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BG Reads 12.20.2023

BG Reads 12.20.2023

🗞️ BG Reads | News - December 20, 2023

December 20, 2023

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December 20, 2023

Today's BG Reads include:

✅ A new report shows Austin is behind on its affordable housing goals

✅ Texas gained more people than any other state in the last year

✅ Mexico to challenge Texas' new 'inhumane' migration law, president say

✅ Donald Trump banned from Colorado ballot in historic ruling by state’s Supreme Court

Read on!

[BG PODCAST]

Welcome to BG Podcast Episode 227.

On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham and Associate Hannah Garcia wrap up the week of December 11th in Austin politics.

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

A new report shows Austin is behind on its affordable housing goals (KVUE)

The city of Austin has a goal to build 60,000 affordable housing units by 2028.

Austin is currently halfway into that 10-year plan. A new report from HousingWorks Austin says 10,444 units have been built between 30 and 80% of the Median Family Income (MFI) in the past five years. Only 363 units built over the last five years were at 30% MFI or below.

District 6 met 37% of Austin's goal in 2022, but only 5% of the 10-year goal. District 4 in East Austin has the highest percentage completed with 50% of its 10-year goal.

"It’s also about where they are being built because of how affordable the land is. If you are a developer it’s going to be more expensive on the north or west side," said Executive Director at HousingWorks Austin, Nora Linares-Moeller.

Districts 8 and 10 produced no affordable units in 2022. Both districts built 2% or less of their 10-year goal."I think the developers need incentive programs to kick into gear to buy land there and build there," Linares-Moeller said. "I think we can look at preserving more housing."Overall, she says more units were built in Austin than the previous year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Williamson County companies pulling people from far reaches to satisfy a growing workforce (Austin Business Journal)

It's no secret that the reach of the Austin metro's economy continues to grow. But a new phenomena is developing as well — a geographic widening of the workforce. With so many companies locating to the Austin suburbs, they are scouring wherever they can for workforce to fill factories with skilled labor. For example, Tesla Inc. recently reported it has 1,000 employees from Killeen, the second largest source of workers at its plant that currently employs 20,000. The company runs daily shuttles from the Bell County city to east Travis County.

It's a trend that is showing no signs of slowing down and is, essentially, stretching the bounds of the Austin metro. Several companies in Williamson County, often seen as the northern point of the region, said they are looking even farther north for talent — even as far as North Texas — as Austin's unemployment rate remains low. And some are relocating their businesses to the northern point of the metro to cut down commute times for employees who are drawn to the outskirts by more affordable housing and a better quality of life.

Exacerbating the workforce issue are a bevy of site selectors looking to locate clients close to big factory projects such as the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. factory in Taylor. The onus is on government officials, economic development leaders and workforce boards to prioritize upskilling labor. Leaders have said a more collaborative approach is being used across Central Texas to address workforce gaps, infrastructure needs and more attainable housing for employees… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin suburbs quickly updating water infrastructure to keep up with growing populations (Austin American-Statesman)

As part of one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, many suburban cities in Central Texas are upgrading their water infrastructure to meet expected demand in the coming decades.

At least five Austin suburbs — Bastrop, Elgin, Georgetown, Pflugerville and Round Rock — are beefing up their treatment systems to provide reliable drinking water as their combined populations are projected to swell from 303,000 residents to over 579,00 in the next 10 to 20 years.

David J. Eaton, a professor of environment and energy policy at the University of Texas, said that Central Texas cities have to put a lot of effort to plan for the future of their infrastructure. He said, however, that there is no reason they cannot keep up with demand if they have the willingness to invest... (LINK TO FULL REPORT)

Austin officials consider financial help for residents adding housing on their property (Community Impact)

One week after Austin officials voted to increase the amount of housing allowed on single-family properties, City Council moved to create a financial support program for low- and middle-income residents seeking to build additional units on their lots.

The outline brought by council member José Velásquez could lead to the creation of a city program offering down payment assistance for those wanting to either build a home or renovate their house to include additional units.The framework advanced with the passage of Velásquez's resolution Dec. 14. In addition to detailing the down payment plan itself, that measure also called for:

Engagement with Austinites, particularly residents facing displacement, on the program's development
Marketing the program to homeowners in areas at a higher gentrification risk
Creating at least one Development Services Department staff position to assist residents with navigating the potential program
Limiting short-term rental properties from participating in the financial program
Complying with anti-displacement initiatives tied to the Project Connect transit plan

“[This item] aims to offer financial support to lower- and middle-income people who want to build an additional housing unit on their property while ensuring we create a process of working with our partners to engage and inform the community with the goal of reaching the people that need it most," Velásquez said.. (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Texas gained more people than any other state in the last year (Texas Tribune)

Texas’ population grew more than any other state in the country in the last year, by nearly half a million people, according to the recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Of the 1.6 million people the nation gained between July 2022 and July 2023, nearly 30% are Texas residents.

