MRT (free): Compromise Bail Reform Bill Passes House // Property Tax Cut Appears Imminent // THC Battle Looms // ABJ: ATX Moves to Bid for MLB // Goodwin Launches Lt. Gov. Bid
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
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TOP NEWS
"Sean Teare drops charges against Steven Hotze over conspiracy-fueled assault on AC repairman,” Houston Chronicle's Nicole Hensley and John Wayne Ferguson -- "The Harris County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday ended its prosecution against Republican activist Steven Hotze, dismissing four felony charges accusing him of plotting an election conspiracy-fueled assault on an AC repairman in 2020.
The DA's office also announced it would drop three of five charges against Mark Aguirre, Hotze’s private investigator who was also accused of attacking AC repairman David Lopez and threatening him with a gun, according to a Tuesday news release.
District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, linked the attack to "a baseless voter fraud conspiracy scheme” and said his prosecutors could not stand by the indictments implicating Hotze. The 74-year-old is the leader of the Conservative Republicans of Texas political action committee and frequent litigant against voting rights, LGBTQ+ protections and early government mandates from the pandemic.
"This deeply troubling case shows how toxic conspiracy theories can fuel real-world violence that endangers people in our community,” Teare said. “We look forward to vigorously prosecuting the remaining charges in this case that stand up to legal scrutiny. However, unlike the previous administration, we believe ethical prosecutors have a responsibility to do so based on facts — not political theater, media spectacle, or the reckless pursuit of headlines.”
Hotze had been charged with unlawful restraint, aggravated assault and robbery with a deadly weapon and engaging in organized crime.
Teare’s office said it conducted an "exhaustive review" of the evidence related to the charges against both men and concluded prosecutors could not prove the dismissed charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges should never have been filed, the officials said.
Hotze and Aguirre were scheduled Tuesday to appear in state court for a hearing related to their cases when the charges were dismissed.
Hotze’s lawyer, Jared Woodfill, blasted the charges as a political vendetta waged by former district attorney Kim Ogg. Similar characterizations have been said about other prosecutions sought by Ogg against County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former staffers and Barbie Robinson, the former health director. Those charges were also dismissed after Teare took office.
Hotze is separately waging a related lawsuit, which named Ogg in her then-capacity as DA, in federal court alleging the prosecution violated his civil rights.
Ogg on Tuesday defended her administration’s prosecution as based on evidence, rather than politics.
“Grand juries made up of ordinary randomly selected residents of Harris County indicted both men,” Ogg said in a statement." Houston Chronicle ($)
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#TXLEGE
“Texas House greenlights restrictive bail measures aimed at Harris County,” San Antonio Express-News' Benjamin Wermund – “The Texas House on Monday approved a series of restrictive bail measures long sought by Gov. Greg Abbott, likely assuring the changes — which received bipartisan support — will be on the ballot in November.
The chamber overwhelmingly approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would give judges significantly more power to deny bail to people accused of certain crimes, effectively putting them behind bars until they are tried.
State Rep. John Smithee, an Amarillo Republican who chairs the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, said the bail bills are the most important he has ever voted on. He pointed to examples of individuals who have been granted pretrial release and gone on to commit other crimes and argued the legislation will stop that from happening in the future.
“It holds the very key to the life or death of some very wonderful people,” Smithee said
The House votes are a significant victory for Abbott, who has long sought to restrict bail as he has accused “activist judges” in Democratic cities like Houston of being too quick to grant pretrial release.
Abbott ratcheted up a pressure campaign in recent weeks, holding public events in Houston and Austin and posting repeatedly on social media about especially egregious examples.
The Texas Republican also shifted his demands as lawmakers negotiated the deal the House approved, pushing for lawmakers to force judges to prohibit pretrial release to defendants accused of several violent offenses.
The House legislation would not go that far, instead requiring judges to deny bail to those accused of a series of crimes, including murder, aggravated assault and sexual assault, only if prosecutors present compelling evidence that they will not show up to court or will be a danger to the community. The reforms would require judges to issue a written order explaining any time they grant bail, a priority of Abbott’s.
The governor cheered the chamber's overwhelming support for the measure.
"These bills will reform Texas' broken, deadly bail system & keep dangerous criminals behind bars — where they belong," Abbott wrote on the social media site X.
The Constitution currently prevents judges from denying bail to first-time offenders other than those accused of capital murder and for whom the state is seeking the death penalty.
State Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat involved in negotiations on the legislation, criticized proposals like Abbott’s that would have flipped the burden of proof to the accused, calling them “gulag” bills.
Moody said the final deal “isn’t perfect but it’s a good balance that is going to get us to the right results in most cases.”
“What we have now is a clear burden placed on the prosecution — where it should be,” Moody said. “If the state proves a person is a danger or a flight risk at a hearing where the defendant is represented, that's a person who should be locked up, pending trial … The fact is we wouldn't be here if there weren’t real life examples of people being released who plainly shouldn’t have been.”
Smithee said the reforms “may not be perfect, but it’s the best we could do to fix a system that’s been broken for a long time.”
“I can assure you every word in this resolution was developed after a lot of negotiation, of input,” he said.
The proposal passed on a 133-8 vote, easily clearing the 100-vote threshold required to put a constitutional amendment to the state’s voters. The measure, which has already cleared the Senate, will first head back to the chamber after changes in the House. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he and the bill’s author, Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, will concur with the House changes." SAEN ($)
“Another big tax cut for Texas homeowners appears imminent,” Texas Tribune’s Joshua Fechter – “Texas homeowners are one step closer to a bigger tax break after the state House gave unanimous preliminary approval to a set of legislative proposals Tuesday.
House members advanced bills aimed at giving homeowners relief on the property taxes they pay toward school districts, the biggest chunk of a property owner’s tax bill. Senate Bill 4 by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, would change the state’s homestead exemption, which reduces how much of a home’s value can be taxed to pay for public schools, from $100,000 to $140,000.
Senate Bill 23, another Bettencourt proposal, would raise a separate homestead exemption for homeowners who are older or have disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000.
Both bills — key priorities for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate — must come back before the House on Wednesday for a final vote. The Senate will have to sign off on changes the House made to the bills before they head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
Providing bigger tax breaks to homeowners is a key component of a deal brokered by Republicans in the Texas Legislature to lower tax bills for Texans, who pay among the highest property taxes in the country. The other major piece is giving business owners greater exemptions on their inventory. Texas is one of the few states that taxes businesses’ inventory.
House Bill 9 by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, would exempt up to $125,000 of businesses’ inventory from being taxed by school districts, cities, counties or any other taxing entity. Under current law, businesses don’t have to pay taxes on that property if it’s worth $2,500 or less.
The Texas Senate approved that bill last week, and House members gave a thumbs-up Monday to changes that chamber made.
House lawmakers shot down a push by the chamber’s more conservative members to boost the homestead exemption to $160,000. Supporters of the failed amendment argued that legislators could further tap the state’s $24 billion surplus to pay for greater relief. But other lawmakers stressed that state budget writers have only set aside enough money to pay to raise the exemption to $140,000.
The owner of a home valued at $302,000 — about the typical Texas home value last year, according to Zillow — would have saved more than $500 on their 2024 school taxes had the $140,000 exemption been in place that year, according to a Tribune calculation. That’s when the exemption is combined with $3 billion in cuts to school tax rates proposed in the state’s upcoming two-year budget.
Texas lawmakers plan to spend $51 billion on cutting property taxes over the next two years. State budget watchers and some lawmakers, including Republicans, worry that the state won’t be able to afford tax cuts in the long term.
Voters in November will have the final say on whether the tax relief takes effect. The changes must be approved by voters because they each involve amending the Texas Constitution.
Lawmakers appear on track to pass their major property tax legislation before they leave Austin in June. That’s a marked difference from two years ago, when House and Senate leaders couldn’t come to terms on a tax-cut deal before the clock ran out, forcing Abbott to call two special sessions to come to terms." Texas Tribune
“Major energy consumers will face new limits if Texas House approves proposal,” Texas Tribune’s Carlos Nogueras Ramos – “A Texas House panel approved a bill that changes how industrial energy consumers coordinate their operations with the state’s electric grid manager and providers last week.
It now heads to the full chamber with modifications. The House committee made changes after trade groups and power generators said the original bill approved by the state Senate was too aggressive on the state’s open-energy market.
Most changes to the bill were minor, leaving the overall intent of the proposal intact.
Written by state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, the bill aims to help the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the main grid operator, better understand the state’s energy needs. King has said he believes the state’s electricity providers are passing on costs to consumers for beefing up the grid that isn’t needed.
If the bill becomes law, companies that bypass the grid and get power from power generators directly need to report certain information about such business arrangements and follow new regulatory rules set by ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission, including lending their power in an emergency. ERCOT will also have the ability to shut off a facility’s power during emergencies with notice, a provision that some groups say endangers their operations. Groups also said that relying on back-up generators could lead to federal air emissions violations.
A week before lawmakers approved the bill, business groups said the bill could hinder the Texas economy.
“The ability to sign a long-term purchase power agreement with these data centers, this is the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been looking for,” Walt Baum, president of Powering Texans, a group representing natural gas generators, said at the hearing. “And we worry that some of these new … processes or approvals could be the train that slams the door shut.”
In a statement to The Texas Tribune after the bill was passed, Baum said the group was still reviewing the bill.
“We hope to continue to work with legislators to ensure Texas can continue to encourage data center investment in Texas,” he said." Texas Tribune
“Fight heats up over hemp-based THC on eve of House vote as Lt. Gov. Patrick weighs in,” Dallas Morning News' Karen Brooks Harper and Hojun Choi – “A showdown over the fate of the hemp-derived vapes, gummies, flower and edibles market hits the Texas House floor this week, as lawmakers decide whether to kill a burgeoning industry of consumables made with hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
A vote planned for Tuesday was delayed by bill sponsors and is expected later this week.
The fight has been raging for years in the Texas Capitol and across the state, where more than 8,500 retailers have set up shop in vape stores, coffee shops, convenience stores and other venues in an industry that has raked in $8 billion in Texas since it was legalized through a federal loophole in 2019.
It comes as a recent report by a governor’s forensics commission questions the reliability of some state lab tests on the THC levels in hemp-based products — the basis for several raids on hemp shops and one of the core arguments in favor of a ban on them.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is on the warpath against the retailers, with the Senate backing a full ban as one of the Houston Republican’s priorities for the session.
On Monday evening, Patrick released an 8-minute video of footage from the bipartisan Senate floor vote and committee hearings. In it, Patrick vows not to leave Austin until a ban is passed.
“There’s an important vote coming up for the members of the Texas House,” Patrick said in the video. “Many of you are watching this video, and many of you are concerned about THC, how it‘s being sold to schoolchildren all across Texas. This is poisonous THC. No regulations whatsoever. ...
“I’m asking the Texas House to stand up to the forces that are trying to have you stop this ban.”
Texas House leaders, meanwhile, are signaling early resistance to a total ban on all hemp-derived products and have put forth a plan to curtail and regulate the industry.
The critical vote will come on an amendment that will replace the language in the House version with the total ban enacted by the Senate, carried by House Republican Caucus Chairman Tom Oliverson, an anesthesiologist from Cypress.
“Self medication is the first step of treatment failure,” Oliverson said. “I was here in 2019 and none of us voted to legalize marijuana. It‘s clear that this gray zone has established that, essentially, because the reactive ingredient is the same. And that isn’t what we voted for, and it‘s not good for the state.”
The House vote on Senate Bill 3, by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, is among the more highly anticipated debates of the session after hundreds showed up for committee hearings that lasted into the early morning hours to debate the merits and risks of low-dose THC.
