State Senator Jeff Wentworth is sponsoring Senate Bill 1618 which would mandate single-member districts for municipalities with more than 500,000 people. Austin City Council has called a special session today to hear from staff and legal council.
Here is a pdf of the bill.
Yesterday, Austin City Council unanimously voted against this bill. The decision was not designed to send a message that council is against SMDs, rather the decision was based on the legislation being forced upon the city from the state level.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Blogs/News?oid=oid%3A765744
-Jude