BRISCOE CAIN

Fourteen GOP legislators warned Lyft that they’d seek to ban companies that pay for...

Fourteen GOP legislators warned Lyft that they’d seek to ban companies that pay for abortions from doing business in Texas. The extent of support for the idea is unclear.

State leaders say expanding a social safety net for children and prosecuting abortion funders are among their priorities. “We’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,” said state Rep. Briscoe Cain.

Davis is best known for her 13-hour filibuster against another restrictive abortion law in 2013. Now, she’s suing to block enforcement of Texas’ current ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain accused nonprofits of being “criminal organizations.” Lawyers representing the funds are demanding a retraction.

Cain has accused the nonprofits of being “criminal organizations” and has ordered them to stop funding abortions in Texas. Lawyers representing the funds are demanding a retraction.

Thousands of early ballots have been rejected because voters did not meet a new requirement to provide an identification number inside the return envelope.

It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda.

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey was the lone "no" vote.

After conservative complaints about the national results in the 2020 election, Texas Republicans have tried to anticipate everything that might play against them in 2022, right down to who’ll be at the helm.

Social media companies can’t ban Texans over political viewpoints under bill headed to governor’s desk.

The law requires social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to produce regular reports of removed content and disclose their content regulations procedures.

Local officials called for a shelter-in-place and asked people to wear face masks after a strong-smelling leak in a La Porte, Texas chemical plant.

Both Republicans in Austin and Democrats in D.C. have engaged in the political drama over the past two weeks, with the two camps battling it out on cable news interviews and social media over the quorum bust and who is to blame for it.

Claudia Torres-Yañez walked into the Texas Capitol at 7:30 a.m. Saturday to testify against Republican efforts to enact new voting restrictions in the state.Fifteen hours later, she was still waiting to be heard by lawmakers.

Members of the public arrived at the Texas Capitol as early as 6 a.m. to sign up to speak before lawmakers considering the legislation. In the House, public testimony wouldn't begin until early the next morning.

The Texas House is starting off on a new foot on the contentious elections proposal that blew up the regular legislative session.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session.

Lawmakers faced blackouts, a pandemic, and their own worst impulses. Amid the chaos, we plucked out the leaders—and the losers.

A top negotiator behind a Texas voting law backed by Republicans claimed that the text of the bill limited voting hours on Sundays because of a "scrivener's error," in an interview with NPR on Tuesday.

Republicans have produced few examples of fraud — and they're seen as out of proportion to sweeping changes that seek to reshape the way many Texans vote.

Without federal action to protect our elections and right to vote, our democracy is in peril – not just in Texas or Georgia or Florida, but everywhere.

The revolt torpedoed the measure which would have reduced polling hours, empowered poll watchers and scaled back ways to vote in Texas, which already has some of the nation's strictest voting laws.

Some Democrats on the committee tasked with coming up with the compromise bill pushed back against the idea that deal had been reached — at least one they’re part of.

Texas remains on course to become the nation’s largest state to tighten restrictions on voting with GOP legislation just steps away from the Republican governor’s desk.

The Senate opted not to accept the House changes to Senate Bill 7, prompting the formation of a conference committee to iron out the differences.

The Coral Gables City Commission voted Tuesday to move forward with a plan to sell a public parking lot for $3.5 million to a developer that would join the property with two adjacent lots for a new project.

A Republican lawmaker is being called "ridiculous" for claiming not only was the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol not an insurrection, but footage from that day resembled a "normal tourist visit." Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) claimed at a Wednesday hearing about the riot that when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building to stop the election results from being certified, it was not an insurrection and that it's a "lie" to say it was. "There was an undisciplined mob," he said. "There were some rioters and some who committed acts of vandalism. But let me be clear: there was no insurrection." Clyde asserted that television footage from Jan. 6 showed people entering the Capitol and taking videos and pictures "in an orderly fashion" and "if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit." This was despite the fact that there were five deaths in the Capitol riot and that the footage that emerged included shocking videos of rioters breaking through windows and of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and then-Vice President Mike Pence being rushed to safety. Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman called out Clyde's remarks on MSNBC, saying, "I've been reporting on Congress for more than a dozen years, and nothing that happened that day was anything remotely close to what it would look like if tourists came to the Capitol. That's just one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever heard." Earlier today Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde said that if you didn't know the footage was from January 6th, you "would actually think it was a normal tourist visit."@JakeSherman: That's "one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever heard." pic.twitter.com/Dw6tBTh526 — Katy Tur Reports (@KatyOnMSNBC) May 12, 2021 More stories from theweek.comThe real reason Liz Cheney lost her jobThe doom-loop of a falling fertility rateDemocrats are fiddling while Republicans prepare to burn down Rome

