You can’t buy liquor on Sundays and car dealerships can only be open one day over a weekend because of the last remnants of so-called “blue laws” in Texas. But a state Senate bill would change that for alcohol sales.
Rodney Ellis
Posted in
State Government
Forensic Commissioners Answer to Legislators
The Senate Nominations Committee voted 4-2 today to recommend approval of the state forensic board Chairman John Bradley’s appointment. Sens. José Rodríguez and Kirk Watson voted against Bradley’s nomination.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas Democrats Blame Republicans for Budget Blues
Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State speech on Tuesday was part pep rally, part budget proposal, with a dash of national politics. And, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, Democrats weren’t charmed.
Posted in
Transportation
Lawmakers File “Complete Streets” Bill
Lawmakers today filed a bill they hope will help drivers, cyclists and pedestrians safely share the roads.
Posted in
Health care
Most Texans Support Smoking Ban, Poll Says
The latest from Gov. Rick Perry’s preferred polling firm, Baselice & Associates, shows that 70 percent of Texans support a ban on indoor smoking, including in restaurants and bars.
Posted inState Government
On Your Left
Despite its relatively low number of people who walk and bike to work, Texas ranked 10th-highest among states in fatality rates for bicyclists and pedestrians in a recent survey. Lawmakers who worked on a failed 2009 measure to create a buffer zone, giving bicyclists more room on the road, will try again in 2011.
Posted in
State Government
The Fire Next Time
Under the leadership of Williamson County DA John Bradley, the Texas Forensic Science Commission has waged a masterful war of attrition in the Cameron Todd Willingham case: Stall long enough, and public interest in the internationally controversial capital punishment case — along with political liability for any missteps — will fade away. But the commission’s latest delay, while pushing the resolution of the Willingham investigation securely after the general election, comes against Bradley’s wishes and could represent a sea change on the board that until now has resisted making any broader inquiries into the state’s arson convictions.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Still No Conclusion on Willingham
The Texas Forensic Science Commission has delayed its decision on the Cameron Todd Willingham case one more time — and now, it’s scheduled for after the Nov. 2 election.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Lawmakers Criticize Science Panel’s Arson Investigation [Updated}
Two state senators told the Texas Forensic Science Commission today that its investigation of the arson case that led to the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham could be damaging public trust in the criminal justice system instead of bolstering it.
Posted in
Politics
The Sting of the Killer Bees
The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics.
