BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 21, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin could re-vote on Project Connect this fall — here’s why (KXAN)
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson forewarned in a his newsletter Thursday of a possible re-vote on Project Connect, a mass transit system approved by city voters back in November 2020.
At issue: Two bills going through the Texas Legislature would require voters to sign off on all of the following components related to a project:
What the debt would be used for
How much debt product leaders need to issue
The tax rate needed to pay back the debt
In his newsletter, Watson slammed the state-level effort as “a terrible precedent for the Legislature to muck with a voter-approved infrastructure investment.”
But if we’re going to protect light rail for the long run, we need to bring this question back home to the people of Austin and let the people vote — again. Sometimes, killing a bad bill (assuming the bill can be killed) isn’t necessarily the best outcome. As I’ve said before, governing often requires nuance and some long-term vision.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Downtown Austin continues to grow with new developments (KVUE)
Austin’s skyline continues to grow as more skyscrapers, hotels, and mix-use buildings are built in the area.
The Downtown Development Alliance has been closely following the growth of downtown Austin and are currently tracking about 50 projects; 20 already under construction, and 30 set for future development.
The projects range from high rises, hotels, to mix use, including the Sixth and Guadalupe, which is 67 stories high, and the Waterline, a 77-story skyscraper that will become the tallest building in Texas.
“The buildings are reaching new heights, and are packing in hundreds of square feet," said Jenell Moffett, with the Downtown Austin Alliance.
Last year, there were 17 projects totaling over five million square feet… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Planning Commission OKs height boost for Rainey tower amid resident pushback (Austin monitor)
The Planning Commission on April 11 recommended approval of a density bonus that would allow a new tower to rise in the Rainey Street neighborhood.
The proposed 215-unit condominium tower at 62 East Ave. will rise 57 floors and 684 feet. But before the project can break ground, it needs City Council approval to increase floor area ratio from 15:1 to 29:1.
As part of the requirements of the Downtown Density Bonus Program, 10 of the project’s units will be affordable for those making 80 percent of the median family income, and the developer will pay $808,000 in fees to go toward affordable housing elsewhere.
Over a dozen Rainey residents spoke against the increased density. Residents mainly expressed concern over increased car traffic further clogging streets in what will likely soon be the most densely developed part of the city, with several skyscrapers planned and under construction in and around Rainey Street… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Construction starts next month on three-gate expansion of ABIA's Barbara Jordan TerminaL (KUT)
With passenger volumes soaring to all new highs, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is getting ready to start construction next month on a $164 million expansion of the Barbara Jordan Terminal.
The project will add more than 80,000 square feet of space including:
three new gates
two relocated gates
dining areas for concessionaires
additional restrooms
a children's play area
a meditation/quiet room
family and nursing rooms
a place where pets can pee
a new mezzanine with a public outdoor balcony overlooking downtown Austin… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Dan Patrick calls House Speaker Phelan 'California Dade' in feud over property tax relief bills (Houston Chronicle)
The negotiations over what could be the largest property tax cut in Texas history have devolved into name-calling, ghosting and political tactics aimed at making the other side look out of step with voters. And it’s all Republican-on-Republican blood with just 40 days left in the GOP-dominated Texas Legislature’s regular session, with the potential to get all kinds of other issues caught in the crossfire. It always gets testy in the final five weeks of any legislative session in Texas, no matter who is in leadership. But what’s playing out this year appears different — House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who runs the Texas Senate, have barely spoken to one another this year. Instead, they're taking jabs at one another during TV appearances, on social media and in front of the Austin press.
“California Dade wants a California tax plan or a New Jersey tax plan,” Patrick, a Houston Republican, told Spectrum News anchor Karina Kling in an interview Tuesday, waving fistfuls of dollars as a prop. That came days after Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who is not from California, last week told reporters that comparing the House tax plans to California’s system is like comparing “apples and bowling balls.” And that all happened after Patrick used a news conference to declare he couldn’t work with the House on a compromise tax plan. “Let me be very clear: You don’t negotiate on bad math,” Patrick said. “Just on math, their plan gives far less, their plan disrupts the market, their plan isn’t needed.” After the House passed its plan overwhelmingly last week, Phelan told reporters: “Our proposal is just as popular as the Senate’s proposal” and its passage “should send a message.” The center of the fight is how to deliver property tax relief — and for whom. Both the House and Senate have plans to send money to school districts to drive down or compress property taxes. But Patrick wants to increase the state’s homestead exemption to cut taxes for homeowners, while Phelan is calling for a cap on year-to-year increases in taxable appraisal values. The House plan would benefit businesses and owners of rental properties much more than the Senate plan. “We want to have the caps so that there's predictability and stability for our property owners,” state Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas Republican who is a chief architect of the House plan, said during the debate on the issue last week… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Chief Justice John Roberts Asked to Address ‘Ethical Standards’ at Supreme Court (Wall Street Journal)
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a public hearing on Supreme Court ethics rules, after Justice Clarence Thomas has come under scrutiny for accepting luxury trips from and selling real estate to a Texas billionaire and donor to conservative causes.
“There has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said in a Thursday letter to the chief justice.
Legal experts have differed on whether Justice Thomas complied with relevant reporting requirements regarding the trips he accepted, and several Republican committee members expressed skepticism about the proposed public hearing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)