Murphy, who represented House District 133 from 2007-09 and again since 2011, chairs the House GOP Caucus and the House Higher Education Committee.
Jim Murphy
Posted in
Criminal Justice
New Harris County policy reignites marijuana decriminalization debate
After Harris County’s move to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, Texas lawmakers disagree about whether local jurisdictions have the discretion to enact such policies.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Advocates Push For Early Release of Severely Ill Sex Offenders
A prisoner rights advocate thinks lawmakers should loosen restrictions on medical parole eligibility for sex offenders. A top state lawmaker on criminal justice issues agrees with her but says the issue is just too politically toxic.
Posted in
Politics
Video: Houston & the Lege: Previewing the 84th Session
Full video of our 2/12 lunchtime discussion in Houston on the major policy debates of the 84th Legislature — and what they mean for the state’s largest city and surrounding communities.
Posted inState Government
Defeated Candidates Ask Voters for Another Shot
They lost in 2010, but some candidates are hoping by now that voters have changed their minds. The 2012 ballot will be stippled with officeholders who were cast out by voters last election but want to try again.
Posted inState Government
Campaign Chatter
A handful of Texas House members who say they’re leaving — either getting out or trying to move into other posts — top this week’s roundup of campaign news.
Posted inState Government
The Great White Hope
Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor, was a popular mayor of Houston who was twice returned to office by wide margins. So having him at the top of the ballot this November should help Houston-area Democrats win their races, right? “I can’t think that it would do anything but help,” says Democratic state Rep. Kristi Thibaut, who’s in a tough contest for re-election against former Republican lawmaker Jim Murphy. But Harris County GOP Judge Ed Emmett insists White will have little impact on his own bid for re-election — and won’t matter in legislative races either.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Hu compares and contrasts the official schedules of four big-state governors (including Rick Perry) and picks the 21 Texas House races to watch, Ramshaw on a 19-year-old with an IQ of 47 sentenced to 100 years in prison, Stiles on Perry’s regent-donors, Galbraith on a plan to curb the independence of the state’s electricity grid, Thevenot on the turf war over mental health, Grissom on whether the Texas Youth Commission should be abolished, Aguilar on a crucial immigration-related case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ramsey’s interview with GOP provocateur Debra Medina and M. Smith on how changes to campaign finance law will affect judicial elections in Texas: The best of our best from August 23 to 27, 2010.
Posted inState Government
And They’re Off!
It’s time to harvest the political speculations of the last several months: Democrats and Republicans have until January 4 to put their names on the ballots, or not, in anticipation of the March 2 primaries.
Posted inState Government
2010: Winners and Losers
Tom Schieffer’s out, and for the sake of this piece, let’s say Bill White is running for the Democratic nomination for governor. How’s that work out for everybody?