#NEWS // BG Reads | April 27, 2023
[NEXT WEEK]
Thursday:
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin in line for billions in tech, transportation, clean energy funds from feds (Austin Monitor)
The message to local developers and real estate professionals on Wednesday was clear: Austin is in the mix for tens of billions of dollars in federal money that will continue to transform the area and attract newcomers for decades.
Panelists for the Urban Land Institute Austin discussion on federal funding up for grabs for Central Texas laid out the three main sources: as much as $39 billion in semiconductor stimulus included in the U.S. Chips and Science Act, the federal money likely headed to Austin to help fund $25 billion in planned transportation infrastructure projects, and an assortment of clean energy and health care tax credits resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Most of the panelist talk on Wednesday centered around the Chips Act money, which is attracting competition from projects in upstate New York, Ohio and Arizona. That money is earmarked to help incentivize the construction of new semiconductor fabrication plants, or to revitalize existing facilities…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin real estate won't be subdued for long, especially nortH (Austin Business Journal)
Austin couldn't be America's darling forever.
But there's still plenty of optimism in the Texas capital — especially on the north side, arguably the hottest submarket for commercial real estate and a major hub for retailers and manufacturers.
That was one of the key messages April 20 at the annual North Austin Growth Summit. A panel of experts weighed in on the present and future of the north side, including its potential to become a nucleus for life sciences innovation, during the event hosted by Austin Business Journal at the Renaissance Austin Hotel.
In the fourth quarter, vacancy for the newest class A office space was about 10% in the North Austin/Domain submarket,?lower than any other part of Austin proper , according to data from real estate firm Partners. It also commands higher office rents than anywhere except downtown…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Central Texas factory output booming while Texas economy shows flat to modest growth (Austin American-Statesman)
The Texas economy remains a mixed bag: The state's factory activity was flat in April, while the service sector showed modest growth and retail activity ticked up.
That's according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report.
The anonymous survey is based on responses from 370 business executives in manufacturing and services received from April 11 through April 19. Here's what the responses show…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas House advances $4.5 billion school funding bill (Texas Tribune)
In a promising sign for cash-strapped Texas schools, the Texas House on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a school finance bill that would increase the amount of state money that schools get per student, start adjusting it for inflation and introduce a major change to how funding is calculated each year.
House Bill 100 , authored by Rep.?Ken King , R-Canadian, would raise the basic allotment, which is the minimum money that schools get per student. That amount is currently $6,160; under King’s bill, it would increase to $6,250 in 2024 and at least $6,300 in 2025, when the state would also consider raising the allotment further to account for inflation.
The bill will be voted on once more before heading to the Senate…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas Instruments’ lackluster forecast hints at chip demand slowdown (Dallas Morning News)
Texas Instruments Inc., the chip industry’s most diversified maker of electronic components, is giving a lackluster forecast for the current period, indicating that a slump in demand is spreading to previously unscathed areas. Revenue in the second quarter will be $4.17 billion to $4.53 billion, the company said Tuesday. The midpoint of that range represents a 16.5% decline from a year earlier — worse than the 15% drop analysts were estimating. The outlook suggests that even the chip industry’s bright spots, such as the industrial market, are getting swept up in a broader slowdown. Dallas-based Texas Instruments receives a large portion of its revenue from factory equipment, and that had helped the company sidestep a sales slide suffered by personal computers and smartphones.