The 473,453 people added to Texas’ population during that period, contributed to the state's high growth rate of 1.6%, which was the third highest in the county behind South Carolina and Florida.

Due to Texas’ size — the second most populous state in the country — the high growth rate contributed to broader population increases in the South. Compared to other parts of the country, the South accounted for 87% of the U.S.’s 2023 growth. The majority of the South’s growth is due to net domestic migration, according to census estimates. Net international migration to the region contributed nearly 500,000 people... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Mexico to challenge Texas' new 'inhumane' migration law, president says (Reuters)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday said his government was preparing to challenge a new Texas law allowing state law enforcement to arrest suspected migrants, which he called "inhumane."

On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the law giving local officers powers long delegated to the U.S. government.

Migrants who enter the United States illegally can already be charged with illegal entry or re-entry under federal laws, but the governor of the border state has criticized what he calls U.S. President Joe Biden's failure to enforce them… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

U.S. closes several Southwest border bridges to contain migrant surge (Wall Street Journal)

U.S. immigration authorities have closed several bridges and ports of entry along the U.S. border with Mexico, an unusual measure to contain a surge in illegal migration that is overwhelming many border communities in Texas, Arizona and California.

On Monday, Customs and Border Protection closed a pair of railway bridges in Texas, including one in Eagle Pass, closed another bridge to inbound traffic there and reduced a third bridge used by private vehicles to just one lane. The closures disrupted cross-border activities and business with the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras during a busy shopping period ahead of the Christmas holidays.

By Tuesday morning, thousands of migrants in Eagle Pass were being held by authorities in a dry retention pond next to the closed rail bridge. The migrants, many covered with silver mylar blankets to protect against the cold, stood behind a wall of metal shipping containers that Texas set up on the U.S. bank of the Rio Grande.

The closures have also affected international commerce. The National Grain and Feed Association called for the crossings to be reopened as the closures are affecting the flow of grains and oilseeds to “one of the United States’ most important export markets and trading partners.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Donald Trump banned from Colorado ballot in historic ruling by state’s Supreme Court (Associated Press)

A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.

The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.

“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.

Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency… (LINK TO FUL STORY)

As need rises, housing aid hits lowest level in nearly 25 Years (New York Times)

As the safety net has expanded over the past generation, the food stamp rolls have doubled, Medicaid enrollment has tripled and payments from the earned-income tax credit have nearly quadrupled.

But one major form of aid has grown more scarce.

After decades of rising rents, housing assistance for the poorest tenants has fallen to the lowest level in nearly a quarter-century. The three main federal programs for the neediest renters — public housing, Section 8, and Housing Choice Vouchers — serve 287,000 fewer households than they did at their peak in 2004, a new analysis shows.

That is a 6 percent drop, while the number of eligible households without aid grew by about a quarter, to 15 million.

“We’re not just treading water — we’re falling further behind,” said Chris Herbert, the managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which prepared the analysis at the request of The New York Times. “That was an eye-opener, even for me.”

In an exception to the trend of falling aid, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit helped build several million subsidized apartments, but most are not affordable to the neediest renters without additional aid… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

E.U. strikes major migration deal, signaling Europe’s rightward shift (Washington Post)

The European Union struck a landmark deal Wednesday to overhaul migration policy, a political agreement that signals a broader, rightward shift across Europe. Full details of the deal, reached after years of debate and days of marathon talks, have not yet been released, and the plan must still be formally ratified. But it is expected to change many aspects of how the E.U. handles migration, from border surveillance to how long people can be detained. “Migration is a common European challenge — today’s decision will allow us to manage it together,” tweeted Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

The 27-member union has long struggled to find common ground on the issue. After the pandemic years when migration fell off political agendas — especially amid travel bans and closed borders — the issue roared back to campaign stages and elections, adding momentum to E.U. efforts.

Though the E.U. moved swiftly to welcome million of mostly white, Christian refugees from Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion, it still seems focused on keeping those arriving from elsewhere out. Over the past year, an uptick in arrivals has fed the politicization of asylum and refugee policy, elevating the issue in many capitals. Anti-migrant voter sentiment propelled the far right to fresh victories in bastions of social liberalism like the Netherlands, while dominating the political debate in France, Germany, Italy, Britain and beyond. During the first 11 months of 2023, the continent saw a 17 percent jump in irregular arrivals compared with the same period a year earlier. The more than 355,000 arrivals amounted to the highest numbers since 2016, when the region saw a historic influx led by refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.

In remarks Wednesday, top European officials touted the agreement as a win for Europe and those trying desperately — and often dangerously — to reach its shores. “It means that Europeans will decide who comes to the E.U. and who can stay, not the smugglers. It means protecting those in need,” von der Leyen said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

Next fall will see elections for the following Council positions, District 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor. Candidates can’t file for a place on the ballot until July 22, 2024.

Declared candidates so far are:

District 2