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- BG Reads 9.9.2024
BG Reads 9.9.2024
🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - September 9, 2024
Bingham Group Reads
Presented by:
www.binghamgp.com
September 9, 2024
Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 City of Austin public hearings for the week of September 9th
🟪 City provides updates on financial, anti-displacement efforts related to HOME initiatives (Austin Monitor)
🟪 Breaking down Travis County's proposed tax hike targeting child care costs (Community Impact)
🟪 Texas sues to stop a rule that shields the medical records of women who seek abortions elsewhere (Associated Press)
Read On!
[BINGHAM GROUP]
🟪 We are proud to represent and have represented a wide range of clients in the Austin Metro and Texas Capitol at the intersection of government and business.
🟪 Learn more about Bingham Group’s experience here, and review client testimonials here.
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
đź’ˇ The Austin Council has seven (7) regular meetings left in 2024.
đź“ş City Council Candidate Forum: District 7 - Video (9.5.2024)
District 4 - September 19th
City of Austin Permitting and Development Center, Room 1405, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin 78752
District 2 - September 25th
Dove Springs Recreation Center, 5801 Ainez Drive, Austin 78744
District 10 - September 30th
Dell Jewish Community Campus, Epstein Family Community Hall, 7300 Hart Lane, Austin 78731
Mayor - October 3rd
Austin City Hall Council Chambers, 301 W. 2nd St. Austin 78701
District 6 - October 7th
Hope Presbyterian Church, 11512 Olson Drive, Austin 78750
âś… All candidate forums will are scheduled from 6:30pm to 8pm.
âś… All forums will be streamed live and archived on ATXN.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
City provides updates on financial, anti-displacement efforts related to HOME initiatives (Austin Monitor)
The city has started to make a series of moves intended to make it easier for middle- and low-income residents to build accessory dwelling units and generate new income from properties that are now able to host more housing.
Last week’s meeting of City Council’s Housing and Planning Committee included an update from Mandy DeMayo, interim director of the Housing Department, on three actions called for in a resolution approved by Council in May. That resolution was a follow-up to the two HOME policy packages that updated the city’s land use code to reduce minimum lot sizes and encourage density throughout the city as an answer to the rising cost of housing in Austin.
DeMayo said the task force called for in the resolution has been formed, with staff from the Development Services, Housing and Planning departments convening for the first time last month to develop ways to increase the number of ADUs constructed by lower-income property owners. That group is expected to deliver a work plan to Council by late October, with findings expected in January… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Breaking down Travis County's proposed tax hike targeting child care costs (Community Impact)
After an outpouring of support from local child care advocates, Travis County commissioners approved a measure Aug. 13 to ask voters for a tax increase on the November ballot.Property owners across the metro are being asked to support lowering annual child care costs. Currently, the cost for one child to attend daycare in Travis County is comparable with a year of tuition at The University of Texas at Austin, officials said.If approved by voters, the increase would raise an additional $77 million annually—an estimated $288 total tax increase to the average homeowner—to fund a multi-pronged approach aimed at reducing the burden of child care costs for the community’s most vulnerable populations… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Travis County over voter registration outreach (KUT)
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Travis County for funding a program that will mail out voter registration forms to unregistered voters.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, argues the commissioners court misused taxpayer dollars by hiring Civic Government Solutions to facilitate the program.
The attorney general's office claims the company encourages people to cast ballots for progressive candidates, and that the program will "create confusion, potentially facilitate fraud, and undermine public trust in the election process."
“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,” Paxton said in a statement. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections. We will stop them and any other county considering such programs.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Historic Landmark Commission votes to preserve east side building over developer’s wishes (Austin Monitor)
After a lively series of debates, Historic Landmark Commission members are making moves to halt the bulldozing of a century-old building at East 12th and Comal streets.
1500 E. 12th St. caused a stir this past July when owner Eureka Holdings, which holds a large swath of real estate along the 11th Street corridor, filed for a permit to demolish the vacant property.
Now, landmark commissioners are hoping to swing the pendulum, voting unanimously last Wednesday to initiate the site’s historic zoning.
Though it has sat vacant for decades, 1500 E. 12th has played many parts in its 100 years of life, including neighborhood grocery, German-owned beer hall and live music destination in a bustling black entertainment district. Staff with the city’s Historic Preservation Office list the building’s enduring role in East Austin’s transformative 20th century and its proximity to the historically landmarked I.Q. Hurdle House among its arguments in support of the case… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Lake Travis ISD adopts policy around artificial intelligence use for students (Community Impact)
Lake Travis ISD is exploring how to best implement the use of artificial intelligence in its classrooms.The district amended its Student Code of Conduct for the 2024-25 school year to include a code of conduct specifically related to artificial intelligence, which was approved by the board of trustees at an Aug. 21 meeting.The new policy outlines when and how students may use AI in their school work based on guidelines set by district teachers.
