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- BG Reads // April 24, 2025
BG Reads // April 24, 2025
A.J. Bingham
April 24, 2025
Presented By
✅ Today's BG Reads include:
🚉 Texas House reviews tax bills that could block Austin's Project Connect financing (Community Impact)
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🟪 Today, Thursday @10AM: Austin City Council Regular Meeting (117 Items)
POLICY SPOTLIGHT: Austin Council to Vote on AI Ethics Framework
🏛️ Austin City Council will consider a resolution (Item 55) to establish ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in City operations.
🏛️ The proposed framework would guide how AI is deployed across departments—such as permitting, public safety, and translation services—while prioritizing transparency, workforce protection, and digital equity.
💡 Key directives include:
Annual audits of AI tools used by the City
Public awareness and engagement campaigns
Training resources on AI literacy and responsible use
Clear restrictions on AI use for surveillance, discrimination, or job displacement
📩 Have questions on how this might impact your operations or policy goals? Email me for a consult. Please include Item 55 AI Framework Question in the subject line.
We’re growing BG Reads and want to better understand who’s reading. Your quick answers help us shape content and build a stronger community.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
✅ Texas House reviews tax bills that could block Austin's Project Connect financing (Community Impact)
Texas lawmakers are once again considering tax reforms that could ban the funding structure used to develop Project Connect, Austin's new light rail and rapid bus transit system.
Project Connect is being developed under city voters' approval of Proposition A in fall 2020. That measure passed with 58% support and allowed Austin to increase its tax rate indefinitely to fund the transit initiative.
Austin's property tax consists of two parts: maintenance and operations for annual expenses, and debt service to pay off longer-term expenses, such as bonds. Local officials opted against building Project Connect through a bond package and instead placed a continuous maintenance tax item on the ballot… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
✅ Austin's under-construction office pipeline nearly cleared out (Austin Business Journal)
The Austin metro’s pipeline of under-construction office buildings could be mostly cleared out by the end of the year, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE Group Inc.
About 264,000 square feet of office development has been delivered so far this year, according to CBRE research, and most of the nearly 2 million square feet of office product currently under construction is set to be delivered by the end of 2025. On top of that, elevated vacancy rates and other economic headwinds have resulted in investors backing fewer projects in recent years, meaning there won't be as many cranes in the sky next year.
To put it another way, unless a new project breaks ground this year, there will be no new office buildings under construction once downtown's Waterline tower is complete, said Jeremy Bock, senior research analyst at CBRE. Several developers have said they're ditching or delaying office components of mixed-use projects still on the drawing board, opting instead to focus on things like retail space… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
✅ Tesla begins ‘FSD Supervised’ ride-hail tests with employees in Austin, Bay Area (Tech Crunch)
Tesla has started testing its autonomous ride-hail service with employees in Austin and the Bay Area ahead of the company’s planned robotaxi launch this summer.
“FSD Supervised ride-hailing service is live for an early set of employees in Austin & San Francisco Bay Area,” the company posted Wednesday on X.
FSD stands for “Full Self-Driving,” which is Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system available to Tesla owners via subscription that can perform some automated driving tasks. The system, which requires the driver to keep their hands on the wheel, is not yet capable of autonomously driving. Thousands of Tesla owners already drive themselves around with supervised FSD. Tesla’s announcement Wednesday centers on the addition of a “Robotaxi” app that will theoretically be used by non-Tesla owners to hail a vehicle in the fleet.
Ferrying employees before a launch is standard procedure in the world of autonomous ride-hail. For example, Waymo uses a similar playbook when it enters a new market. In the lead up to a commercial launch and after weeks of driverless testing, Waymo will open its service to employees before inviting certain members of the public.
Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin in June, which the company reiterated Tuesday during its first-quarter earnings call. The automaker didn’t share many other details on the call, like when it expects to start charging for rides. The most color CEO Elon Musk provided was to say that he expects to roll out 10 to 20 vehicles on “day one” of service in Austin… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
✅ Panelists look at the airport’s future of ‘perpetual’ construction (Austin Monitor)
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is expected to remain in a near-perpetual state of construction for the next several decades, as city officials and regional leaders prepare for sustained, long-term growth in air travel demand and economic activity across the Central Texas region. That projection, shared during a recent Urban Land Institute of Austin panel, helped the area’s real estate and development professionals grasp the infrastructure investment already underway, and the airport’s critical role as a hub for regional development
Originally designed for 11 million annual passengers, the airport has already surpassed 22 million travelers per year to more than double its capacity ahead of schedule. The expansion plan includes a phased construction of multiple new concourses and major upgrades to existing facilities, aims to position Austin to eventually handle between 75 and 80 million annual passengers.
The current phase will create a second concourse that is parallel to the Barbara Jordan Terminal. That terminal is expected to increase capacity to more than 30 million passengers by 2040. Subsequent concourses will be added as needed in response to demand and funding availability.
“It’s a delicate balancing act of: How do you finance it? How do you build it? How do you operate it at the same time? The need is there, the demand is there. And when you look at our peer communities, we have to mark ourselves against smaller rapid growth communities, Nashville being key among that list,” said Jeremy Martin, president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “When you look at where Austin is going to be in the next five, 10, 20 years, it is those global destinations and global hubs that are served by multiple large airlines.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
New building claims tallest in Austin mantle (Austin Business Journal)
One of Austin’s under-construction skyscrapers has become the tallest building in the city and could be the tallest in Texas in the next few months.
The Waterline tower downtown, which will eventually stretch 74 stories into the sky, has surpassed the 66-story Sixth and Guadalupe tower as the tallest building in Austin, according to an April 22 social media post from Andrew Smith, a senior vice president for Lincoln Property Co.
Lincoln is developing Waterline in partnership with Kairoi Residential, the latter of which built the Sixth and Guadalupe tower that was just surpassed... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
✅ Texas creates its own DOGE to make the state more business-friendly (KUT)
Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation on Wednesday to create a government entity similar to the federal Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office’s mission will be similar to its federal counterpart: to eliminate what some state leaders characterize as waste, fraud and corruption in government. But instead of reducing government agencies themselves like DOGE has, the state office aims to eliminate red tape for businesses.
Abbott touted Texas’ business-friendly environment and growing economy at the bill signing ceremony. But he said there is still room to improve, citing a study by George Mason University that found that Texas regulates businesses more than most states.
Abbott said the new office will recalibrate “government in the state of Texas by making it more responsible, more responsive, less costly and more efficient."
“The regulatory environment in Texas is well known for being good, but it seems like it’s not as easy to navigate as it once was,” Abbott added… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
✅ A $750M nuclear power fund advances in Texas House (Dallas Morning News)
The Texas House approved a bill that would create a nuclear power incentive program designed to jump-start a long-dormant energy industry. Its passage is a step forward in an energy arms race against China and Russia, the bill’s author said. The proposal would create a grant program for the development of a nuclear industry in Texas that could cost taxpayers as much as $2.75 billion if voters approve a related amendment to the Texas Constitution. “Investment in nuclear technology has now become a strategic and moral imperative for our country,” Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said. “The global race for energy dominance is not just an economic competition. It is a geopolitical contest with immense national security implications.” The proposal was approved with bipartisan support on a voice vote.
House Bill 14 would create a Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office overseen by the governor. The office would manage the state’s grant program and assist nuclear development organizations in navigating the federal permitting process. The House budgeted $750 million for the program. Harris has a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution that could increase its budget by $2 billion. Lawmakers haven’t voted on the amendment. Eligible projects could receive grants of up to $200 million for those that produce electricity.
Businesses and universities researching and developing nuclear technology would be eligible for $12.5 million grants. Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, opposed the bill. He said he supports the nuclear industry but creating a new state office and an incentive program was not the way forward. “It creates more government.
