Austin, TX
City of Austin moving forward with license plate reader pilot program
AUSTIN, Texas – After months of community input and tweaks to the policy, the City of Austin will be moving forward with a license plate reader pilot program. The use of LPRs was halted in 2020.
In September 2022, city council members approved a resolution brought forward by council member Mackenzie Kelly to explore reinstating a program.
Two resolutions were passed during the June 8 meeting, one related to the contract and the other related to timelines for data retention and the program itself.
However, the license plate must fall into one of the categories on the following hot list for officers to be notified: license plates listed as stolen, B.O.L.O., SILVER and AMBER alerts, wanted individuals with any Class A misdemeanor offense or greater warrant, Class B and Class C misdemeanor hate crimes, or Class B and Class C misdemeanor sex crimes.
Austin license plate reader program in its final stages
The Austin Police Department held a discussion on the license plate reader policy. The policy is now in its final stages
“I firmly believe that our data is going to be protected. There are certain regulations in place that will prevent the abuse of data, including regular audits,” said council member Kelly. “And it’s my hope that this data that the police officers get will help us as a city be safer.”
Other Texas cities have their own programs in place. This week, the City of Kyle approved the use of LPRs.
However, questions have been brought up by the community regarding the policy and what kind of oversight will be in place.
“We’ve seen law enforcement use them to enforce laws that this community doesn’t agree with has deprioritized, if not outright decriminalized,” said Chris Harris, director of policy for the Austin Justice Coalition at a council meeting earlier this month.
“We need to ensure that, even the accidental misuse of it, where people have switched license plates out and now, I’m pulling over the wrong car and holding people at gunpoint, that we are accommodating and ensuring that precautions are being taken to prevent those issues.”
Public Safety Commission, City of Austin to hold special meeting to discuss license plate readers
The Public Safety Commission for the City of Austin will have a special called meeting this month to discuss license plate readers, as well as the 3-1-1 system and 9-1-1 call centers.
AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL COVERAGE
Council member Kelly was happy to see the pilot program move forward but skeptical about the 7-day retention policy that was ultimately chosen, though there is an exception for data related to ongoing criminal investigations.
“Officers need to know to look for the data in the first place, and with the vacancies that we have at the department, a lot of our investigators are being put back on to patrol, and they’re not having as much time to go and investigate crimes,” said Council member Kelly. “So my biggest concern is that with seven days of holding on to this data, we’re going to lose data that could potentially solve a crime further down the road.”
The pilot program will last one year from the time it officially goes into effect.
Before the program comes to an end, data will be reviewed, and the city could decide to make changes to the policy or extend the program.
Austin, TX
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuit
(AP) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in a whistleblower lawsuit at the heart of impeachment charges brought against him in 2023.
The court on Friday said Paxton’s office does not dispute any issue in the lawsuit by four former Paxton employees and agreed to any judgment in the case.
“In a major win for the State of Texas, the state Supreme Court has sided with Attorney General Paxton against former OAG employees whose effort to prolong costly, politically-motivated litigation against the agency has wasted public resources for years,” a statement from Paxton’s office said.
An attorney for one of the plaintiffs declined immediate comment, and a second attorney did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
The former employees allege they were improperly fired or forced out for bringing to the FBI allegations that Paxton was misusing his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who in turn, they said, was helping the attorney general to conceal an extramarital affair.
The Supreme Court ruling noted that the Texas governor and Legislature have expressed a desire to hear testimony from the witnesses prior to agreeing to appropriate funds to settle the lawsuit.
The court said forcing Paxton, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke and senior advisor Michelle Smith to testify earlier could improperly be used for legislative purposes in deciding any appropriation.
Under the preliminary deal, Paxton agreed to apologize to the former employees for calling them “rogue” employees, settle the case for $3.3 million and ask the state to pay for it, prompting the state House to reject the request and begin its own investigation, leading to the vote to impeach him.
Paxton was ultimately acquitted after a Senate trial.
The Supreme Court termed its ruling conditional upon the lower trial court complying with the decision, while saying it is “confident the trial court will comply” with the order.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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A Texas city has been named among the top ten U.S. cities to live in over the next two years.
Ten Texas cities were included in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live list. For the annual rankings, U.S. News analyzed 150 major cities in the U.S. based on quality of life, job market, value of living and people’s desire to live in the area.
How did your city fare on the list? Here’s a breakdown of the data.
LIST: 10 best US cities to live
Texas’ capital secured a spot in the top 10 places to live, as determined by U.S. News.
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
Austin offers healthy balance of work and pleasure, US News says
Austin had an overall score of 6.8 out of 10, compared to Naples’ score of 7.1. The Texas capital also scored 6.8 in the quality of life index, with a value index score of 6.3.
“With the slogan ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ this Texas city is laid-back to the point that if you’re dressing up, it must be a life event,” the U.S. News analysis says. “People here enjoy the outdoors, even more so with their dogs. Austin has a contagious vibrancy and enthusiasm.”
U.S. News notes Austin’s strongest assets are a mix of work and pleasure. The number of companies headquartered in Austin makes it attractive to working professionals, especially those in technology, government, education, and health care. But the capital is far from being “all work, no play.” Its claim as the live music capital of the world invites music lovers to take a listen, whether at the airport, along streets downtown, or at one of the approximate 200 venues throughout the area.
Austin also ranked no. 32 on U.S. News’ Best Places to Retire in 2025 list.
LIST: Best Texas cities to live
Here are the rankings and scores U.S. News gave for the ten Texas cities included in the list:
Ranking
City
Overall Score
Quality of Life
Value Index
#9
Austin
6.8
6.8
6.3
#48
McAllen
6.4
6.6
7.6
#62
El Paso
6.3
6.5
7.3
#77
Corpus Christi
6.2
5.8
7.0
#87
Brownsville
6.2
6.2
7.7
#89
San Antonio
6.1
6.1
6.8
#95
Dallas
6.1
6.4
5.6
#97
Houston
6.1
5.9
6.2
#99
Beaumont
6.1
5.5
7.3
#107
Killeen
6.0
5.9
7.3
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