* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Proposition A Committee on July 28, 2026.] [00:00:21] THE PROPOSITION A COMMITTEE MEETING. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THE TIME IS TWO O'CLOCK ON JULY 28TH, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. AS A REMINDER, PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED UP AFTER EACH PRESENTATION. PUBLIC SPEAKERS WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK. WE HAVE A LONG LIST OF SPEAKERS TODAY, SO PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL. UM, OF EVERYBODY'S TIME TODAY IN CHAMBERS, WE ARE JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER. COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS. COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. MAYOR PROTI. CASS X TATUM. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. AND WE HAVE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY THOMAS', OFFICE AND STAFF FROM MARTINEZ'S OFFICE. AND WE HAVE VICE MAYOR PRO TIM PACK IN ATTENDANCE. UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT WOULD, WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE A BRIEF KIND OF REFRESHER ON SOME OF THE PROPOSITION EIGHT COMMITTEE RULES. AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO MOVE THE LEGAL PRESENTATION TO THE TOP OF THE AGENDA. SECOND, MOVE. SECOND. MOVED AND SECONDED. UM, ALL IN FAVOR? OKAY, MR. NORRIS. THERE WE GO. CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? CAN WE MOVE IT UP? YEAH. HOW ABOUT NOW? HERE, I'LL MOVE IT UP FOR YOU. OH YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT. I'M DOING THAT. THAT'S GOOD. UH, OKAY. HANDS I CAN, PERFECT. IS THAT FINE? THAT'S FINE. OKAY. WE'LL LEAVE IT THERE. I CAN SEE , DON'T ADJUST IT ANYMORE. MIGHT MIGHT END UP IN THE CEILING. SO, HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING? ALRIGHT, I'M GOING TO GO OVER A COUPLE THINGS. UH, JUST A, A COUPLE THINGS WITH PROP A. UM, IT WAS SOME THINGS THAT WE NOTICED. UH, IT IS BEEN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR SINCE I GAVE YOU GUYS A PRESENTATION WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE. COUPLE THINGS THAT WE'VE NOTICED WE WANTED TO KIND OF UPDATE YOU ON ALSO. UM, AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS. WE ACTUALLY GOT A, AND WE HAVE A COUPLE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL SINCE I'VE GIVEN THIS PRESENTATION. SO I WANT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS A QUICK REFRESHER. UH, I DO HAVE SOME THINGS ON, ON THERE AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GUYS KNEW SOME THINGS. SO I'LL BE BRIEF. SO, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, COUPLE THINGS. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE GUIDELINES THAT ARE AVAILABLE NOW. UH, QUICK REFRESHER, SOME THINGS THAT WE LOOK IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, SOME OBSERVATIONS THAT WE'VE NOTICED SO FAR, AND ANY, UH, QUESTIONS YOU HAVE FOR US. SO, NEXT SLIDE. ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE. SO THERE ARE A SET OF GUIDELINES, UH, IF, IF YOU, YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE, EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO 'EM WHEN WE ASK HITS EVERYBODY EITHER IN, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBER, EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER AND EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER. STAFF SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THE, THE GUIDELINES. THERE IS A LONG FORM AND A SHORT FORM. SO THE LONG FORM FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE RULES ARE AND WHY THEY ARE, FOR THOSE WHO JUST WANT THE QUICK AND DIRTY VERSION, THERE IS A, A, A SHORT FORM VERSION OF IT AS WELL. THERE IS A, THE QUICK GUIDE. SO IT'S A TWO PAGE VERSION. JUST IF YOU'RE JUST, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I NEED AND MOVE ON. BUT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO IT. AND IT'S ON SHAREPOINT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND NEXT SLIDE. UH, WITH REGARDS TO PROPERTY, THIS WAS, WELL, THIS WAS LAST TIME, BUT THE, THE SAME THINGS THAT YOU WERE CONSIDERING BEFOREHAND, UH, LIKE WHERE DEPARTMENTS ARE AFFECTED, UH, HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE? WHAT ALL THOSE THINGS. THOSE STILL APPLY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UH, AND WE DID THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH LAST TIME, BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, BIG, BIG PICTURE ITEM. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO HAVE AN ITEM TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE AGENDA, YOU NEED THREE SIGNATURES. IT'S RULE 28, I'M SORRY, RULE 23 FROM, UH, SECTION TWO, TWO OF THE CODE. IF YOU'RE WANT TO HAVE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE NOW, IT'S RULE 24. UH, BUT TYPICALLY YOU DO RULE 23 AND YOU, WHEN YOU'RE READY TO GO RIGHT TO THE AGENDA, YOU NEED THE THREE SIGNATURES GO FORWARD. IF YOU'RE STILL WORKING ON YOUR PROPOSAL, YOU WANT SOME INPUT, YOU WANNA GO TO COMMITTEE, IT'S RULE 24. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UM, BIG REMINDER FOR, UH, FOR RULE 23, JUST MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT WITH MORE THAN EIGHT OF YOU AT THE TIME. YOU DO NOT WANT A WALK IN QUORUM ISSUE WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH IT. BUT FOR THE MOST PART IT'S THREE SIGNATURES AND, AND WRITTEN REQUESTS. UH, THOSE ARE THE GUIDELINES. THOSE ARE ALL IN THE GUIDES. UH, NOT A BIG DEAL. UM, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS TO NOTE, I THINK, UM, SOME, THERE'S SOME CONFUSION SOMETIMES WITH RULE 23, IF YOU'RE GONNA GET YOUR THREE SIGNATURES, THERE WILL BE A MEMO THAT COMES OUT. IF IT COMES TO COMMITTEE, THERE WILL NOT BE A MEMO. IT'S JUST, IF IT'S LEGAL, IT'LL COME TO THE COMMITTEE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT. IF IT'S NOT LEGAL, WE'LL WE'LL KIND OF FLAG YOU ON THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, BUT THERE IS NO MEMO THAT COMES OUT WITH RULE 24. SO IF IT COMES TO COMMITTEE, THERE WILL NOT BE A MEMO. [00:05:01] WE'LL JUST BASICALLY SAY IT CAN GO ON THE AGENDA. NO ISSUES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UH, NEXT SLIDE. SO, UH, OF COURSE, UH, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, BIG THING, OF COURSE IS A LAWFUL, UH, IF THERE'S A LAWFUL ISSUE TO SHOOT, LIKE STOP RIGHT THERE. LET'S, LET'S MAKE SURE WE DON'T GO ANY FORWARD. WE DON'T GO FORWARD AT ALL. UH, AND, AND LET'S, UH, EITHER RE REDESIGN WHATEVER YOU'RE TRYING TO DO OR, OR, UH, OR FIGURE OUT OR JUST MAYBE DROP IT. UM, UH, ALSO, UH, UH, ISSUE WITH IMPLEMENTATION. SO A LOT OF THE LANGUAGE THAT'S USED, AND WE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT, PROBABLY SOME. I THINK, UH, FOR THOSE, UH, WITH THE, ONE OF THE ITEMS, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LANGUAGE, THE LANGUAGE THAT'S USED IS VERY IMPORTANT. 'CAUSE A LOT OF TIMES IT'S A MATTER OF HOW THE DEPARTMENT'S ACTUALLY ENFORCE IT. UH, IT'S WHATEVER'S WRITTEN IS WHAT THEY HAVE TO ACTUALLY GO BY. THAT'S, THAT BECOMES THE, UH, THE LAW OF THE, OF, OF THE CITY. SO, UH, HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT IT? SO MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE PROPER LANGUAGE TO BE SURE, MAKE SURE IT'S IMPLEMENTABLE IS A VERY BIG THING. AND OF COURSE, UM, LEGAL EXPOSURE. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF WE DO THIS, WE DO NOT GET, WE DO NOT GET SUED. OR IF WE DO GET SUED, WE HAVE THE LEGAL, UH, WE HAVE LEGAL STANDING ON OUR SIDE. SO WHAT IS THE LEGAL EXPOSURE? SO THOSE ARE OUR BIG CONSIDERATIONS, TYPICALLY WHEN WE GET IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. NEXT SLIDE. AND NEXT SLIDE. ALRIGHT, SO OBSERVATIONS. UH, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIG OBSERVATIONS IS THAT, AND, AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I REMEMBER, UH, ACTUALLY, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ ASKED WHEN WE, UH, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLY ON, WAS, IS MY POSITION A GATEKEEPER? AND THE ANSWER REMAINS NO. I AM NOT A GATEKEEPER, BUT I AM A GUIDE. UH, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, I THINK WHEN I HAD THIS DISCUSSION WITH COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION IS THAT, UH, WHEN YOU GUYS, IF YOU GUYS SUBMIT ANYTHING, IF IT DOES NOT COME THROUGH ME, IT, IT GOES TO GENERAL COUNSEL. SO WE HAVE IT SET UP WHERE BASICALLY, UM, YOUR LE YOUR LAWFULNESS MEMOS COME THROUGH GENERAL COUNSEL, BUT FROM MY POSITION IS SUPPOSED TO WORK WITH YOU ON THE FRONT END OF ALL ISSUES. SO MAKING SURE THAT LANGUAGE IS RIGHT, MAKING SURE ALL THOSE THINGS ARE PROPER. UH, BUT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO GENERAL COUNSEL, THEY HAVE SEVEN DAYS TO HAVE A RESPONSE. SO THEY, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO TELL YOU, WELL, YOU SHOULD HAVE FIXED THIS, OR YOU SHOULD HAVE USED THIS WORDING. THEY'RE JUST GONNA SAY IT'S LAWFUL OR IT'S NOT. AND, AND THAT'S GONNA BE THE END OF IT. SO IT IS, IT IS, IT'S HIGHLY SUGGESTED THAT IF YOU HAVE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA, JUST, JUST GIMME A CALL. UH, YOU MIGHT HAVE EVERYTHING WORKED OUT, THAT'S FINE. BUT JUST GIMME A CALL. UH, I CAN, I CAN LET YOU KNOW. AND, AND IF THERE IS SOME OTHER ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED OR IF WE NEED TO HAVE LIKE, SOME LANGUAGE CHANGE OR SOME THINGS LIKE THAT, WE CAN WORK ON THAT ON THE FRONT END TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO, NO, NO ISSUES THAT THAT HAPPEN THERE. UH, AND WE DON'T WANNA HAVE ANY SURPRISES IF YOU GET SURPRISED ON LEGALITY. WE HAVE NOT, I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO, TO HELP IN THAT REGARDS. ALSO, BATCH SUBMISSIONS, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT TOO MANY SUBMISSIONS AT ONE TIME. IF YOU SUBMIT FIVE SUBMISSIONS, UH, GENERAL COUNSEL BASICALLY SAYS THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT IN SEVEN DAYS. THERE, THERE'S NO WAY THEY CAN DO SEVEN MEMOS, UH, OR, OR, OR MORE TYPICALLY IF IT'S MORE THAN ONE MEMO AT A TIME. 'CAUSE THEY ALL HAVE TO STOP DROPPING AND, AND, AND DO WHATEVER, UH, WHATEVER COMES THROUGH THE DOOR. SO IF THERE'S MULTIPLE ONES, THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH GONNA SAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO ALL OF 'EM. JUST LET, AND IF, IF YOU DO HAVE TO DO MORE THAN ONE, AT LEAST LET THEM KNOW WHAT'S THE PRIORITY. IF THIS IS NUMBER ONE, FINE. UH, BUT LET THEM KNOW SO THEY CAN KNOW WHICH ONE TO, TO WORK ON FIRST. 'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA PROBABLY SAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THIS IN TIME. TYPICALLY. ALSO, WITH REGARDS TO ANY OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, I, I, I KNOW ALL YOUR POSITIONS ARE OUTSIDE FACING, LIKE YOU GUYS GET QUESTIONS ALL THE TIMES. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ANY ADVICE WE GIVE, WE GIVE IT TO YOU GUYS DIRECTLY. LIKE, IF, IF THERE IS A, ANY GROUPS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN TALK TO YOU, BUT WE DO NOT GIVE COUNSEL TO ANYBODY OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS. I DO UNDERSTAND THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES AND SOMETIMES I KNOW PEOPLE GET PULLED OUTSIDE, BUT JUST, JUST NOTE THAT WE CAN'T ADVISE ANYBODY OTHER THAN YOU GUYS AND YOUR STAFF SPECIFICALLY ON THESE ISSUES. AND THAT IS MAINLY IT. ANY QUESTIONS? UM, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT EVEN IF, YOU KNOW, IF A COUNCIL MEMBER WANTS TO GO FORWARD WITH THE THREE SIGNATURES AND PUT IT ON THE AGENDA, THEY COULD STILL UTILIZE YOU ON THE FRONT END, EVEN IF THAT'S HOW THEY'RE PLANNING TO ABSOLUTELY. TO GO YEAH. IF, YEAH, BEFOREHAND. SO BASICALLY IF YOU HAVE ANY, SO EVEN IF YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, WE GOT THIS, WE'RE ONLY CHANGING ONE WORD IN THE CODE, THAT'S FINE. IT PROBABLY WON'T BE A MAJOR ISSUE, BUT JUST LET ME, LET ME SEE. 'CAUSE IF THERE IS, IF THERE HAPPENS TO BE ANY, ANY ISSUES OR IF THERE HAPPENS TO BE ANY OTHER THINGS, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES I, I DO UNDERSTAND YOU GUYS ARE, YOU GUYS ARE COMING UP WITH THE IDEAS, THAT'S FINE. UH, BUT SOMETIMES THIS WORD IMPLICATES THIS AND, AND THEN NOW THIS, THESE THREE DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK. SO, UH, AND THAT'S JUST USUALLY NOT IN THE SCOPE OF WHAT, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE HERE TO, TO MAKE IT WORK. YOU GUYS ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT MAKING THE SAUSAGE, YOU GUYS, SO WE'RE HERE TO MAKE THE SAUSAGE. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE THE SAUSAGE PROPERLY. SO YEAH, JUST LET, LET ME KNOW AND WE WILL WORK OUT WHATEVER, WHATEVER KINKS OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER YOU'RE GOING OVER AND, AND, AND MAKE SURE IT GOES THROUGH SMOOTHLY. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR. UM, I JUST HAVE TWO CLARIFYING QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME STATEMENTS YOU MADE. MM-HMM . FIRST, UM, YOU SAID PART OF YOUR JOB IS TO EVALUATE WHETHER OR NOT THIS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED BY DEPARTMENTS, AND THAT WAS SEPARATE AND APART FROM YOUR LAWFULNESS REVIEW. AND I DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN THE CODE MM-HMM . THAT SAYS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CONDUCT [00:10:01] A REVIEW AS TO HOW IT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED BY A DEPARTMENT. SO WHERE IN THE CODE IS THE BASIS FOR THAT PART OF YOUR REVIEW? WELL, TYPICALLY IT'S, IT IS JUST A MATTER OF, UH, IT'S, IT IS NOT IN A CODE. IT'S REALLY JUST A MATTER OF A PRACTICALITY. SO, AS IN, SO YOU'RE NOT SAYING THAT YOU WOULD INDICATE THAT AN ORDINANCE SHOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION. YOU'RE JUST SAYING YOU MAY OFFER VIEWS ON IT, BUT THAT WOULD NOT BE A BASIS BY WHICH AN ORDINANCE COULD NOT MOVE FORWARD? NO, THE, THE ORDINANCE IS ALWAYS YOU GUYS DECISION. SO IT'S ALWAYS A, IT IS ALWAYS A YOU DECISION. IT'S SOMETIMES, IT'S USUALLY A MATTER OF TALKING TO THE DEPARTMENT, MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY, IS IT A MATTER, CAN IT BE DONE? OR IF IT CAN BE DONE, IT'S JUST A CONSIDERATION POINT FOR YOU. IT'S LIKE, HAVE YOU TALKED TO THEM? IF THEY CAN DO IT, FINE. IF THEY CAN'T, IT'S REALLY ULTIMATELY THAT THAT'S A, THAT'S NOT US DECISION. THAT'S A, THAT IS A, WELL, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY 'CAUSE WE'VE ALL SEEN AN INSTANCE WHERE A LEGAL OPINION MM-HMM . PREVENTED AN ORDINANCE FROM MOVING FORWARD. OKAY. AND SO I JUST WANNA CLARIFY MM-HMM . YOU ARE NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO PREVENT AN ORDINANCE FROM MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE YOU HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW IT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED? NO. IS THAT RIGHT? NO, WE DON'T. OKAY. NO, NO, WE DIDN'T. NO. OKAY. THAT'S NOT A LEGAL JOB DEPARTMENT. WE, WE REALLY JUST ASKED FOR THE QUESTION OF, WE ASKED FOR THE PURPOSE OF, OF, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT MORE? IT'S MORE, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT? ULTIMATELY, THE DECISION IS ALWAYS YOU GUYS, NO, IT'S NOT YOU ALL. AS WE ALL RECALL, YOU ISSUED A MEMO, UHHUH, WHERE YOU SAID THAT PART OF THE ORDINANCE WAS NOT PERMITTED TO MOVE FORWARD. SO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT HAS ISSUED OPINIONS THAT HAS PREVENTED PARTS OF ORDINANCES TO MOVE FORWARD. AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR, UHHUH, FOR THE PUBLIC THAT YOU ARE NOT SUGGESTING THAT THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT CAN HOLD UP AN ORDINANCE BECAUSE YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION. IS THAT CORRECT? NOT ON, NOT ON IMPLEMENTATION. NO, IT IS, IT IS ONLY FOR LAWFULNESS. WE, UH, THE, THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT ONLY GIVES A OPINION ON LAWFULNESS. SO IF IT, IF THERE IS A LAWFULNESS ISSUE, THAT IS THE, THAT IS THE OPINION THAT THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT GIVES, AS IN THIS CAN BE APPLIED OR THIS IS NOT, THIS IS EITHER LAWFUL OR NOT LAWFUL FOR X, Y, Z REASON. OKAY. AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS, YOU MADE A COMMENT ABOUT THE ADVICE YOU PROVIDING IS FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUT NOT THE PUBLIC. BUT YOU WOULD ALSO AGREE THAT SINCE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT ADVICE MM-HMM . WE HAVE THE ABILITY AT ANY POINT TO BREAK THE PRIVILEGE AND SHARE THE ADVICE YOU ARE GIVING US WITH THE PUBLIC. AND SO YOU CANNOT PRECLUDE US FROM SHARING THE LEGAL ADVICE THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING WITH THE PUBLIC. AND IF THEY WANNA GIVE ANY BACKGROUND, IF THEY WANNA GIVE ANY FEEDBACK OR OFFER SCRUTINY ON THE ADVICE YOU'RE PROVIDING, WE TYPICALLY JUST DON'T ADVISE IT. UM, BUT YOU AGREE WITH ME THAT YOU CANNOT PRECLUDE ANY COUNCIL MEMBER FROM SHARING THE ADVICE YOU PROVIDE WITH THE PUBLIC BECAUSE WE ARE A PARTY TO THE PRIVILEGE AND WE CAN BREAK THE PRIVILEGE AT ANY TIME. AGAIN, WE, WE TYPICALLY DON'T ADVISE THAT, UM, FOR THE PURPOSE OF, FOR THE PURPOSE OF, UH, WE TYPICALLY DON'T ADVISE THAT I WILL WAIT. BUT THAT'S ON MY, MY QUESTION IS, CAN A COUNCIL MEMBER SHARE ANY ADVICE IF THEY CHOOSE TO WITH THE PUBLIC? YES. I, I SUPPOSE SO. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. DANNY, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. MM-HMM . I APPRECIATE YOU AND, UH, YOUR ASSISTANCE TO THE COUNCIL. UM, JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR, YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, REFLECTS, UH, YOUR BEST ADVICE ON HOW TO HANDLE PROP A, UH, CORRECT. AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL. IS THAT RIGHT? YES, SIR. OKAY. AND THE ACTUAL RULES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED WOULD BE IN THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CORRECT? YEAH. RULE 23 AND 24 ARE THE, THE ACTUAL RULES? YES, SIR. OH, OKAY. UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT ONE OF YOUR SLIDES AND, AND I, I HAVEN'T SEEN IT PRIOR TO THE MEETING, BUT IT, I THINK IT WAS THE ONE THAT HAD RULE 23 AND RULE 24 ON IT. IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE. YEAH, I WANTED TO ASK YOU THIS ONE. YOU CAN. OKAY. I THINK IT'S THAT ONE. UM, SO, SO, UH, PROP A SUBMITTED TO GENERAL COUNSEL, UM, HAVE THE LAWFULNESS REVIEW DONE BY GENERAL COUNSEL GENERAL. SO YEAH, THE WAY, THE WAY IT'S STRUCTURED, THE WAY THAT THAT IT WAS DECIDED TO BE STRUCTURED WAS THAT, UH, LAWFULNESS, THE LAWFULNESS MEMO ITSELF COMES FROM THE, FROM GENERAL COUNSEL. SO WHEN IT, SO IT, I WORK WITH YOU GUYS ON FRONT END GENERAL COUNSEL IS USUALLY THE LAST STOP. IT IS THE STOP THE, THE STOP VIA, UH, FOR THE ACTUAL LAWFULNESS MEMO. CORRECT. AND, AND SO IF SOMETHING GOES THE RULE 24 ROUTE MM-HMM . THROUGH COMMITTEE MM-HMM . AT WHAT POINT IS THE LAWFULNESS REVIEW DONE THERE? UH, TYPICALLY I, TYPICALLY, IT'S A, UM, BEFORE IT, WHEN IT COMES IN, IT COMES VIA EMAIL. OR IF, IF I'VE BEEN LIKE, IDEALLY, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT ALREADY AND I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO WORK, TALK TO YOU, TALK TO WHATEVER COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT THE LAWFULNESS. BUT IF, IF THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN, UH, TYPICALLY WHEN IT, BEFORE IT MAKES THE AGENDA, THAT'S WHY WE, WE, WE, WE RECOMMEND GIVING A THREE, HAVE A THREE WEEK WINDOW. SO YOU HAVE A WEEK TO, UH, A WEEK TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, THERE'S NO LAWFULNESS ISSUES. AND THEN THERE'S THE TWO WEEK, UH, TWO WEEK PERIOD THAT YOU GUYS GET FOR, UH, FOR ALL COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEMS. SO, UM, SORRY. COUNCIL MEMBER DAMIR, JUST TO CLARIFY, THE CODE ACTUALLY SAYS THEY'RE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A LAWFULNESS FEEDBACK WITHIN [00:15:01] SEVEN DAYS. EVEN IF WE GO THE COMMITTEE ROUTE, IT'S, IT'S IN MM-HMM. UH, SECTION 24 A ONE. CORRECT. THANK, THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, COLLEAGUE. UM, SO DID I, MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD YOU, BUT, UH, IN ORDER FOR SOMETHING TO APPEAR ON A COMMITTEE MM-HMM . AGENDA, NOT THE FULL COUNSEL AGENDA, BUT THE COMMITTEE AGENDA, MUST SOMEONE IN LEGAL DETERMINE THAT IT'S LAWFUL, UH, INITIALLY BEFORE IT ENDS UP ON A COMMITTEE AGENDA? YES. SO IT'S TYPICALLY, YEAH. SO, BUT TYPICALLY IT'S A LAWFULNESS, IT, IT IS A LAWFULNESS REVIEW, BUT TYPICALLY, AS LONG AS THERE IS, SO FAR, SO FAR AT LEAST THERE HAS NOT BEEN A ISSUE OF LAWFULNESS, AS IN LIKE, NOBODY HAS SUBMITTED ANYTHING TO THE COMMITTEE SO FAR THAT HAS NOT BEEN FLA FLAGGED AS IN THIS WILL NOT BE LAWFUL PERIOD. AND, AND, UH, I TAKE IT THEN. IF SOMEONE IN LEGAL THINKS A PROP A IS NOT LAWFUL, IT WON'T EVEN END UP ON A COMMITTEE AGENDA. IS, IS THAT CORRECT OR NOT? CORRECT. IF, IF THERE WAS A TRUE LAWFULNESS, LIKE AS IN LIKE, IF SOMEBODY TRIED TO PROPOSE SOMETHING THAT WAS, WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT GONNA BE LAWFUL, WE WOULD, WE WOULD ADVISE TO NOT 'CAUSE 'CAUSE YOU GUYS CAN VOTE FROM HERE. IDEALLY, YOU CAN ACTUALLY VOTE FROM HERE RIGHT TO THE AGENDA IF YOU, TO THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA IF YOU WANTED. SO WANTED TO. SO TYPICALLY THAT'S WHY THE LAWFULNESS DETERMINATION, THERE'S NO MEMO, BUT THERE IS A LAWFULNESS REQUIREMENT AS A LAWFULNESS, UH, A LAWFULNESS ASSESSMENT REQUIRED FOR, FOR RULE 24. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS? NOTHING. OKAY. ALRIGHT. IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU MR. NORRIS, FOR COMING. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. SINCE WE BEGAN, WE'VE HAD, UH, WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER AND COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. WELCOME. I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE THAT THERE IS A SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UM, ON THE TABLE OVER THERE. SO IF THERE'S SOMEBODY IN THIS ROOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK, UM, GO AHEAD AND SIGN 'EM NOW. JUST A REMINDER THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE A QUORUM, THAT WE CAN'T TAKE ACTION ON ANY OF THE ITEMS, UM, IN THE COMMITTEE. SO I WANNA ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO STAY FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING. OUT OF RESPECT FOR COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS AND COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS'S ITEMS. AND NOW I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE YOUR PRESENTATION. DO YOU WANNA COME HERE? DO IT FROM HERE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND TO COLLEAGUES. WE ARE, I AM VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT CERTAINLY FOR MYSELF, THAT I HAVE, UH, PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED. AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BEING THAT THE SIZE AND THE LARGENESS OF OUR CITY IS A NECESSARY MATTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TO ALL OF US. AND SO THIS PRESENTATION OF THIS AMENDMENT TODAY IS TO PROTECT HOUSTONIANS AND CERTAINLY MANY OF US, BECAUSE OUR ROADS AND HIGHWAYS EXPRESSWAYS ARE GENERALLY CONGESTED QUITE OFTEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY, STARTING FROM EARLY IN THE MORNING INTO THE LATE IN THE EVENINGS. SO I AM VERY PROUD TO HAVE MAKE, TO MAKE THIS AMENDMENT IN THIS PRESENTATION. MY STAFF AND I HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY, AND, UH, WE FOLLOWED THIS. I HAVE FOLLOWED THIS TAKING PHOTOS AND OTHERS FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS ON TOP OF THE FACT OF HAVING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MYSELF, WAY BEFORE I WAS ON COUNCIL. AND EVER SINCE THEN, I THOUGHT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON SHOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. ALSO, I DO WANT TO SAY THAT WE DID A LOT OF COVERING AND INVESTIGATING THIS ISSUE, WHICH IS AN ENORMOUS ISSUE ACROSS NOT ONLY HOUSTON, BUT THE STATE OF TEXAS. AND THERE'S THOUSANDS OF INJURIES AND SOME DEATHS AND OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. IN REGARDS TO THIS, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE FOUND OUT THAT HOUSTON IS THE ONLY CITY THUS FAR WITH THIS TYPE OF A PROPOSAL. IN REGARDS TO THIS, THIS IS A AMENDMENT TO ESTABLISH WHAT IS CALLED THE LOCAL LOAD SECUREMENT STANDARDS FOR PASSENGER CARS AND TRUCKS. UM, THIS WILL BE PRESENTED AS SECTION 45 DASH 45 LOAD SECUREMENT. I WANT TO THANK, UM, DANNY, OF COURSE, WORKING WITH US. WE WENT THROUGH THE STEPS, UH, HE JUST SPOKE ABOUT IN REGARDS TO THIS PROCESS AS WELL AS WE DID WITH HPD, UH, AND WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. [00:20:01] THE LOAD SECUREMENT, UM, IS THE, AS BY DEFINITION, IS THE FOLLOWING WORDS UNDER 40 SECTION 45 DASH 45, THE FOLLOWING WORDS, TERMS AND PHRASES WHEN USED IN THIS SECTION WILL HAVE THE MEANINGS SET FORTH IN THIS SUBSECTION, EXCEPT WHEN THE CONTEXT CLEARLY INDICATES A DIFFERENT MEANING IN WHICH IT STATE. IT SAYS THAT LOAD OR CARGO MEANS BY ANY MATERIAL, OBJECT, EQUIPMENT, TOOL, DEBRIS, APPLIANCES, GOODS TRANSPORTED IN OR ON A MOTOR VEHICLE OR ATTACHED TRAILER, REGARDLESS OF WEIGHT, BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE LIVE ANIMALS. NUMBER TWO, SECUREMENT DEVICES MEANS STRAPS, TIE DOWNS, ROPES, NETS, BUNGEE CORDS, RATCHET MECHANISMS, CHAINS, CONTAINERS, TARPS, CARGO BOXES, OR ANY MANUFACTURING APPROVED MEANS USED TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF A LOAD. NUMBER THREE, MOVEMENT MEANS SHIFTING, SLIDING, TIPPING, LEAKING, SPILLING, BLOWING, OR FALLING FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE IN A MANNER THAT MAY CREATE A HAZARD AND B OF THE LOAD, SECURE ME DEFINITION, GENERAL LOAD, SECURE SECUREMENT REQUIREMENTS. NUMBER ONE, IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL FOR ANY PERSON TO TRANSPORT, CARRY A CAUSE TO BE TRANSPORTED OR CARRIED ANY LOAD OR CARGO IN AN UN ENCLOSED OPEN AREA OF A MOTOR VEHICLE OR ATTACHED TRAILER, UNLESS SUCH LOAD OR CARGO IS SECURED BY A SECUREMENT DEVICE. SUFFICIENT, SUFFICIENT, I'M SORRY TO PREVENT ITS MOVEMENT. NUMBER TWO, ANY PERSON WHO VIOLATES ANY PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE GUILTY OF AN OFFENSE. AND OPEN CONVICTION THEREOF SHALL BE PUNISHED AND PROVIDED IN SECTION ONE DASH SIX OF THIS CODE. EACH VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL CONSTITUTE AND BE PUNISHABLE AS A SEPARATE OFFENSE. SO THAT WAS THE DRAFT PROPOSAL, MADAM CHAIR AND COLLEAGUES THAT WE PRESENTED, UH, IN REGARDS TO THIS AFTER DOING OUR HOMEWORK. NOW IN THE PRESENTATION, UM, AS I STATED EARLIER, UM, THE OBJECTS THAT WE RUN INTO ON OUR EXPRESSWAYS ARE GENERALLY DANGEROUS. AND THOSE OBJECTS THAT DRIVE BY A CARRIER THAT WOULD NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT DAMAGE HE OR SHE DID 'CAUSE THEY GOING ON DOWN THE ROAD AND THOSE OBJECTS, AS I EXPERIENCED, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AN OBJECT WENT UNDER MY VEHICLE AND, UH, IT WAS COTTONED CUSHIONED, AND MY VEHICLE CAUGHT A FIRE. AND I DIDN'T KNOW THE CAR WAS ON FIRE BECAUSE IT CONNECTED TO MY CATALYTIC CONVERTER. AND OF COURSE, WHEN THAT HAPPENED, I, I WAS ONLY NOTIFIED BY THE PEOPLE WHO WERE DRIVING BY ME, POINTING DOWN AT MY CAR, AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHY, BUT MY CAR IS ON FIRE. SO I HAD TO IMMEDIATELY DRAW ATTENTION, PULLED OVER, AND THAT WAS MY VEHICLE ON FIRE. NATURALLY, UH, THANK GOD I FOUND SOMETHING ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY THAT I COULD KNOCK THE OBJECTS LOOSE. SO, SO BY EXPERIENCING MYSELF, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE OR FEAR IT CAN BRING. SO, BACKGROUND, THE, UM, SLIDE, FIRST SLIDE THAT YOU SEE IS BACKGROUND. NEARLY EVERY HOUSTONIAN HAS SEEN OR DRIVEN BEHIND A VEHICLE THAT APPEARED TO BE, TO HAVE AN IMPROPERLY SECURED LOAD OR HAS HAD TO SEVERE SWERVE. I'M SORRY TO AVOID ROAD DEBRIS THAT FELL OFF OF A VEHICLE. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO LANGUAGE IN THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE CHAPTER 7 25, NOR THE HOUSTON CODE OF ORDINANCES CHAPTER 45, ARTICLE TWO THAT SPECIFIES THE TYPE OF DEVICE THAT SHOULD BE UTILIZED TO SECURE A VEHICLES LOAD. NEXT SLIDE. BACKGROUND. THIS ORDINANCE AMEND, MEANT, SEEKS TO ESTABLISH THE TYPES OF SECUREMENT DEVICES AND INCLUDE MORE SPECIFIC SECUREMENT REQUIREMENTS THAN THE EXISTING LANGUAGE IN THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE. NEXT SLIDE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS TO REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OF THIS TYPE OF PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARD. UH, 2066, [00:25:03] UH, 17 THOU THREE 2060 6 3 1 1 REQUESTS ROUTED TO HPW RELATED TO ROAD DEBRIS IN 2023, 17,000 PIECES OF DEBRIS COLLECTED BY H-C-T-R-A SINCE 20 20, 1500 VEHICLES CRASHED IN TEXAS IN 2023, CAUSED BY ROAD DEBRIS TRACKED BY, UH, TRIPLE A 3% YEARLY INCREASE IN ROAD DEBRIS SINCE 2020 ACCORDING TO TDOT. SO JUST GOING OVER THE AMENDMENT LANGUAGE, I JUST READ EARLIER, SLIDE SIX IN THE MEDIA, LET ME JUST SAY HOUSTON, IN THE MEDIA, HOUSTON CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS SECURED LOAD ORDINANCE MAKING UNSECURED CARGO ILLEGAL, A BC CHANNEL 13 EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTED BY KELVIN HENRY, WHICH HE, I HAD AN AL ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY. HE ASKED IF I WOULD INTERVIEW WITH HIM CONCERNING, UH, THIS AMENDMENT. AND, UH, I THINK WE DO HAVE THE RECORDING OF THE INTERVIEW. UH, IF WE DO, IF THEY COULD JUST RUN THAT. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT YEAH, WE HAVE THE LINK, UM, IN THE PRESENTATION. WE HAVE THE LINK IN IT. YEAH. AND THEY CAN GET IT. SO ALSO WE JUST GO TO, UM, SLIDE, UH, UM, BUT BEFORE, YEAH, LET'S GO TO SLIDE SEVEN. LET'S DO THAT. THAT WAY IF IT'S THE TECHNICAL ISSUE, MAYBE THEY CAN CLEAR IT UP BEFORE. HERE'S, HERE'S THE ENFORCEMENT. UM, IN ADDITION TO HAVING BEEN REVIEWED BY THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, THIS ORDINANCE AMENDMENT HAS BEEN VETTED BY HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT DIVISION. UM, AND, UH, THIS AMENDMENT EMPOWERS LAW ENFORCEMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON OFFENDERS OPERATING VEHICLES WITH UNSECURED LOADS. AND, UH, I DO, WE DO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE HERE TODAY FROM HPD WHO WILL, UH, ADDRESS THAT, UH, FOR US. YES, SERGEANT. UM, YES. HECTOR, OFFICER GARCIA IS HERE. CAP? YES. COME ON, CAP. I'M SORRY. IT'S OKAY. SURE. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR, UH, ALLOWING US TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS. UH, WHEN, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, DAVIS ASKED US TO, UH, LOOK INTO THIS, WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE OF COURSE, OUR NUMBER ONE JOB IS TO KEEP EVERYBODY SAFE. UH, WE'VE ALL HEARD SIMILAR STORIES ABOUT, UH, UNSECURED LOADS ON THE STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER TOOL IN OUR TOOL BELT THAT WILL ADD TO THE STATE LAW. UM, WE BELIEVE THAT OFFICERS DO AN EXCELLENT JOB INVESTIGATING, UH, INCIDENTS, UH, CRASHES CAUSED BY DEBRIS. UNFORTUNATELY, BY THAT TIME, IT'S TOO LATE. THE ACCIDENT ALREADY HAPPENED. WE ALSO HAVE AN EXCELLENT, UH, COMMERCIAL TRUCK ENFORCEMENT UNIT THAT, UH, THEY USE THEIR, THEIR TRAINING AND THEY KEEP THOSE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN LINE. THOSE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES HAVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SET OF RULES. WE CAN STOP THEM, WE CAN DO AN INSPECTION ON THEM. THE ISSUE WAS WITH THE PRIVATE VEHICLES. YEAH. THE PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLES THAT ARE TRANSPORTING, UH, MATERIAL. AND THAT IS WHERE THIS ORDINANCE CREATES A BRIDGE. IT WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, HAVE OUR OFFICERS OUT ON THE STREET, UH, LOOKING FOR UNSECURED LOADS AND BEING PREVENTIVE AND PROACTIVE, UH, WITH THESE CRASHES. UH, WE DISCUSSED IN OUR MEETINGS THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT TO MAINTAIN PEOPLE SAFE AND EDUCATE THEM MM-HMM . IT WOULD BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF EVERYBODY IF WE HAD SOME SORT OF GRACE PERIOD WHERE IF THE ORDINANCE IS PASSED BEFORE WE ISSUE ANY CITATIONS, BEFORE WE, WE STOP PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM A TICKET, [00:30:01] WE WOULD ACTUALLY GIVE THEM A WARNING AND TELL THEM, LOOK, THE REASON WHY YOU WERE STOPPED IS BECAUSE YOUR LOAD IS NOT SECURED PROPERLY. RIGHT. UM, WE WANT YOU TO, UM, FIND SOME ROPE OR FIND SOMETHING, TIE IT UP A LITTLE SO IT DOESN'T MOVE SO YOU CAN BE ON YOUR WAY. UH, AND THAT'S IT. THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE THE END OF THE, THE INTERACTION WITH THE CITIZENS. UM, EVENTUALLY AFTER THE GRACE PERIOD, OF COURSE, UH, IT'LL BE THE DISCRETION OF THE OFFICERS IF AN ISSUE, UH, IF A CITATION IS ISSUED OR NOT. BUT AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE BRIDGE THE GAP THAT MOST OFFICERS HAVE WHEN THEY, THEY'RE DRIVING AND THEY SEE A VE UH, A LOAD AND IT'S MOVING A LITTLE BIT, BUT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, DO I HAVE A PROBABLE CAUSE TO STOP THE VEHICLE OR NOT? YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS WOULD HELP OFFICERS MAKE THAT DECISION MORE THAN ANYTHING TO MAKE THE DRIVER AWARE THAT THEIR VEHICLE, UM, THAT THEIR LOAD IS UNSECURED. YES, SIR. VERY GOOD. THANK, SIR. YOU WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CAPTAIN. AND, AND, AND IF I MAY, TO MADAM CHAIR, BEFORE WE CLOSE, I DO HAVE, UM, IN THE INTERVIEW THAT WE WAS GOING TO PRESENT, AND THAT INTERVIEW WAS DONE AND CONDUCTED JULY 9TH, UH, OF THIS MONTH. AND THE GENTLEMAN THAT THIS INTERVIEW WAS CENTERED AROUND IS HERE, AND WE ASKED HIM TO BE PRESENT. MR. HARTHORNE IS HERE WHERE THERE HE IS. IF HE WOULD, I'M ASKING HIM COME UP BECAUSE HIS, HE IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY THIS PROCESS NEED TO BE LOOKED AT VERY SERIOUSLY IN REGARD NO MATTER WHAT PART OF CITY YOU IN. AND I LIKE, PART OF THE INTERVIEW WAS FOR HIM TO SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE THAT HE JUST RECENTLY HAD THIS MONTH. COME ON UP, MY FRIEND. GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNSEL. YEP. JUST GO RIGHT. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, SOMETIMES WE THINK THAT THINGS DON'T HAPPEN TO US IN GENERAL UNTIL IT DOES HAPPEN TO US. UH, LIKE HE SAID ON THE NINTH, I WAS HEADING HOME FROM WORK AND IT WAS LIKE THE MOVIE FINAL DESTINATION WHERE YOU SEE SOMETHING JUST OUT THE BLUE POP OUT TO YOU. WELL, ABOUT 14, 15 CARS GOT CAUGHT INTO THAT SITUATION. IT SCARED ME, . UM, IT CAUSED A LOT OF WRECKS. PEOPLE WERE DOING NOT THE NORMAL TO TRY TO AVOID IT. IT COST ME A LOT. UH, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WAS IT MADE ME MORE AWARE OF THE SITUATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON, ON THE FREEWAYS, UH, AND MADE ME PAY MORE ATTENTION TO IT. SO AFTER THAT SITUATION, IT SEEMED LIKE EVERY DAY SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY DEALING WITH DEBRIS. UM, IN THE PROCESS, UM, OF THIS SITUATION HAPPENING, I CALLED THE POLICE AND THE POLICE SAID THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING UNLESS IN IT WAS THROWN OFF ON PURPOSE. UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, WHO TO CALL. SO WE ENDED UP BEING ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES WHILE TRAFFIC WAS GOING BY. UM, SOME OF THE CARS, UH, THE DRIVERS WERE YOUNG ADULTS THAT DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING. UH, SO THE POLICE OFFICER, HE DID HELP AND TOLD 'EM TO STAY INSIDE THE VEHICLES UNTIL WE GOT UP OFF THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY WHERE IN THE PROCESS IT HURT ME FINANCIALLY SOMETHING THAT I HAVE TO DEAL WITH MYSELF, MY PERSONAL SELF. BUT IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE WE ALL TRAVEL EVERY DAY. WE'RE AWARE OF WHAT'S ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF US, BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN OR AFFECT ANYBODY BECAUSE OF THE UNSECURED LOADS IT COST. AND IT STILL COSTING EVERYBODY FROM DAY TO DAY. I KNOW WE HAVE TO LIVE IN THE CITY. WE HAVE BUSINESSES TO TAKE CARE OF. I'M SORRY. UH, BUT THE THING IS, IS HOW WE DO IT AND BEING ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT THAT WOULD HELP THE ACCOUNTABILITY. THANK YOU FOR COMING FORWARD. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU, BROTHER. I APPRECIATE IT. UM, AND, AND I, AND I THINK THE PURPOSE TO THAT WAS 14 VEHICLES THAT WERE DAMAGED DUE TO THIS VERY UNSECURED LOAD VEHICLE. THEN COME TO FIND OUT THAT THE VEHICLE, ONCE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT WAS INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLE DIDN'T HAVE A LICENSE PLATE. UM, AND THAT'S [00:35:01] WHETHER THE PERSON TOOK IT OFF IN THE PROCESS OF THEM FINDING THEM. BUT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS VERY DREADFUL. AND TO THINK THAT, THAT THESE OBJECTS, ACCORDING TO THE PRESENTATION BY CHANNEL 13, THAT THESE AUTO, THESE ITEMS WERE FALLING OFF THE TRUCK LIKE BOWLING BALLS, METAL OBJECTS, HITTING THE CARS AND DAMAGING THEM, AND THE DRIVER KEPT GOING. SO, SO MADAM CHAIR, COLLEAGUES, THAT, THAT'S GENERALLY MY PRESENTATION. AND, UH, I HOPE THAT THIS HAS GIVEN SOME GREAT CONSIDERATION FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY OF ALL OF OUR CITY. AND, UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE HAVE, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM KAZA TATUM IN Q COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE ON THIS. I I HAVE A QUESTION NOW. SO IF SOMEONE'S DRIVING A, A LOAD AND IT'S LOOSE AND IT'S SHAKING RIGHT NOW, WHAT HAPPENS? WHAT HAPPENS? YEAH, WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT NOW WITHOUT THIS, WITHOUT THIS, IT JUST, IT WILL THE POTENTIAL , UM, THING THAT IT COULD COME OFF THE VEHICLE AND IT COULD LITERALLY TAKE A LIFE OR DAMAGE SOMEONE'S VEHICLE. AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO. THERE IS NO, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO, BUT, WELL, BECAUSE THE PERSON THAT DRIVES AND, AND IT FALLS, THEY WOULD HAVE SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT, RIGHT? YES. YES. I SEE. YEAH. YES, THEY WOULD. YEAH. SO I, AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO, I MEAN, MY QUESTION IS, UM, I GOT THE DRAFT PROPOSAL AND IT SAYS, UM, IT SHALL BE PUNISHED AND PROVIDED IN SECTION ONE SIX OF THIS CODE. WHAT DOES SECTION ONE SIX SAY ABOUT THE PUNISHMENT? WHAT WOULD BE THE VIOLATION ACCORDING TO THE PROPOSAL? YES, DANNY, I THINK THAT'S, WAS IT UP TO 500? I THINK, LEMME DOUBLE CHECK. I THINK IT, IT WAS, IT'S THE GENERAL BASIC, UH, THE BASIC, UH, AND I THINK IT'S A $500 FEE. IT'S JUST WHATEVER THE BASIC CODE IS, UH, THE BASIC, IT WASN'T A HEALTH AND SAFETY 'CAUSE I THINK WE WERE CONSIDERING IF YOU WANNA GO UP TO 2000 CORRECT. BECAUSE IT IS A HE HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE. BUT I THINK HE'S, I THINK IT'S THE ORIGINAL, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK, BUT I THINK IT'S A $500 FEE IS, WHICH IS THE BASIC. SO IF SOMEBODY'S DRIVING DOWN THE STREET, THEY HAVE A LOAD THAT'S LOOSE, THE POLICE IS GONNA STOP THEM RIGHT UP TO $500 AND SAY YOUR LOAD IS LOOSE. MM-HMM . I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A CITATION FOR $500. IT'S UP TO, UP TO, UP TO. SO, SO THEY, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A CITATION, NOW YOU GOTTA GO TO COURT MM-HMM . AND THEN THE JUDGE WILL DETERMINE UP TO $500 CORRECT. THE FEE. CORRECT. CORRECT. OKAY. AND THE DAMAGE MAY PRO TIP. NO, I GET IT. YEAH, I GET IT. I JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M JUST KIND OF TORN ABOUT. I MEAN, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY INTENTIONALLY WANTS THEIR LOAD TO FALL OFF AND I GUESS I'M JUST PUTTING MYSELF, IF I WAS CARRYING SOMETHING, WOULD I TRY TO SECURE IT? ABSOLUTELY. UM, I GUESS EVERYBODY, I DON'T KNOW. I'M, I'M, I'M JUST TORN ABOUT ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR A STOP A CITATION OF THIS WHEN, IF I'M CARRYING SOMETHING, YES. I WOULD BE VERY UPSET IF, IF SOMETHING FELL ON ME. SURE. UM, THERE'S A RECOURSE FOR THAT. I, I JUST REALLY WANT TO TALK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO AS A, AS A COUNCIL BODY? UM, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S NOT SURE. I JUST REALLY WANT TO HEAR SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE IT CONVINCE ME THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THIS ON THE BOOKS, UM, AS SOMETHING THAT'S A NEED. I MEAN, I SAW THE STATISTICS WITH THE NUMBER OF THE DEBRIS THAT'S ON THE ROAD. MM-HMM . I MEAN, THERE'S A CAR CRASH IN THE CITY. I MEAN, THEY DON'T EVEN PICK UP THE BUMPERS HALF THE TIME YOU SEE THOSE IN THE STREET, BUT THAT DIDN'T FALL OFF. NO. A LOAD THAT DEBRIS RIGHT. IS IN THE STREET. UM, SO I'M, I'M STILL JUST KIND OF STRUGGLING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WHAT, BUT IF I MAY, IF I MAY, WELL PRO TIM, I THINK, I THINK YOUR CONCERN IS LEGITIMATE, BUT I THINK THAT ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, THERE'S NO ACCOUNTABILITY. THIS I THINK MAKES THE PERSON ACCOUNTABLE. MM-HMM . IF YOU TAKE THE CHANCE OF PUTTING OBJECTS ON THE BACK OF A VEHICLE LIKE A MATTRESS, RIGHT. AND YOU KNOW, IN ALL SITUATIONS THAT MATTRESS COME OFF OF THAT VEHICLE, IT CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. IT CAN CAUSE A ACCIDENT AND OR DEATH. NOW THE [00:40:01] ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE PERSON SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IN CONSIDERATION WHEN THEY PUT THAT MATTRESS. AND WE'VE SEEN MATTRESSES, NOT ONLY THE BACK OF VEHICLE, WE'VE SEEN MATTRESS TIE TO THE TOP OF PEOPLE'S CARS. AND OF COURSE WHEN THE WIND, ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WIND AND FORCE MM-HMM . IT'S KIND OF HARD TO HOLD DOWN. WE'VE SEEN PEOPLE ON THE BACK OF VEHICLES TRYING TO HOLD A MATTRESS. SO I THINK MY, MY CONCERN, MY CONCERN IS, IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY. AND WE DISCUSSED THAT. THAT'S WHY WHEN I ASKED HIM, BUT WHEN YOU ASKED THE CODE, THE UP TO $500 NOW ON THE BOOKS IS IF SOMETHING WERE TO COME OFF AND, UM, I MEAN IMAGINE LIKE MR. HAWTHORNE WAS INDICATING THE DAMAGE TO HIS VEHICLE BRIDGES WAY ABOVE $500. DID HE HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO FILE A CLAIM ON THE PERSON THAT DROPPED THE STUFF THAT CAUSED THE DAMAGE TO HIS VEHICLE? I THINK DID THEY TRY TO FIND IT, MR. HARTHORNE? NO, THEY COULDN'T, COULDN'T FIND IT. COULDN'T LOCATE THE PERSON. THEY COULDN'T, HUH? HE TOOK HIS LICENSE LICENSE, HE TOOK HIS LICENSE PLATES OFF. SO THEY, THEY COULDN'T, AND I THINK, UM, THE PERSON THAT I THINK IDENTIFIED THE TRUCK WAS SOMEONE THAT WAS OUT OF THE CITY YEAH. WAS A VISITOR WHO WAS IN THE CITY AND WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE TRUCK MM-HMM . BUT ONCE THAT WAS LOCATED, IT WAS A LOT OF JUNK ON THE TRUCK. RIGHT. BUT THE TRUCK HAD REMOVED THE LICENSE PLATE. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. I TOO HAVE HAD SOMETHING FALL UNDER, OFF SOMETHING AND UNDER MY CAR TO YES. A GREAT EXPENSE. NEVER ON THE FREEWAY, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN, THE PERSON WHO DROPPED IT. SO I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO HERE I AM LOOKING AT, UH, THE TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE 7 2 5 0.021 TO THE MAYOR PRO TEMS POINT. THERE, THERE IS A LAW ON THE BOOKS ABOUT SECURING, UM, LOOSE VEHICLES. MM-HMM . IT DOES STOP AT, AT MY READING OF IT, I'M NOT A LAWYER, BUT IT DOES STOP SHORT OF THE STRAPS AND EVERYTHING. IT SAYS CORRECT. IT SAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IT EQUIPPED AND MAINTAINED AS REQUIRED BY THE SECTION TO PREVENT LOOSE MATERIAL FROM ESCAPING OR BY BLOWING OR SPILLING. IT TALKS ABOUT NO HOLES OR CRACKS AND RIGHT. YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THE PANELS ARE UP, MAKING SURE THE TAILGATE'S UP. RIGHT. UM, BUT I GUESS I, I ASK LEGAL, UM, IS THIS LIKE, THIS ISN'T, WE'RE NOT PREEMPTED BY THE STATE CODE. WE CAN AMEND THE STATE CODE TO MAKE MORE STRINGENT, LIKE MORE, UH, WE CAN ADD, UM, LANGUAGE TO MAKE MORE, MAKE IT MORE STRINGENT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, TYING THINGS DOWN AND STRAPS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S, THAT'S WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, OBVIOUSLY, IF IT MADE IT TO COMMITTEE. CORRECT. YEAH. SO YEAH, THE STRAPS ARE THE BIG DIFFERENCE I HAVING A SECUREMENT DEVICE IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STAKEHOLDER SAYS YOU CAN'T LET STUFF IN THIS. AS, AS THE CAPTAIN BASICALLY SAID, USUALLY THEY APPLY TO COMMERCIAL. SO A LOT OF IT, A LOT OF IT HAS BEEN, THEY HAVE BEEN ENFORCING COMMERCIAL IS WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WELL, IT SAYS THOUGH, ON SECTION E OF THAT, IT SAYS IF THE VEHICLE, I'M, I'M THINKING IT'S LIKE A REGULAR CAR 'CAUSE IT'S MM-HMM. BECAUSE ON SECTION E AT THE BOTTOM OF THE 7 5 2 7 2 5 0 2 1, IT'S RIGHT, IT'S IF THE VEHICLE IS A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSPORTING LOOSE MATERIAL, THE LOAD SHALL BE COVERED AND THE COVERING FIRMLY SECURED AT THE FRONT AND THE BACK. GEORGE SHALL BE COMPLETELY ENCLOSED BY THE LOAD CARRYING COMPARTMENT. BUT I THINK ALL THE STUFF BEFORE THAT, ALL THE SECTIONS BEFORE THAT WOULD APPLY TO ANY VEHICLE. SO. CORRECT. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, IF, IF WITH THIS LAW IN THE BOOKS, UH, AND SOMEBODY GETS PULLED OVER, YOU KNOW, THEY ACTUALLY CATCH SOMEBODY OR, OR WHAT THEY, THEY ARE PROBABLY FINED UNDER THIS CODE TOO, RIGHT? I MEAN THERE IS PROBABLY A PUNISHMENT, UM, FOR VIOLATION OF THIS CODE 7 2 5 0 2 1. AND, AND FROM WHAT, WHAT FROM, SO IT IS POSSIBLE IT'S NOT DONE. IT, IT IS NOT TYPICALLY DONE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHOULD, SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT THIS, THIS, THIS PART OF THE TRANSPORTATION CODE IS REALLY, THEY REALLY ONLY APPLY IT TO COMMERCIAL VEHICLES. IT LOCALLY, THAT'S HOW IT'S BEEN APPLIED. SO, AND TYPICALLY WHAT, WHAT CAPTAIN WAS EXPLAINING BEFORE IS THAT A LOT OF TIMES THEY WILL, WHEN THEY SEE A SANFORD, THE SUN LOOKING TRUCK THAT HAS STUFF THAT'S BOUNCING AROUND, A LOT OF TIMES THEY DO NOT. THEY, THEY, THEY WAIT UNTIL THE ACTUALLY FALLS OFF. FALLS OFF OR SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY FALLS OFF BEFORE THEY, BEFORE THEY WILL GO AFTER THE PERSON TYPICALLY AS OPPOSED. I SEE. SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS. YES. MM-HMM . AND WE'RE NOT IN ANY WAY THEY COULD, BUT IF IT FALLS, I MEAN, SO IT'S, IT IS REALLY, IT IS, IT IS A DISCRETION. SO IT KIND OF GIVES MORE TEETH TO THE IDEA OF, OF, OF SECU, LIKE MAKING SURE THERE IT IS ACTUALLY SECURED AS, AND NOT JUST A HAND HOLDING OR WHATEVER, MAKING SURE THE MATCH. DO WE KNOW THE FINES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PART OF THE CODE OF THE STATE CODE AND, OH, UH, THAT I'M NOT SURE. OKAY. YOU CAN GET BACK TO ME ON THAT. THANK YOU. YEAH, BECAUSE I, I DO WANT TO, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, [00:45:01] OUR TEAM AND I, WE LOOKED AT THE STATE LAW IN REGARDS TO CARRYING LOADS OF THAT, BUT THAT WAS NO SPECIFIC IN TERMS OF THE STRAPPING, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST THING. IT DID. IT, IT IS VERY INDICATED AS A LAW ILLEGAL TO THAT, BUT THERE WAS NO SPECIFIC AS TO WHAT STRAP IT IS, HOW IS TO BE STRAP. RIGHT. YOURS, YOUR'S GOES FARTHER FOR SURE. EXACTLY. EXACTLY. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, SIMILAR MAYOR PRO TAM'S COMMENTS. I'VE GOT SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST HOW STRICTLY THIS IS ENFORCED AND USED AND, UM, ALTHOUGH I'VE CERTAINLY SOME SEEN SOME PEOPLE GOING DOWN THE ROAD THAT WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS SO EGREGIOUS THAT THEY NEED TO BE STOPPED AND FIND AND CHANGE WHAT THEY'RE DOING IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE STUFF GETS OUT ON THE ROAD. AND, AND I'M KIND OF WONDERING ABOUT THE WORD SUFFICIENT, UH, IN HERE. WHAT IF WE EVEN DID SOMETHING THAT WAS A LITTLE MORE HALFWAY AND DID IT TO WHERE THE PEOPLE THAT DID NOTHING TO SECURE THEIR, THEIR LOAD AND START WITH THOSE PEOPLE RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT IS SUFFICIENT AND WHAT'S NOT SUFFICIENT, THAT TYPE OF THING. WELL, I THINK CAPTAIN GARCIA ADDRESSED THE FACT THAT THAT WAS GOING TO BE A GRACE PERIOD IN REGARDS TO, UH, PEOPLE BECOMING EDUCATED ABOUT WHAT NEED TO BE, UH, SUFFICIENT TIME FOR FOLK TO BE NOTIFIED THAT YOU OUGHT TO SECURE YOUR LOAD. I'M ASSUMING THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE ASKING REGARDING. WELL, PART OF MY ISSUE IS I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER IS WHAT IS SUFFICIENT AND WHAT IS NOT SUFFICIENT, RIGHT? MM-HMM . WHAT, WHEREAS IF YOU, YOU KNOW, SAID THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING. YEAH. AND I THINK THERE'S PLENTY OF PEOPLE OUT THERE DOING THIS WITH NOTHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN POSSIBLY SOLVE QUITE A FEW OF THE PROBLEMS IF WE JUST FOCUSED ON THOSE RATHER THAN GOING THE NEXT STEP. JUST A SUGGESTION. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND TRYING TO ADDRESS, UH, SOME OF THE HAZARDS ON OUR ROADWAYS. UH, I DO, I DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONCERN FOLLOWING UP ON COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER AND THE MAYOR PRO TEMS, UH, COMMENTS MM-HMM . ABOUT WHETHER THIS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT BROAD. UM, AS I READ IT, IT, IT WOULD CRIMINALIZE LOADS OR CARGOES THAT ARE NOT SECURED BY SECURE DEVICE, SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT MOVEMENT, AND THEN MOVEMENT WOULD BE DEFINED AS SHIFTING, SLIDING, RIGHT. ET CETERA. CORRECT. AND THEN THE LANGUAGE IN A MANNER THAT MAY CREATE A HAZARD, WHICH, WHICH, UM, SEEMS TO ME TO BE, UM, KIND OF BROAD. UM, AND, AND JUST LOOKING AT THIS, UH, MAYBE SOME CONCERNS WOULD BE ADDRESSED IF INSTEAD OF MAY IT SAID SOMETHING LIKE, IN A MANNER, REASONABLY LIKELY TO CALL TO CREATE A HAZARD. RIGHT? SO IN OTHER WORDS, LESS, LESS BROAD, UM, AND, AND A HIGHER, A LITTLE BIT OF A HIGHER, UH, STANDARD FOR SOMEONE TO BE, UH, STOPPED AND FINED. THEN THE OTHER THING, UH, THAT COMES TO MIND IS LOOKING AT SECURE DEVICE SECUREMENT DEVICE, IT, UH, APPEARS TO BE LIMITED TO THOSE DEVICES SPELLED OUT HERE, UH, TO THE EXCLUSION OF ANY OTHER MEANS OF SECURING A LOAD. RIGHT. SO, UM, I KNOW IT SAYS STRAPS, TIE DOWNS, ROPES, NETS, BUNGEE CORD RATCHET MM-HMM . CHANGE, ET CETERA. OR ANY MANUFACTURER APPROVED MEANS USED TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF A LOAD. UM, BUT I, I WONDER IF THERE MIGHT BE OTHER MEANS OF SECURING LOADS THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED HERE, THAT WHAT WOULD THAT BE? THAT MIGHT BE IN YOUR MIND. UH, I, YOU KNOW, I, THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE DANGER IN, IN, UM, IN LIMITING IT TO, UH, THE, THE MEANS, UH, OUTLINED HERE. UH, THERE COULD BE OTHER MEANS. SO THOSE ARE A COUPLE OF, COUPLE OF, UH, THINGS THAT COME, COME TO MIND. SURE. WELL, GOOD CON, GREAT CONCERN, BUT I THINK THAT NOW WE HAVE NOTHING AS IT IS RIGHT NOW IN THESE LIST OF DIFFERENT OBJECTS AND ITEMS THAT COULD BE USED AT THE, AT THE EXPENSE. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE NOTHING AT ALL. AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ADDRESSING, UM, MAYOR PRO TEMS CONCERN, WHICH IS I THINK LEGITIMATE. BUT THE REALITY IS RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NOTHING ON THE BOOKS THAT PROTECTS ANYONE OR GIVE THEM ANY DEFINITION OF WHAT THEY CAN USE. MM-HMM. YOU UNDERSTAND? AND, AND, AND LIKE YOU SAY, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE I WAS UNDERSTANDING MAYBE WHAT YOU ARE SUGGESTING THESE ITEMS MAY NOT GO FURTHER ENOUGH, OR IF THAT'S GOING TO SECURE [00:50:01] IT, AND THAT WOULD DEPEND UPON THE, THE ITEMS THAT'S ON THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE. YOU KNOW, LIKE THE GENTLEMAN, MS. HAWTHORNE, WOULD HE EXPERIENCE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TRUCK LOOKED LIKE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL OF, WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS SOMETHING TO COVER IT OR TIE IT DOWN, BUT WE DO KNOW 14 CARS GOT DAMAGED. MM-HMM . THAT'S WHAT WE DO KNOW MM-HMM . AND SO I, I, I JUST THINK THAT, UM, THIS IS MY INTENT WAS TO FOCUS ON MAKING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE. THE DANGER OF UNEXPOSED TIE DOWNS, UNEXPOSED, SOMETHING TO SECURE WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I THINK THAT IS MORE OF A THREAT AND A DANGER THAN, YOU KNOW, UH, THAN WHAT WE HAVE ON THE BOOKS PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER. OH, SORRY. APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH, THAT'S FINE. COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. SURE. YOUR WORK ON THIS, THE GRACE PERIOD THAT WILL, UM, BE USED FOR THE EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT. YES. CAN YOU, UH, TALK THROUGH WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? WHAT KIND OF OUTREACH IS GONNA BE DONE? HOW LONG IS IT GONNA LAST, ET CETERA? VERY GOOD QUESTION. WE DISCUSSED THAT WE TALKED ABOUT A GRACE PERIOD BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT WE WAS TRYING TO GIVE PEOPLE CITATION JUST TO GIVE CITATIONS. SO CAPTAIN GARCIA SEEING THE HPD, WE, WHEN WE MET, WE DISCUSSED IT LIKE A 90 DAY GRACE PERIOD. YOU KNOW, UH, THAT'S THREE MONTHS OF PEOPLE BECOMING AWARE OF THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND OF COURSE BEYOND THAT, IF THEY, IF THEY EVEN GOT COUNCIL MEMBER, IF THEY GOT A CITATION AND THEY WENT TO COURT, THEN IT WOULD BE THE DISCRETION OF THE JUDGE IN TERMS OF WHAT THE FINE, YOU KNOW, MAY BE BASED UPON WHO THEY'RE TALKING TO OR WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE. I MEAN, WE DIDN'T, MY OBJECTIVE WAS NOT TO GO OUT THERE AND HIT SOMEBODY WITH A $5,000 FINE. AND THAT WAS NOT THE OBJECTIVE. THE MORE OF US WAS TO DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD, WOULD MAKE THAT PERSON ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE POTENTIAL DANGER OF TEARING, BLOCKING DOWN THE FREEWAY. I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN OBJECTS THAT WAS NOT PROPERLY TIED, THAT SHUT DOWN THE WHOLE ENTIRE FREEWAY FOR HOURS. AND THE EDUCATION COMPONENT IS WHEN SOMEONE GETS STOPPED WITH AN UNSECURED LOAD, INSTEAD OF GETTING A CITATION, THEY GET A WARNING PROBABLY. YES. INFORMED OF THE NEW RULE. YES. RIGHT. ANY, ANYTHING BEYOND THAT IN TERMS OF EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, OUTREACH? UM, I WOULD, I WOULD JUST, JUST PUBLIC INFORMATION. I THINK, UH, AS MOST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MANY LAWS AND THINGS THAT WE DO HAVE ON THE BOOK AND HOW PEOPLE GENERALLY FIND OUT ABOUT IS WHEN THEY VIOLATE THE LAW. BUT I THINK THE GRACE PERIOD WOULD BE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE AND MAKE IT AWARE OF IT THAT THE LOADS ARE BEING TIED DOWN. BUT, BUT YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY METHOD. I HADN'T REALLY GIVEN THAT DEEP CONSIDERATION, BUT IT WOULD BE WHATEVER WAY NECESSARILY WE COULD GET THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE PROPER TO TIE DOWN YOUR OBJECTS, I THINK WOULD BE NECESSARY. AND, AND I WOULD ADVOCATE FOR THAT OF, IF THIS IS ADOPTED, A VERY ROBUST ENGAGEMENT PERIOD AND EFFORT THAT INCLUDED, YOU KNOW, CIVIC CLUB SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS. YES, YES. MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, ALL KIND WATER BILL NOTICES. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. I, YOU NAME IT. ALL OF THE ABOVE KIND OF APPROACH. RIGHT? YES, I WOULD, I WOULD WELCOME THAT. ABSOLUTELY. 'CAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR ALL OF US TO MAKE OUR GENERAL PUBLIC AWARE, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS AND BY PROCESS, TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS IS NOW BOOKS, UH, ON THE LAW, UM, THAT IS NOT IN THE BOOKS. THAT IF YOU DON'T PROPERLY TIE DOWN AND WHAT THOSE SPECIFICS ARE, THEN YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BEING GIVEN A CITATION. THANK YOU. SURE. COUNCIL MEMBER SLANES. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. I WANNA START BY SAYING I'M SO EXCITED THAT YOU BROUGHT A PROPOSITION A I THINK ALL OF US SHOULD BE USING PROPOSITION A AND I JUST, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, FOR DOING THIS WORK AND BRINGING THIS TO OUR, FOR OUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, I, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU. THE FIRST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. IF I HAVE A PICKUP TRUCK AND I HAD A CASE OF WATER IN THE BACK MM-HMM . THAT CASE WAS NOT STICKING OUT OF THE TRUCK IN ANY WHICH WAY. IF I HAD THAT CASE WITHOUT SECURING IT IN SOME WAY IN THE BED OF MY TRUCK MM-HMM . WOULD THAT SUBJECT ME TO A $500 FI, POTENTIALLY A $500 FINE IF RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO THE LAW, AS TO THE UNSECURED 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S NOTHING ON THE BOOKS [00:55:01] THAT WOULD MAKE YOU REQUIRE YOU TO SECURE THAT CASES OF WATER IF IT FELL OFF THE TRUCK. THAT'S NOTHING. NOW. YES, SIR. WELL, MY QUESTION IS, IF THE ORDINANCE PASSED AS IT'S CURRENTLY WRITTEN, OH, YOU SEE, IF THE ORDINANCE PASSED, WOULD, WOULD SOMEONE, IF JUST THEY HAD ONE CASE OF WATER IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK, COULD THAT PERSON BE FINED UP TO $500? I WOULD THINK NOT, NOT WITH ONE CASE OF WATER. AND, AND I GUESS I, I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU AND I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR, I, I JUST WORRY THAT HA WHERE IS THAT REFLECTED IN THE CODE? 'CAUSE IT WOULD SEEM THAT A LOOSE CASE OF WATER WOULD ARGUABLY BE A VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCE AS WRITTEN, BUT MAYBE I'M MISREADING IT, SIR. WELL, I THINK WHAT YOU, YOU, YOU, THE TIE DOWN SECUREMENT MEANS STRAPS, TIE DOWNS, AND IT WAS APPLIED TO ANY MOVING OBJECTS. IT USED THAT. AND THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE, THE THINGS INSIDE THE TRUCK, AS WE DO KNOW, MOST VEHICLES THAT END UP LOSING LOADS IS NEVER SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A ONE CASE OF WATER. AND IT IS NEVER SOMETHING THAT'S JUST RALLY. MOST OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE WITH THESE LOADS ARE STUFF STICKING OUT OF THE VEHICLE. SO, WHICH IS WORSE? THE ONE TAKES OF WATER ON THE BACK OF THE TRUCK OR A TRUCK THAT'S FULL OF STUFF ON THE BACK WITH NO LAWS TO TIE DOWN. YOU SAY, AND TO YOUR EXCELLENT POINT SIR, UM, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE OR HAD, DID YOU CONSIDER LANGUAGE THAT LIMITED THE APPLICATION OF THE CODE TO INSTANCES WHERE MATERIALS WERE STICKING OUT OF THE TRUCK? 'CAUSE I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU, SOMETHING STICKING OUT OF THE TRUCK. SURE. THAT PRESENTS A REAL POTENTIAL SAFETY CONCERN. SURE. UM, DID YOU CONSIDER LANGUAGE TO THAT EFFECT? YES. WHEN WE HAD OUR MEETINGS, WHEN WE GOT WITH HPD AND WE GOT WITH THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, WE WERE TRYING TO PUT IT IN THE WORDING THAT WOULD SPECIFY THE TYPE OF LOAD THAT YOU CARRY AND HOW THAT LOAD NEED TO BE TIED DOWN. THE OBJECTS ON THE BACK. I WOULDN'T THINK THAT THE PRESENT THIS PROPOSAL WOULD, ANY OFFICER WOULD STOP A PERSON WITH THAT MINIMUM AMOUNT OF LOADING. YOU UNDERSTAND? I I GET YOUR YOUR POINT. I DO. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY PRESENT A THREAT AND A SAFETY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WITH A PERSON CARRYING ONE OR TWO CASES OF WATER. I THINK THE OBJECTIVE, WHAT I'LL, A TOTAL OBJECTIVE WAS THAT WE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING THAT WOULD SECURE LOADS THAT POTENTIALLY BECOME A DANGER TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, WHICH WE SEE EVERY DAY. AND THAT WAS REALLY THE INTENT OF THAT. AND THAT WAS SO THAT PEOPLE COULD BE MORE ACCOUNTABLE HOW THEY PUT STUFF ON THE BACK OF A VEHICLE UNSECURED AND SOMETIMES LESS SECURED. I MEAN, I, I'LL BE, TO BE HONEST, I'VE SEEN PEOPLE PUT THINGS ON THE BACK OF VEHICLES AND CARS. IT WAS NOT AS DANGEROUS, BUT THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE 'CAUSE IT WAS NOT SECURED AT ALL. SIR, SIR. SO I THINK THAT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY THE OBJECTION. WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU CONSIDER LANGUAGE, UM, THAT WOULD LIMIT THE APPLICATION OF THE CO THE ORDINANCE TO TRUCKS THAT HAVE MATERIALS STICKING OUT? OR ARE YOU WHOLLY AGAINST THAT AND WANT TO KEEP THE LANGUAGE AS IS? I'M, I'M JUST SORT OF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. NO, NO, NO, NO. I, I, NO, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION. I I WOULD, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD GIVE CONSIDERATION TO. BUT I THINK THE, THE, THE GRAY AREA TO THAT IS, I WOULD RATHER LEAVE THAT OPEN-ENDED IN THE FACT THAT IF YOU GOT LOADS, IF YOU START GETTING INTO THE PARTICULARS OF WHAT THE LOAD IS VERSUS WHAT THE LOAD CAN DO, I THINK YOU, WE GETTING INTO A, AN AREA THAT WOULD, I DON'T KNOW, WE COULD WRITE UP A BUNCH OF STUFF IN MY MIND, BUT, BUT I THINK, AND I APPRECIATE THE CONCERN OF ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES IN IT, BUT I THINK THAT WE MAY BE MISSING THE OBJECTIVE TO SECUREMENT. 'CAUSE THE ORDINANCE, THE IT'S AMENDMENT TO ESTABLISH LOAD SECUREMENT. YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE STANDARD. WE JUST TRYING TO GIVE A STANDARD TO LOAD SECUREMENT AS THE PEOPLE WHO CARRY IT. COUNCILMAN SALINAS, IN THAT THEY NEED TO BE MORE THOUGHTFUL. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WAS MY OBJECTIVE. THAT A PERSON THAT EVEN THIS IS ME, IF I'M HAULING SOMETHING, A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD, [01:00:01] YOU KNOW, MADAM CHAIR OR U-HAUL OR SOME VEHICLES WITH IT. THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT BECAUSE IT'S COSTLY TO DO IT. SO SOME PEOPLE SAY, OH, WELL, I USE MY PICKUP, I USE A FRIEND. THEY LOAD IT UP, BUT IT'S NOT SECURE AND CAN CAUSE DAMAGE. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU FOR, UM, WORKING ON THIS AND I KNOW WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT IT YEAH. UH, FOR, FOR A FEW MONTHS ALREADY, OR SEVERAL MONTHS. UM, AND IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME ABOUT THIS MAYBE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD'VE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. YEAH. UH, THE ONE THING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WHAT MAYOR PRO 10 WAS ALLUDING TO, BUT I, I DO HAVE CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY NOW MM-HMM . WITH MORE INTERACTIONS WITH STOPS YEAH. BY HPD. UM, AND SO IN THIS SPECIFIC, UM, UM, PROP A THAT ONE EXTRA STOP TO, YOU KNOW, INTERACT WITH FOLKS THAT MIGHT BE IN, UH, A CERTAIN STATUS, UH, YEAH. JUST IT CONCERNS ME. UM, AND NOT SURE IF THERE'S WAYS THAT WE COULD WORK TOWARDS ADDRESSING, UM, THIS MAIN CONCERN THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT. 'CAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE ACTUALLY, AND I SHARED WITH YOU, I WAS WITH MY FAMILY A COUPLE YEARS BACK, AND WE RAN OVER SOME FOUR BY FOUR, UH, TWO BY TWO BY TWO BY TWO OR FOUR BY FOURS. YEAH. UM, AND YEAH, WE LOST THREE TIRES. WOW. YOU KNOW, IT WAS SCARY. WE HAD OUR KIDS WITH US. UM, SO AGAIN, I THINK THERE'S SOME VALIDITY TO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO, BUT I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T CREATE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AS WELL. UM, AND SO AS, AS I'VE HEARD MY COLLEAGUES SPEAK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, THEIR SUPPORT, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE CONCERNS, I, I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY TALK TO YOU A BIT MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE, BUT ALSO AS WELL WITH LEGAL AND HPD ON WHAT, WHAT THOSE STOPS WOULD LOOK LIKE. UM, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT FOLKS AREN'T BEING, HAVING THAT EXTRA TAIL LIGHT ISSUE THAT ULTIMATELY ENDS UP IN SOMETHING ELSE THAT MIGHT BE, THAT WE MIGHT NOT BE REALLY TRYING TO DO. YEAH. WELL, I, I, I CONCUR WITH YOU ON THAT. I, I WOULD HOPE THAT NO ONE WOULD TAKE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY OR AN ADVANTAGE. YEAH. YOU UNDERSTAND. TO, FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN TRYING FOR THE SAFETY REASON AND NOT USE THAT AS A WAY TO INTIMIDATE. YEAH. UH, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS. I THINK MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT COUNSELOR SEL IS SAYING IS MAY PUT SOME OF THOSE LIMITATIONS AS TO HOW HIGH THE LOAD IS, IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS NOT, YOU KNOW, IF WE FIGURED SOMETHING LIKE THAT OUT SO THAT WAY WE COULD ENSURE AGAIN, THAT, THAT, UH, WE ARE BEING MINDFUL OF IT AS WELL. YEAH. I'M OPEN TO THAT. I MEAN, WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION WHEN WE MET. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IF IT'S HIGH, YOU KNOW, A PICKUP TRUCK IS A PICKUP TRUCK, RIGHT? WE PUT STUFF ON THE BACK OF IT. BUT IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S ABOVE THE, LET'S SAY THE BED OF THE TRUCK OR THE HEIGHT OF THE CAB, YOU UNDERSTAND, WE, WE, WE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS. SO I MEAN, I'M OPEN TO WHATEVER, UH, THAT WE CAN DO THAT WE COULD ALL AGREE ON. BUT I, I THINK THAT, I DON'T WANT TO MINIMIZE YEAH. THE, THE, THE LIFE WE SHOULD NOT MINIMIZE ANYBODY'S LIFE YEAH. WITH THE FACT THAT THAT COULD CAUSE DEATH, MR. HAWTHORNE, HE COULDA GOT KILLED. YEAH. NO, AGAIN, I THINK PUBLIC SAFETY AND SEVERAL PEOPLE, SO, SO I DON'T WANNA MINIMIZE THAT IN EXCHANGE, BECAUSE UNLESS YOU EXPERIENCED THAT, LIKE YOU DID, YOU LOST THREE TIRES, RAN OVER SOMETHING WITH YOUR FAMILY, WHICH COULD HAVE CAUSED, YOU KNOW, MOVEMENT, YOU COULDN'T GET TO ANOTHER LANE OR MISS IT OR WHATEVER COULD HAVE BEEN AT NIGHT. SO THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABLES IN MY MIND TO WHAT THIS WOULD BE ABOUT. BUT NO, I'M, I'M OPEN TO, TO ANY OF THAT ASSIMILATION. YEAH. UM, AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE STOPS WOULD BE LIKE. UM, I THINK BACK TO WHENEVER, UH, I WAS YOUNGER AND USUALLY IT WAS FROM MOVING. UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE MOVING FROM ONE, ONE PLACE TO THE NEXT. SURE. SO YOU TRY TO STACK UP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. YES. GET YOUR, GET YOUR, UH, MOVING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. UM, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S AN UNCLE THAT YOU'RE BORROWING THE TRUCK FOR A MINUTE. I UNDERSTAND. . UM, SO I THINK, UH, AGAIN, IT'D BE GOOD AND PROBABLY BEHOOVE US TO THINK THROUGH IT A BIT MORE. UH, JUST ENSURE, TO ENSURE, LIKE I SAID, ASK ME TWO YEARS AGO, I WOULDN'T BE ASKING THIS QUESTION. UH, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DEFINITELY HAVE THAT, THAT OPEN CONVERSATION WRONG ON HORSESHOE. OKAY. SURE. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE. WE HAVE THREE PUBLIC SPEAKERS SIGNED UP. YEAH. CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER. DOMINIC MAZO. DOMINIC MAZO, UH, LANDON HAWTHORNE. LANDON HAWTHORNE. HE ALREADY CAME UP SO WE'LL. OKAY. UH, MARIAN [01:05:01] WRIGHT, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. HI. UM, SO I DIDN'T PRINT OUT PICTURES, BUT I'VE SENT THEM TO COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, SO HE CAN SHARE IT WITH ANYONE, IF ANYONE WANTS TO SEE. I WAS DRIVING HOME WITH MY HUSBAND AND MY SON AFTER A HOCKEY GAME AT MEMORIAL CITY MALL, WHICH HOPEFULLY THEY'LL STILL KEEP THE HOCKEY RINK OPEN FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER. BUT ANYWAY, UM, ON I 10, THERE WAS A CAR WITH A MATTRESS AND A BOX SPRING, NOT A CAR TRUCK. THE BOX SPRING FLEW OFF OF THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. IT WASN'T SECURED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. THE CAR THAT WAS IN THE LANE NEXT TO IT HIT IT. IT THEN CAME INTO OUR LANE. THE WOOD FROM THE BOX SPRING WENT THROUGH THE RADIATOR. IT ALSO, RIGHT. SO WE HAD TO PULL OVER, WE HAD TO BREAK THE PART THAT WAS THERE. WE MANAGED TO GET HOME, BUT IT CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE. AND, UM, IT WAS A SCARY SITUATION. THE TRUCK KEPT GOING. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE ALREADY SAID THAT Y'ALL HAD ISSUES. SO IT'S NOT LIKE SOMETHING THAT'S FOREIGN TO ANY OF US. ANY OF US CAN GO IN THE INTERSTATE ANY DAY RIGHT NOW. AND I PROMISE YOU, WE WILL FIND VEHICLES THAT ARE, MY HUSBAND'S AN ENGINEER, SO HE'S ALWAYS LOOKING AND SAYING, OH MY GOSH, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? LOOK AT THAT. THAT SHOULD BE BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. AND IT'S LIKE, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, WHATEVER. BUT WE ALL KNOW IT EXISTS, RIGHT? OH, WE REALLY AFRAID OF HPD PULLING OVER PEOPLE JUST TO PULL 'EM OVER. IS THAT WHY WE WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING? IS THAT REALLY, REALLY A CONCERN OF OURS? I'M ASKING BECAUSE I TRUST HPDI DO. UM, AS FAR AS, UH, CASE OF WATER IN THE BACK OF A CAR, I MEAN, IN FACT, CASES OF WORK CAN CAUSE DAMAGE, YOU KNOW, IF THE WIND PICKS UP UNDER IT AND FLOW, IF IT SHOULD BE SECURED, YOU KNOW, DO WE REALLY THINK THAT HPD IS GONNA PULL OVER A TRUCK BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CASE OF WATER IN THE BACK OF IT? IS THAT THE HPD THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT I KNOW. NOT THE HPD THAT I KNOW. SO ANYWAY, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S TWEAKS IN THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, BUT THE DAMAGE THAT THIS CAUSED FOR OUTWEIGHS, IN MY OPINION, THE RISK OF HPD ABUSING SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU MARYAM FOR COMING TO SPEAK ON THIS. AND I CAN ADD MY EXPERIENCE TOO. IT TOOK OUT A RADIATOR, AIR CONDITIONING, EVERYTHING, AND MY CAR WAS UNFORTUNATELY NOT DRIVABLE. SO I, I CONCUR WITH YOUR SENTIMENTS. AND I ALSO, I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS BRINGING THIS FORWARD, BUT I THINK THAT, UM, I TOO, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE IF A BIT MORE PARAMETER, YOU KNOW, A FEW MORE PARAMETERS PUT AROUND DEFINING, SECURE AND WHAT WE SECURE. BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, EVERYTHING CAN CAUSE DAMAGE. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF, OF THIS IF, IF, AGAIN, A MORE CLOSELY DEFINED, BECAUSE I THINK THERE IS A NEED, AND I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE. THANK YOU. WELL, THAT'S WHAT THIS COMMITTEE'S FOR IS FOR TWEAKING. RIGHT, RIGHT. AND MAKING IT BETTER IF WE CAN. SO, BUT YEAH. BUT THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT AND HOPEFULLY SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO MORE PUBLIC SPEAKERS. SO AT THIS TIME, UM, WE CAN DECIDE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO VOTE IT OUT OF COMMITTEE THE WAY THAT IT IS? OR DO YOU WANNA KEEP WORKING? I LIKE TO, UM, I LIKE TO, I LIKE TO GO FURTHER. I THINK THAT, IN MY OPINION, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S NECESSARY. I HOPE THAT WE AS CITIZENS AND, AND MANY OF US WOULD UNDERSTAND THE DANGER OF IT, AND, UH, IF IT GOES THROUGH, SO BE IT. IF NOT, YOU KNOW, BUT I LIKE TO GO FORWARD WITH IT. OKAY. AND SO WOULD YOU, ARE YOU MAKING A MOTION TO VOTE THIS ITEM OUT OF COMMITTEE? YES. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE VOTE OUT THE COMMITTEE. SECOND. SECOND, UH, MOTION MADE AND SECONDED DISCUSSION. OH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. POINT OF ORDER. SO IS THE VOTE TO, UH, SEND IT TO THE FULL COUNCIL WITH, UH, APPROVAL OR, OR JUST TO SEND IT TO THE FULL COUNCIL? I GET IT. SO IF WE VOTE THIS OUT OF COMMITTEE, THEN IT WILL GO ON THE AGENDA AS IT'S WRITTEN. IF WE THINK THAT THERE'S MORE TWEAKING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, OR MORE DISCUSSIONS THAT NEED TO BE HAD, THEN WE WOULD VOTE NOT TO. OKAY. 'CAUSE BECAUSE, UH, I GUESS IF IT'S NOT VOTED OUT, THEN, UM, UM, THE PROPONENT WOULD HAVE TO EITHER, UH, CHANGE IT IN SOME WAY OR GET TWO SPONSORS. [01:10:02] I GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. RIGHT. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. UM, YOU KNOW, IF THIS DOES GO TO FULL COUNCIL, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S STILL SOME CONCERNS ABOUT DEFINITIONS. A FEW OTHER THINGS. ARE THERE, UM, ARE YOU WILLING TO LOOK AT MAYBE SOME AMENDMENTS TO YOUR ITEM, GOING TO FULL COUNSEL, AND THEN MAYBE JUST TWEAKING A FEW THINGS BEFORE IT GETS THERE, OR AMENDMENTS AS IT GETS THERE? I WOULD, I WOULD, YOU ALREADY ASKED TO GO ON THE AGENDA. I WOULD SUBMIT TO MAKING SOME CHANGES. UH, OKAY. YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT WOULD BE PROPER. 'CAUSE I, I, I DEEM IT THAT SERIOUS ENOUGH THAT EVERYBODY'S CONCERNED, AND I, I, I CERTAINLY, UH, WOULD HOPE AND PRAY THAT, UH, WHATEVER WE DO WILL BE THE SAFETY FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. IT'S CERTAINLY NOT TO HARM OR HURT ANYBODY, BUT NO, I, I WOULD AGREE TO THAT. AND SO, JUST TO CLARIFY WHAT, WHAT I'M HEARING THAT YOU'RE SAYING. SO ARE YOU GONNA WITHDRAW YOUR MOTION? WITHDRAW IT. OKAY. I WITHDRAW IT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, TAKE THIS UP AGAIN. ALL RIGHT. AT THIS TIME, UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. GOOD AFTERNOON, COLLEAGUES. EVERYONE HEAR ME? OKAY. ALRIGHT, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. THAT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S SLIDE. ALRIGHT. UH, SO WE ARE HERE, UH, TO DISCUSS THE RIGHT TO AIR CONDITIONING ORDINANCE THAT, UH, MYSELF, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD, HAVE PUT FORTH, UH, FOR, UH, CONSIDERATION BY COUNCIL, UM, AS I THINK WILL BE REFLECTED THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION. THIS IS NOT RADICAL POLICY MAKING. THIS IS NOT REQUIRING AN HVAC SYSTEM RETROFITTED IN EVERY BUILDING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. THIS IS SIMPLY SAYING THAT A BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENT THAT WE ARE SEEING PASSED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THE STATE OF TEXAS, BE MET FOR ALL TENANTS. UM, SO I'M HAP I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH THE BASE, THE, THE TE THE BASIC, UH, OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE ORDINANCE DOES, SOME OF OUR SUPPORTERS. BUT I WANT TO MOSTLY LEAVE TIME, AND I HOPE YOU WILL GIVE VERY SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS THAT ARE HERE TODAY. WE HAVE OVER 19 INDIVIDUALS THAT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FROM THE MORE THAN TWO DOZEN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ENDORSED THIS ORDINANCE. UM, SO I HOPE YOU WILL GIVE THEIR TESTIMONY, VERY SERIOUS CONSIDERATION. AND OF COURSE, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THE END. SO, NEXT SLIDE, PAUSE. CAN EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE HERE, OKAY, PERFECT. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. OKAY. SO UNDER THE CURRENT ORDINANCE, THIS IS ALL THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE TO KEEP ANY OF YOUR BUILDINGS COOL. THE CODE SAYS YOU CAN PROVIDE MECHANISMS TO COOL A UNIT OR A SCREENED IN WINDOW. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ANY OF YOU ALL, BUT I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A SPACE WHERE I HAVE FELT THAT A SCREENED IN WINDOW PROVIDES THE SAME PROTECTION FROM THE EXTERNAL HEAT AS MECHANISMS BY WHICH TO COOL UNIT, WHETHER IT BE A WALL UNIT, CENTRAL AC, A FAN, SOME OTHER MECHANISM TO PULL. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS ORDINANCE IS TO WIPE OUT THAT LOOPHOLE. A LOOPHOLE THAT BEST MY RESEARCH AND MY TEAM'S RESEARCH WE CANNOT FIND EXISTS IN ANY OTHER MAJOR CITY. AND ALL WE ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO DO IS ENSURE THAT ALL HOUSTONIANS, EVEN THE LEAST AMONG US, HAVE ACCESS TO THIS BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENT, I THINK IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT. AS WE ALL KNOW, AS WE'RE ENTERING THESE DAYS, WE ARE IN A HUNDRED DEGREES AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. NEXT SLIDE. THIS PROVISION AND THE WAY IT'S DRAFTED, AGAIN, NOT RADICAL OR NEW POLICY MAKING, THE REQUIREMENT THAT YOU PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF MECHANISM TO COOL THE UNIT IS ALREADY A PART OF OUR MINIMUM STANDARDS CODE. AND IF YOU LOOK ABOVE THE ONE THAT IS HIGHLIGHTED, SECTION SEVEN, YOU SEE A NEARLY IDENTICAL REQUIREMENT AS TO HEATING. NOTABLY, THAT HEATING REQUIREMENT HAS NO EXCEPTION FOR A SCREENED-IN WINDOW. IT DOESN'T SAY YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF MECHANISM TO HEAT THE SPACE OR A SCREENED IN WINDOW. IT RIGHTFULLY SAYS, PROVIDE SOME MECHANISM TO HEAT THE SPACE WHEN APPROPRIATE. AND ALL THIS DOES IS BRING THE COOLING PROVISION IN LINE WITH THE HEATING PROVISION THAT HAD ALREADY EXISTED IN OUR CODE. NEXT SLIDE. WHY IS THIS ORDINANCE NEEDED? WELL, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S THE OBVIOUS, UH, COMMON SENSE THAT IF [01:15:01] ANYONE'S LIVING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, YOU WOULD AGREE THAT YOU NEED SOME REPRIEVE FROM THE HEAT. AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN COME HOME TO A SPACE WHERE THEY HAVE THAT REPRIEVE IS ESSENTIAL. ACCORDING TO 2023 CENSUS DATA ACROSS THE HOUSTON METROPOLITAN AREA, THERE ARE OVER 20,000 PEOPLE THAT RESIDE RIGHT NOW WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING. NOW, OBVIOUSLY, THAT NUMBER IS BROADER THAN JUST THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BUT IT, WE HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CURRENTLY LIVING IN HOUSTON WITHOUT AC. AND THIS ORDINANCE IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE MUCH NEEDED PROTECTION FOR THOSE PEOPLE. AND AS WE WILL SEE IN A MAP, THAT'S TOWARDS THE END, END OF YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION. THIS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS THE BLACK AND BROWN NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH IS TERRIBLY UNFORTUNATE. AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADDRESS AND REMEDY WITH THE PASSAGE OF THIS ORDINANCE. I DON'T HAVE TO RUN THE STATS BY YOU, BUT YOU ALL KNOW HOUSTON IS GETTING HOTTER. HOUSTON IS GETTING HOTTER BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. HOUSTON IS GETTING HOTTER BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE ARE DEVELOPING THE CITY, BECAUSE THERE ARE LESS TREES AND MORE CONCRETE. AND SO, WHILE IT MAY HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE FOR SOME PEOPLE 50 YEARS AGO NOT TO HAVE AC, THAT IS NOT THE HOUSTON WE LIVE IN TODAY. AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT MYSELF AND MY TEAM WENT OUT AND VISITED PEOPLE WHO CURRENTLY LIVE IN COMPLEXES WITHOUT AC. AND NOT ONE OF THEM SAID, NO, THAT'S OKAY. I'M, I'M GOOD WITH THAT CONDITION. THEY ALL DEMANDED THAT WE AS A CITY DO SOMETHING TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THIS BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTECTION. NEXT SLIDE. NOW, AS I ALLUDED TO, WE WOULD NOT BE THE FIRST IN REMOVING THIS LOOPHOLE, BUT WHAT WE WOULD BE DOING IS FALLING IN LINE WITH WHAT CITIES ACROSS TEXAS AND ACROSS THE NATION HAVE DONE. IN FACT, JUST THIS YEAR, UH, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALCO AND I HAVE DISCUSSED, THE CITY OF NEW YORK HAS PASSED A RIGHT TO AC. WE ALL KNOW NEW YORK IS MUCH COOLER, BUT YET EVEN THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A NECESSARY NEED AS CLIMATE CHANGE CONTINUES TO HAVE ITS IMPACT ON OUR NATION. AND SO ALL THIS ORDINANCE WOULD BE DOING IS BRINGING US IN LINE WITH MANY OTHER CITIES, INCLUDING MANY CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS LIKE DALLAS, AUSTIN, AND EL PASO HAVE ALREADY PASSED. NEXT SLIDE. NOW, YOU MAY BE WONDERING, WELL, IS THIS GONNA HURT THE LEAST AMONG US? IS THIS GONNA HAVE AN UN UNWANTED EFFECT OF NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THEM? AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE DATA, WHICH IS WHAT WE CAN RELY ON, SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOT. WHEN THIS PASSED IN DALLAS, NEARLY A DECADE AGO, THERE WAS NO DOCUMENTED CASES OF ITS INCREASE IN RENTS. AND WHEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN CONSIDERED THIS MATTER, JUST LAST YEAR, THEY ACTUALLY COMMISSIONED A STUDY TO SEE WOULD THERE BE SOME TYPE OF INCREASE IN RENTS. AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN SOME OF THE SMALLER LANGUAGE, WHICH IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE REPORT, THE PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD HAVE A NEUTRAL IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT COST, AND THE PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD HAVE A NEUTRAL IMPACT ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THIS IS VERY POWERFUL. THIS TELLS US THAT WHEN THIS ISSUE IS STUDIED, THE DATA UNIFORMLY SHOWS THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN RENT. AND I'LL TELL YOU, AS WE HAVE STARTED SPEAKING FOLKS IN COMMUNITY, I'LL TELL YOU THE REASON WHY. I WAS AT A CIVIC CLUB LAST WEEK AND A LANDLORD SAID, I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS PROPOSED ORDINANCE, AND I THINK THE BEST WAY TO IMPLEMENT IT IS I'M GONNA SPLIT THE COST WITH MY TENANTS. SO I'M GONNA ABSORB HALF OF THE COST OF PUTTING IN A WALL UNIT, AND I WILL PASS ON THE OTHER HALF. TO THEM. A WALL UNIT'S ABOUT $150. THAT MEANS IT'LL BE A FEW DOLLARS A MONTH THAT THEY WILL TAKE ON, BUT THOSE FEW DOLLARS ARE GOING TO GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO TURN ON THE AC WHEN IT IS A HUNDRED DEGREES DAY IN AND DAY OUT. BUT AGAIN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF ADVOCACY GROUPS HERE TODAY, AND I, WHEN I FINISH MY PRESENTATION, I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO JUDITH ORIA FROM TEXAS HOUSER, ONE OF THE PREEMINENT ORGANIZATIONS ON TENANT ADVOCACY TO SPEAK TO YOU AS TO WHY EVEN FOR THE LEAST AMONG THIS, THIS IS SUCH AN ESSENTIAL PIECE OF LEGISLATION. NEXT SLIDE. SO, HOW WILL THIS ORDINANCE BE ENFORCED? AGAIN, WE ARE NOT IN REINVENTING THE WHEEL. THIS WILL BE ENFORCED IN THE SAME WAY ANY OTHER BUILDING STANDARDS AND CODES ARE ENFORCED. NOW, THIS WILL ACTUALLY BE ENFORCED BY THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT RATHER THAN HPW, BUT BASED ON ALL OF OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH DEPARTMENTS, THE ENFORCEMENT PROCESS IS THE SAME. SO THERE IS A 90 DAY PERIOD THAT WE HAVE WRITTEN INTO THE ORDINANCE THAT WILL ALLOW LANDLORDS TO COME UP TO CODE. AFTER THAT PERIOD HAS ENDED, THEN A RES, THEN A TENANT COULD CALL AND SAY, MY LANDLORD'S NOT IN COMPLIANCE. THEN THE DEPARTMENT WOULD SEND AN INSPECTOR OUT, EVALUATE, DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS IN FACT THE CASE, AND THEN GIVE THEM USUALLY BETWEEN A 15 TO 20 DAY WINDOW TO COME IN COMPLIANCE. IF THEY DO NOT COME INTO COMPLIANCE, THEN THE DEPARTMENT WILL GO BACK OUT THERE USUALLY AROUND A MONTH AFTER THE REPORT AND ISSUE A CITATION. THAT CITATION WILL THEN DIRECT THE LANDLORD TO GO TO COURT AND PAY A FINE. THAT CAN RANGE. UM, I DON'T BELIEVE IT GOES MORE THAN, THAN A COUPLE THAN $2,000, BUT IT CAN BE AS LOWER. AND THEN THEY WOULD GO TO COURT AND THE COURT COULD DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO IMPOSE THAT PENALTY. AND IF THE LANDLORD REMAINED OUT OF COMPLIANCE, [01:20:01] THEN THEY COULD BE CITED AGAIN AND AGAIN. BUT AS WE'VE JUST DISCUSSED, UM, YOU COULD FIX THIS BY BUYING $150 UNIT. AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE MOST LIKELY OUTCOME IS THAT IF WE GOT TO THAT STAGE, LANDLORDS WOULD OPT TO INSTEAD GO AHEAD AND INSTALL THE WALL UNIT RATHER THAN CONTINUE TO INCUR THESE CITATIONS. BUT NOTHING IS DIFFERENT. NOTHING IS CONTROVERSIAL. THIS WOULD BE IMPOSED, UH, AND REGULATED THE SAME WAY WE REGULATE ALL OTHER BUILDING CODE, UM, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. NEXT SLIDE. AS I SAID, IT STARTED MY PRESENTATION. NO, WE ARE NOT REQUIRING THAT HVAC, UH, BE ADDED TO EVERY BUILDING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. UM, AND SO WE DO NOT SEE SOME HUGE DEVELOPMENT, UM, COST BEING PASSED ON TO RENTERS. NEXT SLIDE. AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, UH, THIS HAS BEEN STUDIED EXTENSIVELY AND MAPPED, UH, BY HARRIS COUNTY AND SOME OF THE ADVOCACY GROUPS HERE TODAY. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS, UM, THE BLACK AND BROWN NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. NEXT SLIDE. UM, AND THIS SLIDE, IT JUST GIVES YOU A PREVIEW. LIKE I SAID, THERE WERE OVER TWO DOZEN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ENDORSED THIS ORDINANCE. AND I'M GONNA HAND OVER THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME TO ONE OF THEM, BUT I JUST WANNA LIST SOME OF THEM TO, TO NOTE FOR THE, FOR THE COMMITTEE, THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEALTH COALITION, THE COALITION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY AND RESILIENCE, THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION. I KNOW THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION AND DEBATE ABOUT HOW THEY FELT ABOUT THE LAST APARTMENT ORDINANCE WE PASSED. WE HAD EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM AS WE WERE DELIBERATING AND DRAFTING THIS ORDINANCE. AND THEY WERE ON BOARD FROM THE BEGINNING AND WE'RE VERY PROUD TO HAVE THEIR SUPPORT. UH, THE HOUSTON FOOD BANK, THE HOUSTON EVICTION ADVOCACY CENTER, THE HOUSTON TENANTS UNIT, TEXAS HOUSERS, AND NUMEROUS SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS, SOME OF WHICH I KNOW ARE HERE PRESENT TODAY TO TESTIFY. I SEE LINDSEY WILLIAMS, UM, IN THE AUDIENCE RIGHT NOW. SO, UH, I, I'M HAP SO I WILL PASS IT OVER TO JUDAS IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO COME UP. UH, BUT I SO APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE'S CONSIDERATION AND I SO APPRECIATE, UH, MY COLLEAGUES FOR CO-SPONSORING WHAT I THINK IS A VERY IMPORTANT HEALTH AND SAFETY ORDINANCE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME. YEAH, THANK YOU. UH, HELLO EVERYONE. HOW ARE YOU? MY NAME IS JULIO. I'M WITH TEXAS HOUSERS. AND, UM, OUR FOCUS IS LOW INCOME HOUSING. I'VE BEEN HERE, UH, FOR THE LAST YEAR TALKING ABOUT THE APARTMENT ORDINANCE AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LIVE IN DIGNIFIED HOUSING. AND AIR CONDITIONING IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS AS A COUNCIL MEMBER HAS SAID, WE ARE GETTING HOTTER AND, AND WE KNOW THIS. AND SO AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THE MAP, IF WE WANTED TO GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE, I THINK IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THIS MAP THAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT IS, UH, SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX. AND SO OUR SBI IS REALLY CONSIDERING, UH, PEOPLE'S HEALTH, PEOPLE'S WELLNESS, PEOPLE'S ACCESS, UH, TO AMENITIES AND THEIR INCOME. AND SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT MAP AND LOOKING AT THE MAP THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, WE DO SEE A SIGNIFICANT OVERLAP IN WHERE THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND CENSUS TRACKS HAVE WITH SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX. THE CITY OF HOUSTON ALSO HAS A MAP OF WHERE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS ARE LOCATED, AND WE ALSO SEE SOME OVERLAP WITH THESE UNITS AS WELL, WITH THIS MAP WHERE WE SEE THAT THERE IS LACKING AIR CONDITIONING. WE DO HOPE, AND I DO BELIEVE THAT MOST LOW INCOME TAXING HOUSING CREDIT PROPERTIES, THE LITECH PROPERTIES DO HAVE HVAC AND DO HAVE ACCESS TO ACS. BUT WE ALSO THINK ABOUT UNITS THAT ARE THOSE NOAA HOUSING, THE NATURAL OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS. AND SO KINDER HAS DATA ON WHERE THE NOAA HOUSING IS WITHIN OUR CITY, AND WE DO ALSO SEE SIGNIFICANT OVERLAP IN THOSE INCLUDING, UH, AREAS SUCH AS ALE, SHARPSTOWN, PASADENA, GREENS POINT, AND GULFTON. SO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR PEOPLE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO THOSE WITH LOWER INCOMES, AS OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, AN AC UNIT IS COUPLE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A SMALLER UNIT. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO AC COOL A LARGER ROOM, YOU MIGHT SPEND 600, $700 ON A LARGE UNIT. BUT IF WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO THINK ABOUT THE DIGNITY AND THE HEALTH OF OUR PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, I THINK ONE, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS TO REALLY CONSIDER, UM, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE THINKING THAT THERE ARE OVER 20,000 UNITS WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING AT THIS POINT. THERE WAS AN INITIATIVE BY, UH, THE HOUSTON ALLIANCE, HTX, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE HOUSTON HOUSING AUTHORITY IN 2023 TO PUT AIR CONDITIONING UNITS IN ALL OF THEIR, UH, HOUSING UNITS. AND WE HAVE HEARD, OR I HAVE HEARD FROM PEOPLE IN CUNY HOMES THAT HAVE SEEN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IT WAS LIVING WITHOUT, UH, AC UNIT OR HAVING TO BRING YOUR OWN UNIT OR HAVING ONE ALLOWED AND, AND GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL. I THINK THIS ALSO COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY THE, FOR THE CITY CON TO CONSIDER SOME TYPE OF, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND A REVOLVING LOAN FOR SMALLER LOCAL LANDLORDS [01:25:01] BECAUSE THEY ARE INCURRING THIS COST. SO HOW IS IT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, GET THAT MONEY BACK, AND THEN MAYBE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OTHER PEOPLE? I KNOW REVOLVING LOANS HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT THE CITY HAS CONSIDERED IN OTHER METHODS, AND I GUESS I'LL JUST SHARE THAT. YOU KNOW, I CAME HOME YESTERDAY, UH, FROM A LONG TRIP. MY NEIGHBOR PICKED ME UP. I TOOK, UH, THE METRO DOWN FROM THE AIRPORT, AND I WALKED INTO MY HOUSE THAT WAS 88 DEGREES. AND YESTERDAY, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T THAT HOT, BUT IT WAS KIND OF WARM. AND WE KNOW LAST WEEK WE OPENED COOLING CENTERS BECAUSE OF THIS HIGH HEAT, AND WE, WE'VE ALL BEEN FEELING THE HEAT. SO HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO LIVE AND, AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS RESIDENCES, AS AND AS NEIGHBORS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON? SO I WELCOME, UM, THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND I DO THINK THAT THESE ARE, UH, GREAT STEPS FORWARD IN OUR CITY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, HOW DID YOU, HOW DID WE ARRIVE ON THE 90 DAY TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION? THAT'S, IS THAT WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE? THAT WAS A NUMBER WE DISCUSSED WITH THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION. THEY FELT THAT WAS AN APPROPRIATE TIMELINE, UM, BY WHICH TO GIVE FOLKS THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE. AND THEN, UM, LOOKING AT THE ORDINANCE, WHEN IT SAYS, UM, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNER, AND HERE WE'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT RENTAL PROPERTIES, BUT WOULD THIS ORDINANCE APPLY TO, TO EVERY PROPERTY? IT SAYS, YOU KNOW, ANY OWNER OF A PROPERTY SHALL COMPLY WITH THE SUBSECTION. YEAH. SO THE, THE, THE BUILDING CODE, WHICH WE, WHICH IS ON ANOTHER SLIDE, THE COMPLETE CODE APPLIES TO ALL PROPERTIES. BUT IN EFFECT, I'M NOT GONNA CALL THE CITY ON MYSELF TO SAY THAT MY PROPERTY IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE. IN EFFECT, THE WAY ALL BUILDING CODE IS ENFORCED IS AGAINST RENTAL PROPERTIES. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THE PROPOSAL. UM, IN 2011, WHEN THE CITY ADOPTED, UM, AIR CONDITIONING REQUIREMENTS, AND IT SHOWS THAT THE WINDOW SCREENS ARE THE EXEMPTION. DO YOU KNOW WHY THAT HAPPENED IN 2011? I'M, YOU KNOW, DID YOU FIND ANYTHING ON THAT? 'CAUSE THAT SEEMS VERY INTERESTING THAT THEY PUT THE EXEMPTION WHEN NO OTHER CITIES HAVE THAT. I, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY FOLKS HERE WERE AROUND IN TWO 11, WE LOOKED THROUGH THE PUBLIC RECORD, WE COULD NOT FIND ANY CONTEMPORANEOUS NOTES THAT EXPLAINED WHY THE EXCEPTION WAS PUT IN. UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE CANNOT FIND ANY SUPPORT OR BASIS FOR IT IN ANY OTHER CITY. OKAY. BUT WE DID, WE DID LOOK TO WHAT WAS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND WE COULD FIND NO EXPLANATION FOR WHY THE SCREENED IN WINDOW EXCEPTION WAS CREATED. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, UH, FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. I TRULY UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE, UM, THE INTENTIONS OF THE ORDINANCE. CERTAINLY. UM, YOU KNOW, BAKER RIPLEY, WHO IS THE LARGEST, UM, LOW INCOME, THEY'VE RUN THE LOW INCOME, UH, HOME ENERGY, UH, ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. AND SO LAST YEAR, 2025, A HUNDRED THOUSAND APPLICANTS, 95% WERE TURNED AWAY BECAUSE OF LACK OF RESOURCES. AND SO, AND OFTEN WE SEE, YOU KNOW, WE JUST PASSED A $5 TRASH FEE AND THEN BACKED IT UP WITH A FUND TO SUPPORT BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD THE $5 INCREASE. UM, AS THE UTILITY BILLS START TO INCREASE NOT ONLY THE POTENTIAL COST OR, OR MAYBE A PORTION OF THE COST OF A WINDOW UNIT, BUT AS THE UTILITY BILLS START TO INCREASE, WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE LITERALLY PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND THEY'RE ONE STEP AWAY FROM HOMELESSNESS ON ANY GIVEN DAY? MY CONCERN IS THE VERY PEOPLE THAT, THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ASSIST, YOU'RE GONNA PUSH RIGHT OUT THE DOOR. UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OFTEN PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THE LAST THING TO GO IS THEIR UTILITIES, BUT WHEN THE UTILITIES ARE CUT OFF, YOU KNOW, IT'S A STRUGGLE TO GET THEM BACK ON. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ACROSS THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, ANNUALLY DISPERSED BY ASSISTANCE MINISTRIES, CHURCHES, ALL KINDS OF POOLS FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE. AND I THINK THIS, THIS WILL BE MAYBE A TIPPING POINT. UM, WHEN FOLKS RENT A A, A SPACE, THEY KNOW IF IT HAS, UH, IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, CENTRAL AC A WINDOW UNIT WINDOW SCREENS, UM, AND IT SEEMS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO, TO, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO HURT THE END RESULT WELL, THAT WE WILL DO DAMAGE TO THOSE WE'RE TRYING TO PROTECT WITH COOL AIR. UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE WAS A QUESTION THERE. IF YOUR QUESTION IS, ARE WE TRYING TO HURT THE PEOPLE WE'RE TRYING TO HELP? NO. THE, THE QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU, YOU KNOW, IF NOT, IF 95% OF FOR, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T POSE THE QUESTION EXACTLY. 95% WERE TURNED AWAY FROM BAKER RIP BAKER RIPLEY BY BAKER, BAKER RIPLEY IN 2025 FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE. THIS WILL INCREASE, I WOULD THINK, THE NEED FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE DUE [01:30:01] TO INCREASED BILLS. HOW, HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO PAY FOR THIS IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD, YOU KNOW, AND I'M JUST DAY TO DAY LIVING. WHAT, WHEN WAS THAT BAKER RIPLEY NUMBER FROM 2025. OKAY, SO, UM, COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE IN THE FAQS THAT I KNOW, UH, MY TEAM SENT TO YOUR, YOUR STAFF, THE AVERAGE COST OF RUNNING AN AC A WALL UNIT A MONTH WOULD BE $36. SO WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT, I, I'M GONNA SAY GIVE A FEW POINTS OF RESPONSE. UM, SO WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT SOME HUGE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN, IN COST. I, I RECOGNIZE $33 CAN STILL BE SIGNIFICANT FOR SOME FOLKS, BUT IT IS NOT A VERY LARGE INCREASE. THAT'S 0.1. POINT TWO IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS ORDINANCE IS THAT WE ARE EMPOWERING TENANTS TO HAVE THE CHOICE RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE TENANTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT DO NOT HAVE THE CHOICE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANNA TURN ON THE UNIT BECAUSE THEIR LANDLORDS GAVE THEM THIS. AND SO WE ARE DISEMPOWERING THOUSANDS OF HOUSTONIANS BY NOT ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE THE CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT TO TURN ON THE AC. I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT IN TALKING TO, TO, TO SMALL LANDLORDS THAT PROVIDE WOULD BE CONSIDERED AFFORDABLE HOUSING, MANY OF THEM, ALL, SOME UNITS PROVIDE LOW INCOME HOUSING, PROVIDE A WALL UNIT AND COVER THE UTILITY, AND THEY'RE STILL ABLE TO PROVIDE RENTS AT $700 A MONTH. AND SO IT IS POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE LOW INCOME HOUSING TO COVER THE UTILITY AND TO COVER A WALL UNIT. THE FACT THAT SOME LANDLORDS HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO DO SO TO SPREAD THEIR PROFIT IS NOT SOMETHING, IS NOT POLICY MAKING. I THINK THE CITY OF HOUSTON NEEDS TO ENSURE TO PROTECT IF UNITS ARE BEING PROVIDED RIGHT NOW IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR $700 WITH UTILITIES COVERED AND A WALL UNIT, WHY SHOULDN'T WE ENSURE THAT THAT IS A BASIC STANDARD THAT ALL HOUSTONIANS GET TO PROVIDE JUST, AND NOT JUST SO THAT ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO MEET A GOOD FAITH LANDLORD THAT WANTS TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING EQUITABLE AND SAFE HOUSING. AND WITH REGARDS TO BAKER RIPLEY, WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO WORK TO PARTNER WITH THEM. I WILL TELL YOU, I'M USING MY COUNCIL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO BUY ACS AND WE'LL PROVIDE THEM TO THE COMMUNITY. I KNOW THE MAYOR HAS A PROGRAM. I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, COMMISSIONER EZ HAS A PROGRAM. COMMISSIONER GARCIA GOT A PROGRAM. AND SO THERE ARE A NUMBER, MAY I FINISH? THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS AVAILABLE, UH, WHERE PEOPLE CAN ACCESS ACS. BUT THE DATA IS THERE THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAN BE PROVIDED, UTILITIES COVERED, AND A WALL UNIT CAN BE PROVIDED. ALL THIS ORDINANCE DOES ENSURE THAT ALL HOUSTONIANS ARE LIFTED. SO THAT BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARD. AND I WOULD JUST SAY LASTLY, ALL OF THE TENANT ADVOCACY GROUPS, WE HAVE SPOKEN TO ALL OF THEM THAT ARE COMMITTED TO FIGHTING FOR LOW-INCOME TENANTS. THE SAME PEOPLE I KNOW YOU AND I ARE COMMITTED TO FIGHTING FOR ALL OF THEM HAVE UNIFORMLY SAID THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR TENANTS. NOT ONE ORGANIZATION, NOT ONE PERSON THAT I MET THAT LIVES IN THOSE CONDITIONS SAID, I DON'T WANT THAT PROTECTION. I THINK THAT WOULD BE A BAD THING. I DON'T WANNA BE EMPOWERED TO MAKE THAT CHOICE. SO THERE IS JUST NO DATA, THERE IS NO ORGANIZATION, EVEN THE HOUSTON