The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will honor all federal immigration detainer requests following a federal court ruling that held parts of Texas’ “sanctuary cities” law can go into effect. A three-judge panel for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a provision in Senate Bill 4 requiring jurisdictions to comply with federal […]
Courts
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Federal judge blocks Texas’ ban on ‘sanctuary cities’
A federal court in San Antonio has blocked Senate Bill 4, Texas’ so-called “sanctuary cities” law. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia said, “The best interests of the public will be served by preserving the status quo and enjoining, prior to September 1, the implementation and enforcement of those portions of SB 4 that, on their […]
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Council opts to sue the state over housing discrimination beef
After months of the Texas Legislature seemingly taking shot after shot at the city of Austin, City Council is swinging back. On Thursday, Council gave the go-ahead to Interim City Manager Elaine Hart to sue the state over a 2015 law that preempted city protections against housing discrimination for low-income residents. Senate Bill 267 canceled […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Mayor, City Council members hold news conference on ‘sanctuary’ suit
The city of Austin filed a motion in federal court Monday, seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of Senate Bill 4, the state’s new law barring so-called “sanctuary cities.” Mayor Steve Adler called SB 4 unconstitutional and said that if it goes into effect it will have irreparable social and economic impacts. He […]
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Lake Austin group sues city over open meetings
A group of Lake Austin homeowners on Monday sued the city of Austin, claiming that the city’s notice concerning the zoning and waiver of environmental regulations on what is known as the Champion tract, was inadequate and therefore violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. According to the lawsuit filed by the Lake Austin Collective Inc., […]
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Updated: Visit Austin provides some data, withholds some
The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, now operating as Visit Austin, released to the Austin Monitor on Wednesday a list of its 50 highest-paid employees, by job title and salary, not by name, as well as a compilation of the convention business the group says the convention center has lost since 2015 because of lack […]
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Bunch sues Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau
Austin activist Bill Bunch filed suit after hours Monday against the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau (which on April 28 filed an assumed name certificate allowing it to operate under the name Visit Austin) for refusing to disclose the salaries of its 50 highest-paid employees, its contract with the ACVB president and a report commissioned by the […]
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Judge rejects city’s payday lender rules
Austin Municipal Court Judge Ferdinand Clervi struck down a section of Austin’s payday lending ordinance in March, ruling that the ordinance’s limits on frequency and amount of installment payments are preempted by state law. That ruling affected two separate cases in which the city charged the Money Store, which does business under the name Speedy […]
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Developer wins suit against Crestview neighbors
Mark Dawson Homes has won its lawsuit against the residents of the Crestview neighborhood who tried to enforce an expired restrictive covenant against the developer that might have prevented it from building two homes on one lot at 7801 Mullen Drive. Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak signed the final judgment in favor of Mark […]
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CLEAT subpoenas Adler in officer’s hearing
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, has subpoenaed Mayor Steve Adler to give testimony at an upcoming arbitration hearing in the firing of Officer Geoffrey Freeman. Freeman lost his job after shooting an unarmed, naked teenager in February when the teenager charged at him on his bicycle. Charley Wilkison, executive director of […]
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Zimmerman appeals campaign contribution limits
City Council Member Don Zimmerman has asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to strike down two provisions of Austin’s campaign finance laws: the $350 limit on contributions made by individuals to Council candidates and the aggregate limit on the amount a candidate may accept from outside Austin’s ZIP code area. […]
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Despite law intended to ensure diversity, Travis County grand juries less racially diverse
In the year since Texas lawmakers mandated random selection of grand jurors in place of the controversial “key man” system, grand juries in Travis County have become less racially diverse. “The grand juries are to be selected at random from a fair cross section of the population of the area served by the court,” said […]