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- BG Reads 1.15.2025
BG Reads 1.15.2025
🟪 BG Reads - January 14, 2025
Bingham Group Reads
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www.binghamgp.com
January 15, 2025
➡️ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Austin's rank slips on respected list of 'best performing' cities (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 Report sees strong growth for life sciences jobs and real estate throughout Austin (Austin Monitor)
🟪 Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock wins race for Texas House speaker (KUT)
🟪 Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker (Texas Tribune)
🟪 Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to force out Texas A&M president over alleged DEI ban violation (Houston Chronicle)
Read On!
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
📝 City Memos:
💬 Council Message Board:
📺 Insight:
City Executive Changes
Robert Goode is now Interim Director of Capital Delivery Services and Mobility Officer for Project Connect Office. He most recently served as Assistant City Manager (ACM) over Austin Water, Aviation, Capital Delivery Services, Project Connect, and Transportation and Public Works Departments.
Effective January 13, Michael Rogers assumed the role of Assistant City Manager overseeing those departments.
Before joining the City of Austin, Michael served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Fresno, California, where he provided strategic leadership for key city functions, including Airports, Transportation, Economic Development, the Convention Center, and Emergency Preparedness.
Michael was also the Director of Transportation for the City of Dallas from 2017 to 2020 and Director of Transportation for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina from 2016 to 2017.
Council District 10 Staff
Per Council Member Marc Duchen’s newsletter, his staff are:
Carrie Smith, Special Assistant to the Council Member / Acting Chief of Staff
Annie Candido, Constituent Liaison
Laura Yeager, Senior Policy Strategist
Sophia Mirto, Communications Director
ℹ️ Helpful City Links:
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
➡️ Austin's rank slips on respected list of 'best performing' cities (Austin Business Journal)
Austin is no longer the top metro in the U.S. for economic growth, according to the Milken Institute.
Austin fell to the No. 6 spot in the Milken Institute’s 2025 Best Performing Cities report. It was No. 1 last year and has hovered among the top three for at least a decade.
This annual report looks at cities across the U.S. and ranks them based on how effective they are at promoting employment, wages and key industries as well as access to economic opportunity.
The biggest reason for Austin's slip was a drop in the area's short-term job growth, the report said. Austin fell from the 22nd spot in this category last year to the 104th spot this year, which is last place among "tier one" large cities in this ranking… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
See also
These are 2025's best-performing cities (AXIOS) - Raleigh, NC was #1.
➡️ Report sees strong growth for life sciences jobs and real estate throughout Austin (Austin Monitor)
Austin’s bio and health ecosystem is emerging as a significant driver of economic development, with new projects and public policy efforts shaping the future of the sector, according to the 2024 Austin Bio & Health Report authored by industry analysts Jason Scharf and Jani Tuomi.
The report found Austin is now home to over 1,100 bio and health companies, employing 21,000 people and generating a total ecosystem valuation of $42 billion. Venture capital investment in the sector has also grown, with $3.5 billion raised over the past five years, positioning Austin among the top 10 cities nationally for bio and health funding.
Among the other findings: 40 companies within the sector are valued at over $100 million, with the average valuation for Austin startups seen as competitive with major hubs like San Francisco, Boston and New York. Also, as of last year there were 9.6 million square feet of bio and health space in Austin, which ranks fifth nationally for “brain gain” with a 70 percent rise in college-educated adults moving to the city… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ State lawmaker again files bill to give Texas control of Austin (KUT)
Texas lawmakers are reigniting an effort to allow the state to control Austin.
A bill to establish a District of Austin, with state lawmakers having the power to amend or repeal city policies, was first filed by Houston-area Republican Rep. Briscoe Cain in 2021.
A similar bill was proposed in 2023. Both efforts failed.
Cain said he felt compelled to refile a bill this legislative session because he's concerned about Austin’s ability to govern the state’s capital effectively. He cited "spikes in violent crime and homicide rates among other systemic leadership failures.”
Austin had 70 homicides in 2024, slightly fewer than last year’s total of 75. That is much lower than in 2021, when the city had a record-high of nearly 90 homicides. Crime rates have dropped overall since 2020, according to city data… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Pflugerville Community Development Corporation to launch support center for local businesses (Community Impact)
The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation will launch a new digital support center, aimed at helping local entrepreneurs grow their small businesses, Jan. 15.
The Startup Support Center is a digital platform that will provide tools and training for product development, services and technology. It is designed specifically for small business owners in Pflugerville—both long established and those just starting out.Participants can expect curriculum for business planning, advanced marketing tools and automation systems, as well as additional support from local agencies and organizations. The program is free and those interested can sign up on the PCDC website starting Jan. 15… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
➡️ Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock wins race for Texas House speaker (KUT)
After weeks of infighting among Texas House Republicans over who would lead their chamber this legislative session, Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) has won the powerful role of House speaker with 85 votes from the 150-member chamber.