Texas Instruments shares fell 2.7% in extended trading following the announcement. They had earlier closed at $169.39 in regular trading, leaving them up 2.5% this year. The automotive industry, which has had an insatiable demand for chips in recent years, remains a robust market for the company. But everything else is suffering, CEO Haviv Ilan said. “During the quarter, we experienced weakness across our end markets, with the exception of automotive,” he said in a statement. Profit will be $1.62 to $1.88 a share in the second quarter versus an analysts’ prediction of $1.83. Revenue in the first quarter fell 11% to $4.38 billion, in line with the $4.36 billion analysts projected. Sales of analog chips dropped 14%, while Texas Instruments’ embedded processors gained 6.4%. Other revenue declined 16%. Earnings amounted to $1.85 a share in the period, down from $2.35 a year earlier. The results included a 3-cent benefit that wasn’t in Texas Instruments’ original guidance, the company said. Texas Instruments executives generally prefer not to make broad projections about where demand is headed. Instead, they concentrate on telling investors that their products have a long shelf life and will remain valuable when the chip industry emerges from one of its periodic down cycles…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Effort to create paid parental leave for Texans stalls in House committee (KERA NEWS)
A measure that would establish paid parental leave for full-time workers in Texas has stalled in the state House of Representatives. Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, D-Houston, told The Texas Newsroom that she was promised her bill would be heard by the House International Relations and Economic Development Committee. However, Morales Shaw said committee chair Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson, has since walked back her commitment. “Right now, as it stands, if the bill doesn’t get a hearing within the next week or so, it literally is just a dead bill,” Morales Shaw said. “We won’t be able to pass it and help all of the Texas families we had hoped to.” The measure has bipartisan support, with multiple Republicans representatives listed as co-authors. Button’s office didn’t return multiple requests for comment. When approached by The Texas Newsroom on the House floor this week, Button declined to comment.
Under House Bill 2604, the Texas Workforce Commission would be required to create a paid parental leave program. Employers in Texas would be required to contribute an “amount equal to 0.15 percent of all wages paid by the employer during the calendar year” to the Texas Family Fund Program. The money collected by the program would be used to give new parents up to $1,000 in replacement wages per week of absence. The deadline for House committees to vote on bills is May 8. A failure to do so would likely kill the bill for the rest of the legislative session. This session, Republicans have said they want to focus on Texas families. That’s in part due to abortion restrictions implemented last session by the Republican-led legislature, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. Morales Shaw said her bill received the support of some Republicans because of this same sentiment, and because it's good policy. “This was a bill specifically chosen right in line with all of our values — specifically the Republican-stated platform values,” Morales Shaw said. “This shouldn’t be a fight.” But not all paid parental leave proposals are stuck in committee. The Texas House of Representatives and Senate have respectively passed a pair of bills that could give state employees up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave…?(LINK TO FULL STORY )
领英推荐
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Here’s how Washington is racing to get a grasp on AI technology (The Hill)
The rapid rise of ChatGPT and influx of artificial intelligence (AI) competitors is leaving the federal government grappling with a range of concerns from the spread of misinformation and a changing workforce, to risks of inherent bias in the technology.?
Lawmakers and regulators are looking to take a unified approach to tackle the rising concerns.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) put out a joint statement Tuesday?pledging to enforce ?existing laws that aim to uphold fairness and justice as AI is increasingly used across a range of services from housing to healthcare.?
The issues range from enforcing existing laws that aim to address discrimination that could arise as AI is deployed more broadly, to weighing new regulations that set the rules of the road.?
“We have come together to make clear that the use of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, must be consistent with federal laws,” said Charlotte A. Burrows, chair of the EEOC.?
The agencies’ joint announcement focused largely on automated systems using AI, rather than the generative AI powered chatbots like ChatGPT…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
US adult cigarette smoking rate hits new all-time low (Associated Press)
U.S. cigarette smoking dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 9 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released Thursday. Meanwhile, electronic cigarette use rose, to about 1 in 17 adults.
The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are based on survey responses from more than 27,000 adults.
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the leading cause of preventable death.
In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public.
Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about 11%, down from about 12.5% in 2020 and 2021. The survey findings sometimes are revised after further analysis, and CDC is expected to release final 2021 data soon…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
The discussion covers:
? A potential public re-vote on Project Connect. News link:?bit.ly/3mVkbUp
? Council's approval Thursday (4/20) of a resolution directing the City Manager to create a plan and implementation schedule to transition the City to sustainable low-embodied-carbon concrete. Link to Resolution language:?bit.ly/43UE5zx
? The Texas House's approval of HB 2127 (bill Link:?bit.ly/40CN9Gi ), a preemption bill aimed at city and county regulations. News Link:?bit.ly/3oHUB5y
and
? Council's next meeting on Thursday (5/4) , including a Item 22 - Approve a resolution relating to parking requirements and accessible parking options; and initiating amendments to City Code Title 25 to modify parking requirements. Resolution Link:?bit.ly/3H4Imqc
EPISODE 199
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