San Antonio Votes Thursday on Its 2027 Ask of the Texas Legislature: Utilities, an Arena District, Flood Money and a New Parkway

The San Antonio City Council votes Thursday, October 29, on the city's State Legislative Program for the 90th Texas Legislature - the list that guides staff in deciding which bills to support or oppose - as item 6 on the A Session agenda, up for individual consideration, Puro SA reported from the agenda memo (file 26-224900). The session the program is written for opens January 12, 2027, and lawmakers can start pre-filing bills on November 9, eleven days after the vote.

The memo names four top priorities. First is protecting the municipal utility model - preserving local ownership, governance and financial sustainability for CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System; the program states the city 'opposes legislation that adversely affects municipally owned utilities and reduces the City's return on investment.' The other three are supporting legislation, funding and innovative financing for a downtown sports and entertainment district, with no dollar figure named in the program; legislation and funding for regional flood resilience in an area the program calls 'Flash Flood Alley'; and the South Texas Parkway, a proposed multi-lane corridor connecting IH-35 and IH-37 between IH-410 and Loop 1604. The staff presentation from the October 7 briefing marks the arena district and flood priorities as new.

Below the top four, the program adds a new data center position - supporting legislation ensuring data center development does not hurt water or electricity availability, pass utility costs on to homeowners or harm neighborhoods - alongside positions on city debt, local control over zoning and permitting, health and homelessness, and support for the state's DEAAG military grant program. The memo lists the fiscal impact of adopting the program as none. At the October 7 briefing, recorded in draft minutes the Council is also scheduled to approve Thursday, Councilmember Marc Whyte urged a public dashboard of the city's bill positions, Councilmember Ric Galvan prioritized data centers and their costs to residents, and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones noted 17 projects on the updated state flood control list; government affairs director Sally Basurto told Council there would be at least 24 new House members and at least 5 new senators.