Photo by Noah Dawson
Amarillo City Council is expected to vote on the city’s lobbying priorities during their upcoming meeting on October 22nd. According to a draft version, new priorities will include advocating for regulation of atmospheric sprayed particles, strict regulation of food products, allowing the Amarillo Hospital District to levy a tax without an election, and recognizing only biological sex at birth for legal purposes.
The document outlining the priorities is based on the version passed in 2022 under former mayor Ginger Nelson. As with the older version, most of the focus is on lobbying efforts directed at the state government. Minor changes were also made to the federal lobbying priorities section, with the most notable change there being the removal of specific references to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Approval of the city’s legislative priorities is typically the first step in the controversial process of taxpayer-funded lobbying. The move is being done ahead of the beginning of the state legislative session, set to begin early next year.
Below is a summary of what was kept, what was added, and what was removed. The full document can be found in the agenda packet for the upcoming city council meeting, available at this link.
State Priorities
Transportation
Kept support for funding completion of Loop 335 & expanding Interstate 27
Removed supporting “co-designation of Interstate 40 as Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Memorial Highway.”
Property Tax, Debt, and Sales Tax
Kept opposition to revenue caps lower voter-approval tax rates
Kept opposition to limits on setting tax rate and issuing debt
Added support for property appraisal reform
Added support for reducing property tax burden
Added support for giving flexibility for municipalities to adopt local homestead exemption
Added support for revising rules for sales tax allocation for newly annexed territories
Annexation/Development Matters
Changed title of section from “Annexation” to “Development Matters”
Kept opposition limiting ability to annex land
Added opposition to restrictions on eminent domain, zoning, regulatory takings, building codes, and extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Added opposition to imposition of climate change-related energy codes that don’t balance environmental protection with economic realities
Public Health
Added “Public Health” section
Added support for legislation to remove tax ratification election for Amarillo Hospital District to impose a tax
Added support for regulations ensuring informed consent for medical treatments
Added support for strict regulations on food products
Added support for strict oversight of stratospheric and atmospheric sprayed particles
Expansion of Broadband Internet
Kept support for expanding broadband internet
Right-of-Way and Small Cell Towers
Kept support of legislation to preserve municipal control of municipal rights of way, requiring service providers to pay market rate for use of municipal infrastructure, and providing local authority over small cell nodes
Open Meetings and Open Records
Kept support for legislation that would provide for continued use of technology for use in public meetings
Kept support for reducing financial burden on local governments required by governments by responding to Open Records Requests
Kept opposition to making open meetings and public information laws more restrictive
Virtual Court
Kept support for maintaining and expanding ability to offer virtual court hearings
Disasters and Emergencies
Kept support for increasing local control during disasters and emergencies
Kept support for funding of public safety, emergency management, public communications, public health, and other operations
Added opposition to granting medical or disaster-related authority to entities outside of state or local governments
Added opposition to global pandemic agreements that could undermine national or local sovereignty
Economic Development
Kept support for reauthorizing and expanding Chapter 311, Chapter 312, and other economic development tools
Kept support for expanding Palo Duro State Park
Kept support for Route 66 Centennial Commission
Kept opposition to restrictions on city’s ability to compete for job providing projects
Removed support for replacing 313
Moved support for prohibition of sale of land to foreign entities to “Public Safety” section from the “Economic Development” section
Mental Health
Replaced support for funding for creating a state mental hospital in Amarillo with support for increased access to mental health services
Kept support for funding for mental health crisis intervention
Kept support for funding for training for law enforcement and mental health caseworkers to aid in crisis response
Public Safety
Added “Public Safety” section
Added support for judicial discretion in denying bail
Added support for funding advance cancer screenings for firefighters
Added support for enhancing border security measures
Added support for enhancing school security
Moved support for prohibition of sale of land to foreign entities to “Public Safety” section from “Economic Development” section
Added support for prohibiting sexually explicit acts in public facilities where minors may be present
Panhandling
Kept section supporting city to regulate city and state rights of way.
Amarillo Civic Center Complex
Changed “support legislation to finance the renovation, revitalization, and/or expansion of the Amarillo Civic Center Complex” to “support legislation to finance renovation, revitalization, and/or expansion opportunities for municipal civic centers such as the Amarillo Civic Center Complex”
Elections and Ballot Language
Kept support for legislation to allow the city to alternate between using letters and numbers to name ballot propositions
Merit-Based Hiring Practices
Added “Merit-Based Hiring Practices” section
Added support for promoting merit-based hiring practices
Added opposition for diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates
Public Advertising
Kept support for allowing electronic notice for all required public notices
Nuclear Power Plants
Added “Nuclear Power Plants” section
Added support for promoting construction of nuclear power plants
Traditional Gender Policies
Added “Traditional Gender Policies” section
Added support for state policies to recognize biological sex at birth as determining factor for legal purposes
Legislative Communication
Kept opposition to limiting ability for rural cities to communicate with legislators
Federal Priorities
Cross Bar Ranch – Bureau of Land Management
Kept support for funding of public access to Cross Bar Ranch
Changed “priorities include funds for the replacement of a BNSF Railway train trussell for widening and improvements to an existing road” to “priorities include funds for an access road to the site”
U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Energy
Kept support for investment in defense and energy initiatives supporting companies in the Amarillo area
Transportation
Kept support for implementation of transportation funding
Kept support for FAA AIP funding for Amarillo International Airport
Kept support for enhancing rail safety and efficiency
Removed specific references to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Emergency Management
Kept support for federal funding pertaining to hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness
Kept support for funding for solutions for flood resiliency
Removed specific references to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Public Safety
Kept support for federal grants for police and fire
Kept support for funds for power grid infrastructure
Removed specific references to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Technology
Kept support for funding for broadband deployment
Kept support for funding for cybersecurity needs for state and local governments
Removed specific references to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Community Development
Kept support for funding for Community development Block Grants & HOME Partnership funds
Kept support for incentives for development of historic buildings
Kept support for incentives for redevelopment of neighborhoods in need of revitalization
Kept support for funding for park related projects
Kept support for funding for demolishing blighted structures
Economic Development
Kept support for establishing Texas based rare earth metals exchange