Two senior Trump administration officials defended their actions during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in testimony before Congress on Wednesday. (May 12)

AUSTIN, Texas — It was an awkward few minutes for Briscoe Cain, the conservative provocateur and hand-picked Republican chair of the state House Elections Committee, as he fumbled through his defense last week of the restrictive new voting bill his party is moving through the Texas Legislature. Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Democrat, was grilling Cain, the bill’s sponsor, about a phrase in it calling for the “purity of the ballot box,” asking Cain if he knew that it evoked the discriminatory voting restrictions of Texas’ Jim Crow past. “Are you aware that references to purity of the ballot box used throughout this country’s history has been a justification for states to disenfranchise groups they deem unfit to vote or somehow lacking?” Anchia asked. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times “I didn’t know that,” Cain said haltingly, claiming he adopted the language because it was in the state’s Constitution, before admitting that “these are troubling things.” That opened floodgates for Democrats’ opposition, as they began hammering the structure of the bill, one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities for the legislative session. Democrats eventually raised a point of order and added amendments that softened some of the harshest measures. Some of them may be restored in the next week as the House and the Senate meet in conference to work out the final bill. Viewed by some as a legislative lightweight and others as a rising conservative firebrand, Cain, 36, was a surprise choice when he was named to lead the House Election Committee earlier this year. As head of the committee, he would be charged with the critical responsibility of helping pass the Republicans’ voting bill, a priority with Abbott and a measure that adds restrictions to voting in a state that is already considered the hardest in the country in which to cast a ballot. There would be tricky waters to navigate against legions of detractors. Cain had only four years of legislative experience and a reputation as a brash and unpredictable combatant for his deeply conservative causes. In 2018, he crashed the state Democratic Party convention and handed out lawn signs that said, “This home is a gun-free safe space.” After the November election, he flew to Pennsylvania to help the Trump legal effort to overturn the results while posting selfies. He drew national attention in 2019 after being temporarily barred from Twitter for what was interpreted as a threatening post against Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke. Cain’s fumbling of the questions about the “purity of the ballot box” phrase has brought even greater scrutiny to the Houston-area lawmaker. A clip of the exchange with Anchia went viral on social media, with views climbing into the millions, and exposed Cain as lacking knowledge about Texas’ history of discrimination against Black voters. The “purity of the ballot box” language was eventually removed. With just weeks left before the Republican-controlled Legislature adjourns, Cain will again play a lead role in the next round of sparring over the bill, this time as one of two committee co-chairmen shaping a final version. Critics who have protested Cain’s appointment to the committee say his lack of familiarity with the purity phrase and overall stewardship of the panel raise questions about his effectiveness going into the next phase of the debate. They also cite a chaotic committee session that was forced to recess after Cain refused to let Nicole Collier, chair of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, sit in on the session to question witnesses as a nonmember. His error led to a lengthy delay in moving the bill forward and enraged Democrats and civil rights groups. She was permitted to ask questions during a subsequent session. “This is our first rodeo with Briscoe Cain,” said Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who has engaged in legal battles against the state in behalf of Texas Latinos since 1996. “And after recovering from the shock that he was appointed chair of the election committee, I mean it’s been one misstep after the next.” Cain’s office declined a request for an interview or to answer questions about his exchange with Anchia. But several of his Republican colleagues gave high marks for his leadership and his handling of one of the governor’s top priorities. “One of the hardest bills to pass in this building is an omnibus election bill,” said Rep. Stephanie Klick, a Fort Worth Republican who preceded Cain as Election Committee chair. “I think he’s done amazing being able to get an omnibus bill in his first session as chair.” Bryan Hughes, chairman of the Elections Committee in the state Senate, said he had a “great relationship” with Cain and gave him a strong endorsement for his grasp of election law. “He knows the election code very well,” said Hughes, who is from East Texas. “He’s really immersed in it. He’s the ideal representative to be carrying this bill.” But Democrats on Cain’s Republican-dominated committee said the chairman led in a highly partisan and autocratic manner, shunning any effort to work with Democrats. Rep. Jessica González, a former White House intern who served in the Obama-Biden campaign and is vice chair of the Elections Committee, said Cain basically kept her out of the loop despite her position as No. 2. “Hey, just give us some notice,” she said in describing her frustration. “We’ve got to be able to communicate.” Rep. Michelle Beckley, a Democrat who represents a North Texas district that was in Republican control for decades, sat next to Cain on the House floor during the last session and said she normally had a friendly relationship with him, despite their partisan differences. “Our politics are a hundred percent polar opposites, but the one thing with Briscoe is that he does keep his word, which I will have to say is a rarity in this building,” she said. But the voting bill has been a different story, she said. “I really don’t want to be mean to him, but it was very disorganized from day one,” she said, recalling that Cain frequently did not follow protocols and rushed through bills, a practice that often led to procedural errors. Perales questioned Cain’s professed unfamiliarity with the toxic racial history of the “purity of the ballot box” phrase. She noted that at least two prominent civil rights organizations had submitted written testimony to Cain’s committee condemning the phrase. But Beckley said she too was unaware of the roots of the language. The day after the House debate, she recalled, Cain came to her desk and asked, “Did you know about this?” “I’m not going to lie,” she said in an interview, “I did not know that history.” In 2019, Cain revealed that he has Asperger’s syndrome during a speech on the House floor during Autism Awareness Month. He also injected a humorous note: “I suspect many of you are thinking to yourself, so that explains it. And yes, your assumptions are correct — that’s why I’m highly intelligent.” He lives with his wife and five children in Deer Park, where he grew up, and serves as a captain in the Texas State Guard. Cain’s four-year tenure in the Legislature has been somewhat of a roller coaster, at least by outside observations. As a freshmen legislator in 2017, Cain was put at the top of Texas Monthly’s “worst legislators” list, which called him “uninformed and belligerent.” The article cited an instance when Cain debated a member of his own party, Rep. John Zerwas, who is a doctor, over funding a state council that promotes palliative care. Cain repeatedly referred to the practice as a “death panel,” though when pressed by Zerwas, he was unable to further explain the practice. Eventually he conceded, “I recognize that you know about this and my apologies.” During his tenure in office, Cain has cultivated a quippy and lashing social media account that often seeps into right-wing troll territory. He buttresses his online reputation with a penchant for public stunts. He drew national outrage when he tweeted at O’Rourke, then a Democratic candidate for president, that “My AR is ready for you” when O’Rourke advocated taking away AR-15 rifles after the mass shooting in El Paso. O’Rourke likened the tweet to a death threat, and Twitter suspended Cain’s account for 141 days. Cain’s attention has recently turned to voting, and he has authored numerous bills in 2019 and 2021 that would have brought a raft of new restrictions with varying degrees of severity. Last year, he opposed any expansion to voting by mail during the pandemic, and Texas was one of five states that did not expand the option during the general election. In November, when it became clear President Donald Trump had lost to President Joe Biden, Cain was an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s false claims that the election was rigged. “Election fraud is real and we must put an end to it,” he wrote on Facebook on Nov. 6. He quickly joined the Trump legal effort and took off for Pennsylvania. Before leaving, Cain posted a selfie to his Facebook account, clad in a cowboy hat and clear aviator glasses, captioned, “This Texas lawyer is flying to Philadelphia this morning to link up with a team of attorneys from across the country to fight for a fair and honest election.” His brief tenure as an election lawyer in Pennsylvania ended with the state Supreme Court rejecting his effort in a unanimous decision. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company

County commissioners empowered the county attorney to bring a lawsuit against the state over House Bill 6, Senate Bill 7, or any other legislation that might restrict voting.