DEPARTMENT ASSOCIATION, THE HOUSTON FOOD BANK, ALL AGREED THAT THIS IS A POSITIVE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UH, AND I MUST SAY THAT ANYTHING AND ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN AND YOU PUT THE EMPHASIS ON BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES, BUT I LIKE TO SEE THINGS ALL OF HOUSTONIANS WHO EXPERIENCES, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR RACE OR ETHNICITY IS, I THINK THAT'S THE CAUSE MY CONCERN IS YOU TALKED EARLY ON, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE INCREASE OF HEAT IN HOUSTON. YES, SIR. WHEN THOSE OF US WHO LIVED IN THIS TOWN, ALL THEY LIVES AS MYSELF AND I LIVED AND WAS BORN IN A COMMUNITY WHERE THERE WERE NO WINDOW UNIT AIR CONDITIONS. OKAY. UM, BUT WITH THAT, OF COURSE WE DID SURVIVE. AND IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT PEOPLE DON'T DESERVE IT. I THINK IT'S A VERY COMPASSIONATE EFFORT THAT YOU'RE BRINGING THIS FORTH. BUT TO ASSUME THAT HAVING A WINDOW UNIT FOR ALL RESIDENTS, UH, BY AND LARGE IS A AFFORDABLE IS AND PUTTING THAT WEIGHT UPON THE LANDLORD, THEN TO ME THAT'S A LITTLE MISLEADING. BECAUSE ONE, AS PEOPLE, I DON'T LIVE IN THE HOSPITAL. WHEN THE UNIT, I'M SURE YOU DON'T AS WELL, BUT I DO KNOW ONE THING WITH IT, WITH IT OR WITHOUT IT, YOUR, YOUR BILL IS GOING UP. AND THOSE OF US WHO UNDERSTAND THAT KNOW THAT WHEN HEAT GOES UP, THE POWER OF THE USAGE GOES UP. NOW I HAVE HERE YOU WERE SPEAKING ABOUT A MAP. LET ME, I WAS LOOKING AT, THIS WAS A MAP PRODUCED BY KINDER INSTITUTE. IT ALSO [01:35:01] SHOWED A MAP THAT IN THE HARRIS COUNTY, 20 20, 40 EVICTION OF PEOPLE IN THE CITY IS VERY HIGH IF YOU DO SOME RESEARCH ON EVICTIONS. AND THAT'S MY CONCERN BECAUSE THE COST AFFORDABILITY, NOW YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU'RE SAYING THE LANDLORD IS GOING TO TAKE THIS BILL ON. THE LANDLORD IS GOING TO PROVIDE THIS CONVENIENCE. AND IF THEY MOVE THAT COST, IF YOU ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF RENTING, YOU WOULD MOVE THAT COST TO THE PERSON THAT LIVES IN THAT UNIT. THAT IS A CONCERN BECAUSE EVICTION RATES IN HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY, HAS GONE UP TREMENDOUSLY THREE TIMES HIGHER OF EVICTIONS. NOW, WHEN A PERSON IS EVICTED, THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THAT EVICTION GOES ON A RECORD IN TERMS OF THEIR CREDIT SCORES AND THE ABILITY TO MOVE IN ANOTHER PLACE. SO THOUGH I CAN CONCUR WITH THE COMPASSION AND THE CONCERN FOR THAT, BUT I'M ALSO CONCERNED THAT AS MUCH ISSUE BEEN RAISED BY $5 ACROSS THIS CHAMBER THAT WE DISCUSSED, UH, AND HOW MUCH WENT AROUND THAT COST OF $5, PARTICULARLY FOR SENIORS. SO NOW IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HAVING A WINDOW UNIT IN A HOME OR IN THE RESIDENT OR COMMUNITY THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING, THEN THOSE PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING NOW WITH JUST MAKING THE RENT AS IS. OKAY? SO IF MY UTILITY TO PAY IS GOING TO GO UP, NOW I'M DEALING WITH A DIFFERENT ISSUE. AND I THINK THE DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IN THE BLACK AND HISPANIC BROWN COMMUNITIES THAT RENT IS EXTREMELY HIGH. PEOPLE. NOW, I DON'T KNOW, I HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT, THAT RENT AND THEY HAVE TO PAY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE RATE OF THE RENT IS? NOW? YOU PAY THE FIRST OR THE LAST AND A DEPOSIT. SO YOU PAYING ALMOST THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF WHAT IT COSTS WITH YOUR MONTHLY RATE. MY CONCERN WITH THAT, AND TRUST ME, I, I I THINK I GET THE IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA, BUT I'M REALLY CONCERNED WITH AFFORDABILITY AND I, TO ME, CAN'T, I WOULD NOT PUT A STIGMA ON WHAT DATA SAYS AFFORDABILITY WHEN UTILITIES ARE GOING UP ALL THE TIME. WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR RECOGNITION OF, UH, THE, THE COMPASSION THAT DRIVES THE ORDINANCE. UH, BUT THIS ORDINANCE FOR ANYTHING I'VE DONE ON COUNCIL IS NOT DRIVEN PURELY BY EMOTION. I JUST LAID OUT A LITANY OF FACTS IN RESPONSE TO COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER TO EXPLAIN WHY THE AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS ARE UNFOUNDED. I'VE WALKED THROUGH HOW LITTLE IT WOULD COST TO RUN A UNIT PER MONTH. I'VE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE CURRENTLY UNITS AVAILABLE TODAY FOR $700 THAT PROVIDE AC AND COVER UTILITIES. IF I MAY FINISH, SIR, I HEAR YOUR CONCERN ABOUT EVICTIONS. THERE IS A GROUP THAT IS FOCUSED ON THAT EFFORT, THE HOUSTON EVICTION ADVOCACY CENTER, AND THEY HAVE ENDORSED THIS ORDINANCE, NUMEROUS GROUPS. I DON'T KNOW IF TAMMY RODRIGUEZ IS HERE. TAMMY. TAMMY, IF YOU WANNA COME UP AND JOIN ME. SHE HAS DONE A GREAT DEAL OF WORK IN THE GULF SCENARIO TO SUPPORT LOW INCOME TENANTS. AND SHE WORKS WITH THESE FOLKS PROBABLY FAR MORE THAN YOU AND I COUNCIL MEMBERS. SHE'S BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND SHE IS A STRONG ADVOCATE OF THIS ORDINANCE. SO TAMMY, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WHY YOU SUPPORT THE ORDINANCE AND BELIEVE IT WOULD SUPPORT LOW INCOME HOUSTONIANS, PLEASE BY ALL MEANS, UH, MY EXPERIENCE IS ONE, BEING A RESIDENT IN A LOW INCOME. THE OTHER IS I HAVE 35 YEARS IN EXPERIENCE IN MULTIFAMILY. SO I HAVE WORKED IN GULFTON WHERE IN THAT POPULATION ALONE WITHOUT CENSUS, BUT WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW MANY OCCUPANTS LIVE IN APARTMENTS, WE'RE LOOKING AT 80,000 RESIDENTS IN THREE MILES. SO IN THAT BEING SAID, WHEN A RESIDENT IS BEING IN AN APARTMENT, WE USUALLY HAVE LIKE SEVEN DAYS TO DO A REPAIR. AND THIS HEAT AND THIS TIME. MM-HMM . IS NOT THE SAME CONCEPT. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE, AND I'M SPEAKING ON MULTIFAMILY, WE HAVE THE ACTUAL RESIDENCE WITHOUT ACS IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE. NOW, FOR THEM TO INCUR ANY TYPE OF COST IN BUYING AN AC UNIT FOR A MULTIFAMILY THAT IS CAPITAL [01:40:01] IMPROVEMENT, THAT IS NOT FOR THAT RESIDENT. THAT LIT RESIDENT GETS EVICTED OR MOVES OUT THAT AC STAYS. SO IT'S A DIFFERENT CONCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO MULTIFAMILY. BUT IF YOU UTILIZE IT IN, IN THE PREVIOUS, I'VE NOTICED, AND I'VE I'VE EXPERIENCED MANAGERS HAVE USED THAT AS A COLLECTION TOWARDS RENT THAT IS NOT OLD, YOU KNOW, THAT IS OWED AND THEY TURN OFF THE ACS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO COLLECT RENT TO STOP THE EVICTION TO THAT THE LANDLORD WOULD INCUR TO PAY FOR THE EVICTION FEE. THERE'S SO MANY, SO MANY FACTORS IN THIS THAT IS STILL BEING PRACTICED TODAY. REASON BEING IS THAT THEY, THE RESIDENTS ARE AFRAID TO BEING RETALIATED AGAINST THE OTHER IS BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE LIVING TODAY, THAT THEY'RE AFRAID OF IMMIGRATION. SO THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS THAT PUT THE RESIDENTS BACK IN TO POVERTY, BUT THEY PAY THE RENT AND IT, THE AC IS INCLUDED IN WHERE THEY LIVE AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE. YOU. YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M SORRY, I'M GETTING A LITTLE BIT PASSIONATE HERE. THERE IS SO MANY PEOPLE THAT LIVE WITHOUT ACS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CHOICE WHETHER THEY WANT TO TURN IT ON OR NOT, BECAUSE OF THAT EXPENSE THAT WE ARE INCURRING WITH THE INCREASE OF ELECTRICITY. SO THAT IS THEIR CHOICE. IT IS NOT SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN AC, BUT IF IT'S UP TO THEM TO SAVE THAT MONEY, THAT $5 ON THE, ON THE WATER BILL, WELL THAT'S ALSO PAID AND IT'S ALLOCATED THROUGHOUT THE APARTMENTS. THAT ONE BILL FOR THAT OWNER, THEN THAT'S WHAT THEY PAY. IF THEY INCUR THAT $5 FEE AS WELL, THEN THEY DO THAT. BUT IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO TURN ON THEIR AC, PUT FANS ON AND UTILIZE ANY OTHER OPTION THAT IS UP TO THE RESIDENT. BUT IT'S NOT A CHOICE IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN AC. AND I WOULD ADD, I WOULD JUST ADD TWO POINTS TO THANK YOU SO MUCH TAMMY. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. MM-HMM . ONE TO REITERATE, IT'S ABOUT PROTECTING TENANTS FROM RETALIATION. AND TWO, WE HAVE TO DECIDE, 'CAUSE THIS ARGUMENT CAN GO DOWN A SLIPPERY SLOPE. 'CAUSE WE CAN SAY, WELL IT MIGHT COST A, A LANDLORD MONEY TO FIX A RAT INFESTATION. SO WE SHOULDN'T HAVE 'EM FIX THAT BECAUSE THAT MIGHT CAUSE A RENT TO GO UP. WELL, THEY HAVE A MOLD INFESTATION. WE SHOULDN'T CAUSE THEM TO FIX THAT. 'CAUSE THAT MIGHT CAUSE A RENT TO GO UP. WE SHOULDN'T REQUIRE THEM TO PROVIDE HEATING. 'CAUSE THAT MIGHT CAUSE A RENT TO GO UP. THERE IS A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS THAT WE STILL REQUIRE, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THERE'S A POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY RESULT IN A FEW ADDITIONAL DOLLARS OR SOME INCREASE IN RENT. BUT WE STILL REQUIRE IT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN BASIC STANDARDS FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, NO MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM. AND SO WE AS A COUNCIL, AS A CITY NEED TO DECIDE IS THIS A PART OF THAT BASIC REQUIREMENT. AND I THINK THAT STANDARD, THE LIP IS TEST IS, WOULD YOU WANNA LIVE IN THOSE CONDITIONS? WELL, I KNOW IF I MAY FINISH, I WOULDN'T WANNA LIVE IN THOSE CONDITIONS. AND I THINK WE SHOULD NOT IMPOSE THAT LIMITATION ON HOUSTONIANS JUST BECAUSE WE ARE BEHIND THE TIMES FOR WHAT SO MANY OTHER TEXAS CITIES HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED. WELL, I DON'T LIKE TO COUNCILMAN, I RESPECT THAT, BUT BE MINDFUL THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT ONE FOR MAKING ALWAYS COMPARISON WHAT OTHER CITIES DO. I'VE SAID THAT REPEATEDLY BEFORE. AND AGAIN, LIKE I SAY, WHAT IS MANDATORY IN MY OPINION IS MANDATORY. WE CAN MAKE DEMANDS ON A LOT OF THINGS AS A COUNCIL IN TERMS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE FACILITIES. AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT OPPOSED TO PEOPLE HAVING AIR CONDITION. BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN THE CONVENIENCE. THERE'S TWO SIDES TO THE ARGUMENT. WHAT IS CONVENIENT? WHAT IS CONVENIENT? WE PEOPLE CHOOSE PLACES WHERE THEY LIVE BASED UPON WHAT'S AFFORDABLE. LET'S DON'T, I I'M, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, I DO WANT TO SAY THE YOUNG LADY WAS SAYING, AND I'M SURE SHE'S RIGHT SOME PLACES I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT LET ME SAY THIS, THE QUESTION TO YOU AND I'LL BE DONE. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE AIR CONDITION GETS STOLEN? IS THE LANDLORD REQUIRED TO REPLACE IT OR HOW MANY TIMES? YES. YES. I MEAN, IF SOMEONE, IF SOMEONE BREAKS YOUR, SO NOW YOU TALKING ABOUT, EXCUSE ME, NOW WE TALKING ABOUT A COST. YOU DON'T THINK THAT IF I REPLACED AN AIR CONDITIONED UNIT AND IT WAS STOLEN THAT AT THAT COST, MULTIPLY THAT TIMES WHATEVER NUMBER OF UNITS I HAVE. DO YOU HONESTLY DON'T THINK THAT THAT LANDLORD IS NOT GOING TO MOVE? THAT IT IS GOOD THAT THOSE THAT COME TO SUPPORT YOU IN THIS MATTER, THAT'S FINE. BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAS TO INCUR THAT COST. [01:45:01] AND WE LIVE IN A REAL WORLD AND A REAL WORLD IS SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY FOR IT. AND IF YOUR CONSTITUENT FUNDS IS GOING TO HELP PEOPLE, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING TO IT. BUT HOW MANY PLACES AND HOW MANY AREAS WOULD THAT SATISFY? WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER, I WOULD DIRECT YOU TO THE PREEMINENT ORGANIZATION THAT ADVOCATES FOR THOSE PEOPLE. AND THAT IS TO HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION. AND THEY BELIEVE, I'VE TALKED TO THEM AND THEY, AND AS YOU KNOW, THEY SUPPORT THIS ORDINANCE. SO, AND, AND I'M SORRY. IT'S OKAY. JUST TO BE MINDFUL OF EVERYONE'S TIME. WE HAVE STILL A LOT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE AND WE HAVE A LOT, MY APOLOGIES, PEOPLE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TO AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GET TO ALL BEFORE PUBLIC SESSION STARTS. MY APOLOGIES HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MARTINEZ, THANK YOU CHAIRWOMAN, UH, COUNCILOR SELINA, THANK YOU FOR THIS ORDINANCE. I THINK, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A BASIC, IT IS A BASIC RIGHT, IT SHOULD BE A BASIC RIGHT. WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S SLUMLORDS JUST TO BE QUITE FRANK, THAT LIVE AMONGST US. UM, SO ONE THING JUST TO CLARIFY, I AND I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING OF YOUR COUNCIL OFFICE BUDGET, NOT CDSF. I KNOW ALL AT LARGE COUNCILORS WISH THEY HAD COUNCIL OF DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS, WHICH Y'ALL DON'T. UH, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY, IT'S YOUR COUNCIL OFFICE BUDGET. UH, ANYTHING THAT EXCEEDS, UH, OR ANYTHING THAT YOU SAVE ON THAT YOU DON'T SPEND. UH, SECONDLY, UM, AGAIN, I I AND I, AND I HEAR WHAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING AND WHEN YOU, WE HAD THIS HUGE CAMPAIGN ABOUT A REGRESSIVE TAX, $5 $60 A YEAR FROM ADMIN FEE. UM, I I ALSO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE JUST HAVING THIS, I WANNA GO ON THE RECORD, HAVING THIS HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IT COULD COST, RIGHT? SO FROM $5 HAVING CHALLENGES ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE TO $36 ON AVERAGE, UM, THAT, THAT'S NOT ACCURATE, SIR. IT, WELL THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE HERE ABOUT 36 70 A MONTH FOR WHAT IT COSTS TO RUN AN AC UNIT. ROUGHLY YES. I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GETTING, GETTING THE $5 FROM FIVE, THE $5 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE THAT WE WERE TALKING A SEPARATE FEE. NO, THE, THE, THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR SOLID WASTE, THE REGRESSIVE TAX THAT EVERYONE WAS SPEAKING. YES, I KNOW, BUT LET ME, CAN I HAVE MY TIME ? SO THE $5 ADMINISTRATIVE FEE THAT WE JUST PASSED WITH THE BUDGET, IT WAS A AGGRESSIVE CONVERSATION AND I WAS GETTING PULLED BY A WHOLE BUNCH OF COMMUNITY FOLKS TALKING ABOUT SENIORS AND WHATNOT. AND, AND I WAS MAKING THE ARGUMENT, LOOK, IT'S $5. I GET IT. AND IT'S TOUGH. UM, AND ULTIMATELY MY HOPE, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN A PROPONENT OF A TRASH FEE, HOPEFULLY SEE A TRASH FEE AND WITH, UM, UH, WAYS WHERE WE COULD BE ABLE TO ADDRESS SENIORS, VETERANS, SO ON. SO WE'RE STILL HAVE THAT'S SIDE CONVERSATION. BUT AS WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION, AS WE'RE HAVING THIS ONE NOW AS TO PAY $36 PLUS A MONTH FOR LECTURE BILL, I, I, IT DOES BRING SOME CONCERNS. UM, I KNOW THERE'S A SMALLER NUMBER OF TARGETED FOLKS WHERE, UH, MAYBE THEY ALREADY HAD WINDOW, UH, YOU KNOW, SCREEN, UH, WINDOW SCREENS INSTEAD OF AN AC UNIT. AND I THINK WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING, WE SHOULD DO THIS TO SOME EXTENT. BUT ALSO, UM, ON, ON ANOTHER, UH, UH, PARALLEL, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EXPERIENCE THAT I'VE HAD OR PAST EXPERIENCE I'VE HAD, I WORK FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS NOW BAKER RIPLEY AND TAKING REFERRALS OR GETTING, GETTING REFERRALS TO FOLKS ABOUT UTILITY ASSISTANCE. AND IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE HEARTBREAKING. I'LL SAY, I'LL TELL YOU THIS, THAT MAYBE BEFORE THE SUMMER, UH, THEY RAN OUT OF UTILITY ASSISTANCE 'CAUSE THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH MONEY COMING IN. UM, SO THERE IS A HUGE NEED FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE OVERALL. SO I APPRECIATE, UH, UH, WHO, JULIO COMING UP HERE AND TALKING ABOUT A PROGRAM, I'D LOVE TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. UM, THAT BRINGS IN PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, MOSTLY PRIVATE BECAUSE ON THE PUBLIC SIDE, WE KNOW, AND I'M, I'M GLAD WE'RE ADDRESSING THE FINANCES NOW, BUT HISTORICALLY WE'VE HAD 150 MILLION DEFICIT FOR 13 YEARS. WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO DO THAT. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? UM, AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT A A, A PLACE WHERE, AGAIN, THESE ARE SLUM LORDS BOTTOM LINE, THAT'S WHOEVER'S NOT DOING THIS, THERE'S SLUM LORDS AND WE GOTTA CALL IT WHAT IT IS. UM, AND SO THOSE THAT HAVE ALL BILLS PAID, UM, YOU KNOW, FOLKS DON'T, DON'T SEE IT UNTIL THEY GET THE, THE RENT. AND THEN THAT BILL ULTIMATELY NOW YOU'RE PAYING A HUNDRED DOLLARS. UM, YOU KNOW, OUR SUMMER BILL GOES UP ALMOST, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE BETWEEN 80 TO A HUNDRED DOLLARS, UH, DURING JUNE, JULY, AUGUST. DO YOU HAVE CENTRAL AIR? YES. OKAY, SO THAT'S DIFFERENT. IT IS. BUT AGAIN, YOU BUT YOU ALSO HAVE WINDOW UNITS THAT YOU TURN ON AND YOU LEAVE ON HOWEVER LONG YOU, YOU NEED TO. SO IT IS DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S NOT IF I'VE LIVED IN A HOUSE WITH NO AC, WITH AN AC WINDOW UNIT AND CENTRAL AIR, SO I GET IT, THE BILL GOES UP NO MATTER WHAT. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO EXPLAIN. SO I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT AND I THINK YOU DO. UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S, I'M, I WANNA SEE THIS HAPPEN THING. WE ALL WANNA SEE IT HAPPEN, BUT I WANT TO GO ON THE RECORD BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING TO THE HOUSTON DEPARTMENT ASSOCIATION AS WELL, UM, THEY HAVE CONCERNS AND I THINK THEY, THEY MADE SOME OF IT PUBLIC TO YOU AS OR AT LEAST SHARED IT WITH YOU AS WELL. THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ISSUES BECAUSE MOST OF THEIR, OR [01:50:01] ALL OF THEIR, UH, MEMBERSHIP AREN'T PART OF THIS PROBLEM. SO IT WON'T ULTIMATELY ADDRESS ANYTHING THAT OR HARM THEIR MEMBERSHIP. THAT'S WHY I THINK THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTIVE AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHARE THAT AS WELL. UM, AND SO AGAIN, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ON THE RECORD, THAT THIS, ON AVERAGE, FROM WHAT YOU'VE SHARED, $36 AND 70 CENTS A MONTH, ALMOST $450 A MONTH, FOLKS WILL SEE THAT AS A UTILITY COST. SO ACCOUNTS MARK, I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GETTING, FOLKS WILL SEE THAT AS A UTILITY COST. AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT. AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROP A AND EVENTUALLY IT HAPPENS, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? HOW CAN WE HELP ADDRESS UTILITY CENSUS PROGRAMS? BECAUSE AGAIN, I PICKED UP THE PHONE SEVERAL TIMES WORKING AT BAY AT A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER AND SAYING, I'M SORRY MS. SMITH, WE NO LONGER HAVE FUNDS FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE. AND IT'S A, IT'S A HEARTBREAKING CONVERSATION TO HAVE SOMETIMES, BUT I JUST WANT TO AGAIN, JUST PUT IT ON THE RECORD. I'M GOOD WITH, I'VE HEARD YOUR RESPONSES TO EVERYONE ELSE, SO DON'T NEED A RESPONSE REALLY. I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT ON THE RECORD THAT THIS IS A CONCERN FOR ME ABOUT $450 UTILITY INCREASES FOR SOMEONE THAT MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY HAVE HAD IT. UH, HOW WE GET THIS, LEMME KNOW HOW IT COULD BE HELPFUL. UM, I WANNA SEE EVERYBODY HAVE A WINDOW UNIT AT MINIMUM AND THEN ALLOW THEM TO DECIDE WHETHER I TURN IT ON TODAY OR NOT, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE BILL LOOKS LIKE FOR THAT MONTH, GROCERIES, GAS, EVERYTHING ELSE THAT COMES WITH IT. AGAIN, BUT I, THE OTHER THING THAT I'LL JUST CLOSE WITH THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS HARD TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS QUOTE UNQUOTE REGRESSIVE TAX WAS BEING IMPLEMENTED FOR SOLID WASTE. UM, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A HARD CONVERSATION, GUT, GUT CHECK CONVERSATION ABOUT $450 A YEAR UTILITY INCREASES IN THE, SO I THINK WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO CLARIFY IS THAT IS A, A COST IMPOSED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON. AS WE ALL KNOW, THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES NOT RUN YOUR UTILITY. THAT IS A TOTALLY SEPARATE COST IN CHARGE, RIGHT? UM, BUT ALL THAT TO SAY, WE HAVE A CHOICE. IT'S A CITY. EITHER WE'RE GONNA REQUIRE THIS AND WORK TOGETHER TO TRY TO MAKE IT AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE, OR WE'RE GONNA SAY FOR SOME HOUSTONIANS, THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM. AND I, YOU DON'T TAKE FROM ME, I WANNA INVITE LINDSAY WILLIAMS, A SUPER NEIGHBOR PRESIDENT THAT'S SPEAKER AND YOU, SHE'S ONE OF THE SPEAKERS I'VE AND SPEAKER, SHE'S ONE OF THE SPEAKERS. I KNOW THAT SHE'S SUPPORTED SPEAKER AND I THINK WE'RE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT IN A BIT AND SHE'S ONE SPEAKERS AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT IN A BIT AND SHE SIGNED UP. OKAY. POINT OF, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE JUST CONTINUE TO BOOTH THE MEETING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AS WELL. OKAY. POINT OF ORDER, BECAUSE WE DO WANNA HEAR FROM EVERY SPEAKER BEFORE WE RUN OUTTA TIME. SO CAN WE, UM, CAN WE FINISH TAKING COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS BEFORE WE HAVE ANY OTHER PUBLIC SPEAKERS COME UP? IS THAT OKAY? I'M, I'M HAPPY TO WAIT, BUT I'M HAPPY. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA DO YOUR TWO MINUTES NOW. THERE'S LIKE SIX MORE PEOPLE ON THE QUEUE. WE HAVE A FEW MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER PANZA. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. COUNCILOR SALINAS, THANK YOU FOR, FOR, FOR BEING HERE AND PUTTING THIS TOGETHER AND TO THE OTHER SIGN-ONS TO, TO THIS PROP A UM, I JUST WANNA START BY SAYING IT IS UNINHABITABLE TO LIVE IN HOUSTON WITHOUT AN AC. UH, MY AC WENT OUT OVER THE JULY 4TH WEEKEND. WE HAD TO GET AN EMERGENCY REPAIR CREW TO COME IN AND IN JUST THAT 24 HOURS WITHOUT HAVING IT, IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT. AND SO TO SEE THESE NUMBERS IS QUITE FRIGHTENING. AND, AND I THINK THIS IS GONNA GO A LONG WAY TO FIXING THAT. I WANNA QUICKLY TALK ON THE $5 TO $36, YOU KNOW, REGRESSIVE TAX AND WHATNOT. THE $5 FEE DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE AN IMMEDIATE APPROVAL OF LIVING STANDARDS AMONG HOUSTONIANS. I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT SOLID WASTE WILL NOT GET IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE OF THE $5 FEE AS OPPOSED TO THIS ORDINANCE, WHICH THERE WOULD BE AN IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT TO QUALITY OF LIFE BECAUSE YOU'RE MAKING AN UNINHABITABLE SPACE HABITABLE WITH AC, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT. AND THEN I ALSO JUST WANNA NOTE THAT, UM, WHEN I LOOK AT THE GRAPH OF THE OTHER MAJOR METROS THAT HAVE THESE, UM, ORDINANCES ADOPTED WITHOUT ANY EXEMPTIONS, IT MAKES ME FEEL A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE THAT THIS HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. I DO NOT THINK WE SAW MASS, UM, EVICTIONS IN 2016 WHEN DALLAS PUT THIS FORWARD. I DON'T THINK WE SAW MASS EVICTIONS IN 2025 WHEN AUSTIN PUT THIS FORWARD. AND THEN JUST ANOTHER NOTE ON THE BROADER CONVERSATION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY IN HOUSTON, THE ONLY MAJOR METROS THAT HAVE SEEN DECREASES IN, UH, HOUSING COSTS THROUGHOUT THE NATION ARE AUSTIN AND PHOENIX, WHICH ARE ON THIS LIST. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAVE BUILT TONS AND TONS OF MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL. SO, UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME HITCHES MOVING FORWARD IF THIS IS TO PASS. UM, BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THE BROADER CONVERSATION OF HOW ARE WE BUILDING THAT MIXED USE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS OPPOSED TO PROVIDING A TRUE NECESSITY IN APARTMENTS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER. THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, UH, LIKE EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER ON HERE, WE ALL WISH EVERY UNIT HAD AIR CONDITIONING. WE ALL WISH THAT THERE WERE NO RODENT INFESTATIONS, NO ROAD INFESTATIONS, NO SEWAGE COMING UP. I MEAN, WE ALL WANT IT TO BE NICE FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS. NOBODY DISAGREES WITH THAT. UM, THERE'S A NUMBER OF ISSUES THOUGH. THE AIR CONDITIONERS, THEY TYPICALLY DRAW NINE TO 12 AMPS EACH. UM, [01:55:01] ONE OF THE LOCATION OR THE LOCATION Y'ALL TOLD US Y'ALL LOOKED AT WAS 35 0 2 CAMPBELL. