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The Lead: Short-Term Rentals, City Council Preview

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Good Morning. The National Weather Service says Austin can expect mostly sunny skies and temperatures reaching highs in the upper 60s today.

The Lead Story: Austin is about to become a destination for tens of thousands of people, coming here from around the world not just for South by Southwest, but also for events like the UIL basketball tournament and the rodeo. Hundreds of Austin property owners are looking to rent their homes to those visitors – something that’s been getting attention from City Hall.

The problem, from the point of view of City Hall, is that many of those property owners are not registering with the city as landlords of short-term rentals. That is required under an ordinance that went into effect last Fall.

To help with that, the City Council wants to improve the permitting, licensing and enforcement of its short-term rental rules.

The council meeting starts this morning at 10.

City Council watch: Other items on today's city council agenda that could be interesting:

Item 30 would allow police to impound “a ground transportation service vehicle operated in violation” of the city code governing transportation franchise agreements, like the ones in place with Austin taxi companies.

The rule could apply to drivers using online apps like SideCar.

Item 33 would amend an ordinance to allow biking on certain trails on a 24-hour basis for 2013.

Funding for higher education: The Chancellor of the University of Texas System says he supports “outcomes-based funding for higher education.” That comes after a state lawmaker proposed tying state funding for colleges and universities to graduation rates. UT Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa tells the Associated Press he backs the idea.

Under current policy, state funding is based on student enrollment.