BG Reads // January 23, 2026

Author

A.J. Bingham
January 23, 2026

faustin a

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www.binghamgp.com

January 23, 2026

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Austin mayor declares local state of disaster ahead of severe winter weather threat (CBS Austin)

🟪 City Memo: 2026 Bond Initial Draft Project Recommendation (January 21, 2026)

🟪  City of San Marcos names first Economic and Local Business Development Department Director (City of San Marcos)

🟪 As winter storm approaches, Texas officials say the state is ready, won’t repeat 2021 catastrophe (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Texas never more prepared for winter storm, Gov. Greg Abbott says (CBS News)

🟪 Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says (Associated Press)

🟪 IRS head announces a shake-up on the eve of the 2026 tax season (Associated Press)

🟪 Inside Trump’s head-spinning Greenland and tariffs u-turn (Wall Street Journal)

READ ON!

[FROM THE FIRM ]

“Up front, [Development Services Department] is actually economic development,” stated Austin Assistant City Manager Dr. Eric Johnson during a panel discussion moderated by Austin Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Colin Pope at the publication’s 2026 Economic Outlook event yesterday.

Pressed on the city’s forthcoming economic development “roadmap,” Johnson made clear that DSD, long criticized for delays, sits at the center of the city’s growth strategy.

For Johnson, the issue is straightforward: speed equals tax base.

“What’s going to stand out is any city’s general fund increasing tax base,” he said, tying faster permitting directly to Austin’s fiscal health.

Johnson acknowledged the city’s reputation but pushed back on the idea that delays rest solely at City Hall’s feet.

He noted that 85% of submitted plans are rejected as incomplete, calling for accountability on both sides of the process.

The city is now exploring expanded third-party review, regulatory streamlining and artificial intelligence tools to flag code issues before plans formally enter the system.

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Austin City Council:

🏛️ City of Austin Memos:

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Austin mayor declares local state of disaster ahead of severe winter weather threat (CBS Austin)

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson declared a preemptive local state of disaster Thursday as severe winter weather, including below-freezing temperatures and dangerous ice conditions, is expected to hit the city this weekend.

Watson said the declaration will allow the city to respond more quickly and organize more efficiently if a disaster occurs.

The mayor urged residents to prepare by protecting "people, pipes, pets, and plants."

Watson advised residents to check on neighbors, especially those who might need assistance, and warned against using generators, grills, camp stoves or any gasoline, propane or charcoal-burning devices to heat homes, as they generate carbon monoxide gas… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin candidates raised $140K heading into 2026 City Council elections this November (Community Impact)

Mid-January campaign finance reports offer an early look at Austin's 2026 City Council contests, as candidates for five seats raised almost $140,000 and had nearly $800,000 on hand heading into the new year.

This November's local ballot will feature elections for half of Austin's 10 geographic council districts.

The District 1 seat will be open for the first time in eight years, as council member Natasha Harper-Madison reaches her term limit and isn't running for re-election. Any challengers in districts 3, 5, 8 and 9 are expected to face incumbent candidates; District 8 council member Paige Ellis is also reaching her limit of two consecutive terms but will petition her Southwest Austin constituents to allow her to run for a third… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ City of San Marcos names first Economic and Local Business Development Department Director (City of San Marcos)

The City of San Marcos has named Helen Ramirez as its first Economic and Local Business Development Department Director, marking the establishment of a new City department dedicated to supporting economic growth, business retention, and local business development. 

The creation of the Economic and Local Business Development Department reflects the City Council’s commitment to strengthening San Marcos’ economic foundation while supporting investment in both long-standing local businesses and future opportunities. The new City department includes the Main Street and Business Retention and Expansion programs. As the City’s first director in this role, Ramirez will lead efforts focused on business recruitment, retention and expansion, public-private partnerships, workforce collaboration, and incentive strategies aligned with community values including environmental protections. 

Ramirez brings nearly three decades of municipal leadership experience spanning economic development, strategic planning, infrastructure investment, historic downtown revitalization and organizational leadership. Most recently, she has served as City Manager for the City of Brownsville, Texas, where she led major economic development initiatives, large-scale public-private partnerships, and long-term growth strategies supporting job creation and community investment… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Not long after Prop Q's defeat, Austin leaders could ask voters for a tax increase in bond package (KUT)

Just a few months after Austin voters rejected a property tax rate increase, city leaders are again considering going to voters for help to pay for city projects including park improvements and public safety needs with a bond package.

Austin City Council Member Krista Laine fears it might be too soon to ask voters for more money after Proposition Q's defeat in November. She said the city could benefit from taking more time to get their ducks in a row.

“What we need to do as a city is not just talk about but deliver savings that come from increased efficiencies that allow us to fund our priorities," Laine said. "The work has been ongoing. But our voters, it's not enough for them to hear us say that, they have to see it begin to happen.”

Over the next several months, the Austin City Council will be weighing whether to put the bond before voters and how much to ask for.

The initial nearly $4 billion project list includes addressing space constraints at the Austin Animal Center, expanding library branches and renovating public safety facilities… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ As winter storm approaches, Texas officials say the state is ready, won’t repeat 2021 catastrophe (Texas Tribune)

Nearly five years after Winter Storm Uri sparked widespread power outages and killed hundreds of Texans, officials and residents are once more girding for a round of severe winter weather that will blanket large parts of the state.

Dangerously cold temperatures from an arctic blast will descend upon the state beginning Friday morning, and with the cold come chances of wintry precipitation in the form of snow, sleet and freezing rain. That winter blast is expected to grip the state from Friday evening to early next week.

Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference Thursday morning that he was issuing a disaster declaration for more than 130 counties. He also said the northern two-thirds of the state — from the Panhandle to potentially as far south as the San Antonio region — was expected to be hit the hardest.

“The severity of it is not quite as great, and the size of it is not quite as great as winter storm Uri,” Abbott said. “That said, people would be making a mistake if they don’t take it serious.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas never more prepared for winter storm, Gov. Greg Abbott says (CBS News)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met with leaders of multiple state agencies Thursday morning for a briefing on plans to prepare for and respond to the looming winter storm and sub-freezing temperatures.

The meeting, at the State Operations Center in Austin, included heads of the Texas Department of Emergency Management, TxDOT, the Public Utilities Commission and ERCOT, among others. 

Abbott announced a disaster declaration for 134 counties that might be impacted, but said that the state has never been more prepared for a winter storm like the one that is coming.

Abbott and officials from the PUC and ERCOT all spoke about what the state has done since the catastrophic winter storm in 2021, when more than 200 people died amid widespread power outages that lasted for days in parts of the state.

"We are confident there will be abundant power available throughout this entire storm," he said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Gov. Abbott endorses Nate Sheets over Sid Miller for agriculture commissioner (Texas Tribune)

In a stunning blow to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed Miller’s Republican primary challenger for agriculture commissioner, putting his support behind first-time political candidate Nate Sheets.

“Texans deserve an Agriculture Commissioner who is focused on promoting Texas Agriculture, with zero tolerance for criminality,” Abbott wrote Wednesday on social media. “Nate Sheets is the true conservative champion for the job and is the leader we need to keep Texas the global powerhouse in agriculture.”

Last year, Miller turned heads when he hired his political consultant Todd Smith as the agency’s chief of staff just a few months after Smith pleaded guilty to commercial bribery after he was criminally charged for selling hemp licenses that are regulated by Miller’s office. The move sparked outrage among agency employees who told Texas Rangers they had warned Miller about Smith… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says (Associated Press)

Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches.

The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections and upends years of advice given to immigrant communities. The shift comes as the Trump administration dramatically expands immigration arrests nationwide, deploying thousands of officers under a mass deportation campaign that is already reshaping enforcement tactics in cities such as Minneapolis.

For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged people not to open their doors to immigration agents unless they are shown a warrant signed by a judge. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally prohibit law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE directive directly undercuts that advice at a time when arrests are accelerating under the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Related Stories Oglala Sioux president walks back claims of DHS pressure, member arrests What to know about the warrants most immigration agents use to make arrests Judge refuses to block new DHS policy limiting Congress members' access to ICE facilities The memo itself has not been widely shared within the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint, but its contents have been used to train new ICE officers who are being deployed into cities and towns to implement the president’s immigration crackdown. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ IRS head announces a shake-up on the eve of the 2026 tax season (Associated Press)

Days before the 2026 tax filing season begins, the head of the IRS announced a shake-up Tuesday, saying the personnel and operational changes are intended to improve taxpayer service and modernize the agency. The timing of the announcement coincides with a critical moment for the agency, as the IRS prepares to process millions of tax returns while simultaneously implementing major tax law changes under the tax and spending package President Donald Trump signed into law last summer.

There are new tax relief provisions for tips and overtime, and new deductions for qualifying older Americans. In a letter addressed to the agency’s 74,000 employees and viewed by The Associated Press, Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano announced new priorities and a reorganization of IRS executive leadership.

Notably, Gary Shapley, the whistleblower who testified publicly about investigations into Hunter Biden’s taxes and served just two days as IRS Commissioner last year, was named deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation division. Guy Ficco, the head of Criminal Investigation, is set to retire and will be replaced by Jarod Koopman, who will also serve as chief tax compliance officer alongside Bisignano. Joseph Ziegler, another Hunter Biden whistleblower, was named chief of internal consulting, the letter said. Bisignano said in the letter that he is “confident that with this new team in place, the IRS is well-prepared to deliver a successful tax filing season for the American public.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Inside Trump’s head-spinning Greenland and tariffs u-turn (Wall Street Journal)

When President Trump arrived in the snow-covered Swiss Alps on Wednesday afternoon, European leaders were panicking that his efforts to acquire Greenland would trigger a trans-Atlantic conflagration. By the time the sun set, Trump had backed down. The about-face followed days of back-channel conversations between Trump, his advisers and European leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to people close to the talks.

The Europeans, who stood united in their opposition to Trump acquiring Greenland, employed a mix of enticements, such as offers to boost Arctic security, and warnings, including about the dangers to the U.S. of a deeper rupture in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After a meeting with Rutte on Wednesday, Trump called off promised tariffs on European nations, contending that he had “formed the framework of a future deal” with respect to the largest island in the world.

The exact contours of the framework are still in flux, but negotiations are expected to center on several areas, according to officials in Europe familiar with the discussions. They include a potential U.S. agreement with Denmark about stationing forces at bases in Greenland and expanded European efforts to boost security around the Arctic. The U.S. could receive a right of first refusal on investments in Greenland’s mineral resources—a veto aimed at preventing Russia and China from tapping the island’s wealth—and in exchange Trump would take tariff threats off the table, the officials said.

Speaking to reporters, Trump called the framework “really fantastic,” but offered few details. He said he assumes Denmark, which controls Greenland, had been informed about the potential deal. The White House declined to comment on the details of the proposed framework and a Trump administration official said the scope of the negotiations hadn’t been set in stone. “If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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