Citing power imbalance, petitioners seek to reshape two H-GAC boards
KEY VOTES Two votes held by the H-GAC since 2021 have resulted in representatives from Houston being outvoted.
March 2021 Houston and Harris County officials opposed an I-45 expansion project, but the H-GAC voted to back it. February 2022 Harris County got 2% of $488M in federal recovery dollars for Hurricane Harvey.
February 2022
March 2021
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
of revisiting how boards are structured but said he would rather see an open discussion take place instead of resort- ing to a charter amendment. Follow- ing the 2020 census, Wemple said the H-GAC formed a committee to explore reshaping the board composition. The committee, chaired by a Harris County representative, recommended the board composition be left as is. The composition of the Transportation Policy Council is more complicated and must comply with federal require- ments, Wemple said. Fair For Houston needs to gather 20,000 signatures for the petition to be considered by the city. The vote would give Houston voters the chance to amend the city’s charter to compel the H-GAC to negotiate with the city of Houston on making the board more reflective of population. As of press time May 3, Mayor Sylves- ter Turner did not respond to request for comment. Sallie Alcorn, Houston City Council member and chair-elect of the H-GAC board of directors, said her office had requested a full analy- sis of H-GAC funding allocations and was expecting to receive it May 4. She declined comment until after review- ing the analysis. As of late April, Fair for Houston had gathered about 10,000 signa- tures. Once the petition is submitted and signatures are verified, the city would have until Sept. 11 to make the decision to place the amendment on ballots for the November election.
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A new grassroots movement in Houston is seeking to increase the city’s representation on a regional planning group that plays a large role in prioritizing federal and state funds for local projects. The effort relates to restructuring two boards within the Houston-Gal- veston Area Council, said Evan Choate, an organizer with Fair for Houston, the group leading the effort. Members on the H-GAC board of directors represent a wide cross-section of the 13-county area, but Choate said suburban and ex-urban communities in the region are overrepresented at the expense of more urban areas, including the city of Houston and Harris County. The effort also targets the Transportation Policy Council, which covers eight counties. Choate said there have been sev- eral instances where the H-GAC board voted in a way that broke away from Harris County members: a March 2021 vote to support an I-45 expansion proj- ect and a February 2022 flood control vote that saw Harris County get 2% of the $488 million pot. “It’s about making sure money is being fairly distributed, which is not what is happening now,” Choate said. H-GAC’s Executive Director Chuck Wemple said it is rare for the agen- cy’s board to be split on a vote. Har- ris County was allocated 2% of flood funding after taking into account a previous allocation of $750 million for the county by the state’s General Land Office, Wemple said. Many decisions are influenced by the H-GAC’s advisory councils, made up of local subject mat- ter experts, he said. Wemple said he is open to the idea
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A SEAT AT THE TABLE Of the 37 people on the H-GAC’s board of directors, eight represent Harris County or one of the cities within Harris County.
How it currently works
H-GAC bylaws dictate how many representatives from each jurisdiction are on its board of directors. Each county gets one seat , except Harris County, which gets two . Each city with a population over 25,000 gets one seat , except Houston, which gets two . Cities with populations below 25,000 caucus once a year and elect two representatives to represent home-rule cities and two to represent general law cities. One seat represents public school districts in the region. The city of Houston would maintain H-GAC membership only if votes on the governing board are apportioned proportionally on the basis of population. If an agreement is not reached, the city would withdraw its membership . What would change
THE CHARTER AMENDMENT PROCESS
Petition : organization seeking charter amendment collects signatures to place amendment on ballot • 20,000 signatures required from “qualified voters” • Fair for Houston officials aiming to deliver signatures to city by end of June Verification : city of Houston verifies signatures • Process must be completed by Sept. 11 to be in time for November 2023 election Election : city of Houston sets date for when charter will be on ballot • Options include the soonest possible election date or the next presidential election
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SOURCES: HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL, CITY OF HOUSTON , FAIR FOR HOUSTON , U.S. CENSUS/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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HEIGHTS - RIVER OAKS - MONTROSE EDITION • MAY 2023
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