Special Session 

The Legislature’s first called Special Session is coming to an end more quickly than expected due to political gamesmanship. The issues in the House are well documented in national news. Less reported is some of the work the Senate has done, passing numerous disaster relief and preparedness items for

the July 4 floods, a bill to further limit the annual increase in local government budgets without voter approval, a redistricting map, and other items on the Governor’s 18-item special session call.

The House continues to be unable to take action on any items due to lack of a quorum. With the special session at a stalemate, the Governor declared his intent to call session after session until these items are addressed. On the morning of August 15, the Governor called a second special session beginning at noon the same day.

City of Austin Budget

The Austin City Council adopted an FY26 budget on August 14 on a 10-1 vote, with Councilmember Marc Duchen (District 10) being the only no vote. The “typical taxpayer” will see their city taxes, fees, and rates increase by $416.08 per year, a 7.6% increase. The typical tax and rate payer’s annual city obligation now total about $5,900. In FY25, that total was $5,447.

Opportunity Austin sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council asking for fiscal restraint and requesting a stronger focus on cuts, efficiencies, and the utilization of the city’s reserve balance over tax increases. Other business groups sent similar letters.

One Budget, Two Amounts, Two Scenarios

There are two spending figures in the budget and two outcome scenarios to understand.

The budget is roughly $6,364,282,000, of which $6.25B was in the City Manager’s proposed “Base Budget” and $110 million was added by Council in additional spending items. In total, the approved budget increases spending over the prior year’s budget by approximately $415 million.

The additional $110 million causes the budget to exceed the “Voter Approval Tax Rate” of 3.5% percent growth, and triggers a Tax Rate Election asking voters to approve an extra five cents per $100 valuation in property taxes. The TRE spending is targeted at fully funding the city’s Homelessness Plan, which was only partially funded through the base budget.

The city budget and taxes represent one part of the overall landscape for taxpayers in the Austin region. Opportunity Austin continues to be engaged on these issues, with a focus on affordability and economic growth, as the counties, school districts, and other entities undertake their budget processes.

Opportunity Austin Panel Discussion on Electricity

On August 20^th, Opportunity Austin’s Policy Council is hosting a panel discussion on grid reliability and electricity regulation from the 89^th Regular Legislative Session. Moderated by Mark Bruce (Founder and Principal of Cratylus Advisors), the event features a strong panel of speakers: 

Thomas Gleeson, PUC Chairman 

Katie Coleman, Managing Partner of O’Melveny’s Austin office, and

Mark Bell, President and CEO of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas

There is still space available for all OA investors. Please email Matt Creel (mcreel@opportunityaustin.com) if you are interested in attending.

News

Airport Projects Overview: OA supports the airport at every chance because of the key role it plays in advancing OA’s 5.0 strategy. Here is a rundown of the various airport improvement projects underway. 

More Autonomous Vehicles Coming Soon: 

Tesla’s Robotaxis have been in a testing phase for months and are expected to shift into open operations soon.

Travis County Budget Underway: The county’s budget proposes tax increases for flood response. The county-funded hospital district, Central Health, also expects to see a tax increase, as well. 

OA Policy and Advocacy Resources 

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