SAN MARCOS CITY COUNCIL
At the last San Marcos City Council meeting, there was an agenda item for “a possible resolution calling for the immediate and permanent ceasefire in occupied Palestine,” which prompted a letter from Governor Greg Abbott to San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson stating that he has “proudly signed legislation prohibiting government entities from supporting efforts to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.” At the previous meeting, the council decided to move forward with placing the resolution on the agenda for a vote at the next meeting on May 6. Abbott’s letter threatened removal of state grant funding if it were passed.
Abbott’s letter cited the laws that he believed the resolution “seems calculated to violate.”
“In Texas, no governmental entity may enter into a contract worth $100,000 or more unless it includes a ‘written verification’ that the contracting entity ‘does not boycott Israel’ and ‘will not boycott Israel during the term of the contract.’ TEX. GOV’T CODE § 2271.002,” Abbott wrote in the letter. “A ‘governmental entity’ includes a political subdivision, like the City of San Marcos. Id. §§ 2251.001(3), 2271.001(3). And to ‘boycott Israel’ means ‘refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations specifically with Israel …’ Id. §§ 808.001(1), 2271.001(1).”
Abbott stated that the resolution would impact grant funding for the city of San Marcos.
“My office is already reviewing active grants with San Marcos to determine whether the City has breached terms by falsely certifying compliance with Texas law,” Abbott stated. “If the City Council adopts this Resolution, the Office of the Governor will not enter into any future grant agreements with the City and will act swiftly to terminate active grants for non-compliance.”
In a press release, Palestine Solidarity SMTX, the activist group that spent approximately one year in public comment requesting the resolution, stated that the letter “falsely paints the resolution as anti-Israel.”
The organization disagreed with the governor’s position.
“Governor Abbott’s attempt to equate support for Palestinian human rights with antisemitism is a gross misrepresentation,” stated Scott Cove, a representative of Palestine Solidarity SMTX. “This resolution unequivocally condemns the targeting of civilians, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, and affirms the right to life and safety for all. The resolution explicitly condemns any antisemitic rhetoric or attacks. It is deeply concerning that Governor Abbott would threaten our city’s funding in an attempt to suppress our community’s free speech call for peace and justice and to ignore the applicability of existing federal law and the weight of international rulings.”
Palestine Solidarity SMTX stated that the “resolution’s call to end U.S. military funding and sales to Israel is rooted in the necessity of upholding existing federal laws.” They listed the Foreign Assistance Act, the Arms Export Control Act, the U.S. War Crimes Act, the Leahy Laws and the Genocide Convention Implementation Act as laws being violated.
San Marcos City Council Member Amanda Rodriguez, one of the two council members who sponsored the agenda item, posted to her instagram account that residents have been requesting a “symbolic resolution” calling for a ceasefire on Gaza, calling for community members to come to the May 6 meeting and demand the resolution be passed.
“To conflate opposition to genocide with antisemitism is a deliberate and dangerous tactic to silence moral outrage; Speaking out against atrocity is not hate, it’s humanity,” she wrote. “Our cities are underfunded, our people are in pain, and yet we’re told to stay silent. We won’t. Join me on May 6th to demand our Council courageously defend the right to dissent. Our democracy depends on it.”
An official with the city of San Marcos stated that “staff members do not provide interviews or public comments on items that are scheduled for consideration by the full City Council.”
Learn more about the resolution at this link: sanmarcosrecord. com/article/29970,ceasefire-resolution-to-go-back-to-council- for-vote.
