Hearing before the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, chaired by Senator Royce West
Wednesday, March 18, 9:30 a.m., Rm. E 1.028
State Senator Jeff Wentworth, who represents most of South Austin, Hays County and NW San Antonio, is pushing his anti-petition bill, Senate Bill 690 which will affect 346 cities in Texas. SB 690 would more than double petition signatures required of citizens in Austin, and more than quintuple them in Houston, to place a municipal charter amendment on the ballot. Currently the law requires 5% of qualified voters up to 20,000, to call for an election to amend the city charter. SB 690 would eliminate the 20,000 signature cap and raise the percentage to 10% of registered voters. The reason for this? The Real Estate Council of Austin was upset that Austin voters almost passed Proposition 2 last November. Proposition 2 would have banned retail subsidies, including the $65 million voluntary giveaway to the developer of the Domain luxury shopping mall, Simon Properties, the country’s largest mall developer.
Brian Rodgers of ChangeAustin.org and formerly the Austin Proposition 2 campaign, said, “The measure barely failed at 48%, but that hasn’t stopped RECA and Wentworth from trying to rig the rules for all 346 Home Rule Texas cities, falsely claiming that the current signature requirements, ‘results in costly elections on issues that are questionable and carry little public support.'”
Come to the hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m., held by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, in the underground extension of the Capitol, E 1.028.
For more information call Linda Curtis at 512-657-2089.