#NEWS // BG Reads | May 31, 2023
[BINGHAM GROUP]
Join us in wishing Bingham Group Founder and CEO?A.J. Bingham?a Happy 40th Birthday!
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin’s light-rail plans set to advance after narrowly dodging Texas-sized wrecking ball (KUT)
Austin’s light-rail ambitions are barreling ahead after narrowly escaping the clutches of Texas lawmakers determined to rein in the multibillion-dollar transit expansion. But the voter-approved plan, known as Project Connect, must still navigate a tricky track laden with potential legal and political hazards.
“For now, we are going to take a deep breath,” Mayor Kirk Watson said Tuesday, acknowledging the death of House Bill 3899, which would have toppled the light-rail funding plan. “However, we will be vigilant.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Good news, bad news from Legislature for Austin (Austin Monitor)
For the city of Austin, the just-ended 88th regular legislative session offered both good news and disappointments, as outlined in a lengthy memo from Brie Franco, the city’s intergovernmental relations officer. On Tuesday, as her team was getting ready to monitor the special session Gov. Greg Abbott called to deal with property taxes and border security, Franco noted six pieces of legislation that will likely have a negative impact on the city. Among those are…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Jason Giulietti out at Greater San Marcos Partnership (Austin Business Journal)
Jason Giulietti?is no longer with the Greater San Marcos Partnership, the economic development group he had led since 2020, according to a May 30 letter from GSMP Board Chairman?Scott Burton.
The letter stated that the departure of Giulietti — who had?joined the organization in 2019 as a vice president?and served as the interim president?before being elevated to the full-time position?three years ago — was effective May 24. No additional details were provided and Giulietti declined to comment.
Will Conley?— a former Hays County commissioner, former GSMP board chairman and founding member of GSMP — will serve as interim president while the group searches for a permanent replacement. The letter noted that Conley, who is a principal for engineering firm American Structurepoint Inc., is not interested in nor eligible for the permanent job…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Abbott backs Phelan’s property tax cut plan, spurring ire from Patrick (Texas Tribune)
After weeks of bickering over whose proposal to cut Texans’ property taxes is better, House Speaker?Dade Phelan?sent a clear message to Lt. Gov.?Dan Patrick, his Senate counterpart, on Tuesday: Take our pitch or leave the special session with nothing.
That message was delivered when the House abruptly adjourned Tuesday after swiftly passing bills on property tax relief and migrant smuggling — the sole items that Gov.?Greg Abbott?demanded from a special session that began Monday night.
Soon after the vote, Abbott appeared to back the House’s move, while Patrick signaled he wasn’t ready to back down…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tenure at Texas public universities will remain after lawmakers abandon proposed ban(Austin American-Statesman)
Tenure for faculty at public colleges and universities will remain in Texas after state lawmakers didn't advance a proposed ban on the practice. Instead, they opted to pass legislation making modifications to statewide tenure policies.
The Texas Senate had?proposed banning public universities?from granting tenure to faculty members starting in 2024, but the ban died during this legislative session after state senators opted to pass?a measure instead proposed by the House?that codifies tenure into state law and makes other adjustments to tenure policy in the Education Code.
The House's amended version of?Senate Bill 18?would require governing boards overseeing public higher education institutions in the state to adopt policies allowing institutions to fire tenured faculty for several reasons, including "professional incompetence" or "conduct involving moral turpitude."…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Ahead of debt ceiling vote, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support (Associated Press)
Hard-fought to the end,?the debt ceiling and budget cuts package?is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent.
Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert?a potentially disastrous U.S. default.
Despite deep disappointment from right-flank Republicans that the compromise falls short of?the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes needed to ensure approval.
“We’re going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he exited a lengthy Tuesday night meeting at the Capitol…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Biden circle seeks to boost Harris ahead of 2024 (Washington Post)
In an urgent May 16 meeting on the debt ceiling in the Oval Office, Vice President Harris sat between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), symbolically positioned at the center of the high-stakes talks aimed at staving off a first-ever U.S. default. Two days later, Harris was on a teleconference with thousands of elected officials and opinion leaders, urging them to ramp up pressure for a deal.
“President Biden and I met with our four congressional leaders Tuesday here at the White House. We had a productive conversation,” she reported. “We believe that it occurred in good faith, with all the leaders in that meeting agreeing that America will not default.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
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