SB 1879 and the PGA

Senate Bill 1879, creating a special taxing district for the Lumbermen's/PGA Tour development, will be voted on this Sunday by the House of Representatives.

Call your state representative today and ask them to:

Vote for the amendment to SB 1879 requiring a county-wide election to approve the creation of the taxing district -or- vote against the bill. Over 100,000 Bexar County voters signed a petition to vote on a deal with Lumbermen's that included a special taxing district. Please honor democracy by finally giving us our chance to vote.

• Representative Robert Puente is the House sponsor. Please give him encouragement and support to honor the petitions by Bexar County voters asking to vote on the Lumbermen's/PGA agreement. We believe he will do the right thing and restore democracy to San Antonio.
• The bill creates a district with the power to collect sales taxes, property taxes, and hotel room taxes. It can then give that tax revenue to Lumbermen's and PGA Tour to "promote economic development" and "induce the construction of a tourist attraction."
• Over 100,000 voters signed petitions asking to vote on an agreement between the City of San Antonio and Lumbermen's that included creation of a special taxing district. The City circumvented the referendum by creating a "switcheroo", a different agreement that did not include a special taxing district. It claimed the petitions did not apply to the "switcheroo" because it was a different deal. But now, the latest Lumbermen's agreement once again includes a special taxing district.
• Emails obtained by opponents of the Lumbermen's/PGA deal show that attorneys for the developer worked behind the scenes to get the special taxing district put back into the "switcheroo" deal after City Council had already approved the agreement.

To find out who your Senator and Representative are, use this free web link:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm