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July 31, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Redistricting map could spark a battle royale for Austin Democrats Doggett and Casar (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 Austin City Council Budget Work Session @9AM: Agenda + Livestream Link

🟪 Zoning and Platting Commission may want duties swap with Planning Commission (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Texas Republicans push new congressional map creating more GOP seats (PBS)

🟪 Newsom will move to redraw California map if Texas redistricts, teeing up national fight (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Greg Abbott is pushing a new plan to lower property taxes: cap how much cities can spend (Houston Chronicle)

🟪 Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September in latest push against Israel’s Gaza policies (Associated Press)

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Memos:

• Office of Government Relations – Federal Legislative Update (July 29, 2025)

• City Council Rules of Procedure and Agenda Posting Changes (July 18, 2025)

🏛️ The City of Austin FY 2025 - 26 Proposed Budget

• Bingham Group will be following the budget process, including the City Manager and department presentations to City Council, through its approval in August.

• » Click Here for our high-level summary of the FY2025-26 Proposed Budget. «

🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart

🏛️ City of Austin Org Chart (as of July 2025)

💰 2026 City of Austin Bond - Public Input

ℹ️ 2025 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Redistricting map could spark a battle royale for Austin Democrats Doggett and Casar (Austin American-Statesman)

The congressional redistricting map unveiled Wednesday could for force an Austin-centered generational battle between one of the Texas Democratic Party's elder statesmen and an up-and-coming firebrand, who in only two terms in Washington has carved out a leadership role in the national progressive movement.

The rewrite of the state's 38 congressional districts effectively combines the cities' two Democratic-leaning congressional districts in a move that would pit U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a fixture in Austin politics since 1973, against U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a former workers'-rights organizer who before his first election to Congress in 2022 had served on the Austin City Council.

Both are unabashedly progressive in their representation of the city that is not only Texas' capital, but also the hub of liberalism in a state that has been dominated by Republicans for a generation… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Zoning and Platting Commission may want duties swap with Planning Commission (Austin Monitor)

Members of a Zoning and Platting Commission working group focused on its roles and responsibilities vis-à-vis the Planning Commission hinted at a plan that would move most simple zoning cases to their docket during their July 15 meeting.

“(Generally), things that are site-specific would go to us, while things that are more planning-planning, more policy-based, would go to the Planning Commission,” said Commissioner David Fouts, who delivered the update from the working group.

Specifically, Fouts said, the Zoning and Platting Commission duties would expand to encompass zoning cases, site-specific conditional overlays, amendments to site plans and other smaller documents, variances, plats, conditional use permits, restrictive covenants and “site-specific neighborhood plan amendments,” which Fouts said are “apparently quite common.” Fouts said they were still discussing Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and Planned Development Areas (PDAs).

Meanwhile, the Planning Commission would retain work related to neighborhood and small area plans, transit-oriented developments and anything related to wider policy and legislating, like land use code amendments.

Austin’s Land Use Development Code often references a single land use commission, but one that really has two faces, sort of like a civic Janus. The Zoning and Platting and Planning commissions are both considered land use commissions, and share many of the same responsibilities, while dividing others. As it stands now, the Planning Commission handles the majority of the work. One key reason for that is that the Zoning and Platting Commission is charged with handling cases tied to land that isn’t in any neighborhood plan, which excludes the much of the developed parts of the city… 🟪 (READ MORE)

🟪 Austin ISD announces staffing cuts amid federal grant uncertainty (KVUE)

Austin ISD will move forward with staffing cuts as it faces uncertainty over millions of dollars in federal education grants, district officials announced on Wednesday.

In a letter to families, Superintendent Matias Segura said the decision comes after more than $9 million in federal grants were not released as expected on July 1. Segura said while the federal government eventually committed to releasing the funds on July 25, the disruption forced the district to prepare for future funding losses.

“While this news provides short-term stability, it also requires us to plan thoughtfully for the future as we anticipate potential funding reductions in upcoming years,” Segura said.

Segura said the district met with 109 staff whose roles are tied to the federal dollars. While most will remain through the school year, some positions will be eliminated at the end of the fall semester, he said.

“These decisions are not made lightly and we’re encouraged by some of our affected staff already choosing to move to campus-based positions,” Segura said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

🟪 Texas Republicans push new congressional map creating more GOP seats (PBS)

Texas Republicans on Wednesday unveiled plans for a new U.S. House map that would deliver on President Donald Trump’s goal of creating more winnable GOP seats before the 2026 elections, pushing ahead with a fast and unusual summer redrawing that Democrats have few options to blunt.

The new map would create five new Republican-leaning seats that Trump is seeking as his party looks to bolster its chances of maintaining its slim House majority. Republicans hope to pass it during a special 30-day session of the GOP-dominated Legislature called by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

Most of the changes target Texas’ big cities, which are the few strongholds for Democrats in the booming state of more than 30 million residents.

Trump had urged Texas to help the GOP, and his team has signaled that efforts could expand to other states, with a similar push underway in Missouri.

“My understanding is that there is a path forward for a Republican to win five more of those seats,” said Republican state Rep. Cody Vasut, chair of the Texas House’s redistricting committee, on the new maps… ✅ (READ MORE)

🟪 Newsom will move to redraw California map if Texas redistricts, teeing up national fight (Texas Tribune)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has told aides he will move forward with a plan to redraw his state’s congressional lines to install more Democrats if Texas Republicans pass their own updated map, according to a person with direct knowledge of Newsom’s thinking.

