Austin, Monitored: Robotaxis, lawsuits and The Arts in Austin

Council members hear update on the state of autonomous vehicle regulation

From Miles Wall:

As a raft of autonomous vehicle companies prepares to deploy new “robotaxis” slated to eventually compete with the likes of Waymo and Tesla, city council’s Mobility Commission heard an update during a meeting on July 17 on how the legal ground under the tires has changed.

The big news comes from Senate Bill 2807, which passed this past legislative session and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June. The bill establishes a more developed framework for how the state will go about regulating the vehicles, which have generally been able to operate in a kind of legal grey area, due in part to their technical novelty.

“Quite a lot has changed in the past few months, and I think we’re just starting to see the industry really emerge,” said Lewis Leff, an assistant director with the Transportation and Public Works department.

Arts commissioners question new structure for grant programs

From Chad Swiatecki:

The Arts Commission took a close look at significant changes proposed for the city’s grant programs for artists and creative organizations on Monday, raising questions about how new eligibility rules, scoring criteria and funding structures would affect the city’s diverse cultural ecosystem.

Commissioners and staff from the newly formed Department of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) discussed the pending changes for roughly two hours marked by respectful but pointed exchanges. Commissioners broadly welcomed the city’s effort to simplify and modernize its grant programs but pressed staff on how the proposed structure would address longstanding concerns around equity, access and trust.

At the core of the discussion was a draft plan to consolidate the city’s three primary cultural funding programs under a single set of guidelines, with aligned eligibility rules, simplified applications and clearer scoring rubrics.

City wins retaliation case at court of appeals

More than 2 years ago, the Austin Monitor reported that the city had lost a lawsuit to a former employee of Austin Energy. A jury found that city employees retaliated against Sandra Greene after she filed a complaint with the Texas Commission on Human Rights, alleging discrimination based on her race and age.

Although the jury did not find discrimination, they did find that the city had taken certain unlawful actions against Greene because she filed the complaint. The jury awarded her a total of $750,000 in compensation. The city asked the judge to reduce the judgment and disregard the finding of retaliation. Judge Catherine Mauzy reduced the award to $300,000 plus attorneys’ fees. 

Greene and the city both appealed to the Texas Third Court of Appeals. The city claimed it was protected against such claims by sovereign immunity because Greene did not prove  that  she  suffered “a materially adverse employment action,” which is an element of a retaliation claim under the statute she was using.

Finding that Greene failed to prove that the city took such an action against her, the court of appeals dismissed the case. According to the appellate court, Austin Energy managers reclassified Greene’s job after she filed her complaint. The court wrote, “Less than one year after Greene filed her first EEOC charge, her job had been reclassified to one that was five pay grades higher (and) she had received a 28 percent increase in her base pay . . .”

“On this record, we cannot conclude that Greene suffered a materially adverse employment action because of her filing EEOC charges.  Greene’s failure to prove this element of her retaliation claim under the TCHRA deprives the trial court of jurisdiction.”

Well-known attorney and former candidate for City Council Gary Bledsoe represented Greene at the trial court. Bledsoe is listed as one of her attorneys at the court of appeals, with Michael S. Truesdale as the lead attorney. Assistant City Attorney Paul Matula is listed as the lead attorney for the city.

— Jo Clifton

Animal Center Looks to Boost Volunteer Retention

As the Austin Animal Center works to solve its overcrowding issues and rebuild its public reputation with a new strategic plan in effect through 2030, new marketing and safety plans are being worked out at the Animal Advisory Commission.

At its meeting last week, the commission approved a recommendation to City Council from its “cat processing working group” to boost volunteer retention and safety. In it, the commission recommends improved internal communications protocols; the reevaluation of the current $250 cap on the shelter’s medical voucher program, “to determine whether it remains adequate given rising veterinary costs”; exploring a designated trapper role to support volunteers in difficult situations where cats are sick or injured; and formalizing a mobile volunteer coordination and request tracking system, as the old system “depends on static spreadsheets and informal coordination.” 

— Lina Fisher

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Elsewhere in the News

In Dirty Sixth news, KVUE reports the city is contemplating converting the road from one-way to allow two-way traffic, in an effort to continue the work of making the area safer and more accessible.

Community Impact reports on the work Habitat for Humanity is doing to build more affordable housing in Austin.

KUT has their take on the proposed tax-rate election that could help expand the city’s budget past $6.3 billion.

(And, as a bonus, here’s a nice story about Korea House and the work they do for our community.)

And, after an atypically-long stretch of double-digit days, Austin’s summer might be tipping into the 100s over the next few days.

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