BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 27, 2020)
[BG Blog]
Bingham Group Recognizes Black Austin Business, Community, and Policy Leaders (LINK TO POST)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 76 - Culture Talk with Kahron Spearman, Austin Chronicle Writer and Critic (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
State Finds Potential Funding For I-35 Expansion Project Through Downtown Austin (KUT)
The Texas Transportation Commission will discuss a solution Thursday to the funding gap for the Interstate 35 Capital Express project. Leaders have found $4.3 billion, which would allow the portion through the heart of Austin to move forward.
The proposal would add two non-tolled, managed lanes in each direction on I-35. TxDOT is looking at using high-occupancy vehicles, or HOV lanes, similar to those in Dallas and Houston.
“In recent years, I-35 through Austin has repeatedly been one of the worst chokepoints for drivers in Austin and Texas and the source for understandable frustration,” Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. said in a statement. “If Austin wants to continue to be a beacon for business and a wonderful quality of life, then work on I-35 Capital Express needs to happen as soon as possible."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
UT plans $107.2M in new projects, including athletics practice facility next to Moody Center (Community Impact)
One new building will be going up on The University of Texas campus, and two others will be renovated after the UT Board of Regents approved the projects Feb. 26.
The biggest project is a new $60 million practice facility for the Texas men’s and women’s basketball teams and the women’s rowing team that will be built adjacent to the forthcoming Moody Center—the university’s new $338 million basketball arena.
According to university President Gregory Fenves, the new 75,200-square-foot facility with basketball practice courts, room for rowing training, and office space for team meetings and athletic department staff will replace the old Denton A. Cooley Pavilion. Like the Erwin Center, Cooley Pavilion is set to be demolished to make way for the expansion of the Dell Medical School campus.
The Moody Center, which broke ground in 2019, is scheduled to open in 2022. Board of regents agenda documents show the practice facility is expected to have a similar opening timeline with construction scheduled to begin this summer and completion in June 2022.
The building cost for the new practice facility itself is $30 million, just half of the project total. The other $30 million will be going toward costs such as equipment, site development, project management fees, and architectural and design services… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Parks board does deep dive on Austin City Limits Fest contract for Zilker Park (Austin Monitor)
The city’s contract with Austin City Limits promoter C3 Presents was put under the microscope at Tuesday’s meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board, as part of an overall look at how the Parks and Recreation Department can generate more revenue to fund its programming and maintenance costs.
No action was taken at the conclusion of the presentation by city staff and a representative from the Austin Parks Foundation, which annually receives millions of dollars from C3 to improve and expand parks throughout the city.
During the meeting it was disclosed that the festival paid $2.4 million to cover city costs for the 2019 festival, including a $100,000 use fee for Zilker Park set by City Council, plus $1.4 million from six days of ticket revenue.
PARD received $1.6 million of the total reimbursement, with $500,000 for Austin Police Department presence outside the festival, $110,000 to the Austin Fire Department, $60,000 for emergency medical services, $30,000 for transportation fees, and $20,000 for health permitting.
It was also revealed that the economic impact for the 2019 festival was estimated at $291 million, an increase of $27 million from the 2018 event. The festival’s annual attendance, which is topped at 75,000 people per day, exceeds 400,000 people. During the festival, which runs for two weekends each October, Zilker Park is blocked off from public use for 25 days to allow for setup and teardown… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas state crime labs won’t test suspected marijuana in low-level cases (Texas Tribune)
The Texas Department of Public Safety is almost ready to roll out its long-awaited lab test to tell if cannabis is newly legal hemp or illegal marijuana. But DPS Director Steve McCraw notified Texas law enforcement agencies this month of a crucial caveat: The state labs won’t do testing in misdemeanor marijuana possession cases.
That will likely entrench what has become a patchwork system of marijuana enforcement across the state. Possession of a small amount of pot could mean no criminal charges in one county and jail time in a neighboring one. In Texas, misdemeanor marijuana offenses include possession of up to 4 ounces and the sale or delivery of up to 7 grams.
