A bill that would prevent Harris County from moving forward with its $105 million Astrodome repurposing plan without voter approval passed the Texas Senate on March 29. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston filed Senate Bill 884, dubbed by Whitmire’s office as the "Harris County Taxpayer Protection Act," would require Harris County to obtain voter approval for any improvement or redevelopment to the facility costing $10 million or more in county revenue. The bill must pass the Texas House of Representatives and be signed by the governor to become law. “This is not about the facility, this is not about the future of the Dome," Whitmire said in a statement. "This is about respecting the taxpayers’ voice.” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said the legislation is an example of state government making it more difficult for local government to do its job. Last fall, Commissioners Court approved a new $105 million Astrodome repurposing project, which involves raising the facility’s floor 30 feet to ground level, providing 9 acres of open space for events and adding two levels of underground parking. County officials said the proposal—for which the architectural engineering contract was awarded this week—would not involve a property tax increase; instead, it would be funded evenly through the county’s general fund, hotel occupancy tax funds and parking enterprise funds. Emmett said demolishing the Astrodome would cost at least $30 million, which would, in turn, result in taxpayers bearing more of the costs of maintaining and upgrading NRG Stadium. “The two potential biggest losers if this bill passes are the tenants of NRG Park and the property taxpayers of Harris County,” Emmett said in February. “The county was ready to undertake a comprehensive analysis of future operation and maintenance needs at NRG Park, but that cannot go forward until we have certainty about the role of the Astrodome.” SB 884, which was co-written by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston and seven other senators in addition to Whitmire, said the new proposal is not an efficient use of tax revenue. “Instead of offering a much-needed tax rate cut to hard-pressed Harris County taxpayers, who have seen average Harris County home property tax bills rise 36 percent in just three years, here comes another proposal to spend property tax monies on the Astrodome to enact a plan similar to the one voters rejected in 2013,” Bettencourt said. Additional reporting by Marie Leonard and Shawn Arrajj