Category Archives: That’s our Lege

Dan Patrick’s “obscene books” obsession

Posted on August 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

When you’re completely out of ideas. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday vowed to pass legislation punishing public schools that do not remove graphic books from their shelves by knocking them down a notch in the state’s annual school performance … Continue reading →

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Why would any non-returning Democratic House member pay the stupid fine?

Posted on June 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, it’s not like this will affect their credit score. A total of 17 Democrats in the Texas House — including three now running for statewide office — are holding out on paying fines chamber leadership imposed over last … Continue reading →

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The Camp Mystic report

Posted on June 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Tough to read. Camp Mystic did not have state-required written emergency plans or adequate evacuation measures that could have prevented the deaths of 25 campers and two counselors in last year’s July 4 flood, state-appointed investigators told the state lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Abbott flip flops a little on data centers

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s feeling heat. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday released sweeping regulatory recommendations on data centers for the Legislature to pass in the 2027 session, as Texas grapples with an explosion of artificial intelligence-driven development and soaring power demands. In a … Continue reading →

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No camp for you

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck this summer, parents. After almost 20 years of bouncing from campground to campground, Orr Family Ministries finally found its home in 2022 on a 12-acre tree-filled campground located on a hill in Colorado County. Kids played in the swimming pool, … Continue reading →

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A brief history of failing to pass flood protection laws

Posted on May 8, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We just do our thing here and don’t much care about the consequences. The sound of construction machinery filled the air as Kylie Nidever walked past properties ravaged months earlier by floodwaters. Nidever’s home was among those in her Bumble … Continue reading →

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What to expect with redistricting in Texas in 2027

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too soon to say. “When the U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Louisiana v. Callais case that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional, Texas will take up redistricting again (Congressional, Texas Senate and Texas House),” Rep. … Continue reading →

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House Dems fined for most recent quorum break

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not the end of the story. A committee of the Texas House of Representatives voted late Friday afternoon to impose financial penalties totaling nearly $422,000 on Democratic House members who broke quorum last August to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from … Continue reading →

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Sorry, but data centers don’t need those tax breaks

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Let them pay their taxes. Texas will lose out on at least $3.1 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry, according to the comptroller’s office. That … Continue reading →

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We have our first real voucher loophole

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Surely not the last. A Florida-based virtual school could receive Texas taxpayer funds through the state’s new $1 billion private school voucher program, despite provisions in the law meant to block out-of-state schools from joining the program. State records show … Continue reading →

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Vouchers are for white private school kids

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Shocking, I know. Most of Texas’ school voucher applications come from white families and children who previously attended a private school or home-school. The Texas comptroller’s office, which manages the program, released preliminary data before applications for families interested in … Continue reading →

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Patrick disses Rehmet

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is obnoxious, but also a little amusing. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is sidelining the Texas Democrat who in January won a stunning upset victory in what had been considered a safe Republican state Senate district. The Republican did not … Continue reading →

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A story about Christmas tree farms

Posted on December 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m happy for them. Four years ago, James and Mary Robinson put the last Christmas tree they would ever plant in the ground. “Once you plant the tree, it takes four years to harvest it,” James said. “But once you … Continue reading →

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A bathroom bill workaround

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I like this approach. One week after the state’s controversial “bathroom bill” took effect, Austin City Council voted Thursday to begin crafting a plan to make city-owned restrooms gender inclusive. The Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 8, formally titled the … Continue reading →

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We bought some strategic Bitcoin

Posted on December 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yippie. The state of Texas recently purchased about $5 million worth of bitcoin through a BlackRock-administered exchange-traded fund, a representative for the state comptroller’s office confirmed in an email to The Dallas Morning News on Monday. The purchase came several months after … Continue reading →

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Why Kerr County turned down state flood grant money

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Three weeks after flash floods in Texas’ Hill Country killed more than 100 people, state lawmakers chastised Kerr County leaders for rejecting money a year earlier to create a warning system that could have alerted residents to rapidly … Continue reading →

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Using AI to screen school library books

Posted on November 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh for crying out loud. Pearland school board members knew they couldn’t personally vet hundreds of books for “indecent” or “profane” content prohibited under a new state law. So when they met this fall to consider a 1,400-title purchase list, … Continue reading →

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The THC age limit is in effect

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Time to show your ID, I guess. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency rule to ban liquor license holders from selling THC products to anyone under the age of 21, the agency’s first step toward fulfilling … Continue reading →

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The revenue cap squeeze on first responders

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Great story, and an even better illustration of a couple of points I’ve been making for quite some time. Just weeks after flash flooding killed more than 100 people in Kerr County, many of the first responders who served on … Continue reading →

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How the hemp industry wooed Greg Abbott

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting stuff here, and a reminder that some things are eternal. Colton Luther, a 29-year-old from Houston who hosts the cannabis podcast “Puff and Prosper,” isn’t your typical Austin lobbyist. But in July, Luther sat across from Gov. Greg … Continue reading →

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Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … Continue reading →

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A brief note about a poll

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This poll. Only one-third of Texas voters approve of the GOP-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional map, according to a recent statewide poll, which found that independent and Democratic voters overwhelmingly opposed the mid-decade redistricting and would rather give … Continue reading →

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THC vape pens are now illegal

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For those who need to know. Vapes containing THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8 [are now] illegal to sell in Texas […] under a law passed earlier this year. Senate Bill 2024, while narrower than efforts to outlaw all … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

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The Summer Willis Act

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Too much of what we got from the Legislature this year was garbage. Wingnut Republican priorities are the only things that really matter to them, and we got a lot of it. But some decent things made it through, and … Continue reading →

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The latest abortion news

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here. The Texas Senate passed new bounty hunter-style abortion legislation Wednesday night to quash mailed abortion pills, targeting a method that has slipped through the cracks of abortion bans and contributed to the slight rise in the total number of … Continue reading →

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Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of jokers. Efforts to overhaul local emergency response to disasters failed after the Texas Senate concluded its business early Thursday without taking up the House’s version of a bill that would have mandated new training and licensing … Continue reading →

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Ivermectin for everyone!

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? The Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make ivermectin — a drug used mostly in this country to treat livestock for parasites — available to Texans without a prescription. The latest legislative action moves … Continue reading →

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Camps oppose floodplain restriction

Posted on August 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I gotta say, I’m not sure who they think will be sympathetic to this. Leaders of three Kerr County youth camps wrote to Texas House lawmakers Friday opposing legislation that would prohibit the state from licensing camps with cabins in … Continue reading →

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What the Lege has done since redistricting

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of headlines to ponder, now that the redistricting bill has been signed. Texas House greenlights ‘bounty hunter’ abortion pill ban Texas House OKs transgender bathroom ban after years of GOP attempts Yep, definitely doing the hard work … Continue reading →

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STAAR to be replaced with even more tests

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so glad my kids have graduated. The Texas House on Tuesday greenlit plans to scrap the STAAR test, clearing a path to replace the state exams with three smaller ones given throughout the year. The plan passed, 78-58, over … Continue reading →

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The Alvarado filibuster

Posted on August 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. State Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston plans to filibuster the House-passed redistricting map during floor debate on Friday in a last-ditch effort to delay passage of the plan to create five new winnable seats for the GOP. … Continue reading →

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House passes redistricting bill

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I was going to put this as the last item in the earlier post, but I didn’t want to change that post’s title and I also didn’t want to gloss over that this happened. We knew it was going to … Continue reading →

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Beto scores a win against Paxton

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. An El Paso judge this week temporarily stopped Attorney General Ken Paxton from prosecuting former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s political group, Powered by People, after Paxton moved to block the organization from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the … Continue reading →

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