Tag Archives: David Simpson

Simpson prevails in SD01 primary

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

All elections are now officially resolved, at least at the state level. Two state representatives are set to face off for an open seat in the Texas senate after the third place candidate said Monday he will not request a … Continue reading →

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One recount settled

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

One down, one to go. Challenger Hugh Shine secured victory Thursday in the Republican primary for Texas House District 55, defeating incumbent state Rep. Molly White by 104 votes after a recount, according to Bell County GOP chairwoman Nancy Boston. … Continue reading →

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Two recounts may be in the works

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are always going to be some close ones. After losing her reelection bid to Hugh Shine by 118 votes, state Rep. Molly White, R-Belton, announced she is requesting a recount. In an email to supporters soliciting input Wednesday afternoon, … Continue reading →

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We don’t want to share marriage with those icky gay people

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ed Kilgore detects a new trend. Now that the Christian Right has been reduced to the sputtering defiance of Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal or to the sullen silence of many others, one can hope that conservative acceptance of same-sex … Continue reading →

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Eltife not running for re-election

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

He will be missed. After 23 years in elected office, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, said he will not run for re-election in 2016 to devote more time to family, friends, his work and his community. Eltife said he’s loved … Continue reading →

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One marijuana reform bill passes out of committee

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. For the first time, a committee in the Legislature has approved a bill to decriminalize possession of marijuana, a move advocates hailed as a milestone moment in Texas. The state House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee passed … Continue reading →

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Marijuana reform advocates get their day

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This will be worth watching closely. Four proposals to relax penalties for possessing pot have been scheduled for a hearing Wednesday in the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, setting up what is sure to be a closely-watched debate in the … Continue reading →

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Simpson files pot legalization bill

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Texas State Representative David Simpson (R-7) introduced a bill Monday that would strike all language pertaining to marijuana from Texas Statutes, thus abolishing marijuana prohibition in the state. Representative Simpson’s HB 2165 harkens back to a time … Continue reading →

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Who will be on the Ten Best and Ten Worst lists?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib starts the speculation. Texas Monthly‘s list of the best and worst legislators of the 83rd session doesn’t come out until June 12, but why should Paul Burka and his colleagues have all the fun? Use this interactive to … Continue reading →

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One place where a little austerity would do some good

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry’s slush funds get no love in the opening budgets. The House and Senate’s initial two-year budgets would force Perry’s deal-closing Texas Enterprise Fund to exhaust its last $7 million and throttle back on state film incentives and subsidies … Continue reading →

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Point of disorder

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

New House, new rule. The Texas House’s Democratic minority was dealt a blow Monday when the House passed an amendment to the chamber’s rules to limit legislators’ ability to derail a bill based on clerical errors. Calling “points of order” … Continue reading →

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Simpson in, Hughes out to challenge Straus for Speaker

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It started with an announcement that Rep. David Simpson would make the Speaker’s race a three-way, which I assure you sounds dirtier than it actually is. Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, filed papers to run for Speaker of the House, he … Continue reading →

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More on Texas proving the need for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: “There have been growing arguments that the Voting Rights Act is obsolete and should be struck down,” says University of Michigan law professor Ellen Katz, a nationally recognized expert on the Voting Rights Act. “But [Gov.] Rick … Continue reading →

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Sine Die, take two

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The House followed the Senate out the door yesterday, leaving a bit of unfinished business behind. The Senate’s version of a bill to criminalize intrusive pat-downs by federal agents with the Transportation Security Administration has died in the House, after … Continue reading →

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Where the state cuts meet the local budgets

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Grits, an editorial in the Longview News-Journal of interest: Routine mental health services were the first to fall during the 2003 budget crisis, which was preceded by pre-session cuts the fall and summer of 2002. East Texas mental health … Continue reading →

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