Organizers with the Honest for Houston marketing campaign filed a lawsuit towards the Metropolis of Houston on Tuesday over its continued membership within the regional planning physique generally known as the Houston-Galveston Space Council (H-GAC).
A voter-approved constitution modification referred to as Proposition B, which received a landslide victory with 65% help in 2023, required town to renegotiate its illustration or withdraw from the council. Houston — which includes the vast majority of the inhabitants within the area served by the H-GAC — has solely 2 of the 37 seats on the board of administrators of the coordinating physique for a 13-county area.
As a metropolitan planning group, the H-GAC determines how one can allocate federal, state and native funding sources in areas reminiscent of flood mitigation, transportation infrastructure and workforce improvement.
The lawsuit argued town has “flouted” the constitution modification by sustaining its membership and, in October, paying $92,000 in membership dues regardless of failed negotiations to revamp the council’s illustration. On the time, Metropolis Lawyer Arturo Michel argued town was certain to H-GAC by federal regulation.
Michael Moritz, one of many plaintiffs, stated the group despatched a requirement letter to town in April however obtained no response. The calls for referred to as for town to restart negotiations over the illustration problem and, in the event that they failed, to withdraw from the group.
“We have been disenchanted in each town legal professional’s evaluation of the scenario (in October) and in addition elected officers’ continued mistrust of the need of the voters, their continued un-enforcement of the rule of regulation,” Moritz advised Houston Public Media. “That vote final fall is what prompted what ended up occurring in April with our demand letter and what occurred at present with our lawsuit.”
Michel, in a press release Tuesday, stated town “can not unilaterally withdraw” from the H-GAC, including that federal regulation requires cooperation from different H-GAC members and the Texas governor.
“To this point such cooperation has not been forthcoming,” he added.
The choice to pay membership dues in October was opposed by 4 metropolis council members — Edward Pollard, Abbie Kamin, Tarsha Jackson and Letitia Plummer — together with Metropolis Controller Chris Hollins.
Mayor John Whitmire on the time stated voters did not perceive what was at stake once they supported Prop B, which obtained 140,000 votes in comparison with Whitmire’s 130,000 within the 2023 mayoral election.
“When individuals have been voting on Prop B, they heard a slanted one facet that we weren’t being represented correctly and getting our fair proportion,” Whitmire stated in October. “That is outdated data. So I feel everyone knows what’s at stake. I simply merely say rise above politics and vote.”
Amongst a number of controversial choices, H-GAC voted to approve a memorandum of understanding for the Texas Division of Transportation’s Interstate 45 growth plan — regardless of opposition from all of Houston and Harris County’s representatives. And after Hurricane Harvey, the council distributed the overwhelming majority of restoration {dollars} to municipalities apart from Houston, which obtained 2% of the funding regardless of having the plurality of the area’s inhabitants.