It also comes less than a month after law enforcement seized nearly $5 million in cash, as well as vehicles, jewelry and firearms after an investigation into a chain of North Texas shops in Dallas and Kaufman counties." Texas Tribune
“Proposal to clarify when Texas doctors can perform life-saving abortions faces critical vote,” Texas Tribune’s Eleanor Klibanoff – “The bill does not expand abortion access, but further explains when a doctor can intervene to save a pregnant patient’s life.
The House is slated to vote on a bill to clarify Texas’ near-total abortion ban Wednesday, after it passed the Senate unanimously last month. The bill is expected to garner bipartisan support, despite some concerns from both sides of the aisle.
Texas banned all abortions three years ago, with a narrow exception that allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy only to save a pregnant patient’s life. Immediately, doctors and legal experts warned that this exception was too narrow and vaguely written, and the penalties too severe, to ensure that women could get life-saving care.
That has proven true in many cases. Dozens of women have come forward with stories of medically necessary abortions delayed or denied, and at least three women have died as a result of these laws. Faced with these stories, Republican lawmakers have conceded that the language of the law might need some clearing up.
Senate Bill 31, also called the Life of the Mother Act, does not expand the exceptions or restore abortion access. It instead aims to clarify when a doctor can terminate a pregnancy under the existing exceptions by aligning language between the state’s abortion laws, codifying court rulings and requiring education for doctors and lawyers on the nuances of the law.
The bill was tightly negotiated among lobbyists for doctors and hospitals, anti-abortion groups and Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola and Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, who carried the bill.
“All of these groups are going to, with one voice, tell the medical community and moms and everyone else, ‘Here’s the law in Texas. It’s clear. Let’s follow the law,’” Hughes said on the Senate floor in late April.
In the Senate, Republicans threw their support behind the bill, while Democrats pushed back on its narrowness, noting that Texas law still does not allow abortions in cases of rape, incest or lethal fetal anomalies.
“The folks who are working on this fix are, from my perspective, the folks who have created the problem,” said Houston Sen. Molly Cook. “Over the past four years, we've watched women suffer and die, and this bill is the confirmation that we all agree that something is broken in Texas.”
In the House, however, the bill may face headwinds from both directions. In a committee hearing last month, some conservative Republicans raised concerns that this bill offered a loophole enabling doctors to work around the strict limits of the law.
Rep. Mike Olcott, a Fort Worth Republican, asked what would prevent doctors from “checking a box” to say a patient’s life was in danger to provide “abortion on demand,” a sentiment echoed by other conservatives on the committee.
The bill’s architects have been careful to say this is not a “choice” bill, but rather a bill aimed at addressing doctors’ liability and pregnant women’s health needs.
“I have voted for every anti-abortion bill that’s been in front of the House since I’ve been here for 24 years,” Geren said at the committee. “This is not a choice bill. This is a protect-the-mothers’-life bill.” Texas Tribune
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Travis County prosecutors have 90 days to indict or release. They missed that deadline 263 times in 2024,” Austin American-Statesman's Tony Plohetski – “The 19-year-old Austin Community College student had spent 35 days in a cinder block cell at the Travis County Correctional Complex when he penned a letter.
In clearly printed handwriting, he explained to the judge assigned to his case that being locked up for so long posed a threat to his future. He was currently enrolled in dental hygiene school, he explained, and worried he would be kicked out for missing too many classes. Most importantly, he said that having a criminal record would hinder his ultimate goal of joining the military.
“I am simply a young individual after success who wishes to continue going to school and to move on with his life,” he wrote on May 30, 2024.
He had been arrested and charged with felony burglary of a habitation after an altercation with his father, but had yet to be indicted more than a month into his jail stay and had no idea where his case stood.
More than two months went by before he was finally released after a 112-day stay. In the end, Travis County prosecutors dropped the case.
The American-Statesman is not identifying the young man, who requested anonymity as he tries to put the incident behind him and prepares to seek an expungement of his record.
He was among more than 180 suspects who sat behind bars for longer than 90 days last year without being indicted, an investigation by the Statesman and KVUE-TV found. Under state law, prosecutors are given 90 days to indict felony suspects or they must be released on bail.
His case exemplifies one of the more extreme outcomes of the dysfunction that has gripped the Travis County felony criminal courts under the tenure of District Attorney Jose Garza, a Democrat and vocal advocate of criminal justice reform who for years has decried the disproportionately high number of individuals held in jail awaiting trial.
Earlier this year, the Statesman and KVUE revealed that Garza’s office had routinely failed to indict suspects in custody within 90 days, leading to potentially unconstitutional delays for those being held, the release of violent offenders on dramatically reduced bail and opening up Travis County to potential legal liability. Texas Republican leaders who have long had Garza in their sights pounced on the news, accusing him of compromising community safety by freeing dangerous criminals and sexual predators. They have since proposed legislation and enacted rule changes to address the issue.
But how often Garza’s office was missing this deadline — and what kind of suspects were being held for too long or released too soon — has remained unclear as no agency records that data.
Garza gave some insight in a February interview when — in defending his office’s approach — he cited a list of 2024 cases he said he had reviewed in which defendants remained in jail past the deadline and found “that the overwhelming majority were appropriate not to be indicted” within 90 days. His office refused to provide that list to the Statesman and KVUE, saying it contained privileged material, but the news organizations obtained the case records from another county agency and has spent months analyzing them.
The analysis found that the 181 defendants faced 263 separate charges.
All of the defendants were eventually released, and most were eventually indicted.
The analysis showed that 70 of the charges were violent or sexual in nature and that 61 defendants later had their cases rejected, dismissed or no-billed by a grand jury.
The latter figure raises the most concerns for criminal justice advocates who have already deemed Garza’s missed deadlines an affront to swift justice.
“It’s pretty astonishing, and it’s a bad name and a bad look for our criminal justice system,” said Natasha Malik, a criminal justice policy attorney for the nonprofit Texas Appleseed. “It makes you wonder: What evidence did you have? It must have been weak or you didn’t have any at all.”
Garza’s explanation for the missed deadlines has evolved dramatically in recent months. At first, he blamed one of his prosecutors. Then, he suggested that prosecutors had no deadline to act within 90 days and that the law is designed only to give attorneys a mechanism to get their clients out of jail.
Most recently, he has said his office takes seriously the timely presentation of cases to grand juries and that he had put “in place additional oversight measures to ensure that instances where cases are unindicted remain a rare occurrence.” But he also has said that the issue underscores broader justice system complexities and that the cases represent a tiny fraction of new cases his office received in 2024.
To be sure, the Statesman and KVUE found that lapses in oversight and at times blatant inattention by other parties — including judges and defense attorneys — have contributed to defendants remaining in jail much longer than 90 days without being indicted.
Nate Fennell, a policy attorney at the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at Southern Methodist University, said players in all corners of the courtroom have "parallel responsibilities and obligations."
“If the question is who is responsible for deciding when a person gets charged with a crime, that is on a prosecutor," he said. "But if the question is who is responsible for a person being detained longer than they legally can, that is on the county, the courts and the defense lawyers.”" AAS ($)
“Sleeping won’t be permitted on downtown streets, Dallas officials say,” Dallas Morning News' Chase Rogers and Devyani Chhetri – “A man sat outside the Stewpot as Hannah Sims walked to the homeless service provider. He wasn’t a stranger. Outreach workers first met him under a bridge downtown nearly a month ago.
“You have everything you need?” Sims said. The man nodded. “Today?” Another nod, followed by a fist bump.
An outreach team soon would pick him up with a move-in kit. “He’ll get to sleep in his own home tonight,” Sims said.
Sims is a senior project manager at Housing Forward, the region’s lead homeless response agency. She said the man, whose name the agency withheld to protect his privacy, was among the more than 270 homeless downtown residents moved from the streets within the past year.
Housing Forward has a goal to raise $30 million in public and private dollars to fund the initiative, called Street-to-Home, which aligns with recommendations by national organizations such as the National Alliance to End Homelessness to prevent a person from backsliding into homelessness.
Dallas leaders say they’ve buttressed their response to complaints from visitors and residents about people loitering near businesses, sleeping in playgrounds, parks and street encampments downtown. In their mind, the complaints are representative of hurdles to revitalizing the city’s urban core through the lows of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the FIFA World Cup and the new convention center on the horizon.
Officials announced Tuesday an “effective end” to street homelessness downtown and unveiled a new public safety initiative, through which law enforcement, social workers, private security and the city’s emergency response teams will share the same radio lines to address complaints within 24 hours.
They will work together, as part of a broader public-private partnership among city officials, Downtown Dallas Inc. and downtown stakeholders, to close encampments and rehouse people through the Street-to-Home program.
No one will be allowed to sleep in downtown’s public spaces.
Community courts and behavioral health support will be used to divert people who are sleeping in public without criminalizing them.
At a May 12 downtown public safety meeting, Kevin Oden, head of the city’s emergency response, said the city has increased efforts to “de-magnetize” hot spots, often found near City Hall and the downtown public library, where people flock for lunch and dinner services offered by providers. The aim is to disrupt the behavior, he said.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to see street homelessness. Every day we’re going to see that. Our focus is to prevent it from getting entrenched in downtown,” Oden said.
Beyond work focused on rehousing people, the effort includes more police officers, the opening of a new substation in the central business district and renewed attention to quality-of-life issues, including late-night noise, street crime and hazardous driving that, some residents say, often goes unchecked." DMN ($)
“Is downtown Dallas safe? Business owners lead charge for more cops, housing efforts,” Dallas Morning News' Devyani Chhetri, Kelli Smith and Chase Rogers – “Dallas officials will put more police officers downtown and double down on efforts that began last year to rehouse homeless people as part of a public-private partnership to fix the perceptions — and realities — of safety and quality of life in the city’s core.
Downtown Dallas Inc., the nonprofit at the helm of the Central Business District’s upkeep, is working with downtown stakeholders, the city and its lead homeless response agency to unveil a public safety initiative for the arrival of thousands of FIFA World Cup visitors next year.
Members of a public-private partnership are unveiling an initiative to address public safety concerns and homelessness in downtown Dallas. The effort is aimed at attracting new economic opportunities and retaining and attracting downtown business and residents.
“If we don’t turn it around downtown and we let our core atrophy, the region will suffer,” said Rob Walters, part of the business group Dallas Citizens Council. “The city will suffer. And in particular, our southern sector will suffer, because it really needs a strong downtown and a strong job base there.”
Dallas police will create a downtown substation and deploy about 35 more officers downtown by mid-summer — bringing a total of at least 130 officers to the district contained within the loop created by the Woodall Rogers Freeway, interstates 35E and 30, U.S. 75 and I-345. Downtown leaders hope the elevated enforcement reduces violent crime and quality-of-life concerns.
DDI, the city and Housing Forward, the region’s lead homeless response agency, will communicate on the same radio frequencies to quickly activate services needed to rehome individuals. They’ve already successfully moved more than 270 people off the streets through the Street-to-Home program, which pairs complex behavioral health support with outreach work. More than 250 are in homes.
Existing community courts will also play a role in diverting people with low-level citations away from jails and toward community service.
Police data from 2020 to 2024 in the sector that includes downtown show a 3% drop in violent crime, including aggravated assaults, robberies and murders, while overall crime increased 34%. The statistics differ from data presented by DDI and consultants that show a 42% increase in violent crime from 2019 to 2023. The Dallas Morning News reached out to the Boston Consulting Group, which authored the report, to check the discrepancy. The group cited client confidentiality and declined to comment.
