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September 1, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 A lawsuit trying to stop Austin's tax rate election heads to Texas Supreme Court (KUT)

🟪 Austin ISD soon to decide on campus consolidations (Community Impact)

🟪 Kyle voters to decide mayor, city council seats in Nov. 4 election (Community Impact)

🟪 Hays County seeks input on first development regulation update since 2010 (Community Impact)

🟪 More than 800 new laws went into effect in Texas on Sept. 1. Here are some of the significant ones. (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Lawsuit against San Antonio airport dismissed by federal judge (Texas Public Radio)

🟪 1.2 million immigrants are gone from the US labor force under Trump, preliminary data shows (Associated Press)

READ ON!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Austin City Council Regular Meeting – Today @ 10AM // Livestream Link

🏛️ 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]

✅ A lawsuit trying to stop Austin's tax rate election heads to Texas Supreme Court (KUT)

After Texas' Third Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Austin challenging the ballot language for its upcoming tax rate election, the lawsuit is headed to the Texas Supreme Court.

Former Austin mayoral candidate Jeff Bowen filed the lawsuit last month alleging the language intentionally misleads voters about the “permanence of the tax increase and does not describe specifically how the city council will use the more than $110 million in additional funds from the tax increase, if approved by voters.”

The city has said previously it will use the additional money to reduce homelessness, improve parks and address public safety needs, and help close a $33 million deficit.

But Bill Aleshire, Bowen's attorney, said state law prohibits language that is not "definite and certain," and that the ballot language doesn't specify how much money the council is committing to each category or project. He argued that this means the city could use the money it raises for any program or service, and that it is misleading to voters. The case filed Sunday with the Texas Supreme Court centers around the same argument… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin ISD soon to decide on campus consolidations (Community Impact)

Austin ISD parent Kristin Davis said her fourth grade daughter has thrived in the dual-language Spanish program at Joslin Elementary in Southwest Austin. Heading into the 2025-26 school year, however, Davis is fearful her school could be at risk of closure as the district begins a process to consolidate campuses.

“Since it’s such a small school, they all know each other,” Davis said. “I am concerned that that sort of richness will be lost in the consolidation ... or the closure process.”

By the fall of 2026, AISD officials plan to merge some campuses, and revise attendance boundaries and its transfer policy. These actions come as the district looks to cut costs amid a $19.7 million shortfall and declining enrollment, projected to continue into the next decade.

“Everyone needs to pay attention, because everyone will be affected,” AISD board member Candace Hunter said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Kyle voters to decide mayor, city council seats in Nov. 4 election (Community Impact)

Kyle voters have a chance to decide the city's next mayor and three city council seats in the November elections.

In July, Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell announced his upcoming resignation, effective in November—one year before his term ends. The following candidates are running to replace him and finish his term:

• Robert Rizo, current Place 2 council member

• Gabriel Duran

Council Place 1 is currently held by Bear Heiser, who also serves as mayor pro tem. He will run against the following challengers for Place 1:

• Courtney Goza

• Ellen Ermis

• Kyle LeVell

Council Place 2 is also on the ballot as Rizo is running for mayor. Place 2 candidates include:

• Melisa Medina

• Paul Hill

Council Place 3 is currently held by Miguel Zuniga, who will run against Claudia Zapata… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Hays County seeks input on first development regulation update since 2010 (Community Impact)

Hays County officials plan to update the county’s development regulations for the first time since 2010, according to a news release. To help guide them with those changes, officials are seeking community input on topics such as:

• Water availability and quality

• Erosion control

• Floodplain management

• Environmental protection and transportation infrastructure

“This is a vital process in revision,” said Marcus Pacheco, Hays County development services director, in the release. “We want the community involved, not just during this initial stage but throughout the project."… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ More than 800 new laws went into effect in Texas on Sept. 1. Here are some of the significant ones. (Texas Tribune)

More than 800 new laws are about to take effect in Texas, and they are set to bring sweeping changes to the state’s education systems, water infrastructure and more.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed 1,155 bills that came out of the regular legislative session, including over 200 laws that went into effect immediately such as the school cellphone ban, the abortion ban clarification, property tax cut and increased oversight over the energy grid. Meanwhile, some won’t activate until next year or until voters approve constitutional amendments in November, such as stricter bail policies and a $3 billion dementia research fund. In addition, there are 140 bills that the governor didn’t take action on, including 34 that took effect immediately.