The situation comes after the Texas Legislature changed the definition of marijuana last year in order to legalize hemp, drawing a new distinction between two substances that can look and smell the same. The illegal drug changed from the cannabis plant to cannabis containing more than 0.3% THC, the compound in the plant that produces a high… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Community censorship or taxpayer funded lobbying? Local control looms large in Texas House GOP primaries (Dallas Morning News)
Glenn Rogers couldn’t have been any clearer. “I am against the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying,” he told the crowd at a Granbury forum for candidates in House District 60 in January. “You heard that right.” But after conservative activists circulated videos of his statement and skewered him for his position, the Republican candidate had a change of heart. Rogers released a statement a week later saying he believed in local control but that “there should be strict parameters and limitations on tax dollars being used for lobbying.”
Now, Rogers says he will support the ban. His change of heart shows the major impact the so-called “taxpayer funded lobbying” ban has in this year’s Republican primaries. Supporters wield the issue like a political cudgel against opponents, branding them as proponents of lobbyists who don’t have their constituents’ best interests at heart. The legislation, which failed in the 2019 session, would ban cities, counties and school boards from using government funds to pay for lobbyists to represent their interests in Austin. Some Republican candidates - including some who have worked in local governments and school boards that benefit from such lobbying - are skirting the question or trying to avoid it altogether. “If this is the divisive issue in the 87th [legislative session] and you can avoid being seen as an instigator on it, why not keep your powder dry until you have to fire?” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “Or if it dies down, no reason to look like you’re inflaming the issue if it turns out to be dead.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Nirenberg, Wolff want coronavirus evacuees treated at Lackland (San Antonio Express-News)
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Tuesday they’ve asked the Pentagon to keep potential coronavirus patients at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland rather than transport them to local civilian hospitals for testing and isolation. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Nirenberg and Wolff said they consulted with local hospital systems before making their request to stop the practice of moving mildly ill patients to the Texas Center for Infectious Disease and driving them off the base for medical tests.
They said their goal is to ensure the city continues to have the capacity to treat the sickest patients while limiting local residents’ exposure to the highly contagious virus. The letter underscores a divide between local health experts and the Defense Department, which has required evacuees to be taken by a specialized ambulance to medical facilities in San Antonio when they appear to be ill and require testing or hospitalization. “We’re not at loggerheads with the CDC. I think they know exactly what ought to be done,” Wolff said, referring to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s a difference of opinion with the military, the Department of Defense, I might say.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Trump passes Pence a dangerous buck (The Hill)
President Trump on Wednesday named Vice President Mike Pence as his administration's point person on the response to the frightening coronavirus that threatens to race around the globe, tapping his most loyal partner for what may be his administration's most fraught moment.
The decision to hand Pence authority – and responsibility – for what could be the most significant crisis of Trump's three years in office reflects both the president's aversion to bucks stopping on his desk and his level of trust in a partner he had viewed with skepticism at the beginning of their relationship.
Trump announced Pence's new responsibilities Wednesday night, a day after returning from a brief sojourn to India, during which the public was jolted to the reality of a dangerous pandemic reaching American shores.
While he was gone, senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised serious alarms about the likelihood that the virus would spread here, and both Republican and Democratic senators voiced concerns that the administration's request for emergency funding was inadequate… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas one of 39 states investigating Juul Labs (Houston Chronicle)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday that his office is taking part in a bipartisan, 39-state investigation into e-cigarette company Juul Labs, whose products are popular among teens. Paxton's office said the investigation was prompted by evidence that Juul Labs misrepresented the health risks associated with its products and promoted them to children who are not of legal age to purchase tobacco products. Other leading states include Connecticut, Florida, Nevada and Oregon.
“I am pleased to be working alongside other states to determine whether any of Juul’s statements or business practices misled or otherwise harmed consumers,” Paxton said in a statement. “Protecting Texans from deceptive business practices is a high priority for my office, and I am committed to holding companies accountable for the quality, effects, and marketing of their products.” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the investigation will look into the company’s marketing and sales practices. “We are also looking at claims made by Juul regarding nicotine content and statements they have made regarding the risks, safety and effectiveness as a smoking cessation tool,” Tong said. “I will not prejudge where this investigation will lead, but we will follow every fact and are prepared to take strong action in conjunction with states across the nation to protect public health.”… (LINK TO FULL 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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