...Ruth Hoffman-Lach, a member of First Unitarian Universalist Church, criticized HISD for disclosing the bond details with “just five months” before Election Day. She said the district’s decisions should reflect the needs and aspirations of families, and the community deserves a transparent bond process where every voice is heard and every concern is addressed.
TMO Urges Voters to Oppose HISD's $4.4 Billion Bond Due to Lack of Community Input
During a press conference at Trinity United Methodist Church, leaders of The Metropolitan Organization ...said they were opposing an HISD bond for the first time in the group’s 44-year history due largely to the lack of trust and “meaningful input from community members” in developing the measure...
[said] Linda Hollins, a trustee at Trinity United Methodist Church, “Our children are relying on us, and so today, we call out HISD administration and the appointed Board of Managers for placing a bond proposal on November's ballot that lacks adequate input from all stakeholders: parents, teachers, pastors (and) community members.”
“We've seen firsthand how effective community engagement can be and can lead to successful outcomes, as demonstrated by our neighbors in Spring Branch ISD,” Hoffman-Lach said. “That bond was born out of years of dialogue, collaboration and a shared vision of students' values and futures. We must demand the same level of engagement and accountability from HISD.”
Coalition of Houston Religious, Community Leaders Joins Opposition to HISD's $4.4B Bond Measure, Houston Chronicle [pdf]
Press Conference Video Footage, The Metropolitan Organization
Texas IAF Blocks $10 Billion Dollar Corporate Tax Giveaway to Big Oil
[Excerpts]
When organizers set out to overturn Texas’s giveaway program for the oil and gas industry, they had a long game in mind. Over 20 years, the tax exemption program known as Chapter 313 had delivered $10 billion in tax cuts to corporations operating in Texas — with petrochemical firms being the biggest winners. This year, for the first time in a decade, the program was up for reauthorization. Organizers decided to challenge it for the first time.
At the beginning of last week, as Texas’s biennial legislative session approached its end, the aims of organizers remained modest. “We thought it would be a victory if the two-year reauthorization passed so we could organize in interim,” said Doug Greco, the lead organizer for Central Texas Interfaith, one of the organizations fighting to end the subsidy program.
At 4 a.m. last Thursday, it became clear that something unexpected was happening: The deadline for reauthorization passed. “The bill never came up,” Greco told The Intercept. Organizers stayed vigilant until the legislative session officially closed on Monday at midnight, but the reauthorization did not materialize....
“No one had really questioned this program,” said Greco, of Central Texas Interfaith. The reauthorization was a once-in-a-decade chance to challenge it. “We knew in our guts that the program was just a blank check, but we also are very sober about the realities of the Texas legislature.”
....As legislators met in a closed session to hammer out the bill, Greco heard from a colleague. “One of my organizers said there’s 20 oil and gas lobbyist standing outside this committee room,” he recalled.
Former Gov. Rick Perry, an Energy Transfer board member, tweeted his support for reauthorization. But as last week of the session ticked by, the bill didn’t come up. “It became clear that the reputation of the program had been damaged,” Greco said.
In 19 months, Texas’s subsidy program will expire, but that doesn’t mean the fight is over.
“We know there’s going to be a big conversation over the interim — we are under no illusions that this is not going to be a long-term battle.”
Organizers, though, recognize that the subsidy’s defeat marks a shift: “The table has been reset.”
In Blow to Big Oil, Corporate Subsidy Quietly Dies in Texas, The Intercept [pdf]
How Skeptical Texas Lawmakers Put an End to a Controversial Tax Incentive Program, Houston Chronicle [pdf]
Texas Legislature Dooms Chapter 331, Which Gives Tax Breaks to Big Businesses, Business Journal [pdf]
Missed Deadline Could Doom Controversial $10B Tax-Break Program, Houston Chronicle [pdf]
A Texas Law Offers Tax Breaks to Companies, but It's Renewal Isn't a Done Deal, Texas Tribune [pdf]
Losers and Winners from Chapter 313, Central Texas Interfaith