Tag Archives: Todd Hunter

Nobody knows the state of the gas supply in Texas

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That can be a problem during freezes. You know, like the one we had over Christmas. As questions continue to swirl about widespread outages Atmos Energy customers experienced in North Texas and beyond last week, the opacity of Texas’ sprawling … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Nobody knows the state of the gas supply in Texas

Congressional map passes

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And so the work is done. The lawyers are warming up their engines as we speak. The Texas Legislature has signed off on new congressional districts that shore up the GOP’s dominance and yield little ground to the people of … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Down to the wire for Congressional redistricting

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Time is running out in this session. Of course, there’s always the next session shudder. A redraw of the state’s congressional map to include a decade of population growth could be headed to last-minute backdoor negotiations after the Texas House … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

All but the Congressional maps are done. They’re just plowing through it. The Texas Legislature is nearing the end of its work to incorporate a decade’s worth of population growth into new political maps — pressing forward with efforts to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

House approves its map

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting close to the finish line. The Texas House on Wednesday approved proposed political boundaries for the lower chamber’s 150 districts that aim to fortify Republicans’ strength in the state House for the next decade. House Bill 1, authored … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

House committee advances revised map

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

More changes sure to come. A Texas House committee on Tuesday voted out a revised draft to redraw the lower chamber’s districts, which will give Republicans stronger positioning in the House of the Legislature for the next decade. The committee … Continue reading →

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

The proposed State House map is out

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The last of the bunch. Texas House members on Thursday released the first proposal for a new map redrawing the chamber’s 150-member districts. The initial draft would both increase Republicans’ strength across the state and the number of districts in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

House adopts its rules

Posted on January 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. The Texas House unanimously adopted rules Thursday that will require members to wear masks in the chamber and during committee hearings and allow them to cast votes on legislation from outside the House floor. But the chamber … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House adopts its rules

30 Day 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 3

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Moving on to the 30-day campaign finance reports for the hot State Rep races outside the Houston area. As noted, a lot of candidates have been reporting big hauls, as has the HDCC, the fundraising committee for State House Democrats. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 30 Day 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 3

July 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 3

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here I continue with a look at the State Rep races outside the Houston area where Dems are competing to flip seats. I did not look at the districts the Dems are defending, but I may return to that at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on July 2020 campaign finance reports: State races, part 3

We still need that equality bill in the Lege

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That SCOTUS ruling was huge, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. LGBTQ Texans marked a major victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law prevents employment discrimination on the basis of … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on We still need that equality bill in the Lege

A bipartisan equality bill

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the effort, but we can’t expect too much to come of this. Five Democratic and two Republican state legislators announced plans Wednesday to file a bill next legislative session that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in housing, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A bipartisan equality bill

We don’t know enough about what’s happening at nursing homes

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked before about two of the main coronavirus hotspot types in Texas, prisons and meat processing plants. Now we’re going to talk about that third type, nursing homes. As the death toll grows at Texas nursing homes, so has the … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

After-deadline filing review: The Lege

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we come to the State House, which is where most of the action will be in 2020. In 2018, much of the energy and focus was on Congressional races, to the point where some hand-wringing articles were written about … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Precinct analysis: 2018 State House

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Beto O’Rourke won 76 State House districts. Out of 150. Which is a majority. Let me say that again so it can fully sink in. BETO O’ROURKE WON 76 STATE HOUSE DISTRICTS. Remember that after the 2016 election, Democrats held … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Court throws out State House map

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Once more, with feeling. Parts of the Texas House map must be redrawn ahead of the 2018 elections because lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minorities in crafting several legislative districts, federal judges ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel in San Antonio … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Marijuana decriminalization bill passes House committee

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Progress. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee advanced a marijuana decriminalization bill on Monday with the help of two Republicans. With a 4–2 vote, the committee approved House Bill 81, authored by Chair Joe Moody, D-El Paso, at Monday’s hearing. Under … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

DC preclearance trial, Day One

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

While we wait for the Supreme Court to give us some indication of what happens next with our elections – they did not issue an opinion this week – the preclearance trial at the DC federal court got underway. State … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on DC preclearance trial, Day One

First thoughts on the new Congressional map

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

OK, down to business. Here’s a map of the new plan, which was unanimously approved by the three judges, the 2008 election data, and here’s 2010 election data. Going by the 2012 data, I break it down as follows: Strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Nothing is dead, and nothing is certain

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The deadline for passing House bills on second reading was midnight Friday last week, which means that tons of bills are technically dead, as they can no longer be brought to the House floor for a vote. However, bills can … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

School finance issues holding up budget deal

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

News flash: School finance reform is hard. Especially when all it’s doing is taking money away from everyone. The clock is a-tickin’ for Texas lawmakers to cobble together a budget compromise that enacts deep cuts to public education. But with … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

New map, new opportunities: Outside the urban areas, part 1

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the first post in my series of analyses of the new districts. I’m using 2008 electoral data, since the next election is a Presidential year, and I feel confident that the districts were drawn with an eye strongly towards … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Texting while lawmaking

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is a fascinating issue. A bill by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi , would make an addition to the Texas Open Meetings Act. And it would apply to any public meeting, whether it’s a House committee or a small-town … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Texting while lawmaking

Howard wins again

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s fourth and long for Dan Neil. The House Election Contest Committee unanimously voted [Tuesday] to uphold Rep. Will Hartnett’s determination that Donna Howard won the long-disputed House District 48 seat. Committee members said Republican Dan Neil did not provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Neil in it till the bitter end

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess he doesn’t have anything else to do right now. After some vacillation, the Republican who is contesting his loss to incumbent state Rep. Donna Howard said [Wednesday] that he is now inclined to take his fight the distance. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Neil in it till the bitter end

Senate stands down again

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No vote on the rules till next week, so the 2/3 rule lives for a few more days. In an hour-long caucus behind closed doors, Texas senators decided today to put off for a week a potentially acrimonious public debate … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate stands down again

Vetoing smart growth

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow takes a look at one of the vetoed bills that I hadn’t examined before, SB2169, “relating to the establishment of a smart growth policy work group and the development of a smart growth policy for this state.” The … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vetoing smart growth

Windstorm insurance bill passes House committee

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the prospect of a special session several times lately. One of the issues that could be the cause of a special session is windstorm insurance, as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association took it on the chin last year … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Windstorm insurance bill passes House committee