BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 3, 2022)
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[FIRM UPDATE]
Andy Cates Joins The Bingham Group, LLC
The Bingham Group, LLC is pleased to announce the addition of Andy Cates, J.D. as General Counsel and Managing Principal - State Affairs.
“Andy is a respected colleague who brings over a decade of experience navigating the Texas Legislative process and has a strong entrepreneurial drive," said A.J. Bingham, firm Founder and CEO. “Along with joining our leadership team, Andy will lead Bingham Group’s expansion into state lobbying before the legislative and executive branches of Texas government.”
Andy most recently served as co-founder and Senior Partner of Austin-based lobby firm, Salient Strategies, where he and his partners ushered House Bill 5, the Governor’s emergency item on Broadband Expansion, to passage. He previously served as General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for the Texas Nurses Association, where he spent three legislative sessions leading advocacy efforts to secure over $25 million in state funding to end the nurse shortage. Prior to that role, he served as legislative attorney for the Texas Association of REALTORS® as well as lead attorney for the Texas Association of REALTORS® Political Action Committee, the largest PAC in Texas… LINK TO FULL POST
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 157: Discussing the Austin Economic Development Corp. w/Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transactions Officer
Today’s episode (157) features Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transactions Officer for the the Austin Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the impetus for its founding and the work ahead.
BACKGROUND:
In October 2020, recognizing the increasing pressures of rising real estate prices on affordability, equity, and the City’s iconic venues and small businesses, the City of Austin created the AEDC.
AEDC is a Public Real Estate Developer, working for purpose instead of profits. AEDC can speed the pace of the public response to decreasing affordability and equity by moving at the pace of the market to blend the best of public and private deal making. -> EPISODE LINK
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Public Safety Commission urges city to raise EMS pay (Austin Monitor)
The Public Safety Commission approved a broad resolution Monday calling on the city to raise its offer to the Austin EMS union to pay salaries comparable to what other EMS agencies are paying. EMS salaries should be equivalent to what the city is paying firefighters and police officers and what is offered in the private market, commissioners said. Commission Chair Rebecca Bernhardt and Commissioner Rebecca Webber sponsored the resolution, which won support from all six members present for the vote.
Commissioners heard from Selena Xie, the president of the EMS union, but did not hear the city’s side of the story. That’s because no city representative attended the meeting, even though the matter has been on the agenda for some time. Commissioners expressed varying degrees of annoyance that the city spokesperson not only failed to attend but failed to inform commissioners they were not coming. Commissioner Rocky Lane said the city’s failure to attend Monday’s meeting was “a slap in the face.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Why Facebook parent Meta, other tech giants keep eating up downtown high-rise space (Austin Business Journal)
When Silicon Valley-based Meta Platforms Inc. — parent company of Facebook — opted to eat up the entire commercial half of a future 66-story downtown Austin high-rise, the reasoning was simple: Location, location, location.
Despite the company's plans for expanded remote work, Meta late last year leased 589,000 square feet of office space across 33 floors at Sixth and Guadalupe, under construction at 400 W. Sixth St., due to its proximity to some of the company's other offices, its modern amenities and its location in a vibrant, thriving urban core, according to Meta spokesman Tracy Clayton.
"We’ve always taken a lot of pride in our unique office experience and believe our physical spaces play a vital role in building our culture. Whether it’s the unique space design or diverse artwork, we’ve always considered our offices to be a physical representation of our values and still believe they’re vitally important to accommodate growth and collaboration," Clayton said in an email.
Big tech companies have been at the forefront of embracing remote and flexible work. But even if they aren't expecting all employees to clock in at their offices 40 hours a week, they seem eager to continue investing in space in Austin's Central Business District. That's undoubtedly reassuring for the downtown bars, music venues, restaurants and stores that depend on foot traffic.
Robust job growth helps explain the leasing trends. The Austin metro has added 60,000 office jobs since February 2020, a 60% increase, according to an Avison Young report. Direct office vacancy in the CBD was 13.7% in the first quarter of 2022, according to Avison Young, with more than 2 million square feet under construction… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Community College, Texas State University join equity initiative (Community Impact)
Austin Community College announced April 28 that it was selected to join the Transfer Student Success and Equity Initiative, along with Texas State University, a project founded by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
The initiative is designed to bring together community colleges and four-year institutions to implement institution policies and best practices to ensure equitable access, according to a press release. The one-year initiative consists of monthly sessions that are designed to support the partnership, and a workshop series provides support aimed at “accelerating transfer reform” over the year, according to the Aspen Institute… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Downtown Pflugerville to expand east, add numerous amenities (Community Impact)
Leaders in Pflugerville are ramping up plans for projects within the city’s downtown boundaries as well as an expansion of the footprint of downtown.
