Each legislative session for at least the past eight years, Republican state lawmakers have clamped down on the ability of Texas cities — especially those led by liberal-leaning city councils like Austin’s — to govern as they see fit. With the 88th Legislature well under way, the GOP is again pushing bills aimed at eroding the power of Texas cities to regulate themselves on matters big and small.
If Republican Sen. Drew Springer’s SB 149 is approved and signed into law by the governor, Texas cities would be prohibited from passing any ordinance that “imposes a restriction on commercial activity,” meaning they could lose power to regulate billboards, payday loans, pawnshops and sexually oriented businesses, or pass local worker protection ordinances and other business-related initiatives.
A bill filed by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, would prohibit cities from using tax dollars to hire a lobbyist to advocate for them at the legislature. Frisco Republican Rep. Jared Patterson has even introduced a ludicrous proposal to put Austin — a frequent political target of Gov. Greg Abbott — under control of the Republican-led legislature if voters were to approve a constitutional amendment. No, thanks.
CITIES ARE BEST EQUIPPED TO GOVERN LOCAL ISSUES ISSUES
Lawmakers in both parties must reject this troubling trend toward ideologically driven state control over municipal affairs. We urge them to vote against any bill in the 88th Legislature that dilutes the power of home rule, enshrined in the Texas Constitution since 1912 to allow any city of more than 5,000 residents the right to manage municipal affairs with minimal state interference.
One-size-fits-all government doesn’t work in Texas, a diverse, sprawling state whose largest population centers are more liberal than cities and towns in rural areas. Voters understand their communities’ needs and desires best, and their elected leaders should be allowed to govern as their constituents wish, so long as they comply with state and federal laws.
“These sweeping preemption bills fail to respect that each city in Texas has its own personality, culture and history, and we need the ability to be responsive to the demands of our voters and taxpayers,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said Tuesday, March 21, in a written statement to the Editorial Board.
EROSION OF LOCAL CONTROL TRACES BACK TO OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY CONCERNS
Not surprisingly, the Texas GOP’s turnabout on issues of local control has roots in oil and gas policy.
After the Denton City Council voted to ban hydraulic fracturing within its city limits to protect its residents from harmful natural gas flaring emissions in late 2014, Texas Republicans introduced a slew of bills to override the local law the next year. Gov. Greg Abbott signed one in 2015 that preempted local power to regulate an array of drilling-related activities. Two years later during a speech to the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, Abbott said a “broad-based law” allowing the state to preempt local regulations of all kinds “is a superior approach” to governing.
The Republican-controlled legislature took that suggestion and ran with it, passing new laws to prohibit or restrict local initiatives in each legislative session since.
Among the bills worrying municipal leaders most this session is House Bill 2127 sponsored by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. The bill, which Burrows says was inspired by Austin’s court-challenged paid sick leave law in 2018, would allow anyone who contends they’ve been harmed by a local rule or ordinance to file suit if they suspect it violates Texas codes on agriculture, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources, occupations, property or business and commerce.
Burrows says his bill, which has the support of some in the Texas business community, would prevent a patchwork of local regulations that are difficult for companies operating in several jurisdictions to keep straight. But the bill’s broad array of policy targets could inspire countless attacks on local ordinances and cause chaos in the courts. Lawmakers should defeat it.
State government’s focus should remain on ensuring a good education for our young people, promoting the state’s agriculture, maintaining effective state law enforcement, administering social services, protecting Texas interests in court and managing the budget. Allowing local jurisdictions to govern as they see fit — as Republicans tended to support before major Texas cities became too liberal for their liking — is best for municipalities and the state. Lawmakers should respect the principle of home rule and leave Texas cities alone.
Austin American-Statesman