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU PUT AN AIR CONDITIONER IN EVERY ONE OF THOSE UNITS THAT DIDN'T HAVE ONE BEFORE? THEY'RE ALL DRAWING THE ADDITIONAL AMPS. WILL THE ELECTRICAL HANDLE IT AT THAT LOCATION? WE HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD NOT BASED ON CURRENT ELECTRICAL CODE. NOW IF A BUILDING WAS NOT UP TO CURRENT ELECTRICAL CODE, OKAY, CAMPBELL WAS BUILT, EXCUSE ME, CERTAIN, LEMME FINISH TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IF A BUILDING IS NOT ON UP TO CURRENT ELECTRICAL CODE, THAT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT PROBLEM THAT THIS WARDEN'S OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT ADDRESS. BUT IF A BUILDING IS UP TO CODE, WHICH REGARDLESS OF WHEN IT WAS BUILT, IT HAS TO REMAIN UP TO ELECTRICAL CODE, WE SEE NO REASON WHY AND HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING IDENTIFIED FROM ANY OF THE ADVOCACY GROUPS OR IN TALKING TO AUSTIN THAT COMMISSIONED THE STUDY ON THE IMPACT TO SUGGEST THAT IT WOULD NOT WORK. SO A BUILDING BUILT 60 YEARS AGO WHEN WE CHANGED THE CODE HAS TO GO IN AND CHANGE THEIR ELECTRICAL BUILDINGS. NEED TO REMAIN UP TO CODE, SIR? YES. OKAY. AND AND THEY'VE ALL DONE THAT? WELL, I, I WOULD ASSUME THEY, WE'D EXPECT THEM TO, IT'S NOT AS IF WE'VE STOPPED UPDATING ELECTRICAL CODES BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT IT TO APPLY TO RETROACTIVELY. OKAY. I I THOUGHT MOST OF THE CHANGES IN THE CODES DID NOT APPLY RETROACTIVELY ELECTRICAL CODES ARE MY UNDERSTANDING APPLIED TO ALL BUILDINGS. OKAY. I'D LIKE TO GET THAT QUESTION ANSWERED. 'CAUSE I THINK WE'RE GONNA END UP, I MEAN, CAN LEGAL TELL US, ARE ELECTRICAL CODES NOT APPLIED TO ALL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON? RETROACTIVELY? WELL, YEAH. RETROACTIVE, UH, IT, WELL TYPICALLY WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU, YOU CAN HAVE GRANDFATHER IN, BUT IF YOU, IF YOU UPDATE, TYPICALLY WHEN YOU UPDATE A BUILDING, ANY UPDATES REQUIRE, UH, COMING UP TO CODE. SO IT DEPENDS ON IF WHAT, USUALLY ONCE YOU OPEN THE WALL, YOU, YOU HAVE TO UPDATE THE, THE, THE, THE BUILDING. SO, OKAY. IF YOU HAVEN'T MADE ANY RENO RENOVATIONS, IF YOU HAVEN'T, THEN POSS IT'S POSSIBLE. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANY, OKAY, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T MADE ANY RENOVATIONS, THEN IT WILL NOT BE UP TO THE CURRENT CODE. SO, SO YEAH, IF IT, IF IT'S NOT A, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK, BUT IF IT'S NOT, TYPICALLY, IF ANY, ANY UPDATES DONE TO IT HAVE TO BE UP TO CODE, THAT, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL. UNLESS YOU MAKE UPDATES TO IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO UP AND UPDATE TO CODE. AND ONCE YOU MAKE UPDATES, THEN YOU'VE GOTTA GO UP TO CODE. SO SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS ARE GONNA HAVE TO NOT JUST PURCHASE AIR CONDITIONERS, THEY'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE TO COMPLETELY REDO THE ELECTRICAL. IS THERE ANYTHING IN HERE TO ACCOUNT FOR THE 90 DAYS? IS ARE THEY GONNA BE OUTTA COMPLIANCE? WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER, THERE IS JUST SIMPLY NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT OUR CURRENT, THAT ANY BUILDING WOULD NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT ELECTRICITY TO SUPPORT THESE ADDITIONAL WALL UNITS TO BE INSTALLED. IT ISN'T THE SUFFICIENT ELECTRICITY. IT'S BEING ABLE TO HANDLE THE ADDITIONAL AMPERAGE COMING INTO THE BUILDING. I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, SIR, BUT THERE IS NOTHING, WE HAVE NEVER COME ACROSS ANY EVIDENCE, NOR IN TALKING TO ALL THE ADVOCACY GROUPS EVER HEARD THE CONCERN. AND WHEN AUSTIN STUDIED THIS ISSUE, THEY SAID THEY, WHEN THEY IMPLEMENTED THIS CODE, THEY ALSO IMPLEMENTED CHANGES TO THEIR ELECTRICAL CODE. AND THEY SAID THAT CHANGES TO THEIR ELECTRICAL CODE WOULD CAUSE ADDITIONAL INCREASES, BUT NOT THE AC ORDINANCE IN OF ITSELF. SO THE DATA STRONGLY SUGGESTS OKAY, THAT THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT, WELL, I I WOULD TAKE THAT THEY CURRENTLY EXIST WOULD INCREASE THE CHARGE. SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP THE DATA IN AUSTIN, I'LL, I'LL TAKE ISSUE WITH THAT AS WELL. UM, RENTS ARE TIED VERY CLOSELY TO HOUSING PRICES. UH, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE COMPETING WITH. AS HOUSING PRICES GO UP, RENTS GO UP, THE HOUSING PRICES IN AUSTINS HAVE GONE DOWN. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU EXTRAPOLATE THIS AIR CONDITIONING PIECE AND SAY, OH NO, AIR CONDITIONING DIDN'T COST ANYTHING BECAUSE RENTS DIDN'T GO UP. MY, THE ODDS ARE RENTS WOULD'VE GONE DOWN MORE IF YOU DID NOT HAVE THE AIR CONDITIONING PIECE. 'CAUSE THAT THAT IS AN ADDED EXPENSE. AND HERE, THIS 35 0 2 CAMPBELL, WHEN Y'ALL GAVE US THIS, WE WENT AND LOOKED IN THEIR MARKETING. THEY ACTUALLY SAY THAT THE TENANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GAS, ELECTRIC, AND THE AIR CONDITIONING. SO THIS ISN'T A BAIT AND SWITCH. THE PEOPLE THAT CHOSE TO LIVE HERE KNEW THIS UPFRONT. I DIDN'T SIR, AND ARE GETTING EXACTLY WHAT THEY PAID FOR. I DIDN'T SUGGEST THAT IT WAS A BAIT AND SWITCH. I DIDN'T SAY YOU DID. OKAY. I'M JUST MAKING THE POINT THAT THE TENANTS MADE THAT CHOICE. I ASSUME THE REASON THEY MADE THAT CHOICE IS THAT THE RENT AT THAT LOCATION IS $800. THE AVERAGE RENT FOR INTERLOOP EAST, WHICH IS WHAT HOUSTON APARTMENT SECTION HAVE BROKEN IT DOWN TO, THERE'S 50 DIFFERENT SUBDIVISIONS THEY BROKE IT INTO. SO IT'S VERY LOCALIZED. THEY'D HAVE TO PAY 50% MORE. THE AVERAGE RENT IS 1220. THEY'RE PAYING 800. I ASSUME THEY MADE THAT CHOICE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY COULD AFFORD. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT YOU'RE GIVING THESE PEOPLE A CHOICE, NO, YOU'RE TAKING THAT CHOICE AWAY. THEY ALREADY HAD THE CHOICE TO GET INTO THAT APARTMENT. AND IN FACT, THERE'S A HUNDRED [02:00:01] THOUSAND VACANT APARTMENTS AS WE SPEAK TODAY. THERE WAS PLENTY OF CHOICES THEY COULD HAVE MADE TO DO IT. I ASSUME THEY KNEW THEIR LIFE SITUATION BETTER THAN YOU AND I DO. AND THEY MADE THAT CHOICE THAT I WANNA SPEND LESS MONEY AND GO INTO THIS. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS FOR DOING ALL THE, THE HEAVY LIFTING ON THIS PROPOSITION A IT IS ONE THAT, UH, I SIGNED ONTO BECAUSE I DO BELIEVE IN IT. AND, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY I THINK WAS, UM, VERY STRONG IN THE NEED, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HEARING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, WHICH IS A CONCERN FOR EVERYONE. UH, WE HAVE TALKED THAT THROUGH ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT WE'VE FACED. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WAS DONE IN OTHER CITIES AND HOW THAT HAS RIPPLED THROUGH THOSE CITIES, YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT THE IMPACT WAS OR WASN'T ON AFFORDABILITY. AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME VERY STRONG EXAMPLES HERE, DALLAS, AUSTIN, EL PASO, DENTON IN TEXAS THAT HAVE ADOPTED THIS, UM, WHERE THERE WERE NO DOCUMENTED RENT INCREASES TIED TO THE PROPOSALS. UM, THE STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN AUSTIN SHOWED THE NEUTRAL IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND THE NEUTRAL IMPACT ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO YES, IT'S GOOD FOR US TO THINK THROUGH HOW THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT AFFORDABILITY IN HOUSTON, BUT WE HAVE SOME VERY CLEAR EXAMPLES TO TURN TO, TO SEE HOW THAT HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER CITIES. UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD EXERCISE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH WAYS WE CAN REASSURE FOLKS, UM, THAT THIS ISN'T GOING TO, UH, DRIVE UP COSTS SIGNIFICANTLY. THAT THERE MAY BE OTHER WAYS TO STRENGTHEN, UH, ASSISTANCE OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE VULNERABLE. BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHO IS IMPACTED BY THIS, IT IS VULNERABLE HOUSTONIANS. UM, EXTREME HEAT IMPACTS TWO GROUPS SIGNIFICANTLY, THE ELDERLY. AND THEN WHEN YOU COUPLE IN CHRONIC CONDITIONS, THEY'RE IMPACTED EVEN MORE. AND YOUTH, UM, AND WHEN IS IT THE HOTTEST IN THE SUMMER WHEN KIDS ARE NOT IN SCHOOL? SO LOOKING AT THE MAP THERE WHERE YOU SEE THE RED AND THE YELLOW, THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP WITH DISTRICT H. UH, IT'S AN ISSUE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME. AND AS SOMEONE WHO COMES FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH BACKGROUND, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. UM, OUR BUILDING CODES ARE MEANT TO ENSURE STRUCTURES ARE SAFE. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THEM. THAT'S WHY WE DO INSPECTIONS TO MAKE SURE WHEN YOU'RE CONSTRUCTING, YOU'RE DOING IT PROPERLY AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CAUSE A HARM TO PEOPLE WHO OCCUPY THAT. THIS FALLS IN LINE WITH THAT. THIS IS KEEPING A STRUCTURE SAFE SO PEOPLE CAN OCCUPY IT. WHEN WE KNOW IN THE SUMMER IT IS INCREDIBLY HOT IN HOUSTON AND WE ARE DEALING WITH MORE LONGER PERIODS OF EXTREME TEMPERATURES. SO THIS IS NOT GONNA GO AWAY. UM, CAN WE WORK A LITTLE MORE ON THE REASSURANCE FOR AFFORDABILITY? SURE. AND, AND I THINK WE SHOULD. BUT I DO THINK THAT WE AS A CITY SETTING THIS MINIMUM IS VERY IMPORTANT IN DEMONSTRATING THAT WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE ALL HOUSTONIANS ARE PROTECTED AND THAT OUR BUILDING CODES REFLECT THAT. THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. THANK YOU. QUICKLY. I KNOW WE WANNA GET TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS, BUT, UM, I WAS HAPPY TO SIGN ON TO THIS. I THINK THIS IS A BASIC RIGHT IN A CITY. AS THAT GETS AS HOT AS HOUSTON, IT ALSO LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER PANZA GIVES ME GREAT COMFORT THAT WE ARE AN OUTLIER HERE WITH OTHER CITIES. THAT WE ARE AN OUTLIER. WE ARE LIKE THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE THIS WEIRD SCREEN THING. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. UM, I, I WAS A BIG PROPONENT OF THIS COMING TO COMMITTEE 'CAUSE I WANNA HEAR EVERYBODY'S FEEDBACK. AND I THINK THE AFFORDABILITY DISCUSSION, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO SAYS WE, WE HEAR IT IN EVERY CONVERSATION WE HAVE. EVEN, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE OPEN SPACE ORDINANCE AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WELL, WORRIED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE INCREASE OF COST. I THINK THAT, THAT RENTERS WANT MORE THAN JUST THE CHEAPEST RENT. THEY WANT TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT THEY CAN SURVIVE IN AND BE HEALTHY AND, AND THEY WANT TO LIVE NEAR A NICE PARK. AND THEY WANT, I MEAN, OF COURSE AFFORDABILITY IS IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK LIKE, LIKE YOU SAID, UM, IT IS, IT IS SOME, IT'S A CHOICE AND WE CAN ARGUE WHOSE CHOICE IT IS, BUT A CHOICE TO HAVE AIR CONDITIONING AND HAVE THAT BE, UH, UH, THE LAW JUST LIKE ALL THESE OTHER CITIES IS, IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND, AND I HOPE WE CAN GET THERE. VICE MAYOR, PRO TEAK. THANK YOU, CHAIR. I HAD A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS BASED ON SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT I HEARD. UM, DO YOU WANT ME TO ANSWER THOSE OR? YES. OKAY. UM, SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS, UM, [02:05:01] SO THE CODE TO, UM, CHAIR HUFFMAN'S COMMENT ABOUT IT APPLYING TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS AND NOT JUST RENTAL PROPERTIES. UM, AND I KNOW YOU WOULDN'T CALL ON YOURSELF TO REPORT YOURSELF THAT YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING NOT UP TO CODE. MY CONCERN IS IF AN INDIVIDUAL OWNS A HOUSE AND THEY DON'T HAVE AC AND THEY GO TO SELL THEIR HOME, AND NOW THEIR HOME ISN'T IN COMPLIANCE WITH CITY OF HOUSTON ORDINANCES, AND THEN WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AT THAT SALE? ARE THEY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SELL THEIR HOME BECAUSE NOW THEY HAVE TO INSTALL SOME KIND OF AC UNIT BEFORE THEY CAN SELL THE HOUSE? UM, AND SO, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT AN INSPECTOR WOULD COME IN AND SAY, HEY, YOU DON'T, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT UP TO CODE ON THIS. AND SO I COULD SEE THAT BEING A POTENTIAL ISSUE. IS THERE A WAY TO AMEND THIS JUST TO APPLY TO RENTAL PROPERTIES ONLY? AND WOULD YOU BE AGREEABLE TO MAKING THAT CHANGE? WELL, I, I GUESS MY, MY VIEW IS IF SOMEONE CHOSE, IF SOMEONE CAN SELL THEIR PROPERTY, IT'S NOT AS IF OUR LAW PREVENTS SOMEONE FROM SELLING A PROPERTY. IT'S NOT UP TO CODE. SO IF I WANTED TO SELL MY HOUSE WHO DIDN'T HAVE AC IT WAS VIOLATING THE HOUSTON ORDINANCE, I COULD STILL SELL MY HOME. THERE WOULD BE NOTHING PRECLUDING ME FROM DOING SO. I'D OB I'D PROBABLY HAVE TO DISCLOSE IT. UM, GIVEN THAT IT'S NOT IN IN COMPLIANCE AND IT'D PROBABLY BE GOOD, IF ANYTHING, WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THAT SALE THAT IS DISCLOSED, HEY, THIS IS GENERALLY REQUIRED. THIS DOES NOT EXIST. BUT I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY LAW THAT PRECLUDES A SALE OR INHIBITS IT IN ANY WAY IF IT'S NOT UP TO A PARTICULAR CODE. IN FACT, I WAS JUST LOOKING AT HOUSES WITH MY WIFE AND THEY LISTED THE THINGS THAT WERE NOT UP TO CODE IN A BUILDING. AND THEN THEY SAID, IF YOU BUY, YOU'LL HAVE TO DO X, Y, Z TO BRING THIS INTO COMPLIANCE. YEAH. AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT THEY COULDN'T SELL THEIR HOUSE. RIGHT. BUT ANY REALTOR WOULD SAY, YOU SHOULDN'T BUY A HOUSE THAT'S NOT UP TO CODE UNLESS YOU'RE WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, SPEND THE MONEY TO GET IT UP TO CODE. THAT KIND OF THING. SO I COULD FORESEE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THIS COULD BE AN ISSUE FOR PROPERTIES THAT AREN'T RENTAL PROPERTY. SO IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD TWEAK IT? BECAUSE IF THE GOAL HERE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE RENTING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO AC, THEN COULD WE NARROW THAT SCOPE, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR RENTAL UNITS? IS THERE A WAY TO DO THAT? AND THEN ALSO WOULD YOU BE AGREEABLE TO MAKING THAT CHANGE? I'M, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO CONSIDERING IT. AND GIVEN THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH SIGNATURES, WE DON'T NEED THIS VOTED OUT OF COMMITTEE, WHICH JUST GOES STRAIGHT TO A VOTE. BUT I'M CERTAINLY HAPPY TO HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH YOU. I THINK MY, UM, PRINCIPLE IS THAT THERE'S NOTHING, THERE'S NO REASON WHY THEY COULDN'T SELL THE PROPERTY NOW. AND SO I I DON'T SEE WHY THAT WOULD CHANGE, UM, THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN THE SALE. I'M NOT SURE, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY REALTORS THAT WOULD REFUSE TO WORK WITH A SELLER, UH, BECAUSE SOMETHING WASN'T UP TO CODE. LIKE I SAID, I'VE, I HAVE VISITED HOMES WHERE THEY WAS JUST DISCLOSED TO ME THAT IT WAS, WAS NOT UP TO CODE. SO I'M NOT AWARE OF IT PROHIBITING ANY TRANSACTIONS. AND I THINK THIS IS BIGGER THAN JUST RENTERS. IT'S ABOUT SENDING A MESSAGE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. WE HAVE BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS AND THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THEM. OKAY. UM, I MEAN, I WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU FURTHER ON JUST OF COURSE, NARROWING THE FOCUS TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE. UM, AND THEN ON THAT SAME LINE FOR THAT PARTICULAR CODE, IS THAT ONLY APPLYING TO RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES? THIS ISN'T APPLYING TO ANY COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, IS THAT CORRECT? THIS, IT'S, UH, BUILDING, SO THIS IS ALL, THIS IS MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL, UH, UH, SO YES, THIS, THIS, THIS APPLIES TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES OTHER THAN APARTMENT COMPLEXES. IF IT'S A WAREHOUSE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT'S A PART OF THE, IT'S PART OF THE, I BELIEVE IT'S DEFINED AS A DWELLING UNIT UNDER THE HOUSING CODE. YEAH, IT'S UNDER THE HOUSING CODE. SO ITS HOUSE SPACE. OKAY, GREAT. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ITEM THAT I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON IS, UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER POINT ABOUT 90 DAYS. IF, IF THE CONCERN IS THAT THERE, THERE COULD BE SOME APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT MIGHT HAVE TO DO SOME KIND OF ELECTRICAL WORK AND 90 DAYS MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH TIME IN 90 DAYS, WE'RE GONNA START GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE IT'S STARTING TO GET A LITTLE BIT COOLER, A LITTLE BIT COOLER IN HOUSTON. COULD WE EXTEND THE TIME, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT, UM, TO JUST ENSURE THAT CERTAIN APARTMENT COMPLEXES COULD GET UP TO CODE OR, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOME ELECTRICAL WORK, 90 DAYS MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH TIME. I KNOW IN OTHER CITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GIVEN MORE TIME THAN THAT TOO. SO, UM, ABSOLUTELY COUNCIL MEMBER, I'D BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU TO THINK ABOUT AN APPROPRIATE TIMELINE. AGAIN, 90 DAYS WAS WHAT WE HAD DISCUSSED AND THE HOUSTON DEPARTMENT ASSOCIATION HAD BLESSED. UM, BUT HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU IF YOU FELT A LITTLE BIT LONGER TIME WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. YEAH, I MEAN, ONLY BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO START GETTING OUTSIDE OF SUMMER AT THAT POINT ANYWAY, SO IF WE CAN GIVE PEOPLE SOME MORE TIME DEFINITELY BEFORE NEXT SUMMER, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SURE THAT YES. THAT THEY HAVE THE AC SO. OKAY. THANK YOU. CERTAINLY HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ON THAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION. UM, EARLIER YOU MENTIONED A CONCERN ABOUT RETALIATION AND I DIDN'T QUITE FOLLOW. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON, ON WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THERE? RECALL, I THINK THE POINT MS. RODRIGUEZ WAS MAKING, AND SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD IN TALKING TO THE ADVOCACY GROUPS IS IF RIGHT NOW IT'S THE CHO IT'S IT'S ON THE, THE RENTER TO BRING THE UNIT OR AS WE HAD DISCUSSED, COUNCIL MEMBER, IF THERE WAS A CHOICE IN THE MATTER, IF IT SAID YOU MAY PROVIDE THE UNIT, THAT WOULD PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THE RENTER TO SAY, I DON'T WANNA [02:10:01] TAKE IT. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE LANDLORD WILL DEMAND IN ORDER TO RENT THE UNIT. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SET THE REQUIREMENT SO AS TO NOT ALLOW A POSSIBILITY FOR, AS COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ NOTED A SLUM LORD, IT'S GONNA SAY, YOU BETTER NOT TAKE THAT CHOICE BECAUSE I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA PUN PENALIZE YOU IN SOME WAY. I'M GONNA MAKE YOUR LIFE DIFFICULT IN SOME WAY. LET'S NOT FORCE THE LI TENANT TO BE THE PERSON HAVING TO MAKE THE CHOICE. LET'S FORCE THE LANDLORD TO PROVIDE IT, TO TAKE AWAY THAT ABILITY TO UNDULY INFLUENCE OR RETALIATE AGAINST THE TENANT. HMM. OKAY. AND, AND IN REGARDS TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER LINE OF QUESTIONING, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY PROPERTIES WOULD HAVE TO DO, UH, SOME MORE EXTENSIVE REWIRE IN ORDER TO HANDLE THE ADDED, UM, NEEDS OF THE AIR CONDITIONERS TO BE INSTALLED? WE HAVE NOT COME ACROSS A SHRED OF EVIDENCE THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT ANY BUILDING WOULD REQUIRE SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL REWIRING MM-HMM . AND, AND IF THAT WERE TO BE NEEDED, I MEAN, I LIVE IN A HOUSE THAT'S, UH, 70 YEARS OLD, RIGHT. AND, AND WHEN I PURCHASED IT, UH, I I KNEW IT WASN'T LIKE BRAND SPANKING NEW AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, BUYERS AND SELLERS CAN NEGOTIATE THINGS, REPAIRS AND AND SO FORTH. UH, BUT WITH A LANDLORD TENANT SITUATION, THAT NEGOTIATION PROCESS SOMETIMES END UP, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT, THAT SOMETIMES ENDS UP IN, IN, IN HIGHER RENTS AND PASSING THOSE COSTS ALONG. SO IF, IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY THAT REQUIRE, THAT NEEDS TO BE REWIRED, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA INVOLVE A COST AS WELL AS WHATEVER COSTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH, WITH THE ELECTRICITY NEEDS. UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ABOUT THAT DO, DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERN ABOUT THAT? AGAIN, THIS DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL ELECTRICAL WORK IS ENTIRELY THEORETICAL. WE HAVE NOT COME ACROSS ANY EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR ANY BUILDING TO COME UP TO CODE, TO INSTALL A WALL UNIT. AND SO I, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE ASKING ME THEORETICALLY COULD THAT INCREASE THE COST TO ACCEPT THAT PREMISE, I ACCEPT THAT THE THEORETICAL PREMISE, BUT THERE IS JUST NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IT. UM, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER PECK SUGGEST I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO, TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY IF THERE'S A LONGER PROCESS WE THINK THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S JUST, I THINK WE HAVE TO WORK IN FACTS AS A COUNCIL AND, AND I UNDERSTAND SORT OF THE PERCEPTION THAT THESE THINGS MAY CAUSE ALL OF THESE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES, BUT THE FACTS WE HAVE JUST DO NOT SUPPORT THAT. OKAY. AND EARLIER YOU MENTIONED AS WELL THE KEN KINDER INSTITUTE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH THEM OR ANY OF THE OTHER THINK TANKS IN TOWN, YOU KNOW, BAKER INSTITUTE OR SO FORTH. HAVE YOU HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL OR IDEA? I BELIEVE MY TEAM HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH, UM, BAKER RIPLEY. I DON'T THINK THEY MAKE IT A HABIT OF ENDORSING PUBLIC POLICIES, BUT THE HOUSTON FOOD BANK, WHICH IS ALSO NOT A GROUP THAT OFTEN ENDORSES POLICIES, HAS COME OUT AND SUPPORTED IT. AND TEXAS HOUSERS AND MANY OF THE, UH, HOUSTON EVICTION GROUPS THAT WE'VE NOTED IN OUR LIST, I DO THINK ARE SOME OF THESE PREEMINENT THINK TANKS ON, UH, TENANTS RIGHTS. AND THEY ALL HAVE UNIFORMLY SUPPORTED IT. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE. THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I KNOW THAT YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING, UH, DILIGENTLY TO, YOU KNOW, BRING THIS TO A COMMITTEE. UM, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THEM. 'CAUSE THEY GET ALL THE CREDIT. I GET NONE. SO THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING THEM. UM, HOW IS A HABITABLE SPACE DEFINED? SO THE WAY THE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A PARTICULAR PROPOSED PROVISION? MM-HMM . SO IT SETS IT AT, TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN, UM, THE ABILITY TO MAINTAIN A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE LOWER THAN 20 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. SO DOES THAT MEAN NO HIGHER THAN 80 DEGREES? SIMILAR TO THE HEATING CODE? THAT I BELIEVE IS TIED TO 70 DEGREES. OKAY. AND THE 20 DEGREE MARKER, WHICH IS THE SAME AS THE, THE, THE COOLING, UH, CODE. SURE. SO IN AN APARTMENT, A TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH A DEN AND A KITCHEN, IS EACH OF THOSE SPACES CONSIDERED A HABITABLE SPACE THAT WOULD REQUIRE THEIR OWN COOLING UNIT? BECAUSE COOLING UNITS, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE WITH VARYING DEGREES OF BTUS AND HOW QUICKLY THEY CAN EXTRACT THE HEAT FROM THE ROOM, ET CETERA. SO WITH THIS LANGUAGE, IS THE OWNER ONLY REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ONE COOLING UNIT FOR THE ENTIRE APARTMENT, OR IS IT EACH HABITABLE SPACE? KITCHEN, LIVING, BEDROOM, BEDROOM, BEDROOM. HOW IS THAT? SO IT, IT'S, IT'S INTENDED LIKE THE HEATING CODE TO PROVIDING MECHANISM BY WHICH TO COOL SPACE, UH, FOR LIVING, SLEEPING AND EATING AND BATH, UH, BATHROOMS, UH, STORAGE ROOMS, CLOSETS, HALLS, UTILITY ROOMS ARE ALL EXEMPTED FROM IT. SO IF YOU HAVE AN OPEN SPACE APARTMENT WHERE THE KITCHEN EXTENDS INTO THE LIVING ROOM, IT COULD VERY MUCH BE THAT YOU HAVE ONE UNIT LIVING ROOM AND THAT WOULD EXTEND TO THE KITCHEN. BUT IT'S IN THOSE SPACES, UH, WHERE ONE IS PREDOMINANTLY IN AS LONG AS THERE IS SOME MECHANISM BY WHICH TO COOL IT, MUCH LIKE YOU HAVE WITH A HEATING, SOME MECHANISM BY WHICH TO COOL [02:15:01] THE SPACE. UM, WHAT WE ARE NOT SUGGESTING THAT EVERY SINGLE ROOM WOULD HAVE TO HAVE ITS OWN UNIT, BUT THERE'D NEED TO BE SOME MECHANISM, WHICH IS WHY I THINK THE CODE IS WRITTEN THE WAY IT IS TO COOL THE SPACE THAT IS, UH, HABITABLE. SO DOES THIS ONLY REQUIRE THE OWNER TO PROVIDE COOLING IN ONE OF THE MULTIPLE POTENTIAL MULTIPLE HABITABLE SPACES IN AN APARTMENT? YES. IT WOULD BE VERY POSSIBLE TO BE IN COMPLIANCE DEPENDING ON HOW THE APARTMENT IS LAID OUT. UM, YES, IT WOULD, IT WOULD SEEM, IT WOULD BE ENTIRELY POSSIBLE TO BE IN COMPLIANCE BY PROVIDING, UH, ONE UNIT FOR THE ENTIRE SPACE. OKAY. SO IF THE TWO BEDROOMS HAVE A SCREEN CURRENTLY AND THE LIVING ROOM, THE APARTMENT OWNER MAY BE PERMITTED TO JUST PROVIDE, SAY A UNIT IN THE LIVING ROOM, IF THAT WOULD PROVIDE SUFFICIENT COOLING, THEN YES. AND IS THERE GONNA BE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE INSPECTOR OR THE, OR CODE ENFORCEMENT TO SUGGEST THAT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF HABITABLE SPACES IN EACH APARTMENT, WHAT THE OWNER SHOULD BE PROVIDING AND SIZING AS WELL? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU ALL PROVIDED $36 A MONTH PER WALL UNIT, BUT HOW MANY BTUS IS THAT ASSOCIATED WITH? BECAUSE IF YOU'RE COOLING FOR A, A KITCHEN LIVING SPACE, YOU WOULD NEED A LARGER UNIT THAN FOR A BEDROOM. UM, AND SO IS CODE ENFORCEMENT GONNA BE PROVIDING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE OWNER AND WILL THEY THEN DOUBLE CHECK THAT THAT APPROPRIATE SIZE UNIT HAS BEEN INSTALLED? YEAH, SO WE'D BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT ON WHAT THEY THINK IS THE MOST REASONABLE WAY TO IMPLEMENT. UM, I THINK WE WOULD TURN TO THE MECHANISMS THEY CURRENTLY USE TO ENFORCE THE HEATING CODE TO APPLY A SIMILAR METRIC TO APPLY FOR THE COOLING CODE. OKAY. AND, UM, HOW MANY RENTAL UNITS CURRENTLY RELY ON THE SCREEN EXEMPTION? SO WE DON'T HAVE THE, PRESUMABLY ALL THE UNITS THAT ARE WITHOUT AC I ASSUME PROVIDE A SCREENING UNIT AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ABLE TO REMAIN IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE. AND SO I WOULD REFER BACK TO THE CENSUS DATA, WHICH OF COURSE IS THE METROPOLITAN AREA, UM, WHICH IS 20,000. BUT GIVEN THAT WE'D HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THERE'S AT LEAST SEVERAL THOUSAND IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. OKAY. SO CITY OF HOUSTON, WE DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER OF UNITS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ONLY UTILIZING A SCREEN. WE DO NOT HAVE A PRECISE NUMBER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ONLY FOR THE METROPOLITAN AREA FROM THE CENSUS. OKAY. AND THAT JUST LEADS ME TO MY LAST QUESTION, UM, ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. I KNOW YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ENDORSED WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHAT IS THE PLAN, UM, TO NOTIFY RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING WE DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY ONLY PROVIDED, UM, SCREENS. IS THERE, UM, YEAH, IF YOU COULD SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO, I KNOW YOU'VE DONE SOME ENGAGEMENT AND YOU KNOW, THE FOLKS YOU MENTIONED BOOTS ON THE GROUND, RIGHT? THEY HAVE, UM, AN ACUTE AWARENESS OF PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT CITYWIDE, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER, WHAT IS THE SORT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN AROUND NOTIFYING IF THIS WERE TO PASS? YEAH, SO I THINK IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE DONE AROUND THE APARTMENT ORDINANCE, WHICH IS, IT'S GONNA BE INCUMBENT ON ALL OF US, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, WE'RE ENGAGING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS TO MAKE SURE THE WORD GETS OUT THERE. WE WILL CERTAINLY DO OUR PART DO THIS, THE ROUNDS WITH SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS, AS YOU MENTIONED, THERE'S A LOT OF GROUPS HERE THAT ARE FOCUSED IN ON THESE COMMUNITIES AND WILL CERTAINLY HELP US PROMOTE IT. THE CITY OF HOUSTON ALSO HAS A DIRECTORY OF ALL APARTMENT COMPLEXES, SO IT WOULD NOT BE TOO DIFFICULT TO SEND AN EMAIL TO ALL OF THEM INDICATING, HEY, THERE IS THIS NEW CODE THAT'S GOING TO COME INTO PLACE. AND I WILL TELL YOU, LIKE, LIKE I MENTIONED, I WAS AT A CIVIC CLUB, HAD NOT SPOKEN TO THESE LI 10, THIS LANDLORD OWNER AT ALL. AND HE WAS ALREADY AWARE BASED ON THE INITIAL OUTREACH WE HAD DONE, THAT THIS ORDINANCE WAS BEING CONSIDERED BY COUNCIL, WAS SUPPORTIVE AND EXPLAINED HIS PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING FROM YOUR INCREDIBLE BOSS ON THE BEST WAYS TO DO ENGAGEMENT, BUT I'M VERY CONFIDENT WORKING TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE DEPARTMENT, UM, AND ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE THAT THIS WORD GETS OUT IN CITY OF HOUSTON. SURE, THANK YOU. AND I WOULD, I MEAN, IF THERE IS ANY ENGAGEMENT WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS, JUST BECAUSE THE OPERATING COSTS FOR DIFFERENT SIZES OF UNITS VARIES, UM, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE CONVERSATION ABOUT AFFORDABILITY REMAINS IN PLACE, UM, TO HEAR HOW THEY PLAN TO MAKE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT SIZE UNITS AND THE OPERATING COSTS AROUND THOSE. SO IT WOULD BE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY, UM, IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SCHEDULE A MEETING TO, TO TALK TO, TO THE COUNCIL MEMBER OR YOURSELF ABOUT IT. THANK YOU. YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, ARE YOU BACK IN QUEUE? JUST A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS. MAKE SURE I HEARD THIS RIGHT. SO YOU HAVEN'T WORKED WITH CODE ENFORCEMENT TO SEE HOW THIS WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED? NO. WE, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS AND THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT. OKAY. AND Y'ALL FIGURED OUT HOW IT'S GONNA BE IMPLEMENTED? IT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED THE SAME WAY ANY OTHER HOUSING, ANY OTHER HOUSING CODE IS AS IT'S WRITTEN IN THE STATUTE. AND WE'VE WALKED, I'VE WALKED THROUGH THE STEPS AT THE BEGINNING OF MY PRESENTATION. OKAY. ALSO, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO AGAIN, BUT I WANNA LET THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS, UM, MY, MY OFFICE HAS ALSO CHECKED IN AT 35 0 2 CAMPBELL, THERE, THERE'S BEEN NO RENOVATIONS SINCE 1968. [02:20:01] SO UNLESS THE ELECTRICAL PUT IN IN 1968 IS ADEQUATE FOR ADDITIONAL AMPERAGE GOING THROUGH, THEY'LL HAVE TO DO REWIRING AND CAPTAIN NUMBER SEVEN. AND IF THEY DO, THEN ABSOLUTELY THERE'S GONNA BE COSTS, THOSE COSTS WILL BE PASSED TO THE TENANTS. I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'LL BE MASS EVICTIONS. BUT THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, A MONTH AGO WE SAID $5 WAS TERRIBLE FOR SOME OF THESE PEOPLE, BUT NOW WE'RE SAYING THESE COSTS ARE IRRELEVANT. YEAH, IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. AND COUNCILMAN BROTHERS SAID IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC DATA OR GO TO THE BUILDING AND THEY EXPLAIN TO YOU THAT THE BUILDING COULD NOT SUPPORT IT, I'D BE HAPPY TO SEE IT. UM, BUT ALSO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO TO THE BUILDING AND SPEAK TO THE, EXCUSE ME, LEMME FINISH, SIR. GO TO THE BUILDING, SPEAK TO THE TENANTS AND ASK THEM HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THIS. OKAY. AGAIN, WHAT I SAID WAS, IF THE ELECTRICAL IN 1968 IS ADEQUATE, THEN THEY'LL BE FINE. I HAVE MY DOUBTS. WELL, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO EXPLORE IT, SIR. AND IF YOU FIND SPECIFIC EVIDENCE, I'D BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS IT WITH YOU. OKAY. AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ALL THESE PEOPLE MADE THESE CHOICES TO BEGIN WITH. THEY'D HAVE TO PAY 50% MORE IN RENT TO LIVE IN AN APARTMENT THAT HAD AIR CONDITIONING IN THAT SAME AREA. AND I THINK WE JUST HAVE A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT VIEW ABOUT WHAT A BASIC HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENT IS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. NO, AGAIN, I I WISH THEY HAD AIR CONDITIONING, BUT YOU DON'T, YOUR REQUIREMENT SAYING, WHICH IS PERFECTLY FINE WHAT I'M, WHAT I DO. AND I THINK THE MAJORITY WHAT I'M SAYING IS WHEN THEY CHOSE 50% LESS RENT, THAT'S WHY THEY CHOSE IT. AND I THINK THAT THEY KNOW THEIR LIVES BETTER THAN ME AND YOU DO. I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE AND I THINK, UM, IT'S A QUESTION OF WHAT KIND OF CITY WE'RE GONNA BE. SO, YOU KNOW THEIR LIVES BETTER THAN THEY DO. THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID, SIR. SO, ALL RIGHT. SO, UM, SEEING THAT THERE'S NO MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN Q, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS. EACH PERSON HAS TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK, HOWEVER, WE HAVE A HARD STOP AT FIVE O'CLOCK BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN PUBLIC SESSION IS STARTING. SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE LESS THAN TWO MINUTES, UM, PLEASE DO, UM, CALL THE FIRST SPEAKER. DOMINIC MAZA, WHO'S NOT HERE. UH, LINDSEY WILLIAMS. HEY, ALL. IT'S A GOOD THING I TALK FAST, RIGHT? UM, MY NAME IS LINDSAY WILLIAMS AND I'M PRESIDENT OF SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 64 AND 88, WHICH IS GREATER EASTWOOD LAWNDALE WAYSIDE. BEFORE I GO INTO MY STATEMENT, I HAVE TWO RESIDENTS WITHIN OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, ROY HIRSCH AND IAN LAVA CHECK WHO PLAN TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THE AC ORDINANCE. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THEY RECEIVED THE, UH, SOME SAD NEWS OF PASSING OF A FAMILY FRIEND. SO THEY'RE GONNA BE FOLLOWING UP WITH AN EMAIL. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT SUPPORT IS RECORDED. UM, I'M HERE BECAUSE OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD FORMALLY VOTED ON JUNE, 2026 MEETING TO SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO AC ORDINANCE. AND WE'RE PROUD TO STAND ALONGSIDE MORE THAN TWO DOZEN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND FELLOW SUPER NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS HOUSTON WHO'VE DONE THE SAME. FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I'VE BEEN A LANDLORD BEFORE AND I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO PUT IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT ARE TAX WRITE-OFFS. AIR CONDITIONING UNITS NEED REPAIRS. SOMETIMES COPPER IS STOLEN, BUT THAT'S NOT ISOLATED TO AIR CONDITIONING UNITS. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY APPLIANCES I'VE REPLACED FOR TENANTS, AND I'VE NEVER RAISED THEIR RENT BECAUSE OF IT, BECAUSE IT'S JUST PART OF BEING A RESPONSIBLE LANDLORD. FOR ME PERSONALLY, I THINK IT'S RESIDENTS. I THINK ABOUT RESIDENTS A LOT WITH THEIR RISING COSTS. IN MY MIND, THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE REQUIRED $5 FEE VERSUS AN AC UTILITY FEE THAT A RESIDENT CAN ADJUST BASED ON THEIR ABILITY. WHEN MY BILL IS HIGH, I MAKE ADJUSTMENTS WHEN IT, IT'S BEEN INTERESTING TO HEAR THE FEAR ABOUT AFFORDABILITY NOW AND NOT DURING THE BUDGET SEASON. I'VE SOLD MORE HOUSES THAN I CARE TO ADMIT, AND I'VE NEVER BEEN FORCED TO BRING A HOME UP TO CODE AFTER AN INSPECTION, AFTER I'VE MADE OTHER REPAIRS AND MORE REPAIRS DEMANDED BY AN HOA THAN A CITY ORDINANCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS A COMMUNITY. THIS IS A CONTINUED EQUITY ISSUE. CENSUS DATA SHOW THAT THOUSANDS OF RENTERS IN THE HOUSTON AREA STILL LIVE WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING. AND THOSE RENTERS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AND BLACK AND LATINO NEIGHBORHOODS, NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE OURS, WHERE 63% OF OUR SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD IS LATINO. FOR FAR TOO LONG, SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE BEEN LEFT OUT OF THE BASIC PROTECTION THAT MOST OF US TAKE FOR GRANTED. AND THIS ORDINANCE SIMPLY BRINGS THE STANDARD UP SO THAT EVERYONE IS INCLUDED. LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO SAID, THIS IS ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH. HARRIS COUNTY REPORTED MORE THAN 7,600 DEATHS OF HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES IN THE RECENT YEARS IN TEXAS. SUMMERS ARE ONLY GETTING HOTTER. DALLAS, HOUSTON, I'M SORRY, DALLAS, AUSTIN AND DENTON ALREADY REQUIRE AC AND RENTAL UNITS. AND HOUSTON RENTERS DESERVE NOTHING LESS. WE URGE , WE URGE THE COMMITTEE TO SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO AC ORDINANCE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, DAVID BRESLAUER. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, I'M HERE WITH THE HOUSTON TENANTS UNION AND I'M HERE TO ASK THAT YOU PLEASE, UH, PASS THE AC ORDINANCE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS A LOOPHOLE THAT SIMPLY SHOULD NOT EXIST. UM, TEXAS HAS HAS, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF VERY PREVENTABLE HEAT RELATED DEATHS EVERY [02:25:01] YEAR. WE SHOULD BE TRYING TO GET THAT NUMBER TWO ZERO. UM, AND IT SEEMS THAT MANY OF HOUSTON LANDLORDS, AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS LOOPHOLE, PARTICULARLY IN BLACK AND BROWN, IN OUR MOST DISADVANTAGED AND POOR NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, BUT THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT PREVENTING DEATH. THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT COMPASSION. THIS IS ABOUT HOUSTON'S STANDARD OF LIVING AND HOW, AND YES, HOW THAT DOES COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES THAT IS IMPORTANT. UM, AS THE CITY CONTINUES TO GROW MORE AND MORE AFFORDABLE. UN I MEAN UNAFFORDABLE, WHICH IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAYS. IT'S HAPPENING ANYWAYS. IT'S HAPPENING CONSTANTLY. UH, WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THIS STATUS QUO OF HAVING AN UNACCEPTABLE STANDARD OF LIVING. UM, SO JUST IN CONTEXT, HOUSTON JUST GOT DONE WITH A NUMBER OF SERIES OF EVENTS THAT I LIKE TO CALL THE SUPER CON RODEO CUP BOWL, UM, THAT THE CITY LOVES TO PRIORITIZE. IT SEEMS THAT WE PRIORITIZE PEOPLE COMING HERE, PASSING THROUGH, BUT NOT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE. YOU HAVE STRIKING HOSPITALITY AND CONCESSION WORKERS. THOSE PEOPLE ARE GOING HOME. IN FACT, I TALKED TO SOME OF THEM GOING HOME TO HOMES WITHOUT AC. THIS IS, THIS CANNOT CONTINUE, CONTINUE TO BE THE CITY OF GET YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION, GET YOUR OWN RIDE, GET YOUR OWN AC, GET YOUR OWN CHILDCARE, GET YOUR OWN SPECIAL EDUCATION. UM, I ALSO WANNA SAY I THOROUGHLY OBJECT, REJECT THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO LIVE WITHOUT AC. THAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING CHOICES TO LIVE IN CANCER ALLEYS OR TO LIVE WHERE THEY, WHERE THEIR KIDS GO TO UNDERFUNDED SCHOOLS. SUCH CHOICES ARE ALSO ARE ALWAYS MADE UNDER COERCION. UM, THAT'S NOT A CHOICE THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE GIVING PEOPLE BY LETTING THEM NOT HAVE AC. UM, AND I WOULD ALSO ASK THAT YOU USE ALL MEASURES POSSIBLE TO ENFORCE THIS ORDINANCE, INCLUDING THE NEW APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE. UM, AND I WOULD ALSO ASK THAT YOU LOOK INTO SIMILAR ORDINANCES TO WORKPLACE, UM, IN WORKPLACES WHICH ACCOUNT FOR A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THE HEAT RELATED DEATHS. UM, AND SO YEAH, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES, YOU WILL RARELY EVER FIND US ON THE SAME SIDE OF AN ISSUE AS THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION. SO LET'S DO THIS. LET'S NOT LET THIS GET CAUGHT UP IN LEGAL, LIKE THE APARTMENT INSPECTION ORDINANCE DID. UM, LIKE I SAID, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. KA ANDERSON. KA ANDERSON. NEXT SPEAKER. OH, SHE'S BACK THERE. OH, I'M SORRY TO BE FOLLOWED BY SUSANNA DURAN. GOOD AFTERNOON, CAM. UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MY NAME'S CAMERON ANDERSON AND I'M AN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST WITH MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. AND I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK FOR THOSE CHILDREN. UM, MEMBERS HAVE MENTIONED THAT THEY GREW UP WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING AND THEY SURVIVED HOUSTON WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING. BUT THE QUESTION TODAY ISN'T WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN SURVIVE WITH AIR CONDITIONING. I KNOW I GREW UP SURVIVING MANY THINGS. I WOULDN'T WANT MY CHILDREN TO SURVIVE NOW. SO, UM, TODAY'S HOUSTON IS NOT THE SAME AS IT WAS 60, 50 YEARS AGO. IT'S A LOT HOTTER, HOTTER. WE HAVE A LOT MORE ASPHALT, MORE BUILDINGS, UM, THAT COLLECT THAT HEAT IN THE RELEASE AT NIGHT. OPENING WINDOWS IN THE IN NO LONGER PROVIDES THE COOLING THAT IT ONCE DID. AS SOMEONE WHO WORKS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, I KNOW THAT EXCESSIVE HEAT DOESN'T JUST INCREASE THE RISK OF HEAT ILLNESS, IT JUST DISRUPTS SLEEP. AND HEALTHY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN SLEEP OVERHEATING CHRONICALLY. THEY STRUGGLE TO LEARN, REGULATE EMOTIONS, AND ENGAGE WITH THEIR CAREGIVERS. HEAT ALSO INCREASES STRESS FOR THEIR PARENTS AND FATIGUE. IT MAKES IT HARDER TO PROVIDE THE NURTURING INTERACTIONS THAT BUILD HEALTHY BRAINS. SO FOR TODAY'S HOUSTONIANS, AIR CONDITIONING IS NOT A LUXURY FOR OUR YOUNGEST RESIDENTS. IT'S A BASIC HEALTH NECESSITY. I SUPPORT THIS AMENDMENT. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, SUSANNA DURAN, FOLLOWED BY MONICA KUER. HELLO, GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS SUSANA DOAN. I'M THE ORGANIZING MANAGER AT WORKERS DEFENSE ACTION FUND. AND WE'RE A MEMBERSHIP LED ORGANIZATION THAT FIGHTS FOR WORKING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN TEXAS. AND WE ARE IN FULL SUPPORT OF THIS RIGHT TO SEE ORDINANCE. SINCE APRIL, WE'VE BEEN CANVASSING WORK SITES IN AL CORNERS WITH HYDRATION KITS AND TALKING TO WORKERS ON HOW TO RECOGNIZE, TREAT, AND HANDLE SIGNS OF EACH JOKE. STROKE. WE'VE SPOKEN TO WORKERS WHO LABOR IN THE HEAT, WHO MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HYDRATION OR REST BREAKS, WHO HAVE TO PREPARE THEIR OWN ELECTROLYTE SOLUTIONS TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY AND OTHERWISE HAVE NO ESCAPE FROM THE SWELTERING HEAT DURING THE WORKDAY. I'M SURE WE'RE ALL GONNA LOOK FORWARD TO THE COOL EMBRACE OF THE AIR CONDITIONED AIR HITTING OUR FACES WHEN WE OPEN THE DOORS HOME. UNFORTUNATELY, FOR MANY HOUSTONIANS, HOME IS NOT SAFE AND A COURT REPRIEVE AS IT IS FOR YOU AND ME. AND EVEN DURING THE MILD SUMMER THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW, WE'VE ALREADY REACHED 102 DEGREES. THIS ISN'T JUST A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE FOR HOUSTONIANS. IT'S ABOUT DIGNITY, THE DIGNITY TO BE HOME, THE DIGNITY TO BE IN A SAFE AND SOFT PLACE TO REST AND COOL DOWN TO RECHARGE AND FOCUS TO RECOVER THE RIGHT TO AC IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND IT'S ABOUT RECOVERY FROM THE HEAT, RESTFUL NIGHTS IN A SAFE AND COOL PLACE TO CALL HOME. AND I HAVE TO JUST KIND OF GO OFF SCRIPT HERE BECAUSE I'M SO APPALLED AND SHOCKED AND, AND DISHEARTENED TO HEAR THE LINE OF QUESTIONING THAT IT'S SO PATERNALISTIC, COLD, CALLOUS, AND COOL DISGUISED AS CURIOSITY OF ECONOMICS AND THE FINANCES OF THIS PROPOSAL. MY BACKGROUND IN ECONOMICS, [02:30:01] SPECIFICALLY, I WAS A FORMER FIELD ECONOMIST FOR THE US BUREAU OF LABOR SYSTEMS, WHERE I MEASURED THE PRICE DATA FOR GOOD SERVICES AND RENTAL HOUSING. THE LINE OF QUESTIONING, ALLEGEDLY, BECAUSE THERE'S A, THERE'S CARE AND CURIOSITY FOR THE AFFORDABILITY OF THIS MEASURE AND, AND THE ECONOMICS AND THE RENT IS JUST SO FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG THAT I'M JUST ASTOUNDED THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE ON CITY COUNCIL WHO ARE, UH, ELECTED HERE TO SAFEGUARD OUR PUBLIC MONEY AND OUR PUBLIC RESOURCES. NOT TO MENTION, WORST OF ALL, PEOPLE DIE FROM HEATSTROKE. PEOPLE DIE IN THESE CONDITIONS AND WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT ELECTRICAL COATING AND WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING IS AFFORDABLE. AND SO PATERNALISTIC LET PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO AFFORD OR NOT. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, MONICA QUAR, FOLLOWED BY JORDAN PACELLI. EVERETT, GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS MONICA AND I'M A RESIDENT OF EAST END AND AN ORGANIZER WITH THE HOUSTON TENANTS UNION. I'M HERE TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT OF THE AC ORDINANCE. UH, WITH ALL THE INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN SO FAR. I HOPE THAT YOU ALL SEE THAT THE PASSING OF THIS ORDINANCE WILL BE A BENEFIT TO ALL TENANTS ALL ACROSS HOUSTON. I HAVE THREE IN WALL OUTDATED AC UNITS, TWO THAT WORK, ONE THAT DOESN'T. AND IT'S STILL HOT IN MY APARTMENT. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING IT FIXED, BUT WE HAVE AN IRRESPONSIBLE LANDLORD AND HE'S DRAGGING HIS FEET ON IT. AND ME AND MY HOUSEMATE, WE KNOW HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES. SO I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW HOT AND HOW HARD IT IS IN PEOPLE'S HOMES THAT DOESN'T HAVE ACS AT ALL AND ARE AFRAID OF LANDLORD RETALIATION. SO IF THIS ORDINANCE PASSES, IT WOULD GIVE TENANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES AND NOT HAVE FEAR OF LANDLORD RETALIATION. I THINK THIS ORDINANCE IS THE BARE MINIMUM THAT CAN BE PASSED TO SET THE STANDARD FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. UH, FOR, FOR HOUSTONIANS. AS THE DATA SHOWS AND HAS, AND AS SPEAKERS HAVE ALREADY SAID, EXTREME HEAT IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK. SO TO LIVE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS WITH THIS HOT WEATHER AND WITHOUT THE PROPER AMENITIES IS A RISK TO ONE'S LIFE. LANDLORDS SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP TENANTS IN UNSAFE HOUSING CONDITIONS WHILE THEY HAVE ALL THEIR AMENITIES INTACT. THAT IS NOT HUMANE. WE ALL DESERVE AC AND WE ALL DESERVE, UH, SAFE HOUSING CONDITIONS AND THE CITY NEEDS TO ADAPT TO THE CHANGING CLIMATE CONDITIONS SO THAT WE ALL HAVE DIGNIFIED HOUSING. AND THIS ORDINANCE WOULD BE A GOOD STEP FORWARD. UH, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS FOR BRINGING THIS MATTER FORWARD, AND I STRONGLY URGE ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SUPPORT THIS ORDINANCE. THANK YOU. JORDAN. PACELLI EVERETT, FOLLOWED BY JOVAN TYLER. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME'S JORDAN PELLI EVERETT. I'M A LICENSED SOCIAL WORKER IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND I WORK FOR PREVENTION INSTITUTE OR NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH NONPROFIT. AND I'M ALSO A MEMBER OF THE KEY PARIS HOUSE COALITION WHERE WE FOCUS ON EVICTION PREVENTION. I'M HERE TODAY TO URGE YOU TO CLOSE HOUSTON'S WINDOW SCREEN LOOPHOLE AND ENSURE EVERY TENANT IN OUR CITY HAS THE ABILITY TO STAY PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY SAFE WITH A COOL PLACE TO LIVE. WE KNOW FROM LISTENING TO TENANTS AND ADVOCATES ABOUT THE MANY ISSUES HOUSTON RENTERS FACE RISING RENT AND UTILITY COSTS, EXPLOITIVE FEES, DISCRIMINATION, INTIMIDATION, TAX RATES, AND UNHEALTHY LIVING CONDITIONS, INCLUDING MOLD, PESTS, WATER DAMAGE, AND LACK OF AIR CONDITIONING. AND AS OTHER SPEAKERS AND COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS HAS MENTIONED, THESE ARMS ARE NOT FELT EQUALLY, BUT DISPROPORTIONATELY IN BLACK AND LATINO NEIGHBORHOODS IMPACTING EVERYONE, BUT MOST DANGEROUSLY BABIES AND SENIORS WITH NO STATE LAW GUARANTEEING TEXAS RENTERS A RIGHT TO AC. WE MUST JOIN OTHER TEXAS CITIES BY STRENGTHENING OUR LOCAL AC REGULATIONS IN DALLAS. CODE OFFICERS RESPOND TO AC COMPLAINTS WITHIN 24 HOURS AND LANDLORDS MUST REPAIR THE UNIT OR PROVIDE A TEMPORARY SOLUTION WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE CODE OFFICER'S VISIT BECAUSE THE FEE IS NEARLY $700 FOR NOT COMPLYING. LANDLORDS IN DALLAS TYPICALLY REMEDY AN ISSUE SWIFTLY. HOUSTON SHOULD ALSO STRIVE BEYOND THE DALLAS ORDINANCE, WHICH REQUIRES THAT AIR CONDITIONING AND RENTAL RENTAL HOMES COOL TO AT LEAST 15 DEGREES BELOW THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE. I THINK SOMEONE MENTIONED LAST WEEK IT WAS 102 DEGREES HERE. SO AN AC UNIT WOULD ONLY THEN HAVE TO COOL SOMEONE'S HOME TO 87 DEGREES, WHICH IS STILL VERY HOT. UM, OUR PARTNERS AT TEXAS HOUSERS, YOU HEARD FROM JULIO EARLIER, RECOMMEND A COOLING STANDARD SHOULD REQUIRE AN AC SYSTEM TO SUSTAIN A MAXIMUM INSIDE TEMPERATURE OF 78 DEGREES. HOUSTON TENANTS DESERVE BETTER. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION OF THIS ORDINANCE. THANK YOU. UM, NEXT SPEAKER. AND AS WE CALL THE NEXT SPEAKER, IF YOU HEAR THAT YOU'RE NEXT STEP, KIND OF MOVE TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THE ROOM. SO, UM, WE CAN CUT DOWN ON THE TIME OF WALKING BACK AND FORTH. KEVON TYLER, FOLLOWED BY IAN LAVA. CHECK THERE'S AN OLD TRUTH IN [02:35:01] PUBLIC LIFE. A GOVERNMENT'S FIRST DUTY IS THE COMFORT. IS THE COMFORT IN THE SAFETY OF ITS OWN PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE LEASE CUSHION AGAINST HARDSHIP. COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS'S RIGHT TO AIR CONDITIONING AUDIENCE ANSWERS THAT DUTY NO FAMILY SHOULD HAVE TO LIE AWAKE IN THE SUMMER. HEAT WONDERING IF TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT IN WHICH THEY EXPERIENCE DANGEROUS HEAT. WE CANNOT CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT THE VULNERABLE IN ONE BREATH AND EXPOSE THEM IN THE NEXT. THIS IS COMPASSION WRITTEN IN POLICY AND I SUPPORT IT WITHOUT RESERVATION. TYPICALLY, I I, I COME UP HERE AND I DO PLATITUDES AND I DO REALLY WONDERFUL, FRIENDLY KIND OF LET'S GET THIS, UH, LET'S DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR HOUSTON. BUT I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE SPEAKERS WHO'VE SAID THAT SOME OF YOU ALL IN YOUR QUESTIONING, NOT ONLY WERE CONDESCENDING, BUT YOU JUST HAD A BIT OF ARROGANCE ABOUT THOSE THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS BEING RENT TO HELP PROTECT. YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK Y'ALL SHOULD TAKE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS UP ON HER OFFER TO GO TO SOME OF THESE PLACES WHERE THOSE FOLKS LIVE, GO INTO THOSE APARTMENTS. I, UH, I'M SORRY THAT, THAT THESE FOLKS HERE DECIDED THAT IT WAS GOOD TO, UH, LEAVE. BUT HOPEFULLY THEY WILL HEAR MY MESSAGE BECAUSE YOU ALL REPRESENT HOUSTON. SOME OF Y'ALL SAID NOTHING WHEN THE BUDGET CAME, CAME THROUGH, NOT LAST YEAR, NOT THIS YEAR. THEIR CITY PARKS CLOSED, HAD NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. SOME OF THE SAME PEOPLE SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE $5, UH, UH, UH, UH, TRASH FEE. SAID NOTHING ABOUT THAT EITHER. BUT SUDDENLY WE HAVE A PROPOSAL TO HELP FOLKS. AND YOU HAVE THE UN UNMITIGATED GALL AND AUDACITY TO ASK A QUESTION AND NOT ASK A QUESTION BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO SEEK A SOLUTION, BUT YOU'RE ASKING A QUESTION BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST BEING PLAIN MEAN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OH, WAIT ONE SECOND, SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER JUST WANTED A FYI. PLEASE DO. I WAS ACTUALLY WORKING ON A PROP, A AMENDMENT TO SET UP A SIMILAR FUND FOR THE TRASH AS TO THE WATER ACTUALLY BEFORE COUNCILMAN SALINAS WAS BECAUSE I DO THINK, UH, AN EXTRA FEE ON PEOPLE THAT ARE BARELY MAKING IT IS A PROBLEM. WILL WE AGREE ON THAT, SIR? THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. IAN EK FOLLOWED BY CHERYL HENDERSON. UH, IAN'S NOT HERE. CHERYL. CHERYL HENDERSON. CHERYL'S NOT CHERYL. NOPE. OH, YEP. CHERYL'S COMING. OKAY. RIGHT THERE. FOLLOWED BY SARAH MONTGOMERY. HELLO. HOW Y'ALL DOING? THANK Y'ALL FOR GIVING ME THE TIME TO SPEAK TO YOU. WELL, I AM A RESIDENT OF THIRD WARD AND I STAY ON THE TOP FLOOR AND I HAVE TWO WINDOW UNITS AND THEY'RE NOT BIG. AND IN THE EVENING TIME, THE HEAT RISES AND I'M STILL FIGHTING TO STAY COOL. AND I HAVE HEALTH ISSUES. I'M ON DISABILITY AND EVERYTHING. I HAVE ISSUES WITH MY LUNGS. MY, UH, GROUP THAT I'M IN NAC THEY, UH, LET ME BORROW, UM, A PORTABLE AC UNIT. I HAVE TO GET IT INSTALLED IN ONE OF MY WINDOWS SO IT CAN HELP ME HAVE THE COOL AIR. I GET IT. EVERYBODY HAVE Y'ALL OPINION ON THE AFFORDABLE AND ALL THIS AND THAT. BUT I UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE, UH, ELECTRIC GOING UP AND EVERYTHING. I SEE IT EVERY MONTH BECAUSE I HAVE TO KEEP MY UNITS GOING. I HAVE TO KEEP MY CEILING FANS GOING, THE LITTLE FANS I HAVE IN ORDER TO KEEP THE AIR GOING FOR ME TO SURVIVE BECAUSE ME ENDING UP IN THE HOSPITAL IS NOT GOING TO BE GOOD FOR ME BECAUSE OF WHAT'S GOING ON. AND I'VE SEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE NEWS BABY'S DYING FROM HEAT STROKE PEOPLE NOT HAVING THE AC UNITS AND EVERYTHING. AND I COMMEND THEM ON TALKING ABOUT PROVIDING IT TO THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT AS WELL. I EVEN TRY TO, UH, GET AN ORGANIZATION, THE AGENT OF DISABILITY, TO ASK THEM FOR A PORTABLE AC UNIT. THEY TOLD ME NO BECAUSE I STAY UPSTAIRS AND I SAID, WHAT THAT HAVE TO DO WITH IT? 'CAUSE I'M ON DISABILITY AND I NEED THIS FOR ME TO SURVIVE. NO, YOU GOT TO BE ON THE GROUND IN ORDER FOR US TO GIVE YOU THIS UNIT. AND IT IS NOT FAIR. AND THEY SAYING, YOU GOT TO BE IN A HOUSE. WHAT DO A HOUSE AND AN APARTMENT GOT TO DO WITH IT? WHEN YOU NEED SOMEBODY, YOU SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING SOMEBODY TO STAY COOL AT NIGHTTIME, EVEN DURING THE DAYTIME BECAUSE OF THIS HEAT. WE GOT A LOT OF THESE, THESE PROGRAMS THAT'S GOING ON, BUT THEY GIVING YOU DIFFICULT TIMES ON GETTING [02:40:01] WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE. AND IT'S HARD. IT'S, IT IS REALLY HARD. AND I UNDERSTAND WHERE Y'ALL COMING FROM AND THE QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL ASKED US AND EVERYTHING. ME, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS ON WHAT YOU WAS ASKING AND EVERYTHING, BUT I DONE LIVED IT. I LIVED WITH OUR AC UNITS AND WHEN GROWING UP AND HAVING THE FANS IN THE WINDOWS AND EVERYTHING TO STAY COOL, BUT THIS TIME IT'S DAYTIME. THE CLIMATE CHANGE IS CHANGING SO BAD. IT'S GETTING HOTTER AND HOTTER AND HOTTER EVERY YEAR. THANK MS. HENDERSON. WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ IN THE QUEUE. YEAH. THANK, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, AND THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SHARING YOUR, YOUR SPECIFIC STORY. 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S TOUGH AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A SLUM LORD AT THE END OF THE DAY. AND I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER PAN SPEAKING TO THIS, UM, IT'S A LARGER CONVERSATION. WE'D ALSO NEED TO HAVE, I, AGAIN, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THIS, BUT I ALSO WANNA BE REALISTIC AND I'M, I'M GLAD YOU'RE SHARING THAT. YOU KNOW, IT IS TOUGH. IT IS TOUGH TO PAY A LIGHT BILLS AT AT END OF THE DAY AND, AND YOUR VOICE MATTERS AS WELL. UM, I CAN APPRECIATE THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD COMING HERE AND SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MAYBE ABOUT A GOOD 40, 50,000 RESIDENTS. UH, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK, UH, YOUR VOICE MATTERS JUST AS MUCH AS ANY ONE OF THEM. UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I JUST, YOU KNOW, THE MORE WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO START HAVING THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT ADUS, ADDITIONAL JOINING UNITS. HOW DO YOU BRING THAT BACK INTO THE, TO THE FOLD OF, OF WHAT HOUSING LOOKS LIKE IN HOUSTON? UM, AGAIN, UM, MY HOPE IS THAT WHOEVER YOU'RE RENTING FROM, UM, THAT THEY NEED TO DO THE RIGHT THING. THAT IS THAT, THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU HAVE TWO AC UNITS AND IT'S STILL WARM AND YOU KNOW, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT ANOTHER AC UNIT IN YOUR, IN YOUR APARTMENT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF YOU, IF YOU HAD ONE OR IF YOU NEEDED ANOTHER. UH, BUT AGAIN, I I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU JUST SHARED. IT, IT SITS WITH ME AS WELL. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER? YEAH, JUST WANNA CONFIRM, YOU ALREADY GOT TWO AC UNITS AND IT'S STILL KEEPING IT? YES. THEY, THEY SMALL. I HAVE ONE IN MY LIVING ROOM AND I HAVE ONE IN MY BEDROOM. OKAY. I USED TO HAVE A BIG ONE THAT HAD THE HEAT. IT WAS, IT HAD A CN HEAT ON IT, BUT THE COMPRESSION WENT OUT ON IT AND THEY SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN REPLACING IT WITH ANOTHER BIG ONE, BUT THEY PUT THE SMALL ONE IN THE LIVING ROOM AND I HAVE THAT ONE IN MY BEDROOM AND I HAVE TO CLOSE MY DOOR TO MY BEDROOM JUST TO GET IT COOL. TO KEEP THAT HEAT OUT. OKAY. TO KEEP ME COOL AT NIGHTTIME. OKAY. IN ORDER FOR ME TO BREATHE WITHOUT ME USING MY ASTHMA PUMP IN MY ADVAIR ALL THE TIME. OKAY. APPRECIATE IT MA'AM. THANK YOU. AND NEXT SPEAKER SARAH MONTGOMERY, FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL DEPLIN. HELLO, I AM A RESIDENT OF THE EAST END DISTRICT, I AND A MEMBER OF THE HOUSTON TENANTS UNION. I'M SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF THE AC ORDINANCE, WHICH WILL BENEFIT THOUSANDS OF HOUSTON TENANTS, INCLUDING TENANTS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHO ARE CURRENTLY FORCED TO ENDURE THE BRUTAL TEXAS SUMMER HEAT WITHOUT ADEQUATE AC UM, THE LOOPHOLE THAT ALLOWS LANDLORDS TO NEGLECT RESIDENTS BASIC NEEDS MUST BE CLOSED. WE KNOW THIS ISSUE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS HOUSTON'S POOREST AND MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, INCLUDING SENIORS, FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND OUR UNDOCUMENTED NEIGHBORS WHO OFTEN EN ENDURE THESE KINDS OF CONDITIONS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE ALTERNATIVES EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE AT THE MOST RISK OF HEAT RELATED, UH, ILLNESS OR THAT LIVE UNDER THE THREAT OF CONSTANT, UH, DETENTION AND DEPORTATION. AS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WITH AN MPH, I KNOW THE DANGERS OF EXTREME HEAT, HEAT RELATED ILLNESS AND DEATHS CLEAN LIVES, MANY LIVES EACH YEAR, AND THESE TRAGEDIES ARE PREVENTABLE. GUARANTEEING ACCESS TO AC IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO TO PROTECT THESE TENANTS. UM, THIS IS NOT A LUXURY, THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR SURVIVAL. ON THE POINT OF HOUSING AFFORDABILITY, I AGREE THAT RENT IS TOO HIGH. I, LIKE MANY TENANTS LIVE PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND I TALK TO MANY TENANTS WHO EXPERIENCE AND USE SERVICES LIKE BAKER RIPLEY. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CITY COUNCIL COULD AND SHOULD DO TO HELP LOWER THE COST OF RENT. BUT ALLOWING THIS LOOPHOLE TO CONTINUE IS NOT ONE OF THEM. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO LIVE IN A UNIT THAT HAS NOT BEEN RENOVATED SINCE 1968? THAT IS NOT A CHOICE. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE DOES WHEN THEY HAVE NO OTHER OPTION. AND FRANKLY, TO WHAT COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT THE COST TO LANDLORDS OR OWNERS. IF $200 OR $600 FOR A WINDOW UNIT COSTS TOO MUCH FOR A LANDLORD, THEN MAYBE THAT LANDLORD NEEDS TO GET THEIR MONEY UP OR SELL THEIR PROPERTY IF THEY CANNOT AFFORD THE COST TO PROVIDE HABITABLE LIVING HABITABLE HOUSING FOR THEIR TENANTS. I WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER LINAS FOR INTRODUCING THIS IMPORTANT ORDINANCE AND I EARN EVERY, I URGE EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER, INCLUDING MY REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ, UH, TO SUPPORT IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, MICHAEL DEPLIN, FOLLOWED BY DIANA DELA TO PINEDO. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS MICHAEL DELAND AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF TEXAS HOUSERS, THE STATEWIDE ADVOCACY AND POLICY GROUP THAT FOCUSES ON LOW INCOME IN COMMUNITIES AND FAIR HOUSING. OUR ORGANIZATION IS FOCUSED ON THE ISSUE OF AIR CONDITIONING AROUND THE STATE FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE DECADE, INCLUDING A REPORT THAT WE AUTHORED IN 2023, [02:45:01] WHICH EXPLORED THE ABSENCE OF A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO AIR CONDITIONING FOR RENTERS IN TEXAS. THE INSUFFICIENT LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS THAT FAIL TO HELP TENANTS WHEN THEIR AIR CONDITIONING IS NOT WORKING. THE CHALLENGE OF PAYING HIGH COST OF ENERGY FOR LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND THE ONGOING STRUGGLE TO GET AIR CONDITIONING IN ALL PUBLIC HOUSING AND INCOME RESTRICTED RENTAL UNITS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. WE HAVE COPIES AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO SHARE. I ALSO WANT TO SEND HIGH RES, UH, VERSIONS TO YOU ALL OF YOUR OFFICES. HOUSTON'S WINDOW SCREEN LOOPHOLE, WHICH WE EXPLORED IN THE REPORT YEARS AGO, IS A PARTICULARLY HARMFUL POLICY TO RESIDENTS IN A METROPOLITAN AREA, WHICH ROUTINELY HOSTS AMONG THE HIGHEST SUSTAINED TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE ENTIRE NATION. WHILE MOST CITIES AND STATES, INCLUDING TEXAS, HAVE AGREED THAT HEAT SHOULD BE A REQUIREMENT IN RENTAL UNITS SINCE THE EARLY 1980S, THAT WOULD BE JANUARY 1ST, 1984, THAT'S WHEN IT WENT TO THE TEXAS PROPERTY CODE. UH, WHEN THESE PROPERTY CODES UPDATES WERE DRAFTED DECADES AGO, THEY COULD NOT HAVE ANTICIPATED THE RISE IN TEMPERATURES THAT WOULD INVERSELY SEE MANY HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES, HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND DEATHS NOW BEING A MAJOR CONCERN. AND YET OTHER CITIES HAVE MANAGED TO PASS LEGISLATION TO MITIGATE THESE VERY PRESENT ISSUES. UM, WHILE WITHIN OUR OWN STATE, INCLUDING DALLAS, AUSTIN, AND DENTON, WHO'S SPEAKING STATISTICALLY AND PERSONALLY AS A HOUSTONIAN, DO NOT HOLD A CANDLE TO THE HEAT HERE IN TEXAS. UH, BUT THEY'VE MANAGED TO PASS LEGISLATION ON THIS ISSUE WITHOUT THE WINDOW SCREEN LOOPHOLE. UH, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE AS THE LARGEST CITY OF TEXAS AND ARGUABLY THE LARGEST CITY POPULATION IN THE NATION TO DEAL WITH THIS LEVEL OF CONSISTENT MONTHS LONG EXTREME HEAT, TAKE THE LEAD AS VANGUARD'S TO PROTECT, PROTECT OUR RENTERS, IN PARTICULAR, OUR LOW-INCOME RENTERS, SENIORS, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO ULTIMATELY ARE THE FIRST AND MOST SEVERELY AFFECTED. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER WITH REGARD TO THE WINDOW SCREEN DE PAUL, DIANA DE LA TO PINEDO, FOLLOWED BY ANDY ESCOBAR. NO, DIANA ANDY ESCOBAR TO BE FOLLOWED BY ROY HIRSCH. HEY Y'ALL. UM, ANDY HERE. UM, I'M WITH SEER. WE'RE ONE OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF THIS ORDINANCE. AND YOU KNOW, I WANNA START OFF BY SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET THAT DATA FROM THE CITY. WHAT ARE THE BUILDINGS THAT DON'T HAVE AC? UM, IT'S A LITTLE SILLY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT WHEN WE KNOW THAT THAT'S A DIRECT THREAT TO PEOPLE'S HEALTH. AND I ALSO THINK IT'S EMBARRASSING THAT WE HAVE THIS LOOPHOLE FOR THE SCREEN, UH, DOORS. UH, WE KNOW THAT, UM, THIS IS ONE OF THE COOLEST SUMMERS THAT WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. IT'S ONLY GONNA GET WORSE. AND, YOU KNOW, I DO AGREE WITH THE CONCERNS ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AND SIERRA WAS REALLY PROUD TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH BAKER RIPLEY ON THEIR, UM, UTILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND THEIR HOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS. AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT ENOUGH. WE NEED MORE PROGRAMS. WE NEED MORE BAKER RIPLEY, WE NEED MORE CENTER POINT. THIS IS A YES AND THE AC ORDINANCE IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE NEED WEATHERIZATION, WE NEED HOME RETROFITS, RIGHT? I RECOGNIZE THAT A LOT OF OUR HOMES WERE BUILT DECADES AGO AND THEY NEED A LOT OF MAINTENANCE. UM, BUT WE ABSOLUTELY NEED MORE PROGRAMS. AND I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN PURSUE THIS ORDINANCE AND PURSUE WELL BUILDING WEATHERIZATION AS A WAY TO REDUCE COSTS AND NOT HAVE ANY WASTED ENERGY IN HOMES. AND LASTLY, I MEAN, PUBLIC POLICY IS SUPPOSED TO BE A YES AND RIGHT. SO WE CAN SUPPORT THIS ORDINANCE, WE CAN SEEK OUT SOLUTIONS FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS POVERTY, ENER ENERGY, POVERTY ISSUES, AND AFFORDABILITY ISSUES. AND I ALSO THINK THIS IS ABOUT CHANGING OUR CULTURE. WE CAN CHANGE OUR CULTURE AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO ONE OF CARE COMPASSION AND WHERE WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER AND NOT WHERE WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO, UM, JUST HAVE ALL THE MONEY THAT THEY NEED. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, ROY HIRSH, TO BE FOLLOWED BY SANDRA EDWARDS. NO, ROY HIRSCH, SANDRA EDWARDS TO BE FOLLOWED BY JUAN RUBIO. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS SANDRA WITH, I'M A COMMUNITY ACTIVIST IN FIFTH WARD, AND I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE AIR CONDITIONS. I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE SLUM LORDS AND FIFTH WARD. IF YOU COULD MOVE IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE MICS SO WE COULD HEAR YOU A LITTLE BIT BETTER. OKAY. I'M SORRY. YOU'RE FINE. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT MY MOUTH WAS BIG ENOUGH. OKAY. I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE SLUM LORDS OF FIFTH WARD. WE HAVE A LOT OF THEM, AND I'M FIGHTING WITH ONE RIGHT NOW TO GET THIS LADY OUT BECAUSE HER, WE HAD A REPORTER FROM NEW YORK COME IN. HER HOUSE WAS ALMOST 180 SOMETHING DEGREES WHEN HE DID THE TEMPERATURE DOING A HEAT TEST. AND THE LITTLE AIR CONDITION SHE HAS IS NOT DOING HER NO GOOD. AND SHE HAS A LITTLE A 9-YEAR-OLD BABY IN THERE. OKAY. AND, UM, FOR Y'ALL OVER THERE THAT WON'T THINK THAT IT'S A EXPENSE OR A CHOICE, THE LIVING HEAT, THAT'S CRAZY. [02:50:01] THAT'S CRAZY AS HELL BECAUSE WHO WANTS TO DIE? I'M JUST GONNA SHOW YOU A PICTURE. LET ME JUST GET INTO THE REAL TALK. I LOST TWO PEOPLE. AUGUST, I LOST THIS MAN. AUGUST 13TH LAST YEAR. HE WANTED A, A AIR CONDITIONER. CITY REFUSED HIM. I FOUND HIM IN HIS HOUSE DEAD. AUGUST 25TH THIS YEAR, ACROSS THE STREET, I FOUND MY NEIGHBOR IN THE HOUSE DEAD. TWO PEOPLE DEAD FROM HEAT. AND THIS THE ONE ACROSS THE STREET. I'M GONNA BLAME THE CITY FOR IT BECAUSE WE ASKED THEM TO SHUT THIS HOUSE DOWN. THEY TOLD THIS LADY, SHUT THIS HOUSE DOWN. THE LITTLE GUY WAS STAYING AT MY HOUSE. I GOT HIM HIS SOCIAL SECURITY CHECK. THE LADY PUT HIM BACK IN THAT HOUSE, NO WATER, NO TUB, NO NO BATHROOM PERIOD, NO AIR CONDITION. I FOUND HIM IN THE HOUSE DEAD. I'M BLAMING THE CITY BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY SHUT THAT HOUSE DOWN. SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD HIM IN THE HOUSE. HE'S DEAD NOW. NOBODY'S DOING NOTHING. THE HOUSE STILL SITTING ACROSS THE STREET FROM ME, STILL WITH HIS ODOR IN IT COMING OUT, DIDN'T CLEAN THE HOUSE UP OR NOTHING WHEN THEY TOOK THE BODY OUT, I WANT THE HOUSE GONE BECAUSE SHE SHOULD HAVE HAD AT LEAST AIR CONDITIONING THERE FOR HIM. THERE'S PEOPLE AROUND ME IN FIFTH WARD DYING EVERY DAY, AND I HAVE TO BE THE ONE THEY CALL. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE CIVIC CLUB AND THEY CALLING ME AND I HAVE TO GO IDENTIFY BODIES BECAUSE OF HEAT. LAST YEAR I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR HEAT. I HAVE A HOUSE, I HAVE AN AIR CONDIT. WELL, I HAD ONE AIR CONDITION LAST YEAR. I WIND UP IN THE HOSPITAL FROM HEAT, FROM HEAT OUTTA MY OWN HOUSE. SO THINK ABOUT THESE SLUMLORDS, PUTTING PEOPLE IN HOUSES WITHOUT AIR CONDITION. THANK YOU. THAT'S WRONG. NEXT SPEAKER, JUAN RUBIO, UH, TO BE FOLLOWED BY ROSE SAMPSON. GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS JUAN RUBIO AND I AM THE POLICY COORDINATOR AT WORKERS DEFENSE ACTION FUND. WE ARE A MEMBER LED ORGANIZATION, WHICH FIGHTS FOR THE RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. WE PLEASE SUPPORT COUNCIL S PROPOSED ORDINANCE. ONE OF THE PRIMARY THREATS OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR MEMBERSHIP IS EXTREME HEAT. HOUSTON IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST CITIES IN THE LOWER 40 AGE AND HAS THE FOURTH MOST INTENSE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT IS NOT SIMPLY A FORCE IN NATURE. IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S AMPLIFIED BY DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS AND URBAN DESIGN, WHICH PRIORITIZE EXTENDING PAVEMENT OVER PROTECTING PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE. BECAUSE THESE CONDITIONS ARE CREATED THROUGH PUBLIC POLICY AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE FEEL OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO REDUCE THE BURDENS THEY PLACE ON HOUSTON RESIDENTS. IN ADDITION, MANY OF OUR MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES WORK IN CONSTRUCTION, ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS INDUSTRIES IN THE STATE NATION, LARGELY DUE TO THE THREAT POSED BY HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SPEND THEIR DAY WORKING IN EXTREME HEAT RECOVERY AFTER WORK IN A COOL ENVIRONMENT IS A CRUCIAL PART OF PREVENTING CUMULATIVE HEAT STRESS. HEAT SAFETY DOES NOT STOP AT THE DOOR WHEN A WORKER GOES HOME FOR THE DAY. SAFE WORKPLACES AND SAFE HOUSES ARE COMPLIMENTARY. PUBLIC HEALTH PROTOCOLS, OVER 20,000 RENTER HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS THE HOUSTON METRO AREA LACK AIR CONDITIONING AND HOUSEHOLDS MOST LIKELY TO STRUGGLE WITH ACCESS TO A ARE OFTEN THOSE WHICH ARE LEAST CAPABLE OF PURSUING COOLING EQUIPMENT THAT'S LOW INCOME FAMILIES, SENIORS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AND OF COURSE IMMIGRANT HOUSEHOLDS. EVERY HOUSTONIAN DESERVES A SAFE PLACE TO RECOVER FROM THE DANGEROUS HEAT. PLEASE VOTE TO KEEP HOUSTON HEALTHY AND SAFE FROM THE HEAT. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, ROSE SAMPSON TO BE FOLLOWED BY AUDREY NTH. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ROSE AND I ADVOCATE FOR MY COMMUNITY. FIRST OFF, THERE'S NO PRICE LIMIT TO SAVING TAXPAYERS LIVES. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT THAT THE AC ORDINANCE BECOMES PRIORITY BECAUSE TOO, TOO MANY ELDERS AND KIDS ARE PASSING AWAY DUE TO HEAT STROKE, ESPECIALLY SINCE TENANT ARE BEING OVERCHARGED AND STILL MAKING MINIMUM WAGE. THESE KINDS OF STORIES DO NOT GET MENTIONED ON THE NEWS UNLESS IT HAPPENS AND KNOWN OR PRIVILEGE NEIGHBORHOODS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, AUDREY NTH TO BE FOLLOWED BY TAMMY RODRIGUEZ. MY NAME IS AUDREY NTH. I AM CO-CHAIR OF THE HOUSTON PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS AND I'M ALSO A PHYSICIAN. I'M SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF THE AC ORDINANCE FOR TWO REASONS. ONE, THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE THAT AFFECTS A VULNERABLE POPULATION. I'VE TAKEN CARE OF MANY CHILDREN WHO HAVE RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES AND ASTHMA EXACERBATIONS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MOLD IN RENTAL UNITS. UM, AND I BRING THIS UP BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE EP, A MOLD GROWS RAPIDLY WHEN INDOOR HUMIDITY IS ABOVE 60%. AND IN HOUSTON, THE AVERAGE HUMIDITY IS RIGHT AROUND 75% AND IS OFTEN HIGHER THAN THAT. SO WITH A SCREEN AND HUMIDITY EQUILIBRATING BETWEEN THE OUTDOORS AND INDOORS, UH, THAT'S THE PERFECT SETUP FOR A LOT OF MOLD PROBLEMS. UM, AND THAT LEADS TO MY SECOND POINT, WHICH IS THAT AC UNITS ARE MUCH CHEAPER THAN PROFESSIONAL MOLD [02:55:01] REMEDIATION. UH, PROFESSIONAL MOLD REMEDIATION FIRST STARTS WITH AN INSPECTION THAT COULD BE HUNDREDS, AND THEN THE ACTUAL, UH, FIXING OF THE WALLS, WHICH COULD BE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. SO IN SHORT, I SUPPORT THE AC ORDINANCE BECAUSE IT HELPS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE AND RENTERS HAVE THREE TIMES THE RATE OF BEING UNINSURED COMPARED TO HOMEOWNERS. AND TWO, IT MAKES FISCAL SENSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NOW, UH, MS. RODRIGUEZ, I SEE THAT YOU'RE ON HERE AGAIN, BUT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK BECAUSE WE ARE RUNNING UP ON A, A TIME LIMIT. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY, MS. RODRIGUEZ, OR COULD WE GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD? CAN I JUST DO REAL QUICK? SURE. I JUST WANTED TO MENTION IN THE APARTMENT INDUSTRY AND THE APARTMENT IN, UH, EXPERIENCE THAT I'VE HAD, I'VE HAD, UH, MANAGED PROPERTIES THAT WERE BUILT IN THE SIXTIES. EVERY SINGLE PROPERTY DOES HAVE ACS AND WHENEVER THERE WAS A, A CITY ORDINANCE PASSED THAT WERE, UH, CODE WAS EITHER CHANGED OR IMPLEMENTED, THE APARTMENT COMMUNITIES ACTUALLY HAD TO COME UP TO COMPLIANCE AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. SO WHENEVER THEY HAD THE LOCKS WHERE THEY HAD TO PUT IN THE KEYLESS LOCKS THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED, THEY WERE DONE. UH, FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, SMOKE DETECTORS, THEY WERE DONE. SO THERE WAS NOTHING IMPLEMENTED IN THE APARTMENT INDUSTRY. ANY CODES THAT HAD TO BE CHANGED, THEY WERE IMPLEMENTED. BUT EVERY SINGLE APARTMENT COMMUNITY THAT I WORKED ON IN THE SIXTIES, ALL THE WAY UP THAT WERE BUILT LAST A-C-D-E-F, THEY ALL HAD AC UNITS. SO THANK YOU. THEY COULD BE COMPLIANT. THIS CONCLUDES OUR LIST OF SPEAKERS AT THIS TIME, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO VOTE THIS OUT OF COMMITTEE? I DON'T EVEN THINK WE HAVE QUORUM, BUT NO COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE DURATION. AND THEN BRING IT UP FOR FULL VOTE ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE WE OKAY, GREAT. WELL WE DID IT, WE DID IT BEFORE FIVE O'CLOCK AND SO I JUST WANNA THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING, PARTICIPATING. YOUR VOICES ARE HEARD. WHAT A GREAT DISCUSSION TODAY. UM, OUR NEXT MEETING IS GOING TO BE AUGUST 25TH AT 2:00 PM AND, UM, MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.