BG Reads // April 8, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
April 08, 2025

Presented By

Serving Central Texas.

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🗓️ Council Work Session Today @9AM (Agenda and Livestream Links)

⚡ Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn to retire this summer (Austin American-Statesman)

🎓 Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steven Snell resigns to become Williamson County Judge (Community Impact)

📜 Renewable energy companies face little regulation in Texas. A state lawmaker wants to change that. (Texas Tribune)

⚖️ Judicial blocks on Trump spark battle over nationwide injunctions (The Hill)

[BINGHAM GROUP NEWS]

✅ Please join me in welcoming Brittany Heckard to Bingham Group’s Consultant team. Our consultants are contract-based specialists who provide strategic guidance to clients across business, community, and policy issues in Central Texas.

Brittany brings over a decade of experience in public and government affairs, community engagement, and social impact. She previously led legislative and public affairs initiatives at AT&T and supported legal and regulatory efforts at Davis Kaufman PLLC.

Her work has included partnerships with organizations such as Waymo, Ancestry, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and the Texas Cultural Trust, where she developed campaigns focused on advancing equity and justice across Texas.

We’re excited to have Brittany on board and look forward to the expertise she brings to our clients and partners.

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Austin City Council

🟪 Today at 9AM: Austin City Council Work Session // Agenda Link + Watch on ATXN1

  • The City of Austin has fully allocated its $188.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The funds were distributed across five service areas: Creative Sector, Economic Development, Health, Homelessness, and Resilience. Departments have developed spending plans for the encumbered funds through December 2026.

  • While many projects funded by ARPA were one-time initiatives, some ongoing programs require continued investment. Ten such programs need a combined $18.1 million annually to maintain current service levels.

  • These include postpartum nurse home visits, public health education campaigns, workforce development training, and various homelessness support services.

  • City officials will discuss the ARPA funding and the impact of these ongoing programs during the financial forecast presentation today.

🟪 Thursday at 10AM: Austin City Council Meeting // Agenda Link (63 Items)

📝 Memos:

🔁 ICYMI Public meetings:

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]

✅ Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn to retire this summer (Austin American-Statesman)

Bob Kahn, Austin Energy's general manager, will retire in June after nearly two years on the job.

Though Kahn's official retirement date is June 30, his last day in office will be April 30, according to a memo from Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax to City Council members.

Broadnax did not identify an interim director for the municipally owned utility and said he would share more information on the transition process in the coming weeks.

"Bob has led Austin Energy through a period of meaningful progress," Broadnax said in the memo.

Kahn, who could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening, was tapped to lead Austin Energy in mid-2023 by then-Interim City Manager Jesús Garza. Kahn replaced Interim General Manager Stuart Reilly, who took over for Jackie Sargent after she retired in March of that year on the heels of an ice storm that caused widespread power outages when frozen tree limbs fell on power lines… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ Here's the reason some retail projects in Austin's fastest-growing suburb have stalled (Austin Business Journal)

There's a saying in development circles that retail follows rooftops. But Austin's fastest-growing suburb — Dripping Springs — is something of an exception to that maxim due to an ongoing issue with its capacity to dispose of treated wastewater that even the area's largest grocer, H-E-B, can't shake.

It has been an ongoing challenge for the city about 25 miles southwest of Austin, even as its population swelled by more than 20% last year to 8,700 people. Dripping Springs leaders previously went so far as to enact a formal development moratorium that has since been lifted, but builders say the issue is still hindering growth, primarily in terms of retail projects, as the city works to expand wastewater capacity.

Dripping Springs is attractive to developers for many reasons. It is among the metro's 25 hottest ZIP codes for home sales, boasting a home sale price average of nearly $800,000 last year. It has high-quality schools and is considered a gateway to the Hill Country. And its median household income tops $100,000 — higher than the rest of Hays County.

But the lack of wastewater service is driving away some businesses and projects, and it's stalling others… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steven Snell resigns to become Williamson County Judge (Community Impact)

After six years leading the district, Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steven Snell has resigned to become the next Williamson County Judge. The Liberty Hill ISD board of trustees voted to accept Snell’s resignation at an April 7 special meeting.

The board named Chief of Schools Travis Motal as its interim superintendent as the search for a new superintendent begins. "The future is bright for Liberty Hill, and they're in great hands with Mr. Motal," Snell said in an interview with Community Impact.

By accepting Snell's resignation, the board released him from his contract with the district, which was recently extended through 2028… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ Austin short-term rentals hit with 11% tax, leaving guests to pay more (KVUE)

A new ordinance requiring short-term rental properties to pay an 11% hotel occupancy tax went into effect on April 1, tasking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo with collecting the tax on behalf of property owners.

