’s 20-point agenda, Texas House members opened the second half of the special session Wednesday with a … Continue reading →

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Dear business community: Dan Patrick is not your ally

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full Chron story about the latest group of business leaders to call for a stop to the bathroom bill. I want to focus on one key aspect of this: A week after police chiefs from Houston, San Antonio … Continue reading →

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The bathroom bill in the House

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly good news here. Dangerous. Discriminatory. Chilling. Hurtful. Those are words used by House State Affairs Chairman Byron Cook to describe bathroom legislation headed to his committee in the Texas House in the coming days. The Republican from Corsicana said … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s pastor sues Servergy case witnesses

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

My head is spinning. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s pastor has sued the lead witnesses against him in his upcoming criminal trials. Last week, Prestonwood Baptist Church Executive Pastor Mike Buster filed a lawsuit against Rep. Byron Cook and Florida businessman … Continue reading →

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House passes its “sanctuary cities” bill

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Terrible. After more than 16 hours of debate, the Texas House of Representatives early Thursday morning tentatively gave a nod to the latest version of a Senate bill that would ban “sanctuary” jurisdictions in Texas. The 93-54 vote on second … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bill 2.0 gets its committee hearing

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the same old garbage in a new package. Amid concerns about rolling back local protections for vulnerable Texans and dire economic fallout, a panel of House lawmakers considered a measure into the early hours of Thursday morning that some … Continue reading →

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More on the House bathroom bill

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Still a very bad idea. After largely avoiding discussions so far on proposals to regulate bathrooms, the Texas House will wade into the debate this week with a measure some are hoping will serve as an alternative to the Senate’s … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bill 2.0

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Beware. House lawmakers will debate a so-called “bathroom bill” next week that supporters hope will be less worrisome to business interests concerned the measure could hurt the Texas economy. The decision to debate the House bill, and to set aside a more severe version passed … Continue reading →

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Beware the coming shenanigans on SB6

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The full House may not get to vote on Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t get a chance to vote onwhat’s in the bill. But speculation that SB 6 may not make it to the … Continue reading →

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Athletes against SB6

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Athlete Ally: Dear Texas, The love of sport is in part what makes Texas great. The passion and competitive spirit that reverberates throughout the Texas athletic community is hard to match across the United States. It’s that passion – … Continue reading →

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The “Man’s Right To Know” Act

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is some high-quality trolling. Texas State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, filed a bill Friday that would penalize men for “unregulated masturbatory emissions.” The satirical House Bill 4260 would encourage men to remain “fully abstinent” and only allow the “occasional … Continue reading →

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House hears “fetal remains” bill

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? [House Bill 35] would create a registry of organizations that can help pay for burial or cremation of fetal remains. That way, the cost associated with burials would not fall on women, [bill author Rep. Byron] Cook said. The … Continue reading →

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Here come the anti-Texas Central bills

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: [Tuesday], a group of key state lawmakers filed a slate of legislation to push back against Texas Central Railway’s controversial proposal to construct a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. Senators Birdwell (R-Granbury), Creighton (R-Conroe), Kolkhorst … Continue reading →

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More Paxton-versus-SEC stuff

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Keeping the lawyers busy. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton say the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cannot “shoot first and investigate later” as they seek to block 15 new subpoenas issued by the SEC. It is the latest … Continue reading →

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Paxton wants SEC’s documents on him

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

More twists and turns. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attorneys have gone to court, seeking to force the Securities and Exchange Commission to produce notes of their interviews with the investors whose allegations form the basis of the civil case … Continue reading →

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AG asked to investigate Hill County ballot irregularities

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Weird, but we’ll see. The Texas Attorney General’s office has been asked to launch an investigation into allegations that multiple people voted illegally in the 2016 Republican primary elections in Hill County, despite local officials’ claims that the discrepancies were … Continue reading →

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AG opinion sought on eminent domain power for Texas Central

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This could be a big deal. State Rep. Byron Cook asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday to rule on whether a private company developing a high-speed train project in the state has the power of eminent domain. Texas … Continue reading →

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SEC files charges against Paxton

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been charged in federal court with allegedly misleading investors in a technology company. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed the charges Monday in a Sherman-based court. They are similar to the allegations … Continue reading →

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2016 primary reactions and initial impressions

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

First, a couple of minor notes. Rep. Byron Cook ultimately pulled out a win in his nasty and high-profile primary. That’s good news for Speaker Joe Straus and the general forces of “government that isn’t like a three-year-old coming off … Continue reading →

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2016 primaries: State races

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the Democratic race for Railroad Commissioner, and a few words from Forrest Wilder: The Gene Kelly Effect: Texas Democrats are almost perennially embarrassed by what you might call the Gene Kelly Effect — the depressing tendency of … Continue reading →

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Former Servergy CEO sues over Paxton-related costs

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What a tangled web. The former CEO of the technology startup named in Ken Paxton’s indictments is suing the company he founded for costs associated with the attorney general’s criminal investigation and ongoing legal battle. William Mapp III, the founder … Continue reading →

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Paxton reindicted

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

On the same charges, with slightly different wording. After re-filing indictments against Attorney General Ken Paxton in his securities fraud case, two special prosecutors are pushing back against criticism from Paxton’s attorney, who says the recent action shows that they … Continue reading →

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Ken who?

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

State Republican leaders don’t have much to say about our allegedly felonious Attorney General. Texas’ Republican leaders Sunday continued their radio silence on the indictment of Attorney General Ken Paxton on three felony fraud charges. Paxton, who was elected as … Continue reading →

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Keffer to retire

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The original Straus gang shrinks again. State Rep. Jim Keffer, an Eastland Republican who was one of the earliest supporters of House Speaker Joe Straus, has decided not to seek reelection next year, according to a statement he prepared for … Continue reading →

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Ethics reform dies its expected death

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The only surprise is that it took this long. With no collective will to expose dark money contributions in Texas, a major ethics overhaul was snuffed out in the waning hours of the 2015 legislative session. “It’s dead,” Rep. Byron … Continue reading →

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The fallout from the chubfest

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Cleaning up some loose ends…The campus carry bill that was the subject of much chubbing passed on final reading. The battle over “campus carry” is headed back to the Texas Senate after House lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to legislation … Continue reading →

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House chubfest kills several bad bills

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news, though as always at the end of a session, the outcome isn’t clean and the details are very murky. As the clock struck midnight, the failure of an anti-abortion initiative — dear to the hearts of the … Continue reading →

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There’s still time for bad bills to be passed

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bad bill #1: After four hours of debate and more than a dozen failed amendments offered by Democrats, the Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to far-reaching restrictions on minors seeking abortions in Texas without parental consent. On a 21-10 … Continue reading →

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Anchia birth certificate bill passes out of committee

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. House Bill 537, by Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), would allow same-sex parents to have both names on the birth certificates of adopted children. […] On Monday, the committee quietly voted 7-4 to advance HB 537, with Cook and … Continue reading →

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