BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 14, 2019)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 61: CBD Market for Small Businesses with Prohibition Creamery's Laura Aidan (LINK TO SHOW)
[BG BLOG]
NEW -> In the Weeds: Hemp legislation updates from USDA and State of Texas (LINK TO BLOG)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Council debates the potential impact of large-scale rezoning on property taxes (Austin Monitor)
Some of City Council’s internal conflict over the Land Development Code may be tied to different understandings of how zoning and development affect residential property taxes.
The code rewrite lead team told Council on Tuesday that many residents are worried zoning changes will directly impact property values and result in higher taxes. But no matter the zoning, said Annick Beaudet of Austin Transportation, a lot with an existing home will continue to be valued and taxed as a homestead if the new code is adopted.
In other words, even if a single-family lot gets new entitlements to build a triplex or commercial space, it will still be taxed as a home unless it is redeveloped to a higher use. This is based on the way the Travis Central Appraisal District calculates tax value and not any feature of the draft Land Development Code… (LINK TO STORY)
Is Trump planning visit to Apple’s facilities in Austin? (Austin American-Statesman)
Is President Donald Trump planning a visit to check out Apple Inc.’s operations in Austin? Reuters news service is reporting that Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook are expected to tour facilities in Texas where Apple products are made. The visit could come as soon as next week, and is intended to showcase companies that keep jobs in America, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Apple declined to comment. A White House spokesperson told Reuters that the office has no scheduling announcements at this time. The trip, which has not yet been announced, would highlight Cook’s relationship with Trump as he seeks further relief for Apple from U.S. tariffs on imports from China, according to the Reuters story. The tariffs are part of a prolonged, tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s largest economies. Apple has asked the Trump administration to waive tariffs on Chinese-made Apple Watches, iPhone components and other consumer products, according to filings with trade regulators… (LINK TO STORY)
City office warns some floodplain rule changes may accelerate displacement of minorities, low-income residents (Austin Business Journal)
Austin city leaders are poised to dramatically alter how development is regulated in parts of town prone to flooding.
But one city office is raising concerns on the eve of the vote that new floodplain regulations could accelerate residential displacement and have a disproportionate impact on minority and low-income residents.
Austin City Council is scheduled to take up an ordinance on Nov. 14 that would adopt interim floodplains to regulate development, require buildings to have a higher freeboard elevation above the floodplain and create uniform rules along the Colorado River.
More than a year in the making, the proposed changes were set in motion by a federal rainfall study called Atlas 14, which found that swaths of Central Texas including Austin receive more rain than previously thought… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin FC announce plans for $45 million training center to open in 2021 (MLS)
Austin FC have taken another step toward their 2021 launch, announcing the construction of a $45-million, 23-acre training center for the first team and academy which will open in the Spring of 2021.
The St. David’s Performance Center — named for the health care system that became Austin FC’s first major corporate partner this past May — will be located at Parmer Pond in northeast Austin, about a 10-minute drive from the Austin FC stadium currently under construction.
The complex, located within the Austin city limits, will include four full-sized pitches, including three natural grass surfaces and one artificial turf surface with spectator stands seating 1000 fans. According to a release from the club, two of the grass pitches exclusively dedicated for the Austin FC first team will be configured as a “super-pitch,” with two surfaces combined to allow for greater levels of programming flexibility… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
BG Podcast Episode 46: Austin FC Updates from Club President Andy Loughnane
[TEXAS]
For Texas candidates, 2020 officially started last weekend (Texas Tribune)
To Texans of a political bent, Saturday was the first day of 2020 — the day candidates started paying their fees, turning in their signatures and declaring their official intention to run for office next year.
This one-month chirp-or-get-off-the-perch exercise separates people who were just testing the waters from those who are actually going to jump in and run.
As the filing period rolls from now to the Dec. 9 deadline, it will reveal which incumbents are seeking reelection, who’s had enough of this public service thing and which ones are drawing serious opposition… (LINK TO STORY)
Julián Castro is poised to miss the cutoff for the November debate. Then what? (Texas Tribune)
It has been apparent for weeks, but on Wednesday it will become official: Julián Castro will not qualify for the November debate stage.
It’s a sobering reality for an already struggling campaign. Last week, the Democratic former San Antonio mayor’s team slashed staff in two early states. Last month, he threatened to end his White House bid if he didn’t raise $800,000 in the final 10 days of October — a goal he narrowly hit.
His campaign insists he’s not exiting the race now, but staying afloat with months to go before February’s Iowa caucus will be a tall task. The debates, in a sense, have been one of the few places for Castro to make his mark on the national stage in an attempt to boost his campaign’s poll numbers and fundraising… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas education board likely to approve African American studies course in 2020 (Texas Tribune)
After years of bitter debate over whether ethnic studies courses are racially divisive, the Texas State Board of Education appears poised to approve its first African American studies course next year.
The 15-member board, which is responsible for setting curriculum standards and adopting textbooks for Texas public schools, heard from dozens of students, educators and advocates at a public hearing Wednesday, most who favored the new course.
"We will be passing this," said board member Pat Hardy, a Fort Worth Republican… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
The GOP's ditch-Rudy strategy on impeachment (AXIOS)
Top House Republican sources tell Axios that one impeachment survival strategy will be to try to distance President Trump from any Ukraine quid pro quo, with Rudy Giuliani potentially going under the bus.
A Republican member of one of the impeachment committees told Axios: "[T]his is not an impeachment of Rudy Giuliani, it's not an impeachment of Ambassador Sondland. It's an impeachment of the president of the United States." "So the point is as long as this is a step removed, he's in good shape. ... If it's a step removed from the president, he doesn't lose any Republicans in the House." A top House GOP leadership aide said: "Substance is focus. [The co-leadoff witness, Bill] Taylor says [he had a] 'full understanding.' But from who? Not POTUS. That’s big."… (LINK TO STORY)
Citi warns of a ‘War on Wall Street and Wealth’ in the 2020 election (Bloomberg)
The road to the White House in 2020 may entail a war against Wall Street and wealth itself, as polling results encourage more candidates to cast a jaundiced eye toward the financial world, Citi warned in a note to clients. Some candidates are prioritizing greater accountability for big corporations, while others are concerned that “loosening the reins might foment another financial crisis,” a Citi team led by economist Dana Peterson wrote.
Still others believe “banks and their executives were not sufficiently penalized for the 2008-2009 crisis” and that big companies are anti-competitive and “antagonistic towards consumer protection.” Banks and wealthy individuals are viewed by others as a revenue source for “re-distributional policies, including further tax relief for low- and middle-income persons, and funding priorities from paid leave to jobs programs,” Citi said… (LINK TO STORY)
The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.
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