Bill that could stymie Astrodome redo advances

A state Senate committee voted Monday to approve a bill that could torpedo Harris County’s multimillion-dollar overhaul of the Astrodome.

The Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations voted unanimously in favor of the measure to require certain local public stadium projects — including the county’s planned $105 million renovation of the Astrodome — to be put to a county-wide referendum.

The committee’s unanimous bipartisan vote suggests the bill by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, will have enough support to pass the full chamber and head to the House.

County officials have said the bill threatens to derail its project to raise the floor of the Astrodome and put two floors of parking underneath, opening the Dome for festivals or conferences and usher in potential commercial uses in the more than 550,000 square feet that surrounds the core.

Harris County Commissioners Court voted last year in favor of the $105 million renovation project, billed by many as the Dome’s saving grace after years of sitting vacant. It would be funded through a combination of property taxes, hotel taxes and parking revenue.

County Judge Ed Emmett, a longtime proponent of re-purposing the Astrodome, testified against the bill Monday.

Emmett said he was not surprised by the committee’s vote, but criticized the bill as unprecedented meddling in county affairs by the state.

“No matter what building we’re talking about here, this has never been done,” he said.

The Texas Historical Commission voted in January to designate the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark, meaning it cannot be altered or demolished without the commission’s approval.

Whitmire’s argument in favor of the bill centers on the fact that Harris County voters in 2013 defeated a $217 million bond package that would have renovated the Astrodome and transformed it into a street-level convention hall and exhibit space.

“If you ask the voters to speak to a $217 million bond issue, which fails, you don’t tweak it and come back and spend the money anyway,” he said.

Whitmire said he was “guardedly optimistic” about the bill’s chances in the House.

University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said given the bipartisan vote in favor of the bill Monday, which included Democrat Sylvia Garcia and Republican Paul Bettencourt, House members likely would be receptive to the bill.

He said Emmett, a former state legislator, has some sway in the House to help fight the bill, but the state increasingly has asserted its authority in local affairs.

Rottinghaus pointed to the ban on texting while driving and transgender bathroom bill as examples.

“He is on the local side of an ongoing conflict between state and local government,” Rottinghaus said.