With just a few days until Sine Die, lawmakers are down to the wire.
THIS WEEK: The business lobby has long been used to getting what it wants from the Republican-controlled Legislature, but one of its the biggest priorities for Texas Republicans this session appears to be on the verge of legislative death. Senate Bill 15 started as a straightforward measure to stomp out a broad swath of emerging local labor policies, like mandatory paid sick leave. Then Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick got involved. The bill ended in the political gutter after Patrick insisted on removing language that explicitly protected local nondiscrimination ordinances for LGBTQ Texans in several cities. With the high-profile failure of Patrick’s 2017 bathroom bill and now the fight over NDOs, Texas businesses are growing increasingly furious that the lieutenant governor appears unable to stop poisoning their political agenda with right-wing social warfare.
As Texas’ largest corporate welfare program, it allows school districts to give big corporations steep discounts on property taxes for up to 13 years as a way to incentivize businesses to set up shop in the state. The forgone property tax revenue that districts would have used to fund their share of educating kids is covered by the state.
Such abatements have rapidly expanded in size and scope in recent years. By 2023, Chapter 313 — the program’s section in the state tax code — is projected by the state comptroller to cost Texas more than $1 billion a year in lost revenue. The more than 400 deals that are currently active are estimated to siphon $9.6 billion from state coffers over their lifespan. In effect, the state is spending more and more of the money meant for cash-strapped Texas schools on subsidizing industry.
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In this 2016 feature, Patrick Michels details how Amarillo became a safe haven from violence across the world — and Ground Zero in the backlash against refugees.
From the story: “People have come from Cuba, Vietnam, Somalia and Burma to start new homes in a place they never knew existed. They arrive in Amarillo, as the George Strait song goes, with just what they’ve got on. But after a couple of years in Texas schools, children with no formal education manage to pass standardized tests. People who’d been doctors and teachers go back to school here and begin new practices. They open restaurants and shops, buy houses and cars. Some, like Lohony, al Khayatt and Kayiranga, find work at refugee placement services and help new arrivals adjust to the sudden transition. The city offers an opportunity not just for a better life, but for life itself. As American-dream stories go, it doesn’t get much better than that. But lately, a new story about Amarillo’s refugees has taken hold, one that’s not so idyllic. Local residents, including the city’s mayor, have begun complaining that Amarillo has taken on too many refugees.”
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Inspired by the ladder card from Lotería, our newest shirt design references the small upward steps that Latinx communities must take to overcome the obstacles placed before them.
What’s Happening at the Observer
There are still a few tickets available for the 2019 MOLLY Prize dinner. This year, we’re very excited to have Rebecca Traister as our keynote speaker. Come celebrate the power of great journalism — and hear from a few great journalists! The event is set for the evening of June 6 at the Four Seasons in downtown Austin. More information here.
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