TX House Speaker Pete Laney ruled on Tuesday that
legislation to provide tax subsidies to erect new sports venues
in Texas cities could not be considered, which "effectively
killed the bill," according to the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Laney's
move came after State Rep. Kenneth Brimer raised a point of order
on the bill charging that the House State Affairs Committee did
not meet in the "announced" location when it considered the bill
and thus prevented the public from having the chance to attend
the committee discussion, as required by law (John Williams,
HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/24). Brimer, who resides in Kennedale, near
Arlington, apparently was motivated to defeat the bill because
the final version "forbid the Mavericks from moving to
Arlington." The bill was sponsored by Dallas State Rep. Royce
West, and was called "typical Dallas arrogance," by Arlington
Mayor Richard Greene, who is also upset about a letter from
Dallas that threatens to sue Arlington if they negotiate with the
Mavericks. Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett says Brimer's dismissal
of the bill on a technicality was "a sneak attack. Mr. Brimer,
for reasons known only to him, essentially declared war on his
neighbors." Mavericks GM Norm Sonju said that the death of the
bill could perhaps lead "to the exodus of other professional
sports teams in the state" (Christopher Ave, FT. WORTH STAR-
TELEGRAM, 5/25).
KING JERRY: Irving officials said the defeat of the bill
"doesn't have any material effect" on the city's potential
cooperation with Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones for improvements to
Texas Stadium. Jones is seeking partial funding for a $180M
renovation of the stadium, including sealing the roof, adding
several thousand more seats and an interactive theme park (FT.
WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/25).
