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[TOP CLICKS OF THE WEEK]

🌆 City leaders prepare for massive growth from San Antonio to Austin (CBS)

💰 City of Austin facing a $33 million deficit for 2026 (Austin Monitor)

⚡ Austin Energy GM Bob Kahn retiring after 2 years leading utility (Community Impact)

🎯 Texas Republicans take aim at public transit in two major cities (Texas Tribune)

🏛️$337 billion, two-year budget gets Texas House approval (Texas Tribune)

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🟪 Check out the Week Ahead for City of Austin public meetings and hearings

🟪 Austin City Hall Week in Review (Week of April 7, 2025)

🟪 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin in 2025

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

POLICY SPOTLIGHT: Austin Council to Vote on AI Ethics Framework
📅 Scheduled Austin Council Hearing: April 24, 2025 (Agenda Link)

🏛️ 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.

[WEEKEND NEWS]

🟪 ‘How the hell are you doing this?’: Watson says cities look to Austin for housing policy (KXAN)

During a regional housing summit Friday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson flexed on adjustments made by the city of Austin to allow for more affordable housing.

Over the past few years Austin has made significant changes to its land development code, including: reducing minimum lot size requirements, allowing for more units to be built on a single-family lot and eliminating parking requirements.

“I can tell you for certain that Austin, Texas is in the vanguard of the national housing discussion and cities all over this country right now have been looking to us for ideas about how they address their own affordability challenges,” Watson said. “Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Antonio have all reached out asking in one form of this question or another, ‘how the hell are you doing this?'”

Last month, Vice President JD Vance urged leaders at the National League of Cities to prioritize housing reform, using Austin as an example of success.

“We’ve got to actually make it easier to build homes, and in particular, I think the city of Austin has done a pretty interesting job, because in Austin, you saw this massive increase of people moving in, the cost of housing skyrocketed, but then Austin implemented some pretty smart policies and brought down the cost of housing, and it’s one of the few major American cities where you see the cost of housing leveling off or even coming down,” Vance said… ✅ (LINK TO FULL STORY)

🟪 Texas Supreme Court clears way for more development in Austin's fastest-growing suburb (Austin Business Journal)

Dripping Springs is nearing 90% of its capacity to treat wastewater, slowing development across Austin's fastest-growing suburb. But a new Texas Supreme Court ruling appears to clear the way for more growth in the city.

The April 11 decision backed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which in 2019 approved a permit for Dripping Springs to expand wastewater treatment capacity to a level that officials have said would accommodate development for at least the next decade.

The court rejected a contention from environmental groups, led by the Save Our Springs Alliance, that the discharge of treated wastewater would violate the state's water quality standards for Onion Creek.

Dripping Springs Mayor Bill Foulds called it a "significant day," adding that the city has been working on wastewater expansion for 12 years.

"Our responsibility is to care for our residents and protect our natural resources, while planning for the growth that continues to come our way," Foulds said in a statement. "I am grateful the Court saw the wisdom in the science and engineering we have conducted throughout the process. We have worked with the best experts in the country including hydrologists and engineers, and I think that was evident today."… ✅ (LINK TO FULL STORY)

🟪 With less than two months to go, the Texas House has passed only 16 bills this session. Why? (KUT)

The Texas Legislature is more than halfway through its 140-day session, a marathon of policy debating and bill considering. Since lawmakers only meet every other year, there’s a lot to cover — including approving the state’s next two-year budget and deciding which proposals to pass from the over 10,000 lawmakers have filed.

But with less than two months until the session wraps, the Texas House has only passed eight bills as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the Texas Senate has passed closer to 200.

Even if you aren’t a Texas politics wonk, the stark difference is easy to see. This year, it’s even caused a few members of the Legislature to claim the House is taking that slower pace on purpose.

To be clear, that sentiment is coming from a relatively small camp within the 150-member chamber. Vocally, it seems to be led by ultra-conservatives Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) and Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth).

“He’s stopping some of the Democrat stuff that they want to do,” said Harrison on X. “The price for that is all the Republican stuff has to stop as well.”… ✅ (LINK TO FULL STORY)

🟪 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces he’s running for fourth term (Texas Tribune)

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will run for a fourth term of his influential role as lieutenant governor, he announced Friday, touting his first endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Patrick said a more formal kickoff would follow the Legislative session, but that he wanted to make his intentions “known and official.”

“The campaign will begin soon enough, but with seven weeks still to go in the Legislative Session, my focus remains on the work to be done at the Capitol for the people of Texas,” he said in a statement.

The lieutenant governor, who presides over the state Senate, has used his bully pulpit to advance a conservative agenda that has included stricter border enforcement, increasing the role of religion in schools and property tax cuts… ✅ (LINK TO FULL STORY)

🟪 Texas Stock Exchange new details revealed: Biggest backers, listing rules and more (WFAA)

New details about the Texas Stock Exchange have emerged after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently published the exchange's registration and application to begin trading.

TXSE Group Inc., the parent company of the upstart stock exchange, submitted its registration on Jan. 31, but the SEC did not make the filing public until April 4. Publication marks a key milestone in the regulatory approval process and now opens the filing up to public comment. The filing outlines the rules for membership, authorized traders and how pricing, trading and listing will work. It also includes TXSE’s financial statements and information about its ownership.

Led by CEO James Lee, TXSE aims to shake up the trading industry long dominated by the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Texas Stock Exchange would also help further cement Dallas' standing as the second-largest financial hub in the U.S. behind New York, earning it the moniker "Y'all Street."… ✅ (LINK TO FULL STORY)

🟪 Trump exempts phones, computers, other electronics from reciprocal tariffs (The Hill)

The Trump administration is exempting electronics such as phones, computers and other electronics from the “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on other nations, including China.

Guidance posted by Customs and Border Protection, which collects duties on imports, indicated roughly 20 products would be excluded from reciprocal tariffs. Those include smartphones, computers, routers and semiconductor chips.

The exemptions could be a break for consumers, who were facing the possibility of paying higher prices on electronics because of steep tariffs imposed on China. It’s also a win for companies like Apple, which manufactures many of its products in China.

Trump has signaled he will impose sector-specific tariffs on goods like semiconductor chips, however, meaning the reprieve may be short lived in some cases.

The White House earlier this month announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on foreign imports, as well as steeper “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of other countries, including many key trading partners. Trump later announced the steeper tariffs would be reduced to 10 percent for 90 days to allow time for negotiations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)