It creates more bureaucracy,” Harrison said. “It adds more bureaucrats and, guys, this is pure crony corporatism and corporate welfare.” The bill requires passage from the Senate before it can become law. A Senate companion to the bill has yet to advance in that chamber. Gov. Greg Abbott signaled he would approve a nuclear fund as large as $5 billion last year after a regulatory task force recommended creating similar incentive programs… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
✅ US Treasury secretary says trade war with China is not 'sustainable' (Associated Press)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday speech that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. But in a private speech in Washington for JPMorgan Chase, Bessent also cautioned that talks between the United States and China had yet to formally start. U.S. President Donald Trump placed import taxes of 145% on China, which has countered with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. Trump has placed tariffs on several dozen countries, causing the stock market to stumble and interest rates to increase on U.S. debt as investors worry about slower economic growth and higher inflationary pressures. Details of the speech were confirmed by two people familiar with the remarks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them.
“I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations,” Bessent said according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press. “Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.” AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying a trade war with China is not sustainable. The S&P 500 stock index rose 2.5% after Bloomberg News initially reported Bessent’s remarks. Trump acknowledged the increase in the stock market in remarks to reporters afterward on Tuesday, but he avoided confirming if he, too, thought the situation with China was unsustainable as Bessent had said behind closed doors.
“We’re doing fine with China,” Trump said. Despite his high tariffs, Trump said he would be “very nice” to China and not play hardball with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We’re going to live together very happily and ideally work together,” Trump said. The U.S. president said that the final tariff rate with China would come down “substantially” from the current 145%… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
A small U.S. town grew a big company. Can it weather the tariff blizzard? (NPR)
Every few nights, Teri Ivaniszyn jolts awake, her mind racing. She never expected to be a tariff expert, but here she is, keeping a notepad by her bedside for groggy 2 a.m. math on how her company can stay in business.
"I wake up in cold sweats about tariffs," Ivaniszyn says. It's a new thing, and she laughs about it.
Her employer is the biggest tech giant you've likely never heard of. DigiKey is a bit like Amazon, but for millions of electronic parts shipped to engineers worldwide — all from a single warehouse here in rural Minnesota.
The warehouse sprawls under the vast northern sky among miles of rain-soaked grain fields striped with shelterbelts of spruces and poplars to shield the soil from wind. DigiKey started out by hiring farmers' wives, offering pay stability and health benefits, and it has grown to 3,800 U.S. jobs employing half the county's workforce… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
✅ Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas lawmakers urge Trump to reconsider denial of disaster relief (ABC News)
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the state's entire GOP congressional delegation are urging President Donald Trump to reconsider after the Federal Emergency Management denied the state's request for federal disaster relief following a series of deadly storms last month.
After severe storms hit the state in mid-March, Sanders applied for disaster relief through FEMA, under what's known as a major disaster declaration. The request was denied.
"As Governor Sanders noted in her request, these storms caused catastrophic damage across the state, resulting in disastrous amounts of debris, widespread destruction to homes and businesses, the deaths of three Arkansans, and injuries to many more," the state's two Republican senators and four GOP House members wrote in an April 21 letter to Trump. "Given the cumulative impact and sheer magnitude of destruction from these severe weather events, federal assistance is vital to ensure that state and local communities have the capabilities needed to rebuild."
ABC News has requested comment from FEMA about why Arkansas' request was denied.
During a visit in January to parts of North Carolina still left battered by Helene, Trump sharply criticized FEMA and suggested states could manage disaster relief better than the federal government.
"You want to use your state to fix it and not waste time calling FEMA," he said. "And then FEMA gets here and they don't know the area. They've never been to the area, and they want to give you rules that you've never heard about. They want to bring people that aren't as good as the people you already have. And FEMA has turned out to be a disaster."… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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