Under Texas law, big cities can govern themselves. Well, sort of.
Passed in 2023, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act — dubbed the “Death Star” law — bans local governments from having ordinances that go beyond state law in areas like business and commerce, insurance, labor, agriculture and others. An appeals court recently upheld the legislation, which some local government officials have argued is unconstitutional.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently sent Dallas a letter saying it risks a lawsuit if it doesn’t amend or repeal 133 ordinances relating to solid waste collection, assisted living facilities, sexually oriented businesses and many other areas. The foundation argues these ordinances are preempted under the regulatory consistency law.
No doubt, Dallas and other cities across Texas might have questionable ordinances on the books. But different communities have different needs, and the state’s blanket-ban approach to restricting local control hurts the ability of elected representatives closest to the people to address those needs.
Opinion
Sometimes local governments make bad policy decisions, just like every other level of representative government does. It’s part of our democracy. Voters who disagree with the direction of their city can have their say at the ballot box.
Instead of this heavy-handed approach, state lawmakers should step in with targeted policies only in cases necessary to address local problems in which the whole state has a compelling interest, such as the availability of housing.
Take development regulation. In the midst of a housing shortage, the state should do what it can to break down barriers to building. Such policies can be necessary, even when they clash with local control.
One example is House Bill 2559, passed by state lawmakers earlier this year. The law restricts cities’ ability to put a moratorium on development, setting strict public notice and hearing requirements, among other things.
That’s relevant in North Texas after Princeton extended a policy last month that pauses residential development. The Collin County suburb put that policy in place citing concerns about infrastructure and city services keeping pace with lightning-fast growth.
The city first adopted the moratorium in September, and under the most recent extension, it will stay in place until the end of November. Under the new law, a Princeton official said this extension is likely to be the last.
House Bill 2559 restricts local control. But it does so by addressing a specific problem. It doesn’t attempt to just nuke everything state lawmakers don’t like.
Cities are complicated places with intricate problems most state lawmakers don’t understand intimately. The Legislature should consider intervening only in local policy areas that affect the welfare of the state as a whole, and any actions that take away local control should be thoughtful and measured.