A Texas state judge on Wednesday ruled as unconstitutional a law that curtails the power of left-wing city governments to make regulations.
House Bill 2127, known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on June 14 and bans municipalities from passing ordinances in conflict with several state codes related to agriculture, commerce, insurance, labor and property, among others. After the law was challenged by the City of Houston, Democratic Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the 459th District Court, who was elected to her position, ruled on Wednesday that the law violated the state constitution, according to her judgment order in the case. (RELATED: Texas Passes Bill To Curtail Dem Cities’ Local Powers)
“House Bill 2127 in its entirety is unconstitutional—facially, as applied to Houston as a constitutional home rule city and to local laws that are not already preempted under Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution,” wrote Gamble in her order, granting Houston a summary judgment in the case.
House bill 2127 that the media has labeled “the Death Star”, keeps liberal blue cities from continuing their absurd, anti-business, job killing ordinances.
How ironic for a city to claim this bill is unconstitutional for simply requiring cities to be in compliance with the…
— Brandon Creighton (@CreightonForTX) August 30, 2023
The bill would have affected large Democrat-led cities such as Houston, Austin and San Antonio, whose policies have often conflicted with the conservative values of the rest of the state, which is heavily Republican.
Republican lawmakers who drafted the bill sought to limit municipalities from passing ordinances that, they claimed, harmed businesses. “We are one step closer to ensuring businesses aren’t faced with a patchwork of inconsistent and overreaching regulations,” wrote Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock on Twitter shortly after the law had passed the Senate.
After the ruling, Burrows attacked the judge’s decision. “The judgment today by a Democrat Travis County District Judge is not worth the paper it’s printed on. The Texas Supreme Court will ultimately rule this law to be completely valid,” he said, according to the Texas Tribune.
The bill, which opponents have branded the “Death Star” bill and “Super Preemption” bill, will still go into effect on Sept. 1, according to The Messenger. The law is merely a declaration and not an injunction, Burrows wrote on Twitter, now known as X.
“I am thrilled that Houston, our legal department, and sister cities were able to obtain this victory for Texas cities. HB 2127 was a power grab by the Legislature and an unwarranted and unconstitutional intrusion into local power,” said Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston in a press release. “This self-defeating war on cities needs to end.”
The Texas attorney general’s office said that it has already appealed the ruling, the Tribune reported.
“Instead of filing frivolous lawsuits against the State and trying to regulate small businesses out of existence, local officials should focus on addressing the concerns of their constituents,” wrote Annie Spilman, the National Federation of Independent Businesses’ Texas State Director.
“HB 2127 will become law. And liberal tears will flow, as job creators win, again,” said Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton, who sponsored the law.
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