Burrows now immediately takes over as speaker of the Texas House.
There were two rounds of voting in the House on Tuesday. Burrows bested challenger David Cook in the runoff, where Cook received 55 votes.
“The duty bestowed upon me today as Speaker of the Texas House is one of immense responsibility and honor, and I thank each of my colleagues for their trust and vote of confidence,” Burrows posted on X.
“As Speaker, I stand ready to support every member as we collectively navigate the most pressing issues facing Texans today—issues ranging from improving education to providing additional property tax relief, bolstering water resources, fighting for safer communities, and everything in between,” he said… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker (Texas Tribune)
Texas House members elected Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows as the chamber's newest speaker Tuesday in a vote that capped a monthslong, bitter GOP battle for the gavel. Burrows' ascension to the speakership kicked off the 2025 legislative session which will run through June 2. Lawmakers have 140 days to pass a two-year state budget and hundreds of bills that will impact Texans' lives.
Fallout from Rep. Dustin Burrows’ speaker election has already begun. Minutes after the Lubbock Republican was elected, Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George indicated that Burrows supporters could soon be censured by the party — a move that, under new party rules, would bar them from appearing on a primary ballot for two years. The party indicated as much late last year, after Burrows announced that he had enough bipartisan support to win the speakership, though it's likely that any attempt to bar lawmakers from primary ballots would face legal challenges.
The potential censures would add to party acrimony that’s only intensified in the lead up to the speaker election. Earlier this month, Rep. Cody Harris, a Burrows supporter, alleged in an ethics complaint that George had violated bribery rules by threatening to run negative ads in the districts of lawmakers who backed Burrows.
George’s comments came as supporters of Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, vowed to punish those who voted against him during the next primary elections. “This is our House,” they chanted from the Capitol steps… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to force out Texas A&M president over alleged DEI ban violation (Houston Chronicle)
Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to force out Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III over the university's apparent attempt to send students to a conference the governor said flouted the state's new diversity, equity and inclusion ban. University emails posted online by a conservative activist, which were not sent by Welsh, ask for staff and PhD students willing to represent the university in a recruiting trip to a conference run by the PhD Project and that limits participation to those who are Black, Hispanic or Native American.
The conference is billed as being "designed for historically underrepresented individuals considering business doctoral studies." "Hell no," Abbott wrote on X when another user asked if he approved of the invitation. "It’s against Texas law and violates the US Constitution. It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone."
Abbott cannot directly fire Welsh, but the governor appoints the university regents whom Welsh answers to. Abbott in 2023 signed a law banning diversity hiring programs, DEI training and DEI offices in public higher education.
The screenshot of the A&M email, however, says the university's general counsel deemed participating in The PhD Project permissible under recruitment exemptions in the law. From the Texas Tribune: The email shared on Monday was sent by Michael C. Withers, associate dean for research and scholarship professor at Mays Business School, who invited A&M faculty and PhD students to participate in an annual conference put together by The PhD Project, an organization that seeks to increase diversity in classrooms and corporations.
Withers wrote that the university typically sends three people to the conference, scheduled this year for March 20-21 in Chicago, and that lawyers for the university had found participating was permissible under SB 17’s recruitment exemptions. According to the law, the ban does not apply to instruction, research, the activity of a student organization, guest speakers or performers, data collection and student recruitment.
The PhD Project previously listed on its website at least eight other Texas public universities that have participated in the conference — Texas Tech University, University of Houston, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and University of Texas at San Antonio — but most were removed sometime Tuesday afternoon. The UT System said it did not receive a directive from the governor to withdraw from the conference, but recommended its institutions to do so. UNT and Texas Tech also said Tuesday they would no longer participate… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
➡️ Johnson confirms ‘discussions’ on tying wildfire aid to debt limit (Politico)
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to reporters Monday there’s “been some discussion” of tying California wildfire aid to a debt limit increase, after GOP members raised the issue with Donald Trump in several meetings at the President-elect’s Florida resort this weekend.
The notion that Congress could make the release of disaster relief dollars conditional upon also agreeing to raise the debt ceiling is already facing pushback from some Democrats.
But many California Republicans, including Rep. Doug LaMalfa, said in a brief interview Monday they may have no choice but to pursue that option given the potential urgency around addressing the Los Angles fires, paired with the reality that the nation could default on its borrowing authority in a matter of months.
Linking the two issues together could bring a larger coalition of support to the table from both sides of the aisle and allow Johnson (R-La.) to deliver Trump a debt ceiling increase sooner rather than later… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ No such thing as a free toilet: Starbucks reverses open bathroom policy (NPR)
Starbucks has introduced a policy that will require people to make a purchase if they want to hang out in their cafes or use the restroom. It's part of a strategy that the new CEO hopes customers will welcome at a time of declining profits.
The chain says its new code of conduct "is something most retailers have and is designed to provide clarity that our spaces — including our cafes, patios and restrooms — are for use by customers and partners."… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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