Council adopts legislative agenda focusing on I-69 funding, water protections and workforce training

The Lufkin City Council adopted a legislative agenda to guide staff advocacy during the upcoming 90th Texas Legislature.

Larissa Philpott Brown, the city's economic development director, presented the proposed agenda. She said the list ims to preserve and restore local control and to protect tools and funding that affect the city's budget and operations. "We are asking to increase state funding for infrastructure, specifically the development of I 69," Philpott Brown said.

She outlined other priorities including protecting Lufkin's water supply and the city's ability to regulate it; restoring reasonable extraterritorial jurisdiction and annexation authority; protecting Type B sales tax revenue and economic-development agreement tools; supporting workforce training through partners at Angelina College; increasing funding for public safety programs; and enabling electronic public notice while preserving uniform election dates.

Council members briefly asked clarifying questions during the presentation. After discussion, a council member moved to adopt the resolution as written, another member seconded, and the chair called for a voice vote. The motion passed by voice vote.

The adopted resolution gives staff direction to represent the council's positions to state legislators during the session; the resolution text was not read in full during the meeting and no vote tally by name was recorded in the transcript.