Kel Seliger decided to run the redistricting marathon by saving up his energy until the end and then running a sprint. The Amarillo Republican’s Senate Redistricting Committee met less than three weeks before end of the session to consider Senate district maps that had at that point been public for less than 24 hours. He told members — this was on Thursday — that they had until 5 p.m. to get their amendments to him and to make sure they were legally vetted and so on. And he said he planned to vote on the plan, along with a House plan already approved on the other side of the rotunda, on Friday. That sets up a full Senate vote for as early as next week.
redistricting
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on pork choppers, Aguilar on sanctuary cities legislation, Galbraith on Brownsville’s ban on plastic bags, Grissom on Delma Banks and prosecutorial misconduct, Hamilton on a tough week for higher education in Texas, Philpott on wildfires and politics, Ramshaw on the state’s pursuit of a federal Medicaid overhaul, M. Smith on what would happen if lawmakers don’t rewrite school finance formulas, yours truly on the Lege as schoolyard and Stiles with interactive graphics on how the proposed Senate redistricting maps compare with current ones: The best of our best content from May 9 to 13, 2011.
Posted inState Government
Interactive: Texas Senate Redistricting Maps
State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, unveiled his proposed Senate redistricting maps this week and opened hearings on them on Thursday with a vote possible Friday. Use our interactive maps to see the proposed changes and who would be affected.
Posted in
State Government
New Senate District Maps Proposed
Travis County would get two new out-of-town senators, and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would be squeezed into a district designed for a Republican, in political maps proposed by Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on the latest attack on Planned Parenthood, Aguilar previews the sanctuary cities debate, Grissom on a death row inmate’s unsuccessful appeal, Hamilton on the UT System’s faculty “productivity” data dump, Philpott on the prospect of lawsuits over education cuts, Ramsey on puppies and other distractions, Ramshaw on a tobacco fight, my interview with the presidents of UT-Austin and Texas A&M, M. Smith on a former State Board of Ed member who may have violated state ethics law, Stiles interactively displays the effects of House redistricting and Tan on the Senate budget end game: The best of our best content from May 2 to 6, 2011.
Posted inState Government
Interactive: House Redistricting, Before and After
The Texas House approved new political maps last week as part of decennial redistricting. In many cases, the newly drawn state House districts changed boundaries so that Republicans could preserve their majority. Use this interactive map graphic the see the changes.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aguilar and Weber on a subdued debate over homeland security, Galbraith on rising concern about natural gas drilling, Grissom on a controversial psychologist, Hamilton on the aftermath of the Rick O’Donnell episode, Philpott on the comptroller’s apology, Ramshaw with more on the statewide database of child abusers, E. Smith interviews Lance Armstrong, M. Smith on what House budget cuts would mean for school districts, M. Stiles on how redistricting would change things for each House member, Tan on the Senate’s wobbly attempts to approve a budget and my interview with David Dewhurst: The best of our best content from April 25 to 29, 2011.
Posted in
State Government
Texas House Gives Initial OK to Redistricting Plan
The Texas House tentatively approved new political districts early this morning on a 92-52 vote after hours of nips and tucks that left the proposal they started with mostly intact.
Posted in
State Government
Redistricting Maps Move Front and Center in the House
Texas state representatives will choose their voters today — grabbing the ones they want, ditching the ones they don’t — as the decennial drawing of political maps reaches the floor of the House.
Posted in
State Government
A Political Tug-of-War Over Taylor County
Troy Fraser lost a redistricting fight 20 years ago. Now he’s in another redistricting battle — with another Republican and based more on what part of the state is shrinking (his area’s population) than on politics. He’s determined not to lose.