As opposition to Texas Republicans’ proposed voting restrictions continues to intensify, state lawmakers’ deliberations over the GOP priority legislation could soon go behind closed doors.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News Texas Tribune, txlege, Texas Legislature, Voting Restrictions, Texas, San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the Texas House of Representatives voted to pass a slate of election reforms Republicans argue would secure “election integrity” but that Democrats and other critics call voter suppression. The vote put Texas one step closer to joining other Republican-led states — Georgia, Iowa...

Rep. Briscoe Cain’s version of Senate Bill 7 passed a party-line vote on second reading after harsh questioning by Democrats and parliamentary maneuvers that nearly derailed the bill.

Rep. Briscoe Cain’s version of Senate Bill 7 passed a party-line vote on second reading after harsh questioning by Democrats and parliamentary maneuvers that nearly derailed the bill.

The bill could undergo more changes. Governor Greg Abbott has said he supports "election integrity" efforts. Texas is one of several GOP-controlled states passing similar, sweeping bills.

The Deer Park state representative is managing one of his party’s highest-profile bills, but opponents say he’s not up to the task.

The Deer Park state representative is managing one of his party’s highest-profile bills, but opponents say he’s not up to the task.

Like other Republican proposals, the measure would target Harris County’s initiatives...

The optimism comes after a two-week stretch dominated by a tense standoff among the House, Senate and Gov. As of Thursday, more than half — 16 — had at least gotten a committee hearing. Senate Bill 25 would give nursing-home residents the right to have a designated caretaker visit them regularly during a public health emergency. On Thursday, a Senate committee approved legislation — SB 3 — that would overhaul the state’s energy industry. AdBy Friday afternoon, Cain’s bill was rescheduled for an April 1 hearing, according to a committee hearing posting notice.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Proposed legislation before the GOP-led state Senate and House mirrors a nationwide campaign by Republicans that aims to restrict voting even more, with rules Democrats say disenfranchise racial and ethnic minorities. AdAmy Litzinger, of Austin, is among Texans who say the very health issues keeping her from testifying before lawmakers in person will also penalize her if stricter voting legislation becomes law. Brian Kemp drew protests Thursday when he signed into law a sweeping GOP-sponsored overhaul of state elections — and the fights will undoubtedly end up in the courts. AdBack in Austin, Jose Colon Uvalles was back at the Capitol again Friday to advocate against voting restrictions.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Acacia Coronado)AUSTIN, Texas – A procedural gaffe on Thursday forced the abrupt end of a Texas House hearing on a Republican-backed voting restrictions bill and at least temporarily deprived more than 100 people of the chance to testify about it, including some who said they had driven hundreds of miles to be there. The bungled end to the hearing stunned an overflow room of people who had waited hours to address lawmakers, including some who said they had traveled for hours to speak against the measure known as House Bill 6. That Democrat was state Rep. Nicole Collier, the chairwoman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. “Any delay is good," said Emily Eby, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project who had traveled from Houston for the hearing.

Greg Abbott came to Houston to promote the measure, which aims to ban election reforms enacted or attempted by Harris County last year. It would require a doctor's note for curbside voting, effectively banning the use of drive-through voting as Harris County enacted in 2020. "It's clearly a direct response to the massive success we had in Harris County last year in terms of accessible and secure elections." Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria likewise criticized SB 7, along with related legislation recently filed by GOP lawmakers. "I can tell you, as the person running elections on behalf of Harris County, that these bills, in conjunction or alone, will do nothing but stop voters in Harris County from voting," Longoria said.

Greg Abbott (center) and state Sen. Paul Bettencourt (right) think it was too easy to vote in 2020. Greg Abbott visited Houston on Monday to tout new legislation proposed by his Republican allies that he claimed would protect the integrity of Texas elections. Speaking alongside Republicans state Rep. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park and state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, Abbott swore that all the GOP wants to do is protect elections from voter fraud. “What we’ve seen in the past is that election fraud takes place. Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria thinks attempts to ban drive-thru voting may be racially motivated.

