San Antonio staff outlines bills to watch as Texas legislative session opens

The City of San Antonio’s Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Committee received an update on state legislation affecting the city as the 89th Texas Legislature opened, including a set of bills the city will monitor for impacts on local authority, public safety and municipal operations.

Sally Baserto, a member of the city’s government affairs team, told the committee the Texas comptroller projects "the state will have a $195,000,000,000 for general purpose spending this session that includes a $23,800,000,000 surplus," and that leadership priorities and committee assignments were still being finalized on the legislative session’s first day. She said the city’s Government Affairs group, working with departments and external partners, has already identified bills it considers high-priority for San Antonio.

Baserto said the city is watching proposals that would limit local advocacy and restrict municipalities’ ability to hire outside advocates or join associations that do work at the state capitol; she described those measures as "taxpayer funded lobbying" bills and noted the language could reach statewide advocacy organizations. She also identified several land-use and development bills on the city’s radar, including measures affecting accessory dwelling units…