San Antonio officials warn state bills could sharply limit bonding, shift telecom costs and cut franchise fees

San Antonio City Council members and city staff on April 30 reviewed a package of pending state bills they said could substantially constrain the city's ability to fund capital projects, shift costs for telecommunications infrastructure onto municipalities and reduce franchise-fee revenue that supports local programs.

City legislative staff presented the update during the council's Session B briefing and repeatedly urged vigilance as the Texas legislative session proceeds toward its June 1 adjournment. Jeff (city legislative staff) described one proposal as ‘‘Esencialmente, es una proyecto de ley que tiene restricciones severas en en el gobierno local, específicamente en las escuelas, en los sistemas de hospital, etcétera.’’ He said that bill would impose a strict cap on local debt by limiting new debt to a small number of future payments equal to a set percentage of property-tax collections.

The cap would, as presented by staff, limit issuance of new long-term debt and certificates of obligation, which city officials said they and local partners routinely use to finance streets, drainage, public-safety facilities and other capital…