BG Reads | News You Need to Know (September 30, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG Podcast Episode 108: Industry Update with Skeeter Miller, President, Greater Austin Restaurant Association (SHOW LINK)
*NEW* Job Posting: Local Government Affairs Program Manager (Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin gets ready for Texas Legislature (Austin Monitor)
When Texas legislators return to the state capital in January they can expect to face a $4.6 billion budget deficit, according to a prediction from Comptroller Glenn Hegar. The deficit is a result of the pandemic and associated economic decline, along with lower oil prices, Hegar said. Just a year ago, the comptroller was predicting a $2.89 billion surplus. But every state will be facing a similar shortfall, with many experiencing worse economies than Texas.
While figuring out how to deal with that deficit is the first job of any legislature, in spite of the pandemic there will be at least some of the usual attacks on the authority of municipalities, particularly Austin. But Austin is getting ready. City Council approved a broad and lengthy agenda at its Sept. 17 meeting. The city’s lobby team, led by Intergovernmental Relations Officer Brie Franco, could have a full plate come January, but the pandemic makes it hard to predict. Nevertheless, Council had more items to add to an already full plate.
Among a multitude of other issues, Council has directed the city’s lobby team to oppose any legislation “that negatively affects the city’s financial ability to act in the best interests of Austin’s residents or reduces the city’s AAA bond rating.” Those actions might include imposing a more restrictive revenue cap, lowering the homestead appraisal cap or expanding the appraisal cap to non-homestead properties.
The agenda also states that the city manager shall use the city’s Intergovernmental Relations team to “oppose legislation that attempts to diminish the city’s ability to govern its residents’ investment in municipally owned utilities or that negatively impacts the current status of Austin Energy, including rate cases approved by the City Council.”
In addition, of course, the city’s team will be on the lookout for legislation that threatens the city’s authority to promote what the city considers to be appropriate land use and zoning regulations, building codes and planning requirements. Council Member Leslie Pool, in particular, wanted the team to support “inclusionary zoning.” The Legislature outlawed inclusionary zoning several years ago to prevent Austin and other cities from requiring developers to provide housing for low-income residents in order to get specific zoning or permits for market-rate housing.
The team is also charged with resisting legislative efforts to prohibit or restrict the city’s ability to speak with and attempt to influence legislators on behalf of Austin residents… (LINK TO STORY)
Travis commissioners’ Project Connect debate canceled amid legal questions (Austin American-Statesman)
The debate at the Travis County Commissioners Court over an Austin voter proposition on a multibillion-dollar mass transit plan fell apart Tuesday amid legal questions from County Attorney Davis Escamilla.
Escamilla told the American-Statesman that he raised questions over the legality of the agenda item under a section of Texas Election Code that prohibits government bodies from spending taxpayer money for political advertising.
The proposal called for the commissioners court to vote on its “stance on city of Austin’s Proposition A.” A vote could have been construed as an endorsement for or against the proposition, also known as Project Connect. That endorsement would have been held in a government building, during a taxpayer-funded meeting and broadcast on a county-financed website.
A government body “can’t use public resources to advocate one way or the other. So it is always having to be more careful in how the public gets to voice their concern of how it is addressed,” Escamilla said.
Violating the statute of election code in question could carry a civil or criminal penalty.
Commissioner Gerald Daugherty placed the item on Tuesday’s agenda. In response, several local business owners were set to testify against Proposition A. Meanwhile, several local politicians, including state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa and Mayor Steve Adler, were scheduled to testify in favor of the proposition.
The proposition will come before Austin voters on Nov. 3 as a tax rate election that would hike the city’s property tax rate by 8.75 cents. It would fund the $7.1 billion plan in perpetuity. If voters approve the project, over the next several decades, the city would build two light rail lines through downtown, multiple new bus lines, a commuter line from downtown to Northeast Austin and a slate of other projects.
Following the cancellation, Daugherty said there would be an opportunity for the debate at a later date… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin school district makes Election Day this year a student holiday (Austin American-Statesman)
To curb the spread of the coronavirus by maintaining adequate social distancing during voting, the Austin school district has made Election Day this year a student holiday. District campuses historically have been used as polling sites during voting, which usually increases the number of people on school grounds.
“A student holiday for Election Day will decrease the number of people on campuses that may potentially be used as voting sites for the general election. It will also encourage a lower capacity for a campus and allow for greater social distancing for voters to assist in limiting the spread of COVID-19,” officials said in a written statement, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The holiday was originally slated for Oct. 12, marking Columbus Day, but the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees changed it to Nov. 3, which is the date of the 2020 general election. The board had discussed the change earlier this month, officials said. The change will not have an affect on the number of instructional days or how much instructional time students are given, district officials said… (LINK TO STORY)
Travis County approves Central Health's increased budget as COVID-19 exacerbates demand for services (KUT)
Travis County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve Central Health’s next budget, which includes a $20 million increase in funding for health care services for low-income residents.
Central Health, Travis County’s health care district, connects uninsured and low-income residents with services. While it doesn’t directly operate health care facilities, it does provide them with money to serve these residents. Central Health says the demand for health care services for low-income residents already had been on the rise. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the need.
“This [budget] is a commitment to the community and it’s fulfilling our missions of caring for those who need it most and improving the health of our community,” Central Health President and CEO Mike Geeslin told commissioners Tuesday.