The data does not suggest downtown is more dangerous than other Dallas neighborhoods. But perceptions about public safety and rising violence in the city’s economic engine have prompted city officials and downtown stakeholders to invest millions of public and private dollars to expand the presence of police and private security, improve coordination among agencies and rehouse the area’s unsheltered residents — some through the city’s community courts system — in an effort to revitalize the city’s urban core and prevent business flight.
“I think a lot of the business owners are saying, ‘Look, read our lips. This is really, really serious, and if you don’t do something, we’re going to reevaluate our audience,” Walters said.
The collective focus on downtown is not unprecedented. After COVID-19, downtowns across the U.S. saw a seismic shift. Violence and crime levels rose. Office buildings emptied. Workers stopped commuting, and empty ground-level storefronts symbolized a changed world. City leaders recognized the trend. Researchers have delved into what an eroded tax base downtown can mean for the entire city.
Downtown’s prosperity is closely linked to the city’s fiscal health. It’s where the majority of jobs, both for high and low wage earners, are clustered, and presents an accessible option for residents. About 15,000 people live downtown, according to DDI, which has highlighted “vibrancy and economic development” as a focal point of the new initiative.
In recent months, major law firms such as Greenberg Traurig and Fisher Phillips announced they’d relocate their downtown offices to Uptown, according to news releases. Suggestions of AT&T’s departure have also percolated and are mentioned in the Boston Consulting Group report to DDI. A company spokesperson declined to comment." DMN ($)
“Will San Antonio’s next mayor hit the brakes on arena, Project Marvel plans?” San Antonio Express-News’ Molly Smith – “City and Bexar County leaders are working to put bond and tax packages on the November ballot to cover part of the cost of a new Spurs arena at Hemisfair and related infrastructure improvements.
But San Antonio’s next mayor, who will be elected June 7, could throw those plans off track.
The candidates in the runoff election, former Air Force Undersecretary Gina Ortiz Jones and former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, both say they won’t commit to the November timeline.
They say they don’t have enough information about the proposed NBA arena — or the city’s planned multibillion-dollar sports and entertainment district that’ll be developed around the Spurs’ new home court.
Jones and Pablos are city government outsiders who haven’t been privy to internal discussions about the massive projects. Indeed, planning for a new arena and Project Marvel, as the district is known, has taken place almost entirely behind closed doors.
At the same time, neither candidate has said no to using tax dollars to pay for a portion of the arena or other elements of the district.
The district could include an expanded Convention Center, a second Convention Center hotel, a renovated Alamodome and the conversion of John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse at Hemisfair into a small-scale event venue — all of which would be surrounded by new apartments, restaurants, bars and shops.
Jones and Pablos both answered “no” when asked Sunday at a COPS/Metro session for city candidates whether they would “commit to opposing the use of any public funds for Project Marvel.” The community advocacy group is one of the biggest opponents of spending city and county dollars for any element of the district.
Pablos said he sees Project Marvel “as a jobs-creation program.”
“Just like we asked for public funds to train, we need to be able to use public funds to create jobs,” he said, referring to Ready to Work, the sales tax-funded job training program for unemployed and underemployed San Antonians that voters approved in 2020. “Our tourism industry creates a tremendous amount of jobs, and we need to be able to protect them.”
Jones said there “has been too much discussion on how we’re going to pay for this, not nearly as much discussion on how is the community going to benefit.”
“But I think there is an opportunity for all the things that we agree are important in our community, to use Project Marvel to actually fund some of those things, and that is what I would be focused on,” she said.” SAEN ($)
2026
“Austin Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin launches bid for lieutenant governor,” Austin American-Statesman's Alex Driggars – “Austin Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin is running for Texas lieutenant governor.
The four-term representative on Tuesday announced her bid to unseat three-term Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has also launched his campaign for re-election in 2026.
Goodwin has criticized Republican leadership in the state and has vowed "to fight for the things Texans care about most: strong public schools, access to abundant and clean water & power, housing affordability, and comprehensive health care for every Texan," according to the news release announcing her candidacy.
“As a lifelong Texan, a mom, a business owner, and a public servant, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges families across our state face,” Goodwin said in her statement. “And sadly, our current leadership is busy tearing down our agencies and institutions, instead of building trust within our communities — both physical and demographic. I’m running for Lieutenant Governor because I believe in building a Texas that works for all of us — not just the well-connected few.”
Goodwin, a 58-year-old real estate broker, comes into the race with a massive strategic and fiscal disadvantage. Patrick's coffers hold more than $33 million, while Goodwin has about $150,000, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Texas Democrats last won a statewide office in 1994, and Patrick beat his Democratic opponent by more than 10 percentage points in 2022.
Allen Biehl, Goodwin's campaign manager, acknowledged in a call with the American-Statesman that Goodwin will face an uphill battle in the race, but he asserted that even conservative Texans are hungry for a change in top leadership.
"The Texas triumvirate has overstepped its bounds," Biehl said. "There's a lot of people out there on the right side of the equation, if you will, who are kind of getting fed up with the gamesmanship and the identity politics now that the right is playing."
Biehl stated that while he doesn't expect Goodwin's campaign funds to exceed Patrick's, he anticipates no issues in funding her bid for the state's second-highest elected office.
"We really feel like we're not going to have any problem in generating funds and doing fundraising in this next cycle," Biehl said. "We're not going to go chasing $30 million or whatever the number happens to be that he's got, but we're going to make sure that every dollar, every dime that we spend is going to be communicating with regular Texans, with people in the streets, and the people that care about the issues that Dan Patrick has forgotten about."
Patrick's campaign did not immediately weigh in on Goodwin's bid for his office." AAS ($)
TEXANS IN DC
“Senate passes Ted Cruz bill to exempt tips from federal income tax,” Dallas Morning News' Joseph Morton – “Workers who rely on tips moved a step closer Tuesday to seeing a significant tax break when the U.S. Senate approved a new federal tax exemption.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, authored the bill, which was approved by unanimous consent, meaning no senator objected to its passage.
