The Baines Report
When Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson steps down on October 1, Texas will not only be losing a judicial leader, it will also be losing a champion for judicial reform. As chief justice, Jefferson spoke out forcefully for reforming the way Texas chooses its judges. Texas, like many other states, elects its judges.[1] […]
Two Texas public officials put the ‘fight’ in the Texas Tribune Festival’s “Fight Over Immigration Reform” panel Saturday morning. Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) and Jose Aliseda, a former Republican state representative and current Bee County district attorney, engaged in a lively exchange over immigration policy. The pair sat on a four-person panel that also included Rep. Ana […]
Although many Texans may not have noticed yet, life in the Lone Star State changed dramatically this month. When the clock struck midnight on September 1, more than 600 new state laws went into effect, changing everything from farmers’ market standards to switchblade restrictions. [1] These laws added new rules, removed old rules, and amended […]
Rules matter. In the legislative process rules can decide whether a bill lives or dies – as they did this week with a high-profile bill attacking women’s health, Senate Bill 5. More broadly, however, legislative rules provide structure for a chaotic process and establish certain expectations for how the legislative process will proceed. In other […]
Only an hour after a fairly friendly and bipartisan Texas legislative session ended, Governor Rick Perry called lawmakers back together to debate one of the most partisan and polarizing issues facing the legislature: redistricting. The redistricting process, through which legislators redraw the state’s political boundaries in order to ensure elected officials represent the same number […]
When Ross Perot embarked on his crusade to fix the Texas education system in the 1980s, he said the state’s schools excelled in only three areas: drill team, band and football. To fix this, he helped craft and lobby for a sprawling education reform package that boosted state aid to poor districts, funded prekindergarten, […]
This article is in response to Trevor Whitney's article Is the Dollar Dying? — “In truth, the gold standard is already a barbarous relic.” John Maynard Keynes This year, the Republican Party polished off an idea formerly relegated to the dustbin of history. In its official party platform, the GOP calls for a commission to […]