The cold war between Texas’ major cities and state legislators is about to escalate once again.
The Republican-controlled state Legislature has long targeted cities that overstep the state’s authority over taxation, regulation, budgeting, lobbying, debt approvals, etc. As proposals to cut police budgets have emerged across the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that bars Texas cities from cutting decisions traditionally left to local governments.
And last year, the state Legislature’s conservative majority passed House Bill 2127, also known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, to prevent cities and counties from passing local ordinances that state officials believe go beyond what’s allowed under state law. Gov. Abbott and some business groups have long called for comprehensive legislation to end the patchwork of local regulations and restore state control over cities.
No doubt, cities should abide by state law, spend their funds wisely, and not burden their residents with heavy taxes and fees. But state overreach weakens local accountability and limits cities’ ability to address uniquely local issues, from public safety to land use to basic budgeting. States also have a responsibility to avoid imposing unreasonable budget restrictions and regulations on local governments that prevent cities from making important investments for their future.
For example, a voter-approved plan to build and fund light rail through the Austin Transportation Partnership narrowly escaped defeat in the Legislature last year. Now the plan has drawn the ire of Attorney General Ken Paxton. In court filings, Paxton argues that the funding mechanism is improperly being used to pay down public debt and should be blocked, ignoring the fact that voters approved the measure and tax increase to alleviate the city’s severe traffic congestion.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a leading Austin-based think tank that works to shape conservative legislation, recently released a white paper on housing affordability along with sample legislation that would limit cities’ ability to raise revenues and regulate land use.
The group’s main proposals are for the state to preempt municipal restrictions on single-family home lots and to eliminate the threshold currently set at 3.5 percent for cities and counties to increase property tax revenue in a year without voter approval. The latter proposal is particularly harmful: It gives the impression that state lawmakers are standing up for overtaxed Texans, but local governments will likely struggle to raise revenue and balance their budgets even as property values rise.
City officials should have the autonomy to address local priorities and be held accountable by voters when they overstep their authority. This is far better than taking unfunded state dictates from lawmakers who convene every two years and are not directly accountable to local residents.
Accountability works both ways.
We welcome your comments via letters to the editor. Please see our guidelines. Send your letter hereIf you have any problems with the form, please email us. Email:
