Tag Archives: Joe Deshotel

The Lege is a little more diverse now

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A good thing. Voters in Texas added to the diversity of their state Legislature on Tuesday, tripling the number of openly gay Black lawmakers holding office and electing the first two Muslim lawmakers to serve in the Capitol. As recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Filing update: More candidates than you can count

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This headline and first paragraph are short by a couple of candidates. A dozen potential challengers to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo were among the scores who filed ahead of Monday’s deadline to run for county offices next year. […] … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The filings I’m still looking for

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Today is Filing Deadline Day. By the end of today, we’ll know who is and isn’t running for what. While we wait for that, let’s review the filings that have not yet happened, to see what mysteries may remain. Congress: … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rep. Garnet Coleman to retire

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very sad to see him go, he was one of the best. State Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat who has served 30 years in the Texas House, said Thursday he will not seek another term to the lower chamber. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still no quorum, and no Dem legislators rounded up yet

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And I’m still not sure what exactly will happen when and if a law enforcement officer stumbles across one of the wayward legislators. The hunt for missing Democratic Texas House members escalated late Thursday and Friday, as the sergeant-at-arms and … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still no quorum, and no Dem legislators rounded up yet

You can’t arrest the quorum-busters, at least not yet

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The opening bid on power outage response

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad, but there’s a long way to go and not a lot of detail just yet. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Monday announced seven priority bills responding to the winter weather crisis last month that left millions of … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

And we already have our first COVID cases from the Lege

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not the last. A Texas House member tested positive for the coronavirus after being on the chamber floor for three straight days, giving lawmakers an early indication of the dangers of governing during the pandemic. State Rep. Joe Deshotel, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here comes the casino push

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Expect this to get louder and louder, though whether it’s successful or not remains to be seen. When a big political player comes waltzing into Texas spending big money from out of state, it’s usually a good sign that he … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Time for the biennial annotation of gambling bills that will not pass

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This one is creative, I’ll give it that. A Texas lawmaker has proposed subsidizing the state’s underfunded windstorm insurance and flooding assistance by building casinos in coastal counties. State Rep. Joe Deshotel filed the bill on Dec. 7 to cover … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turner endorses Ike Dike

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has endorsed the “Ike Dike” storm surge protection proposal, raising the possibility that Houston could be one of the last cities in the Galveston Bay area to endorse the $6 billion project. If the Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bill filing deadline has passed

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the legislative session, and we have now passed the point where new bills can be filed. Racing to beat a deadline for filing bills, state lawmakers on Friday submitted hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bill filing deadline has passed

Perry doesn’t have to show up at his court hearing

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He’s excused this time. But don’t push it. Gov. Rick Perry does not have to appear at an Oct. 13 court hearing in his case, but that does not mean he has a pass to skip all future hearings, Visiting … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perry doesn’t have to show up at his court hearing

Ike Dike versus Centennial Gate

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an academic storm surge mitigation smackdown! Lawmakers on Monday told representatives of two of Texas’ most distinguished universities to stop feuding and come together on a plan for protecting the Houston region from a storm surge similar to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ike Dike versus Centennial Gate

AG opinion sought for Perry’s use of taxpayer funds for defense

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A Democratic House leader has asked for a legal opinion on how and if Gov. Rick Perry can bill taxpayers for his $450-an-hour criminal lawyer defending him in a grand jury probe. Perry is under a grand jury investigation … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on AG opinion sought for Perry’s use of taxpayer funds for defense

House passes major changes to testing and graduation requirements

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal. Texas public high school students would face far fewer high-stakes exams and gain more freedom in choosing courses under a major education bill approved by the state House on Tuesday. Hours of debate among lawmakers … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

On peeing in a cup

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another solution in search of a problem from the Republican leadership. Out of the more than 250 bills filed Monday, the first possible day to file legislation for the 83rd session, one measure — concerning drug testing for welfare applicants … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on worker’s comp fraud

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Elise Hu has a followup to her story from last week about worker’s comp fraud and the lack of investigation of same. It seems she attracted the attention of the Lege. “My primary concern is patients getting improper treatment — … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on worker’s comp fraud

House committee passes SB1569

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The House Business and Industry Committee wasted no time approving the Senate bill that would open the door for Texas to get $555 million in federal stimulus money to expand unemployment eligibility. SB 1569 landed in the committee yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House committee passes SB1569

Senate passes SB1569, but may not be able to override a veto

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate passed SB1569, the bill that accepts stimulus funding for unemployment insurance, by a 19-11 vote today. As Elise noted on Twitter, two Senators flipped to No for final passage; one other Senator was either absent or did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate passes SB1569, but may not be able to override a veto

Senate committee passes unemployment insurance reform

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think, after all the high-profile squabbling over stimulus funds for the unemployment insurance trust fund, that the news of SB1569‘s advancement in the Senate might get a bit more notice than this, but apparently not. The only other story … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate committee passes unemployment insurance reform

Parker versus Perry

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I like this. Houston City Controller Annise Parker sharply criticized Texas Governor Rick Perry today for rejecting $555 million in federal stimulus money that would have funded unemployment benefits for out-of-work Texans. “In January alone, more than 65,000 Houstonians were … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Parker versus Perry

Will we or won’t we fix unemployment insurance?

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of money riding on the answer to that question. The lure of $555 million in federal stimulus money for additional unemployment insurance has Texas legislators mulling whether to expand unemployment benefits to more workers. To get that … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Will we or won’t we fix unemployment insurance?