Most, however, will start on Sept. 1, the traditional date for laws passed during the regular session. Here are some notable measures that will soon take effect:

Senate Bill 1 lays out the state’s new $338 billion two-year spending plan, with over 70% of the budget being reserved for education and health and human services. Some notable parts include spending to maintain and provide property tax cuts, a new school voucher program, additional funding for public schools, as well as investments in the state’s energy, water and broadband infrastructure… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Some Texas counties replace touchscreen voting machines after Trump order (Texas Tribune)

After years of using a touchscreen machine to mark their ballots, voters in at least three Texas counties will be asked instead to make their selections directly on the paper ballots, by hand, starting in November.

Election officials in Collin, Williamson, and Bastrop counties said they’re proactively changing their voting procedures and equipment in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump in March that sought to mostly ban voting equipment that uses barcodes or QR codes on paper ballots to speed up vote counting.

Some other provisions in the executive order have been blocked by the courts, but this one has not. The order instructed the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which crafts the certification guidelines that most states rely on for their voting equipment, to amend the guidelines to prohibit such systems and “take appropriate action” to review and rescind previously issued certifications based on prior standards… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Lawsuit against San Antonio airport dismissed by federal judge (Texas Public Radio)

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Southwest Airlines against San Antonio. The year-long feud erupted over planned gate assignments at a planned new terminal at San Antonio International Airport.

Southwest alleged that airport officials planned to keep them out of that new terminal that is under construction.

The airline also claimed Jesus Saenz, the airport director, promised that the airline would be able to operate out of the new terminal.

The judgment is a win for the city; however, in the meantime, Southwest is paying millions in extra fees without having signed a new lease contract.

It’s still unknown how the court's dismissal of the case will affect the city’s relationship with Southwest moving forward.

The new terminal C is part of a multi-billion-dollar airport expansion at the airport. Terminal C is expected to open in 2028… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ 1.2 million immigrants are gone from the US labor force under Trump, preliminary data shows (Associated Press)

More than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.

Immigrants make up almost 20% of the U.S. workforce and that data shows 45% of workers in farming, fishing and forestry are immigrants, according to Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer. About 30% of all construction workers are immigrants and 24% of service workers are immigrants, she added.

The loss in immigrant workers comes as the nation is seeing the first decline in the overall immigrant population after the number of people in the U.S. illegally reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023.

“It’s unclear how much of the decline we’ve seen since January is due to voluntary departures to pursue other opportunities or avoid deportation, removals, underreporting or other technical issues,” Kramer said. “However, we don’t believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn’t real.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Creighton expected to be named finalist for chancellor of Texas Tech University System (Lubbock Avalanche- Journal)

Texas State Sen. Brandon Creighton is expected to be named sole finalist for Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, TTU System Board of Regents Chairman Cody Campbell announced Sunday.

Creighton, a Republican from Conroe and longtime state legislator, emerged as the likely finalist to replace current TTU System Chancellor Dr. Tedd Mitchell following an extensive search process after Mitchell announced in early July he would retire within the year.

"After a lengthy, thorough, and comprehensive search, I expect that the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents will unanimously name Senator Brandon Creighton as the Sole Finalist for our Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System Senator Creighton is a proven leader, with deep ties to and understanding of higher education," Campell wrote in a social media post Sunday afternoon on X. "He has been a strong voice in the fight to get our colleges and universities back on track and clearly shares the values and the vision of the Texas Tech community. Texas Tech stands at a pivotal crossroads and is poised to accelerate the pace of massive growth and progress that we have achieved. We are confident that Senator Creighton will continue to advance our mission of serving students, driving research, and strengthening communities across the State, and especially in West Texas. He is, unquestionably, the right person for the job, and we all look forward to working with him."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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