While the change aims to regulate the industry and fund city services, some property owners said it’s already causing disruption.

This ordinance marks the first of several anticipated changes in the short-term rental industry, including city-issued permits. Council members said they are waiting to see if the Legislature passes any bills that regulate short-term rentals in Texas and will look to review local regulations after the session ends… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ Protestors continue battling to reinstate the principal at Austin's Ann Richards School (CBS Austin)

Austin parents are continuing their fight to have the principal reinstated at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Small groups of protestors stood outside Austin ISD Headquarters on Monday so the Superintendent and other district leaders couldn’t miss seeing their messages. Parents want quick action and they’re not getting it.

Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura has said the district is assessing the next steps and that the process of deciding whether to reinstate Principal Nicole Griffith will take time. Parents say the school year is wrapping up, and that is what students don’t have.

“We would like a response. Time is ticking,” said parent Melissa Nicholson. “They have a big opportunity to right this wrong and bring Ms. Griffith back.”

In late March, Principal Griffith resigned and then last week rescinded her resignation. At a standing-room-only meeting, parents and students demanded that Griffith be allowed to return to her job at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. On Monday, Dr. Beth Adams continued to push that message. She talked to us with the help of an interpreter… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

✅ Renewable energy companies face little regulation in Texas. A state lawmaker wants to change that. (Texas Tribune)

Texas’ renewable energy industry is booming.

Accounting for nearly 90% of new electrical generation, wind, solar and battery storage industries have established themselves as a reliable source of energy for the state’s grid — and positioned Texas as a national leader in the renewable energy arena.

Legislation by state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, will dramatically test its ability to maintain its momentum.

The legislation proposes sweeping administrative rules, imposes fees and requires the Texas Public Utility Commission to approve wind and solar projects before they can break ground. It is the second time Kolkhorst has attempted to tie a tight leash to renewables and deter what she and her allies describe as a visual blight in rural Texas towns and unchecked growth… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ Gov. Greg Abbott sets Nov. 4 special election to fill U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat (Texas Tribune)

Gov. Greg Abbott has set Nov. 4 as the special election date to fill the congressional seat left vacant by former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death — a timeline that leaves the solidly Democratic seat vacant for at least seven months as Republicans look to drive President Donald Trump’s agenda through a narrowly divided Congress.

Turner, a former Houston mayor and Democratic state lawmaker, died March 5, two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District. State law does not specify a deadline for the governor to order a special election.

With Turner’s seat vacant, the House breaks down to 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats, allowing the GOP to win a majority on the floor even with three defections from their ranks. If Turner’s seat were filled, likely by a Democrat, the GOP could withstand only two defections.

Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, pressured Abbott to call a special election, threatening to sue if the Republican governor continued to hold off on scheduling the contest… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US and World News]

✅ Judicial blocks on Trump spark battle over nationwide injunctions (The Hill)

The Trump administration’s repeated losses in courts have sparked Republican efforts to limit the reach of the judiciary, something Democrats argue is designed to hamstring reviews of lawless orders. Congressional Republicans have rolled out two legislative vehicles that would curb nationwide injunctions, arguing this will restore order to the judiciary and put district court judges in their place.

“These rogue judge rulings are a new resistance to the Trump administration and the only time in which judges in robes in this number have felt it necessary to participate in the political process,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the sponsor of one such bill to limit nationwide injunctions, said at a hearing this week.

“The federal judiciary isn’t interpreting the law. It is impeding the presidency. It is, in fact, not co-equal, but holding itself to be superior.” But Democrats say the bills are an attack on a system that is rightfully reviewing a record-high number of executive actions from President Trump that exceed the bounds of the law.

District court judges have the power to pause Trump directives they find may be unlawful as the case is further litigated, and under presidents of both parties they’ve imposed those orders on a nationwide basis to protect those across the country who might otherwise be impacted by what could be an illegal action.

“We’ve heard repeated complaints from Republicans about the number of injunctions issued against this president compared to other presidents. Why so many?” said Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

✅ China says it will ‘fight to the end’ after Trump threatens to impose still more tariffs (Associated Press)

hina said Tuesday it would “fight to the end” and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese imports.

The Commerce Ministry said the U.S.‘s imposition of “so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’” on China is “completely groundless and is a typical unilateral bullying practice.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, has announced retaliatory tariffs and the ministry hinted in its latest statement that more may be coming.

“The countermeasures China has taken are aimed at safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and maintaining the normal international trade order. They are completely legitimate,” the ministry said.

“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept this. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” it added… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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