Texas Senate passes bill requiring public vote for Astrodome rehab program

Senate Bill 884 passed the Texas Senate on Wednesday and will be sent to the Texas House for approved. The title means nothing to Astros fans by itself, "Harris County Taxpayer Protection Act". But the content refers to one of the Astros’ most cherished structures, the Astrodome.

The bill sponsored by Houston democrat senator John Whitmore, would require a vote to use public funds to restore the Astrodome into a useable space.

Local officials proposed spending $105 million to help redevelop the building, countering the 2013 public vote that was rejected to authorize up to $217 million in bonds to turn the Astrodome into a convention center.

The bill was approved 31-0.

The $105 million project could be a last gasp for the Astrodome, but it makes sense to have a public vote to approve funds for a building opened in 1965 and that hasn’t been used by a pro sports team since 1999.

But the key will be public education on what the vote will be approving and the language of the ballot.