LTISD’s new Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct provides guidance on how students should use generative AI—a form of AI that creates content such as text, images, audio, video and code, and includes platforms like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas sues to stop a rule that shields the medical records of women who seek abortions elsewhere (Associated Press)
Texas has sued the Biden administration to try to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women from criminal investigations if they cross state lines to seek abortion where it is legal.
The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks to overturn a regulation that was finalized in April. In the suit filed Wednesday in Lubbock, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the federal government of attempting to “undermine” the state’s law enforcement capabilities.
It appears to be the first legal challenge from a state with an abortion ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the nationwide right to abortion. The rule essentially prohibits state or local officials from gathering medical records related to reproductive health care for a civil, criminal or administrative investigation from providers or health insurers in a state where abortion remains legal. It is intended to protect women who live in states where abortion is illegal.
In a statement, HHS declined comment on the lawsuit but said the rule “stands on its own.” “The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to protecting reproductive health privacy and ensuring that no woman’s medical records are used against her, her doctor, or her loved one simply because she got the lawful reproductive care she needed,” the agency said.
Texas’ abortion ban, like those in other states, exempts women who seek abortions from criminal charges. The ban provides for enforcement either through a private civil action, or under the state’s criminal statutes, punishable by up to life in prison, for anyone held responsible for helping a woman obtain one. It’s not clear whether public officials have sought patient medical records related to abortion. But the state has sought records related to gender-affirming care, demanding them from at least two out-of-state health centers last year.
Like many Republican-controlled states, Texas bans gender-affirming care for minors. At least 22 Democratic-controlled states have laws or executive orders that seek to protect medical providers or patients who participate in abortion from investigations by law enforcement in states with bans… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas parents gain new tools to control their teen’s social media use (Texas Tribune)
Parents of Texas children under 18 can now monitor and restrict their child’s activity on digital platforms including Facebook and Instagram — but only if they know their child uses the service.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, rolled out parental control features in Texas last week to comply with House Bill 18, the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act, which went into effect Sept. 1. The Legislature passed it last year to restrict kids from seeing harmful material on the internet, such as content promoting self-harm or substance abuse, while also giving parents more power to regulate what their child does online.
Meta’s tools allow parents who can prove their identity with a valid ID to see and update their teen’s account settings, set time limits on the child’s usage and even delete a minor child’s Instagram or Facebook account altogether.
Parents rights advocates say the new tools are helpful but don’t go far enough to protect young people online… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Texas billionaire who has Greenpeace USA on the verge of bankruptcy (Wall Street Journal)
Fossil-fuel billionaire Kelcy Warren is about to land a knockout punch on Greenpeace. The pipeline magnate’s company, Energy Transfer is behind a lawsuit that Greenpeace says could bankrupt the environmental group’s U.S. affiliate. A courtroom victory, which some Greenpeace officials fear is likely, would be a coda in the nearly decadelong battle between the two sides over one of Warren’s signature projects: the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In 2016, Greenpeace, Native American tribal groups and thousands of other activists camped in a remote corner of North Dakota to block the project. The monthslong protests impeded the oil pipeline’s completion and became a flashpoint in the fight over fossil fuels. Images of sometimes violent confrontations between protesters and law enforcement made international news.
Warren ultimately completed the conduit, but the fight wasn’t over for him.
Warren sees green activists, who he once said should be “removed from the gene pool,” as a serious threat to the industry. Starting with protests of Keystone XL, which successfully derailed that project, activists have targeted pipelines across the country. “Everybody is afraid of these environmental groups and the fear that it may look wrong if you fight back with these people,” Warren said in a 2017 TV interview.
“But what they did to us is wrong, and they’re gonna pay for it.” Now the pugnacious tycoon, who is worth more than $7 billion, is within spitting distance of dealing a serious blow to Greenpeace—and the U.S. green movement. Energy Transfer’s lawsuit alleges several Greenpeace entities incited the Dakota Access protests, funded attacks to damage the pipeline, and spread misinformation about the company and its project. The case is set for trial in February in a North Dakota state court, where both sides expect a fossil-fuel-friendly jury. Energy Transfer is seeking $300 million in damages, which would likely wipe out Greenpeace USA, according to the group’s leadership… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
Hair and skin care products expose kids to hormone disrupting chemicals, study finds (NPR)
A new study links the recent use of personal care products like lotions, ointments and hair conditioners to higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals called phthalates in young children. And children of different racial and ethnic groups seemed to have different levels of exposure to these chemicals.
Phthalates are a group of chemicals added to plastics to make them more flexible and durable. They are also used as ingredients in some personal care products.
These chemicals are endocrine disruptors – which means they can mimic, block or interfere with the body’s own hormones. And when it comes to children, the concern is that they might cause disruptions during key developmental moments... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
_________________________
We are proud to represent and have represented a wide range of clients in the Austin Metro and Texas Capitol at the intersection of government and business.
Learn more about Bingham Group’s experience here, and review client testimonials here.
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