Officials discussed election fraud and how they want to prevent it. Abbott has mentioned a number of times, especially during the 2020 election, that election fraud is “very real” and happens in different ways. Abbott did, however, say that former President Barack Obama prosecuted a voter fraud scheme in South Texas where cocaine was used to pay voter harvesters. “Election fraud is unacceptable.”AdA small group carrying signs protested against Senate Bill 7 outside Bettencourt’s office, calling the proposed bill voter suppression. “We should be focused on making voting more accessible and stop trying to create obstacles and distractions with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud,” Turner said.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, was named chair of the House Elections Committee months after traveling to Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign challenge the results of the 2020 election. With Texas' Republican leadership cataloguing "election integrity" as a top priority this legislative session, House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday named state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, as the chair of the House Elections Committee. The panel, which has a Republican majority, typically considers legislation related to voting rules and election law. Cain, who previously served on the committee, traveled to Pennsylvania in the days after Election Day to work with the Trump campaign. The legislation passed in the Senate and made it out of the House Elections Committee that year, but it floundered before being considered by the full House.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, the new chair of the House Elections Committee, traveled to Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign challenge the results of the 2020 election. Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas TribuneA conservative attorney who volunteered to help former President Donald Trump’s legal team as it attempted to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election will take the lead on election issues in the Texas House this year. With Texas’ Republican leadership cataloguing “election integrity” as a top priority this legislative session, House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday named state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, as the chair of the House Elections Committee. Cain, who previously served on the committee, traveled to Pennsylvania in the days after Election Day to work with the Trump campaign. The legislation passed in the Senate and made it out of the House Elections Committee that year, but it floundered before being considered by the full House.

With the proper license, visitors to the Texas Capitol are allowed to carry open or concealed guns. There won't be fewer guns in the Texas Capitol this legislative session. Texans with handgun licenses can carry firearms into the Capitol openly or concealed and bypass the building’s metal detectors for entry within seconds. The Texas Capitol “is probably one of the most well-armed buildings in the state,” one then-state lawmaker told The New York Times in 2013. That year, dozens of Texas lawmakers routinely carried guns inside the Capitol, current and former lawmakers told The Times.

It’s unclear what typical functions at the Texas Capitol will look like in January, or whether they will even exist. Senate and House members spearheading logistical discussions say that while much remains up in the air, the two chambers are working together to implement session rules that are consistent for both chambers. Plexiglass dividers have been installed in several House committee hearing rooms, Geren said. Masks will be required to enter Rosenthal’s Capitol office, which will not allow more than six people inside at a time. In addition to addressing the billions of dollars in shortfalls to the state budget and other core issues during session, state lawmakers are also set to undergo the once-in-a-decade process of redrawing the state’s political maps.

Listen: The Texas GOP debates acceptance of gay RepublicansThe Republican Party of Texas this weekend is considering whether to accept gay members of their party as officially recognized partners in trying to win elections. It's a fascinating look at the inner workings of the majority party in this state. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are tied in Texas according to the latest public polling. All that and more as we go behind the headlines for a look at what's really going on at the Texas Capitol and in Washington with the state's #1 political podcast: The Texas Take. Join the conversation featuring Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, Houston Chronicle political writer Jeremy Wallace, and Chronicle ace reporter Andrea Zelinski.

(CNN) - Twitter has removed a Texas state lawmaker's post that was seen as a threat to presidential candidate Beto Rourke for his comments about his plan for a mandatory gun buyback program during Thursday's Democratic debate. Clearly, you shouldn't own an AR-15and neither should anyone else," O'Rourke replied on Twitter. O'Rourke's press secretary Aleigha Cavalier told CNN, "We are reporting to FBI." A Twitter spokesperson told CNN Cain's tweet was removed because it violated the company's rules against violence and wishing harm against others. Cain told CNN on Friday that the FBI has not reached out to him.