The Texas proposal, backed by President Donald Trump, looks to flip five seats held by Democrats, according to a draft unveiled Wednesday in the state House. The California proposal would aim to do the same, with lawmakers set to advance a map targeting five Republican incumbents, according to two people who have spoken to Newsom or his office about it. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private conversations. 

Map makers are looking at options that would target Republican Reps. Ken Calvert, Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa and David Valadao, according to a person associated with Newsom’s redistricting efforts.

Once approved by the Democratic-controlled California Legislature, where Newsom has been successfully lobbying lawmakers for weeks, the maps would likely be put to California voters in a statewide ballot measure. The referendum plan is subject to change and has yet to receive final approval from Newsom, who has also publicly suggested the Legislature could change the maps without voter approval… ✅ (READ MORE)

See also: 🟪 New York Democrats unveil their own mid-decade redistricting scheme, targeting future elections (NBC News)

🟪 Greg Abbott is pushing a new plan to lower property taxes: cap how much cities can spend (Houston Chronicle)

Gov. Greg Abbott boasted about plowing another $3.5 billion into cutting homeowners’ property taxes in the latest legislative session. Now, he wants state lawmakers to go even further during the special session by capping how much cities and counties can increase their spending. The Texas Republican has framed the issue as his next major legislative battle after signing long-sought private school vouchers into law earlier this year. “What I would like to see done is to make sure that every property taxing jurisdiction must live just within the same spending limits that the state has to live in,” Abbott said in an interview with Hearst Newspapers. “And if they're confined in that … their ability to impose greater property taxes is going to be hamstrung.”

The governor wants to tie local spending increases to population growth and inflation, similar to spending limits imposed on the state. He and other Republicans argue city and county spending is driving up tax bills even as the state keeps pouring in billions to keep them down. The next two-year state budget sets aside $51 billion to pay for past cuts and to fund the new ones. Abbott has previously said he wants to campaign on the issue like he did vouchers and bail restrictions he successfully pushed through the legislature earlier this year. “I’m just thinking, well, it worked with these two strategies, maybe it’s time to employ the same strategy as it concerns property taxes,” Abbott said in June. "I was not out in the trenches fighting for that in the same way."

It is just the latest way that city and county budgets, which rely heavily on property tax revenue, would be boxed in by state-imposed restrictions. Local jurisdictions have to get voter approval to raise property taxes more than 3.5%, under legislation passed in 2019. Larger cities and counties, meanwhile, are also prohibited from slashing law enforcement spending — which account for a massive chunk of most budgets — or the state freezes their property taxes and can deduct from its sales taxes… ✅ (READ MORE)

🟪 Texas Republicans struggle to defend redistricting as hearings grow contentious (Dallas Morning News)

A key Texas Senate Republican chairman leading congressional redistricting hearings in Austin said Tuesday he is skeptical about assertions by the U.S. Department of Justice that the current congressional district maps in the state violate voters’ rights. During a public hearing on redrawing district lines, Sen. Phil King of Weatherford, who chairs the committee overseeing the effort in the Senate, referred to a letter sent to Gov. Greg Abbott by the Department of Justice that alleges four Democratic congressional districts in Texas were drawn based on race and therefore are unconstitutional.

A growing number of Republicans, who voted overwhelmingly in 2021 to approve the current state map during regular decennial redistricting, are rejecting those assertions now — even as Abbott cites them as the reason he added redistricting to the list of 18 priorities for the special legislative session that started a week ago. Republicans have repeatedly stood up for those maps in court after Democrats sued to stop them from diluting their voting power.

“I want to say right now, I don’t think the map that is in place for Congress today is discriminatory,” King said Tuesday. “I don’t agree with the DOJ letter, but I haven’t seen their underlying facts to it. I want to state that I believe the map I voted for … was a legal map. I think the testimony that I’ve seen in trial supports that.” He added, however, that if state leaders want to redraw the lines, they can and will — and they’ll do it to help Republicans in Washington. The comments from King, a leader in the hearings who has long been involved in redistricting efforts in the legislature, are the most recent from an ever-growing list of key Republicans who object to the letter as they hear Texans testify in hourslong hearings on how changing their districts — and thus their voting power — would impact them.

That includes Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, King’s counterpart in the House as chair of that chamber’s Select Committee on Redistricting, who said last week he believes the current maps are legal. “The chair’s position is that every map he’s ever voted on complies with the Voting Rights Act,” Vasut said… ✅ (READ MORE)

🟪 Texas GOP once again tries to ban local governments from hiring lobbyists in Austin (Texas Tribune)

The Texas Senate advanced a proposal long sought by Republican lawmakers Wednesday aimed at diminishing the influence of local governments and school districts at the Capitol.

Senators gave preliminary approval to Senate Bill 12, which would forbid cities, counties and school districts from using public dollars to hire lobbyists. Local elected leaders have long argued the practice is needed for localities to advocate for their constituents at the state level.

The bill, authored by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, cleared the Senate by a 17-11 vote.

“You have no choice, when you're paying your property taxes, whether or not to pay for the lobbyists that are working against you,” Middleton said Wednesday… ✅ (READ MORE)

✅ Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September in latest push against Israel’s Gaza policies (Associated Press)

Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday, the latest in a series of symbolic announcements that are part of a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza.

Carney convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in the battered Palestinian territory. He said it came after he discussed the crisis with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who announced a similar move on Tuesday.

Leaders are under mounting pressure over the issue as scenes of hunger in Gaza have horrified so many across the world. “The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,” Carney said.

“Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney said — a move that he said was predicated on the Palestinian Authority “holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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