Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June 30 signed into law House Bill 2127, which limits the power of local government entities — such as city and county governments — to enact rules in areas labor rights, drought restrictions and, some opponents of the bill fear, LGBTQ civil rights.
On Monday, Jan. 3, the city of Houston filed suit against the state to stop the measure that critics are calling “the Death Star bill,” according to reports by The Texas Tribune. The bill, the Tribune notes, is “Texas Republicans’ biggest attempt yet to kneecap local governments in a years-long assault on Texas’ major metropolitan areas, often governed by Democrats.”
In the lawsuit, the Tribune reports, Houston leaders claim SB 1127 violates the state constitution and weakens cities’ authority to self-govern.
At a press conference announcing his city’s legal challenge to the new law, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the law would overturn local ordinances regulating tow truck companies, outdoor music festivals, noise regulations and boarding homes, but that the full reach of the new law is not yet clear.
“What this means is that cities like the city of Houston cannot pass ordinances in these areas unless the state of Texas explicitly gives us permission to do so,” Turner explained. “That is a total reversal from the way things have been in this state for more than a century.”
— Tammye Nash