Cruz cast the show of bipartisan solidarity as a miracle and said the policy is now almost certain to pass the House and become law.
The exemption on tips will have a lasting effect on millions of Americans, Cruz said.
“We ought to be fighting for waiters and waitresses,” Cruz said on the Senate floor moments after the bill passed. “We ought to be fighting for bartenders, taxi cab drivers, Uber drivers. We ought to be fighting for beauticians and nail salon workers. We ought to be fighting for all the men and women who are working and working hard.”
The bill would let workers deduct up to $25,000 in cash tips from their federal income taxes. Workers — and their employers — would still be responsible for payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare.
President Donald Trump proposed the “No Tax on Tips” policy on the campaign trail last year while in Nevada, a swing state with a high per-capita number of tipped workers.
Many Republicans and Democrats rushed to embrace the idea.
Cruz introduced legislation to implement the policy, with both of Nevada’s Democratic senators quickly signing onto the bill.
Some experts and lawmakers have questioned the proposal’s fairness because it would place much different tax burdens on, for example, a waiter and a house painter with identical income.
It has proved broadly popular, however, and a version is included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Republicans are moving through the House.
Democrats vehemently oppose many of the provisions in that sweeping multitrillion-dollar legislation, however, from new Medicaid work requirements to tax breaks that benefit wealthy Americans." DMN ($)
BUSINESS NEWS
“City winds up to make pitch for Major League Baseball someday,” Austin Business Journal’s Justin Sayers – “When the country's four largest sports leagues are analyzed, it's easy to see why many view Major League Baseball as Austin's best chance for expansion.
The National Football League hasn't shown much interest in expanding, and a local bid would have to go through the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys. The San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association play some games in Austin, but they are pursuing a new arena that would deter any proximate efforts. The National Hockey League is the most keen on expansion, but Houston — one of the country's largest markets without a team — is viewed among the favorites.
"If we want to become a city with a top-four sports franchise, this is it," said Matt Mackowiak, one of the founders of the Austin Baseball Commission, an organization that has been raising awareness and money — about $150,000 received out of $450,000 in pledges since early April — with the goal of putting Austin into the MLB expansion conversation.
At this point, it's important to note that the following story is filled with hypotheticals. MLB has not announced an expansion, and while some expect that to happen, there are many barriers. The league has to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, mitigate television rights issues, finalize the future of the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays, plus fix an emerging divide between the league's top and bottom teams, among other to-dos.
It's also costly. An MLB expansion franchise is easily a multibillion-dollar economic development project between expansion fees, operations and a stadium district, all the way down through the minor league and spring training ecosystem. Is there someone local, or otherwise, willing to take on that cost in Austin?
Austin is ready — how about MLB?
If there's an opportunity to bring a team here, you can trust Austin will be a part of it. So will others like Salt Lake City, Nashville, Portland and Charlotte. Local stakeholders are maneuvering to be part of the conversation.
"If you look at Austin today, could it support a team? I think under the right economics, yes, it could support a team. Does that mean it will be the favorite child in an expansion process? I don't know," said Reid Ryan, CEO of the triple-A Round Rock Express and Ryan Sports & Entertainment.
The Express is celebrating 25 years playing at Dell Diamond. When Ryan — whose dad, baseball legend and now local resident Nolan Ryan — and others brought them to Round Rock, the region was among the biggest markets without a professional sports team. He said it's now turning into the MLB market they once envisioned.
But while he feels "that Austin would have as good a shot as anybody" at another team, Reid Ryan believes that it's not something on the table "as of right now." He would know more than most, as he has sat on boards for the major and minor leagues and stays in contact with MLB leadership.
"I feel good because we're a growth market. I feel good because we now have supported double-A and triple-A baseball for 25 years. I feel good because there are large companies that have relocated here, and it takes a lot of money when you're playing 81 baseball games from the community to support a club with tickets and suites and premium areas and all those kind of things," he said.
Ryan said it comes down to "cold, hard economics." Right now, the top MLB teams are generating more revenue than those at the bottom, and while half the teams are eligible for revenue sharing, it's not creating parity. He's not sure adding two more teams — let alone teams that may not be competitive, initially — would solve that.
Real money is moving
Since the Austin Baseball Commission launched on the Friday of last year's All-Star Game weekend in Arlington, Mackowiak, Derrik Fox and Dustin Byington estimated they've had more than 500 meetings, collected over 130,000 email addresses, had 400 people sign up to serve on committees and had people fill out request forms for 3,500 season tickets.
The trio launched the group as they felt Austin was falling behind other cities, like Nashville, Portland and Salt Lake City, which have already made moves to identify real estate, secure state incentives and identify majority ownership for a potential baseball team. They expect an expansion process to kick off next year.
"Austin has operated like a small city, like a college town, for too long," Mackowiak said. "From my perspective, losing a competition to Salt Lake City because we didn't get in the game would be unacceptable. We believe that if it's an apples-to-apples-to-apples comparison, we will be one of the two teams that's awarded the bid. And there are two gold medals."
The group has not communicated directly with MLB leadership. But it has engaged with consultants and is being advised by former deputy MLB commissioner Bob DuPuy, who Mackowiak said "is very bullish on Austin as a market for expansion." They've also brought on Nick Sakiewicz, formerly of the defunct Arizona Coyotes, who will be their "Stadium CEO;" have engaged with architect HKS, which has designed professional sports stadiums; and an unidentified law firm with a direct line to the league.
Austin Baseball Commission — now an LP — launched a $2 million seed round in April and is aiming to raise $1 million by Labor Day. It has held investor events at places like Headliners Club and SoHo House to first pay for an economic impact study, real estate study for five finalist sites and to engage with more consultants. Leaders plan two more seed rounds as they keep moving forward: a $5 million price tag for an actual bid and an estimated $4.5 billion for the team itself.
As part of their efforts, they connected with a former general manager who sent them a list of seven criteria needed to successfully operate a team.
The big piece is finances. They estimated an expansion fee would run them $2.25 billion, a stadium — minus incentives — would be about $1.5 billion and an operating budget would be around $500 million, along with ancillary costs. They're aiming to identify a majority owner, and while a number of high-net-worth individuals are moving to Austin along with their companies, that person could come from anywhere.
A stadium is the next big piece. Mackowiak said his team identified five sites in Travis County, three in Williamson County and a handful in Hays County that could work. That list includes Northline in Leander, officials confirmed, but it has barriers as adjacent public transit cannot move enough people at a time for a big stadium, he said. Downtown Austin sites were not big enough.
They think they'll likely end up with a location east of I-35 in Travis County as they can master-plan it out easier and be a draw for future public transit. Mackowiak hinted one site is on the water — and wouldn't confirm whether it's the Dog's Head, which has been tied to speculatory conversations for professional sports in the past, only saying that "irrespective of baseball," he thinks it's going to be developed into something significant.
"The further you are away from the city center, the worse it is for attendance," Mackowiak said, citing an analysis that stadiums lose 700 people in attendance for every quarter-mile you are away from downtown.
They estimated a stadium would have 35,000 to 40,000 seats with a retractable roof, saying the key would be to follow the lead of many teams by having a stadium be a part of a mixed-use district as a way to generate revenue and drive year-round economic impact. They'd also like it to be similar to Q2 Stadium, home to Major League Soccer's Austin FC, which is tech-heavy, on a transit line and representative of the community.
"We don't want to put an undue burden on the citizens of Austin," Byington said. "To make the math work and to make the economics work, that entertainment district really goes a long way not only to finance a stadium but for us to be good stewards of the community and to make a positive economic impact, which is something we're really committed to."
The market is another gray area. While they are less concerned about Austin's perceived smaller size compared to other markets, they do foresee TV contracts being an issue. The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros likely wouldn't want a third team eating into their revenue — although Mackowiak said another team would create "intense baseball interest" in the state that would lead to more people traveling to games.
Remaining factors include spring training hubs and international development, corporate support and season ticket commitments.
Fox joked that his sales background had him selling mediocre products in crowded markets. The difference here is that Austin is an open market with a good product. It's got the population density, wealth, corporate industry and culture that they hope MLB will eventually see.
"There are several cities involved but I think we have the best product," Fox said.” ABJ ($)
“Pharma giant Eli Lilly eyes Houston for $5.9B biomanufacturing plant that could bring over 2,000 jobs,” Houston Chronicle's Marissa Luck – “Global pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. is considering a $5.9 billion plant in northeast Houston, a potential economic jolt that could accelerate the city’s ambitions to become a national hub for biomanufacturing.
The Indiana-based developer of Prozac and Mounjaro (an Ozempic competitor) is eyeing Houston as a potential candidate for a massive biomanufacturing plant.
The company is considering a 236-acre site at Generation Park, a huge master-planned business complex near Beltway 8 about 10 miles east of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to Texas Comptroller documents. Lilly would purchase the land from McCord Development to build an active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facility, producing key components in medications, according to a tax incentive application posted May 16.
The project could support about 600 permanent jobs and more than 2,000 construction jobs, according to its application for incentives through the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) program, which replaced an earlier set of incentives offered by the state last year.
Lilly said in February that it planned to double its manufacturing presence across the U.S., bringing its total investment to $50 billion since 2020. While the tax incentive application is a sign that the big pharma firm is seriously considering Houston, the project is still not confirmed.
“As announced in February, Lilly is actively evaluating manufacturing site locations throughout the U.S. to expand capacity to meet the growing demand for our current and future pipeline medicines across multiple therapeutic areas,” an company spokesperson said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “Any future decisions will be shared at the appropriate time.”
The company's interest in the region was reported earlier by the Houston Business Journal.
Lilly said earlier this year that it would invest $27 billion to build four new production facilities in the U.S., including three active pharmaceutical ingredients plants and one site to produce injectable drugs, industry news site Fierce Pharma reported. The firm invited states to pitch themselves for consideration.
In a statement, the Greater Houston Partnership said it was "aware of the pending project" and that it had been actively involved in the process. "However," its said, "we’re unable to comment or provide additional details at this time. What we can say is that Houston has all the ingredients to be an ideal location for life science companies to invest given our access to talent, robust infrastructure and favorable business climate."
If the company does move forward with Houston, it would be a major win for Generation Park developer McCord Development, which has spent years cultivating the project as a destination for biotech and advanced manufacturing. Although Shawn Cloonan, general counsel for McCord Development, said he couldn’t speak to any specific project, he acknowledged that the park has several sites well-suited for life sciences.
“These life sciences projects that are out in the market (searching for sites) today are massive,” Cloonan said in an interview. “They require an enormous amount of infrastructure to support them – utilities and things like that – but on the other side, those projects are going to be filled by human beings who are going to go and work and want to live in proximity to amenities.”" Houston Chronicle ($)
“Toyota Texas is getting a new boss from Canada,” San Antonio Express-News’ Sara DiNatale – “Less than a year-and-a-half into her role leading Toyota Motor Corp.’s plant in San Antonio, Susann Kazunas has been promoted to a post in her home state of Kentucky as a high-ranking group vice president.
She’s being succeeded in San Antonio by Frank Voss, who’s been president of Toyota Canada.
In addition to leading all production and administrative functions at the South Side plant, Voss will take over as vice president of Toyota’s truck segment that includes San Antonio and at plants in Baja California and Guanajuato in Mexico. The changes are being made as part of Toyota's new regional structure for manufacturing.
“My wife and I are excited to make San Antonio our home,” Voss said in a statement. “From our very first trip to the area, we felt the warmth and energy that make this city so special. We are looking forward to exploring the region — especially the beautiful outdoors and rich culture that make South Texas unique.”
Voss joined Toyota in 2002 and has held numerous positions across the company, including roles in Kentucky. In Ontario, he oversaw the production of gas and hybrid models of the RAV4 SUV and some Lexus vehicles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“I am honored to join the incredible team at Toyota Texas and am eager to contribute to our work at Toyota and to the broader San Antonio community,” he said. …
With construction under her new job’s purview, Kazunas will continue to monitor construction of San Antonio’s upcoming rear axle assembly plant.
“My family and I have loved our time in San Antonio, and I am overjoyed my new role will give me opportunities to come back to visit,” she said. “I look forward to celebrating with the community when the rear axle facility opens next year.”” SAEN ($)
“Chlorine leak at a Texas chemical plant prompts officials to ask residents to stay inside,” via AP – “A chlorine leak at a Texas chemical plant on Tuesday prompted officials to ask residents in two Texas cities near the facility to shelter in place.
Chlorine gas was released around 9 a.m. from a plant in Freeport that is owned by Olin Corp., according to Brazosport CAER, an organization that provides communication between residents and petrochemical industries in the area. Freeport is about 60 miles south of Houston.
Officials announced that the leak had been stopped around 9:45 a.m.
A request to shelter in place was issued shortly after the leak happened as a precaution for residents in Clute and Lake Jackson, officials said. The shelter in place request was lifted around 10:40 a.m.
It was not immediately known if there were any injuries due to the leak.
“The status of the chlorine leak has been contained and an all clear has been issued,” the Lake Jackson Police Department said on social media.
In a statement, Clayton, Missouri-based Olin said all of its employees have been accounted for and people who were potentially exposed were being medically evaluated.
“We are conducting a thorough analysis to identify the cause of the release. Olin is appreciative of the rapid response and support of all site and local emergency response teams during this incident. The safety of our employees, the community, and our environment is always our top priority,” Olin said.
The company manufacturers chlorine, industrial bleach, hydrochloric acid and other products that are used to make plastics, paper products and detergents.” AP
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> HOU CHRON: "Controller Hollins won’t certify $7B budget until judge rules on drainage plan" HOU CHRON
> AAS: "Texas set to fund first clinical studies of psychedelic drug to treat PTSD" AAS
> TX TRIB: "Federal trial opens to determine whether Texas discriminated in redrawn redistricting maps" TX TRIB
> AAS: "UT loses $47M in research grants under Trump Administration; more than 60 projects cut" AAS ($)
> AAS: "Texas House advances bail reform package while immigration-related proposal faces challenges" AAS
> THE TEXAN: "Texas House Passes $140,000 Standard, $60,000 Elderly Homestead Exemption Increases" THE TEXAN
> SA REPORT: "Another big tax cut for Texas homeowners appears imminent" SA REPORT
> AAS: "Down to the wire: A look at some of the late-session action in the Texas Capitol" AAS
> THE TEXAN: "Texas Senate Passes ‘Uvalde Strong Act,’ Establishing Uniform On-Site Chain of Command for Active Shooter Response" THE TEXAN
> FWST: "Community members give their opinions on proposed Tarrant redistricting maps" FWST
> THE TEXAN: "Veterans, Parents, Liquor, and Beer: The Complicated Lobby Fight Over Texas' Proposed THC Ban" THE TEXAN
> SA REPORT: "Voter guide: Everything to know about San Antonio’s 2025 election" SA REPORT
> EP TIMES: "'Enough is enough': El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson launches DWI crackdown" EP TIMES
> EP TIMES: "El Paso lawmakers push key bills on law school, health care, AI deepfakes and more" EP TIMES
> WACO TRIB: "Proposed state NIL bill discussed in Texas Senate committee meeting" WACO TRIB
> MY RGV: "Harlingen District 2 forum to launch town hall series" MY RGV
> FWST: "Woman hides in closet as boyfriend kills her ex during break-in, Texas cops say" FWST
> THE TEXAN: "Trump Signs Cruz's 'TAKE IT DOWN' Act Banning 'Revenge Porn' Into Law" THE TEXAN
> FWST: "4-year-old died in crash as dad fled police, Texas cops say. He’s prison-bound" FWST
> HOU CHRON: "The Arch Manning offense, Jim Schlossnagle's instant impact | Bohls' 9 Things" HOU CHRON
> TX TRIB: "In El Paso, measles is infecting more adults than children" TX TRIB
> FWST: "Chastity Bonner’s death in Tarrant jail, nearly 1 year later: ‘We deserve answers’" FWST
> SAEN: "Ashley Pardo prohibited from having contact with son, Rhodes Middle School" SAEN
> FWST: "Commissioner calls for answers in Chastity Bonner’s death in Tarrant jail" FWST
EXTRA POINTS
Recent Texas sports scores:
Mon
> MLB: Houston 4, Tampa 3
> WNBA: Seattle 79, Dallas 71
Tues
> MLB: New York Yankees 5, Texas 2
> MLB: Tampa Bay 3, Houston 2
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 6:05pm: MLB: Texas at New York Yankees
> 6:10pm: MLB: Houston at Arizona
> 7pm: WNBA: Dallas at Minnesota
> 7pm: NHL: Edmonton at Dallas (ESPN) (0-0)
Tomorrow's Texas sports schedule:
> 11:35am: MLB: Texas at New York Yankees
DALLAS STARS: “Stars-Oilers rivalry is joining the greatest feuds in Dallas’ history of pro sports” DMN ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: “Rays 3, Astros 2: Depleted Houston bullpen can't hold late lead in walk-off loss to Tampa Bay” Hou Chron ($)
DALLAS COWBOYS: “With energetic start, Brian Schottenheimer sets lofty goal for Dallas Cowboys’ culture” DMN ($)
TEXAS TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL: “Texas Tech extends Grant McCasland’s contract again, through the 2030-31 season” AP