About WDFloyd

Dave Floyd is an attorney, real estate broker, and trivia host in Austin, Texas. He works with the Foskitt Law Office and is an owner of Floyd Real Estate. He was a candidate for Austin City Council in 2014 and lives in the Zilker Neighborhood.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Foskitt Realty Supports Pro Bono Legal Services and Access to Justice Programs in 2013

Austin Realtor Sara Foskitt will donate 25% of 2013 commissions to certain Access to Justice legal services programs.
Foskitt Realty Pro Bono Pledge Announcement



Austin Realtor +Sara Foskitt has recently announced her plan to support pro bono legal services and Texas access to justice programs.  For the remainder of 2013, the Foskitt Realty Group will donate 25% of commissions to the following access to justice program of the client's choice:


Check out Sara Foskitt's pro bono and access to justice support announcement from the Foskitt Realty Group website:

I am very pleased and excited to announce Foskitt Realty Group’s 2013 Pro Bono campaign.  I pledge 25% of my 2013 commissions to access to justice programs.
Over the past few years, these services have been hindered due to continually decreased funding.  As an attorney, I have always felt an obligation to help by donating legal services.  I’m glad I now have the opportunity also to help access to justice programs as a Realtor.
In 2013, 25% of Foskitt Realty Group’s transaction commissions will be donated on behalf of the clients to access to justice programs of their choice.
I look forward to making significant donations to these worthy programs.  Be on the lookout for updates and to find out how much is being contributed!

So, if you are looking to buy or sell property in Austin, then contact Sara to discuss her range of services.  Not only will you get top quality service from a Realtor/Real Estate Lawyer, but you'll be able to support vital legal services programs using money you would have spent anyway.  Everybody wins in this situation.

If you aren't in the market for a house but still want to help the programs listed above, then please contact them to see how you can offer your support.   

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Data Breach at Gunpoint

Not your everyday example of data theft, but a demonstration that data loss can happen in a multitude of ways:

Data breach at gunpoint - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Austin Entrepreneurs: RISE Sessions Open for Registration

Downtown Austin (photo by Dave Floyd)


RISE Week Austin 2013 Sessions are now open for registration.  This year's RISE Week offers over 250 sessions on entrepreneur oriented topics.  RISE sessions are led by established entrepreneurs  investors, business leaders, and service providers (including lawyers) in Austin.  Sessions are free; however, you will be asked to use a credit card to hold your seat and you will be charged $25 if you do not attended a session for which you are registered.   Sessions are limited to 25 participants, so sign up quickly.

Learn more about RISE, it's mission and its programs.

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I shot the above photo with a  Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS 


The Transformation of Aquarena

I'm assuming Ralph the Swimming Pig has retired:

The Transformation of Aquarena|| TPW magazine|May 2013

FTC sends FCRA Warning Letters to Tenant Rental History Websites

FTC sends FCRA warning letters to tenant rental history websites - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Straus: House Will Find Way to Fund Water Projects



+Dave Floyd republished this from The Texas Tribune:
Updated: 

The morning after a major bill to authorize spending billions of dollars on state water projects faltered in the House, Speaker Joe Straus' office released a statement saying he wouldn't "let a technicality seal the debate on water."

Straus "remains committed to working with appropriators, members of the House and stakeholders to ensure funding for the state water plan this session," the statement said.

The author of House Bill 11 — which did not reach a vote because of a procedural problem with it — seemed less optimistic on Tuesday morning, saying, "You know as much as I know at this point."


Original story: 

A major bill on the top of Gov. Rick Perry's priority list that would authorize spending billions of dollars on state water projects faltered in the Texas House on Monday night after a contentious debate over where to pull the money from.

“My understanding is it’s doorknob dead,” the bill's sponsor, Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, said after debate on the measure, which was backed by Speaker Joe Straus, was halted over a legislative technicality.

In a statement, Perry said Texans "expect their elected officials to address the water needs of our state, and we will do just that."

"This issue is too important to leave its fate uncertain," he said, "and I will work with lawmakers to ensure we address this need in a fiscally responsible manner.”

Ritter’s bill, House Bill 11, would have taken $2 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund — a multibillion-dollar reserve of mostly oil and gas taxes — and spent it on water-supply projects, in an effort to help the state withstand future droughts.   Another Ritter bill the House passed earlier this month, House Bill 4, would create a special fund to administer the money.

But HB 11’s backers faced an uphill battle to get enough votes, because drawing from the Rainy Day Fund requires a higher bar — 100 votes rather than the usual 76 votes — to pass.
Democrats’ objections were grounded in the argument that if the Rainy Day Fund gets used for water, it should also be raided for other purposes like public education. Some far-right conservatives, meanwhile, worried about drawing at all from the Rainy Day Fund, which they say should be reserved for emergencies.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, ultimately avoided a vote on HB 11 by raising a point of order, a legislative term for a procedural problem with the bill. Ritter said the bill in its current form is now dead; Perry has previously threatened to call a special session if lawmakers cannot find a way to fund water projects.  If lawmakers do not provide the funding, “I think we’re back in special session, but that’s above my pay grade,” Ritter said.

The Senate, meanwhile, has already passed a measure to move $5.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund into public education and water and transportation projects. House Republicans on Monday rallied around an amendment by Ritter to HB 11 that would have authorized the state to draw $2 billion from nondedicated general revenue if lawmakers wanted to fund water projects. It was an effort to make an end-run around Democrats, who could later be forced to vote for HB 11 and the Rainy Day Fund withdrawal for water if they wanted to forestall a drawdown of general revenue.

Democrats reacted with fury, saying that the amendment drawing down general revenue would cut into other priorities like public education.  “I don’t think most of you can stand robbing little children in Texas to pay for water problems in Texas. That would be a travesty, members,” said Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston.

Later, Turner's point of order won out.

Monday did bring some partial victories for water project backers. Texas senators passed two bills, HB 4 (already passed by the House) and Senate Bill 4, both of which would create a special fund to administer the water money. The money would be loaned out to local governments, who would pay it back so that it could be loaned out again.

State Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, commenting after Turner’s point of order won out, voiced determination to see a water bill through. “If we don’t fix this, I think a lot of people’s political careers will be on the line,” he said.

Brandi Grissom contributed to this article. 

Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/04/30/texas-house-acts-hb-11/.