Houston City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance regarding campaign finance reports.

Breaking it down: Under the new rule, the city secretary’s office must file a sworn complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission within five days if a Houston election candidate misses a campaign filing deadline.

Additionally, the ordinance requires the city secretary to post the names of candidates who miss the deadline, though no new penalties were created.

What they're saying: Council member Julian Ramirez placed the ordinance on the agenda using the city's Proposition A rule, with co-sponsorship from council members Joaquin Martinez, Amy Peck and Sallie Alcorn.

While some council members and Mayor John Whitmire expressed concerns that the ordinance is redundant and places extra responsibility on the city secretary's office, Ramirez noted that the process is currently difficult for regular residents to navigate on their own.

The retail space Meta Lab has opened its first Texas location in the Galleria.

What is it: The store is designed for hands-on discovery with AI glasses and virtual reality experiences.

Customers can get demonstrations of glasses, including Meta, Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses. Visitors can also experience virtual reality sets with a Meta Quest 3 or Meta Quest 3S demo.

Something to note: For those who want prescription glasses, in-store opticians can help select frames and order prescription lenses for select AI glasses.

• 5085 Westheimer Road, Houston

Officials with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County shared a news release Sept. 22 highlighting new expansions and services available to all transit riders.

The improvements span METROLift, curb2curb and Community Connector.

METROLift: Changes to the METROLift, an Americans with Disabilities Act transit service, include new technology, vehicles and travel options. Officials also noted that new vans and minivans will begin to replace aging vehicles and increase capacity during periods of high demand.

Community Connector: The transit authority's electric micro-transit rideshare service known as the Community Connector will become a permanent part of the transit network after officials saw a 64% increase in ridership. The network will now see expanded hours, new climate-controlled vehicles and improved connections.

Curb2Curb: A new route was also announced for the curb2curb service, an on-demand, ADA-accessible neighborhood rideshare service. The 347 Gulfton On Demand Service Zone began operating daily from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. for residents in the Gulfton community.

Had a full plate this past week? Catch up on six trending stories from Community Impact in the South Houston area, Sept. 21-25.

1. Missouri City partners to build new roads in Sienna to improve connectivity

2. Target opening Texas Heritage Marketplace location in October

3. Bellaire Culture and Arts Board unveils two logo design concepts up for resident review

4. United Way of Greater Houston selects new CEO after former president announces retirement

5. League City denies gas station along FM 646, South Egret Bay Boulevard

6. New grocery, meat market coming soon to Pearland area

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must stop issuing new permits for data centers, Gov. Greg Abbott said Sept. 21.

The overview: His order expands an existing pause on data center development in the state amid consistent public criticism of the booming industry. Abbott, who is running for a fourth term as governor, has recently moved to slow the growth of data centers after calling Texas “the epicenter of AI development" last year.

The context: Hundreds of proposed data centers are currently being audited by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state power grid.

Some developers may be able to get around the ERCOT pause by building in-house power infrastructure that is not connected to the grid, experts have said.

However, any construction project impacting at least 1 acre of land requires permits from TCEQ.

What they're saying: "As Texas faces increasing pressure on our water supplies and electric grid, we need to ensure that data centers operate efficiently and sustainably," said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas.