Latest news with #BobHall
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to end Texas Lottery Commission goes to Gov. Abbott
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Legislation to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) is closer to becoming law. Friday night, Senators accepted House amendments to Senate Bill 3070, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval. SB 3070 would allow lottery games to continue, but would abolish the TLC and hand over control of the Texas Lottery and Charitable Bingo to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). The decision comes amidst a host of scandals for the commission, resulting in investigations from both the Texas Rangers and the Attorney General's Office. State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, filed the legislation, after originally filing a bill to eliminate the lottery entirely. The final version of the legislation calls for the incoming Texas Lottery division of TDLR to undergo a sunset review to see how they're functioning under the new department. It sets a decision on whether to abolish the lottery completely in 2029.' 'Specifically, sunset will assess whether TDLR has sufficient tools to ensure the integrity of the game,' Hall said Friday on the Senate floor. Hall said TDLR will not pay out a lottery prize unless the winner submits forms required by the IRS, and that information is verified. The bill also calls for lottery mobile applications to end. If Abbott signs the bill into law, the lottery will have this summer to transition to TDLR before the TLC is abolished on Sept. 1. Because the TLC is up for sunset anyway, a Abbott veto would still mean the TLC is abolished on Sept. 1, but the Texas Lottery would go with it. After the vote earlier this month in the House, the commission issued a statement saying it will follow the direction of the legislature. 'The TLC is prepared to fully support the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation with ensuring that a smooth, seamless and successful transition occurs for both the administration of the lottery and the regulation of charitable bingo,' the commission's statement read. Hall has previously said that he would prefer that the state get out of the lottery business altogether. On Friday, he suggested more legislation could come in the future. 'Senate Bill 3070 represents a new chapter in our efforts to protect Texans from a vice that takes advantage of the poorest people in our state. But this is not the end of the story,' Hall said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Texas Republicans want to block cities' gun buyback programs
The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would prevent cities or counties from holding a gun buyback program. The proposal also seeks to stop local governments from sponsoring or organizing such a program. State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, told lawmakers Monday it was a 'necessary guardrail against misuse of local authority.' Much of the debate on House Bill 3053 focused on the often fraught relationship between local governments and the state Legislature. State Republican lawmakers have spent multiple legislative sessions reining in city councils in the state's largest metro areas, which are often run by Democrats. State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, asked Hall who is best to make choices for a community: the state or a city council. Hall said all levels of government have an equal role in serving the people. 'I don't agree that they always know what's best for the people just because they're closest to them,' Hall said. West said the bill usurps the authority of city council members to make decisions for their constituents. Hall said the bill is about making sure money is not wasted on things that are 'ineffective.' West called it bad policy. 'What you're doing is telling people the government closest to the people is not best for them,' West said. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, said state lawmakers are stewards of state dollars, but not city money. 'No disrespect, but how dare you come to me and tell me what the City of San Antonio should do with their tax dollars?' Gutierrez asked. Gutierrez then listed out several recent policies pushed by Republicans — banning social media, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and the F.U.R.R.I.E.S. Act — that he says go into big government territory. Other parts of the debate did focus on the merits of buy-back programs, which Hall called 'ineffective.' He also suggested the programs insinuate that gun ownership is illegal. State Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, said his city and Houston have held successful gun buyback events. The voluntary program in San Antonio exchanged weapons for gift cards. 'People were happy to take something that was going unused and exchange it for something they could take care of their family with,' Menendez said. Hall responded that 'it's not the role of government to go out and buy people's guns in order for them to be able to buy their food.' State Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, brought up situations where people want to dispose of old firearms or collections that were left behind from deceased family members. Miles asked how people would be able to do this without buyback programs. Hall said again they could sell the guns, but Miles said the reality of the situation is more dangerous than Hall thinks. Miles said some of the people in his community would be forced to put them in the trash. 'One solution doesn't fit all,' Miles said. 'Everybody doesn't go to gun shows, everybody doesn't know how to go online or have computer access to sell a firearm.' The Senate will vote on the bill one more time before it has final approval. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Guilty pleas revealed in Sons of Confederate Veterans campaign finance case
