Executive Breif
September 13, 2019
North Chamber Advocacy
 
Action Alert
Your support and attendance are encouraged at the upcoming Ad Hoc Committee on Paid Sick Leave Meeting and Special Meeting of the City Council:
  • The Ad Hoc Committee on Paid Sick Leave will meet on Monday, 9/16 at 9 amMunicipal Plaza Building; There will be a briefing and possible action taken on the proposed revisions to the PSL Ordinance; Ad Hoc PSL Sep 16 Agenda
  • There will also be a Special Meeting of the City Council on Thursday, 9/19 at 1 pm, Municipal Plaza, Building where City Council will be briefed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Paid Sick Leave for a briefing on the report; City Council Sep 19 Special Meeting Agenda
  • City Council B Session scheduled for Wed, 9/18 at 2 pm; Briefing on the Biannual High Profile Report for FY 2020 will be provided; City Council B Session Sep 18 Agenda
  • City Council A Session scheduled for Wed, 9/19 at 9 am; Please see City Council A Session Sep 19 Agenda for Items of interest.
  • City Council Approves $2.9B 2020 balanced budget; City News
  • Climate Action Plan Update (CAAP)—City released revised CAAP on Aug 21st; 2019 August Climate Action Plan Draft
State of Texas
820 New Laws Took Effect September 1

After a relatively mild session and signing period, new laws passed in the 86th Legislative Session began going into effect on September 1st.

820 new laws were enacted.  Many of them have no direct impact on businesses, however, as community leaders, and community residents, we should be aware of what they are.  

 

A few other key pieces of legislation include:

SB 21        Raises the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

SB 1264     Designed to prevent Texans from being hit with surprise medical bills when insurance companies and providers can't agree on payment.

HB 2048    Eliminates the driver responsibility program.

HB 1992    Attempts to curb telemarketers by prohibiting ID spoofing

 

See a full list of new laws here
 

Texas Department of Transportation

$1.049 Billion In Highway Projects for Alamo Region Approved by Texas Transportation Commission

According to San Antonio Mobility Coalition (SAMCo), the Texas Transportation Commission voted unanimously on August 29 to approve $1.049 billion in new funding for the Alamo MPO Region as part of the 2020 UTP (statewide ten-year plan) including

  1. IH 35 NEX Project (410 N to 410 S) - $502 million
  2. Loop 1604/IH 10 Interchange - $252 million
  3. I 10 East (Bexar/Guadalupe County Line to FM 465) - $150 million
  4. IH 35 NEX Project (410 N to FM 3009) - $75 million (supplement to an existing project)
  5. US 90 West (SH 211 to I 410 W) - $70 million (supplement to an existing project)

For additional details – please refer to the TxDOT map of the approved projects and the San Antonio Express-News article.
 

Our region fared very well given that about $36 billion in projects statewide were competing for about $9 billion in available new funding.

 

Next phase - TxDOT’s ten-year plan assumes the continuation of funding from the legislature from both Propositions 1 and 7 and that there will be no diversions from the State Highway Fund (gas tax, registration fees, etc.) – as well as federal funding continuing at current or slightly enhanced levels.  Many observers of the legislature believe that the 2021 session will be challenging from a fiscal standpoint – both from a potentially slowing Texas economy and from uncertainty about funding for various public education commitments approved by the legislature earlier this year.  So, we will need to be vigilant to ensure that all transportation funding sources remain in place so that there is no future delay or cancellation of these projects. 
 

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn
North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce | 12930 Country Parkway | San Antonio, TX 78216
Unsubscribe from future Executive Brief emails.