The fiscal year 2021 budget is $367 million, 96% of which goes toward health care delivery – primary care, specialty care, behavioral health and more. CommUnityCare, a system of federally qualified health centers that Central Health funds, provides the bulk of the primary care services, through its 27 clinics.
The budget includes $9.5 million in funding for development of three new clinics in Eastern Travis County – in Hornsby Bend, Del Valle and Colony Park. Central Health has already bought land in Hornsby Bend and Del Valle for health centers there, and is currently working to buy land in Colony Park. Though funding is included for these projects in the FY 2021 budget, they likely won’t be completed in the next year. Central Health plans to spend another $18.5 million on the facilities in the following year, as well as use funds in its reserves and pursue debt financing… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin’s top health care official warns ‘pandemic fatigue’ could result in new surge of COVID-19 cases (Community Impact)
While speaking to Travis County officials about the status of coronavirus cases in Austin, the area’s top health care official said a lapse in safety protocols in schools and businesses could lead to a resurgence of cases.
Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County health authority, told the Travis County Commissioners Court that the area runs the risk of falling into “pandemic fatigue” as school districts welcome more students back to classrooms and businesses expand in-store capacity for customers.
“We have to understand that pandemic fatigue is a risk and that people grow tired of these protective actions,” Escott said, referring to social distancing measures and mask mandates. “If we take away those actions, the second surge will come.”
A lapse in safety protocols could prove especially problematic as Texas enters its traditional flu season, Escott said. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, heightened influenza activity typically occurs from October to May.
“If you have any symptoms [of COVID-19] ... we’re moving into cold and flu season. Even if you think it's one of those things, it's important you stay home,” Escott said… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Republicans Shelley Luther, Drew Springer head to runoff in special election to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon (Texas Tribune)
Republicans Shelley Luther and Drew Springer are advancing to a runoff in the special election to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, according to unofficial election returns.
Each was getting about 32% of the vote late Tuesday in the six-way special election, with all polling locations reporting. Luther is the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year after refusing to close her business due to coronavirus restrictions, and Springer is the state representative from Muenster. The runoff has yet to be scheduled.
The sole Democratic candidate, Jacob Minter, was trailing in third with 21% of the vote. None of the other three candidates broke double digits.
Tensions were already running high between Luther and Springer, and the runoff is poised to be even more contentious. Addressing supporters shortly after 10 p.m. in Aubrey, Luther sought to prepare them for a brutal second round… (LINK TO STORY)
Turner task force readies list of changes that could transform policing in Houston (Houston Chronicle)
Mayor Sylvester Turner’s police reform task force will recommend sweeping changes to the city’s police oversight board and a blanket ban on no-knock warrants for nonviolent offenses, according to draft copies of the recommendations shared with the Houston Chronicle. The 45-person group, appointed a month after police officers in Minnesota killed former Houston resident George Floyd, also will suggest more stringent rules for investigating police misconduct and new policies that would require the Houston Police Department to publicize complaints against officers, among other reforms aimed at increasing transparency.
Near the beginning of the 71-page report, which recommends more than 100 reforms, task force members wrote that previous police reform proposals “have been frequently accepted but rarely enacted” by city officials, such as those from Turner’s transition committee on criminal justice that went mostly ignored. “The results of this Task Force’s recommendations need to be applied lest we further demoralize our community,” the draft report reads. “How many reports and tasks forces are needed before the HPD is accountable and reformed for the good?” Turner, who controls City Council’s agenda and negotiates with the police union on contracts, has repeatedly said he wants to wait until the task force issues its recommendations before commenting on specific reform proposals. However, the mayor said earlier this month he is “99.999 percent certain there will be some adjustments” to Houston’s Independent Police Oversight Board… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Biden will keep debating Trump, campaign says (The Hill)
Joe Biden will continue to debate President Trump, his campaign said late Tuesday, even as political operatives blasted what they called a "train wreck" between the pair in their first debate.
"I don’t know how many different ways we can say it. Yes, we are going to do the debates," Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a post-debate call with reporters.
"I would imagine there will be some additional conversations [with the Commission on Presidential Debates]. But yeah, we are committing to attending the debates," she said… (LINK TO STORY)
Trump's jarring white supremacist moment launches an online furor (Politico)
In a night marked by constant interruptions and blatant fact-fudging, it was a moment that sparked a separate online melee.
Moderator Chris Wallace gave President Donald Trump an uninterrupted opportunity to condemn the nation's biggest domestic terrorist groups: white supremacists. Instead, Trump said they should “stand back and stand by.” What's more, he said, the violence in cities like Kenosha and Portland is a “left-wing problem, not a right-wing problem.”
Trump's comments were quickly embraced by the Proud Boys, an alt-right self-described “western chauvinist” group who clearly viewed it as a call to action. The group turned his words into a logo that has been widely circulated on social media. On the right-wing social media site Parler, Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs said he took Trump’s words as a directive to “f--- them up.”
Anti-racism advocates also reacted swiftly. "'Stand back and stand by,'" Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, tweeted. "The line of the night. What Donald J. Trump said to the greatest domestic terrorist threat of our time: White supremacists."
The president’s refusal to condemn white supremacists follows a summer of protest and civil unrest in response to police brutality and systemic racism. Millions of Americans have taken to the streets since May in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, African-Americans who were killed by police and white civilian vigilantes. Trump has denounced these demonstrations and referred to organizations like Black Lives Matter as “a symbol of hate.”… (LINK TO STORY)