The State Board of Elections has revealed its first criminal convictions — two guilty pleas to a misdemeanor charge — in the six years after state lawmakers made campaign finance investigations secret. That outcome drew little praise from a campaign finance watchdog whose complaint to the elections board prompted the case. He says it took too long and resulted in too little. In January, two leaders of a political action committee for the Sons of Confederate Veterans pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accepting cash contributions in excess of $50. They were ordered to pay a $100 fine and court costs, according to a letter the board sent to Bob Hall, the retired executive director of Democracy NC. Court records show Mitchell Flinchum of Burlington, the PAC's treasurer, and Thomas Smith of Raleigh, the PAC's assistant treasurer, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors on Jan. 23. Neither the board nor prosecutors announced the convictions at the time. Hall did not find out until he received a letter known as a 'closure notice' from the board that was dated May 16, nearly four months after the convictions in Wake County District Court. 'It's a pitiful settlement, but at least they admitted to engaging in criminal activity,' Hall said in a news release Tuesday. Hall filed a lengthy complaint against the nonprofit North Carolina division of the Sons of Confederate and its Heritage PAC in January 2020. He did so after The Daily Tar Heel, the UNC-Chapel Hill student paper, revealed evidence of illegal donations to the PAC. The nonprofit had struck a secret $2.5 million deal with the UNC System to take possession of the controversial Silent Sam statue memorializing Confederate soldiers at UNC-Chapel Hill, which protesters tore down. A judge later pulled the plug on the deal. Prior to the 2018 law, the board would make public complaints and election records associated with them, until it found possible criminal conduct, Gary Bartlett, the board's executive director from 1993 to 2013, told the N&O last year. At that point, the board withheld information until a public hearing before the board that included testimony from witnesses. Transparency from such hearings, which legislators ended, helped give the public confidence that campaign finance cases were being handled appropriately, Hall and other government watchdogs have said. A public hearing would have shed light on claims Sons of Confederate Veterans members made that they were pressured to make cash donations to the PAC and that they had been listed as the source of other donations they did not make, Hall said. 'It would have triggered tax investigations and racketeering investigations by the federal investigators, it very much could have done that,' Hall predicted. Smith could not be immediately reached for comment. Mitchell declined to talk about the case. 'As far as I'm concerned it's settled,' he said. 'I'm glad after all of it to hopefully have it in the past.' Efforts to interview state elections officials and Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman about the outcome of the Heritage PAC case were unsuccessful. Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the board of elections, said in an email that the board did not see a concern with issuing its notice of the case's outcome last week. 'Campaign finance investigations are confidential under state law,' he wrote late Tuesday afternoon. 'From our perspective, the case was open until just recently, and we provided notice of the status to the complainant.' The board's letter to Hall said that it investigated the nonprofit and its PAC for roughly a year, turning over its findings to the State Ethics Commission for its recommendation. Requiring that referral was another change to campaign finance investigations from the 2018 legislation. The commission's recommendations are also confidential. The commission's review added two months to the case, the board's letter showed. In June 2021 the board referred the case to the Alamance County district attorney to investigate Flinchum and to Freeman in Wake County to investigate Smith. The case was later consolidated in Wake County. Freeman asked the SBI to investigate further. When asked about the length of time it takes to resolve elections board cases referred to her, Freeman said the elections board is hampered by a lack of funding and staff and the SBI's financial crimes unit is taking longer to do its work. Hall criticized Freeman's handling of the case, and others in recent years that did not lead to criminal charges, in his news release. 'It's disappointing that the District Attorney took so long to accomplish so little,' Hall said.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Sons of Confederate Veterans leaders guilty of campaign finance misdemeanors
Two individuals affiliated with the North Carolina Division of the group Sons of Confederate Veterans pled guilty earlier this year to misdemeanor campaign finance violations committed in their role as leaders of an affiliated PAC, according to a 'closure notice' issued by the State Board of Elections last Friday. Meanwhile, the person who filed the complaint that gave rise to the prosecution — veteran campaign finance watchdog Bob Hall — is criticizing the settlement of the matter as 'pitiful.' The case stems from the political controversy that surrounded the removal of the so-called 'Silent Sam' statute from the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill in 2018, and the subsequent back-and-forth that took place between UNC officials, state lawmakers, and private groups that sought to preserve and take control of the statue after it was torn down during a campus protest. In January of 2020, Hall filed a lengthy and detailed complaint with the Board of Elections in which he provided evidence that the North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, along with individual leaders of the group and affiliated organizations were involved in illegally financing the NC Heritage PAC. That PAC, in turn, donated thousands of dollars to an array of Republican officeholders and candidates. Last Friday's notice reported that 'NC Heritage PAC Treasurer Mitchell Flinchum and NC Heritage PAC Assistant Treasurer Thomas Smith each pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of accepting monetary (cash) contributions in excess of $50 in violation of N.C.G.S. § 163-278.14(b). Both defendants were also ordered to pay the costs of court and a $100 fine.' The notice stated that it was notified of the plea arrangements by the Wake County District Attorney's office in January and that the complaint that gave rise to the investigation is now closed. In a news release publicizing the closure of the case and the convictions, Hall lamented the size and scope of the penalties. 'It's a pitiful settlement, but at least they admitted to engaging in criminal activity,' said Hall, who had asked for dissolution of the PAC and the disgorgement of tens of thousands of dollars of PAC contributions that benefited Republican politicians. Hall directed criticism at Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman for the modest nature of the punishment meted out. 'It's disappointing that the District Attorney took so long to accomplish so little,' Hall said. 'The way large amounts of cash moved in and out of SCV-related operations is highly suspicious and likely violated tax and anti-corruption laws in addition to a felony statute against filing false campaign finance reports.' The original complaint identified $28,500 in contributions to several GOP politicians — including Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger — that Hall argued were unlawful and should have been redirected to the state Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund. Hall's statement also quoted a pair of dissident Sons of Confederate Veterans members as being critical of the outcome. Robert 'Smitty' Smith, a SCV member who helped the State Board of Elections document the illegal contributions, said, 'The fine is basically nothing – it's like there's no consequences for all they [SCV leaders] did.' 'It's crazy that it took so long and they get away,' said Chadwick Rogers, another SCV member who witnessed the illegal activity by SCV leaders that others labeled 'money laundering.' Rogers said the punishment should have included SCV losing its charity status.
San Francisco Chronicle
16-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Letters: How reforming California rooftop solar policies will benefit all the state's residents
Regarding 'California wants to kill rooftop solar — all because officials were duped by this flawed theory' (Open Forum, May 11): The op-ed downplaying the rooftop solar cost shift is misleading and ignores overwhelming evidence. The California Public Advocates Office found that nonsolar customers paid $8.5 billion in 2024 alone to subsidize rooftop solar users — making up as much as 27% of their electricity bills. That's not theory; it's math. The author leans on a study by his firm, that's been debunked. UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein called it out for 'fundamental conceptual errors' and 'misunderstanding how customers contribute to fixed grid costs.' Even California Public Utilities Commission-approved modeling shows that net-energy-metering customers cover as little as 9% to 18% of the actual cost to serve them. Fixing the cost shift doesn't mean abandoning solar — it means creating a system that is fair to everyone, not just the 1.6 million households with panels. Working-class Californians shouldn't pay billions so wealthier homeowners can enjoy near-zero electric bills. Environment can't be rebuilt Regarding 'California blocking new housing in this posh Silicon Valley town over wildflowers' (Bay Area, May 10): The Peninsula's rare serpentine meadows and wildflower-rich grasslands are more than just scenic — they're essential lifelines in a time of climate change and biodiversity collapse. The story frames the issue as wildflowers versus housing, but this is a dangerous oversimplification. These ecosystems support a rich tapestry of endemic and endangered species that exist nowhere else. Destroying them for short-term development is not just shortsighted — it's irreversible. We urgently need affordable housing, but not at the expense of irreplaceable biodiversity. Nature-based climate solutions rely on protecting intact ecosystems like these meadows, which store carbon, support pollinators and build resilience against climate shocks. Let's prioritize smart development rather than paving over the last fragments of ecological heritage. Preserving biodiversity isn't a luxury — it's a necessity for a livable future. Bob Hall, San Francisco Limit coyote killing As the saying goes, crazy is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. By this measure, coyote management in California and nationwide has been crazy for decades, with constant, indiscriminate killing and taxpayer-funded extermination programs — all while coyotes survive and move into new areas. Fortunately, California is poised for change. The California Fish and Game Commission's Wildlife Resources Committee will consider new rules to limit coyote killing. Science demonstrates that intense persecution of coyotes increases conflicts by encouraging more reproduction and opening territories to inexperienced, juvenile dispersers prone to seek food like garbage and small pets. Nonlethal methods: hazing, livestock fencing, keeping pets on leash and garbage secured have proven more effective in reducing human-coyote conflicts. Wildlife Resources Committee's recommendation must be adopted so that the state can advance new approaches to coyote management and coexistence, which in these changing times are both very necessary and very sane. Camilla Fox, executive director, Project Coyote, Larkspur Doesn't seem right Is anyone else worried about this extravagant gift to President Donald Trump from Qatar? Isn't Air Force One considered the Oval Office when the president travels? To quote Han Solo: 'I have a bad feeling about this.' Arlene DeLeon, Castro Valley
