Bill for ‘Sanctuary City’ Penalties Gains Steam at Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol.
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: S.F. leaders want Calif.’s Uber and Lyft data; N.D. keeps its ban on parking meters; and Chicago’s role in United re-accomodation litigation.
IMMIGRATION | A Texas bill that would see county sheriffs and town constables jailed if they uphold sanctuary policies instead of complying with federal immigration enforcement actions, currently a voluntary act, cleared a state House committee 7-5 without debate on Wednesday. The strict legislation already passed the Senate, and could lead to elected officials getting jail time or losing their posts if convicted of official misconduct. Changes in the House version of the bill include a prohibition against asking about the immigration status of a detained, as opposed to arrested, individual and the freeing up of some state grant funds originally slated to be withheld from noncompliant jurisdictions. “It still creates a chilling effect for immigrants to work with local law enforcement, and it still perverts the mission of local law enforcement,” said Democratic state Rep. Rafael Anchia. [Austin American Statesman; Texas Tribune]
Michigan’s capital of Lansing reversed its decision Wednesday to become a sanctuary city under pressure from the local business community, which feared fiscal retribution from President Trump. Both the Lansing Regional Chamber and Michigan Chamber of Commerce wrote letters to City Council requesting the change. The vote to become a sanctuary city was unanimous, and the vote to reverse course passed 5-2. City employees will still be prohibited from asking about immigration status, unless prompted by the federal or state government, and police from holding immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant, per an executive order from Mayor Virg Bernero. "It is a darn shame that after appearing to have a backbone and actually taking a stand on something that really matters, folks have decided to just throw it away," said Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar. [WLNS; MLive]
TRANSPORTATION | Ahsha Safai, a commissioner with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board of Directors and a San Francisco supervisor, said Tuesday he was exploring legal action against the state over the release of data related to app-based ride-booking services. Safai says the California Public Utilities Commission has location data for Uber and Lyft vehicles. That data, he says, could help planners reduce traffic congestion, but the commission has refused to share it with San Francisco. “The idea that they have data they don’t want to share with a locality that could potentially help us to plan and make better decisions is absurd,” Safai said. [San Francisco Examiner]
And in other California transportation news, the California Public Utilities Commission—the agency that regulates ride-sharing companies—is trying to slap a $1.13 million fine on Uber for failing to properly handle cases of drunk driving. The state requires that companies like Uber have a zero-tolerance policy for impaired driving, but in 64 cases drivers picked up riders within an hour after a passenger had reported them for intoxication. [SFGate]
North Dakota House lawmakers voted on Wednesday to reject a bill that would have opened the doors to cities introducing parking meters in the state. The state’s ban on parking meters was originally introduced in 1949. [Forum News Service via Bismarck Tribune]
LITIGATION | The lawyer of the doctor dragged off a United Airlines flight said Thursday morning that a lawsuit was “probably” forthcoming, and the city of Chicago is also responsible. Dr. David Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose and lost two front teeth. Dao’s family argues the airline and others have “bullied” passengers “for a long time” when it comes to overbooking flights and then denying boarding. Three Chicago aviation security police officers involved in the incident have been suspended to date. [The Associated Press]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | A city councilman in Hartford, the state of Connecticut’s fiscally-strained capital, is seeking to revive a film commission with hopes of luring movie productions to the city and extending mentorships to kids. Councilman Jimmy Sanchez wants to develop a neighborhood hub where experts could mentor youths interested in the film industry. He’d like to combine that with an effort to draw film projects to Hartford. "We would create a network of different entities in Hartford, but also advertise Hartford because Lord knows we need to start promoting Hartford in a good way," Sanchez said. [Hartford Courant]
LAND USE | New York City is joining the small, but growing, number of urban communities—San Francisco, Miami, and Charleston, S.C. among them—that have attempted to limit the spread of city space devoted to self-storage buildings. Officials in New York are proposing new restrictions on these types of businesses in certain industrial areas in favor of using that land on manufacturing and industry. [The New York Times]
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