Some projects are underway, such as a new city center called Downtown East, and some are still hypothetical, such as a multiphased, multimillion-dollar proposal to bury much of the older infrastructure downtown by putting it underground.
Former Deputy City Manager Trey Fletcher, who left Pflugerville April 22 to become the city administrator in West Lake Hills, said striking a balance between expansion and improvement of the existing downtown is vital.
“The core of downtown and Downtown East ... are like two feet to the same body, if you will,” Deputy City Manager Trey Fletcher said. “Downtown East represents an opportunity to catalyze the revitalization of the core downtown.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. News ranked 14 Austin high schools among the best in the country (Austin American-Statesman)
The Austin school district’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy was once again ranked as one of the best high schools in Texas, according to the 2022 list of top public high schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
The annual list from U.S. News ranks schools based on factors such as graduation rates, how students perform on state assessments, the proportion of 12th graders who get qualifying scores on Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams and the performance of Black, Hispanic and low-income students.
LASA, a public magnet high school in Austin, maintained its status from last year as the highest-ranked school in the city and fourth overall in Texas. But the school jumped in the national rankings from the No. 41 spot in 2021 to become the No. 34 public high school in the United States… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
If Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Texas will completely ban abortion (Texas Tribune)
According to a draft opinion obtained by Politico, the U.S. Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, reversing nearly 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion, and let states set their own restrictions on the procedure.
If this draft reflects the final decision of the Court, expected this summer, it would virtually eliminate abortion access in Texas. Last year, the Legislature passed a so-called “trigger law” that would go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, making performing abortion a felony.
The law would make an exception only to save the life of the pregnant patient or if they risk “substantial impairment of major bodily function.” Doctors could face life in prison and fines up to $100,000 if they perform abortions in violation of the law.
It’s unclear how closely the court's final ruling will hew to the draft opinion, the publication of which is unprecedented in the history of the court… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ‘outraged’ by state pension fund’s climate change vote (Dallas Morning News)
A major Texas pension fund has taken a stance against fossil fuels, angering state Republicans who say the move defies a new law meant to support the oil and gas industry. The Employees Retirement System of Texas voted by proxy for shareholder resolutions last week that ask banks to limit financing for new fossil fuel projects. It’s not clear whether ERS intended to back the proposals, which ultimately failed. They were championed by climate activists and directed at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. But the move by ERS – which manages $35 billion on behalf of state employees and retirees – spurred backlash at the GOP-led Legislature. On Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he was “outraged” by the pension fund’s actions that “go against the spirit” of new state laws. Last year, lawmakers barred state agencies from working with companies that “boycott” the oil and gas industry.
“Our various investment funds’ focus should be on getting the best return on their funds,” said Patrick, a two-term Republican who presides over the state Senate. “If companies they invest in take positions that harm Texas, they need to re-evaluate those investments.” Patrick said ERS pledged to “review and modify” its voting by proxy policies to address his concerns, but offered no further detail. A proxy votes on behalf of a company’s shareholder at investor meetings. It’s not clear whether ERS meant to support the climate change resolutions. Most proxy votes are cast according to ERS policy and guidelines, according to spokeswoman Mary Jane Wardlow. “There may have been some disconnect between intent and edits that were made several years ago,” Wardlow said in a statement. “We became aware of the issue late last week and were in contact with our proxy advisor, Institutional Shareholder Services, to resolve the matter going forward.” The new state law does not address shareholder votes… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
National Guard troops on Texas border get shortchanged on injury, death benefits (Houston Chronicle)
National Guard members injured or killed on the Texas border stand to get a fraction of the health and death benefits for their families because they were deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott instead of President Joe Biden. “We don’t get any of the — or most of the — federal protections and benefits,” Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, leader of the Texas Military Department, told lawmakers at a recent hearing of the Texas House Homeland Security & Public Safety and Defense & Veterans’ Affairs Committees. That means that instead of families of soldiers killed in the line of duty getting $100,000 immediately to help with funeral costs and other expenses — as they would on a federal mission — they are left with state workers’ compensation death benefits, which amount to 75 percent of a soldier’s pay from their civilian job, paid out weekly, Suelzer said. So a guard member making $50,000 a year in a civilian job would get up to $37,500 paid out weekly in addition to up to $10,000 in reimbursements for funeral costs, which families have to initially pay out of pocket… (LINK TO FULL STORY)