The largest amount of donations have gone to political action committees supporting the city of Austin’s $720 million mobility bond that is on the Nov. 8 ballot, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday. Under Texas law, specific-purpose committees are required to file their campaign finance reports with the city clerk’s office 30 days before the election. This latest round of reports, the first mandated disclosure since this summer, covers all financials from July 1 to Sept. 29, according to the Texas Ethics Commission. If approved, the city’s $720 million bond would be broken into three categories:
- $482 million to fund seven existing corridor plans, including on Airport Boulevard, Burnet Road, East Riverside Drive, Guadalupe Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, North Lamar Boulevard and South Lamar, as well as develop a corridor mobility plan or engineering study on an eighth roadway in South Austin
- $137 million to implement the city’s sidewalk, bicycle, urban trails and fatality reduction master plans as well as create safe routes to school
- $101 million to spend on regional mobility projects such as expanding Anderson Mill Road, Parmer Lane and Spicewood Springs Road as well as replacing the Old Bee Caves Road Bridge over Williamson Creek, upgrading the intersection at RM 620 and RM 2222 and improving intersections on Loop 360
The next campaign finance report deadline is Oct. 31, or eight days before the election. Here are the 7 political action committees that listed support or opposition to the mobility bond and reported contributions:
1. Austin Forward PAC
Supports mobility bond $662,373 contributions; $307,461.27 expenditures 217 cash and in-kind donations
Top donors
• Greater Austin Economic Development Corp. (nonprofit arm of the Austin Chamber of Commerce), $91,482 in cash plus an in-kind donation of $38,518 • Austin Board of Realtors, $50,000 • RECA-Business MPAC, $50,000 • Manchester Texas Financial Group LLC, $20,000 • Austin Apartment Association PAC Committee, $15,000
