Don’t like a law? Make the right hire in Austin, and it can vanish
AUSTIN — Have a local ordinance you don’t like? Need a special exemption from a state law? Hire a friend in Austin. Every odd-numbered year, 181 state representatives and senators meet in Austin to write a budget and pass a few laws. And year after year, many have proved ready, willing and able to cut deals on behalf of businesses with deep pockets.
Just don’t expect them to help with the basic needs of all business, such as meaningful tax reform or adequately funding public schools, universities and highways. Do, however, count on them to pass unconstitutional laws and attract ridicule.
If an ordinance was approved by voters or local elected officials in a Democratic part of the state, trust Republican lawmakers to override it.
For over 100 years, the state has happily allowed cities to regulate rides for hire, but when the Houston City Council and Austin voters chose to enforce common-sense safety regulations, Uber and Lyft took out
their checkbooks. Uber and Lyft, basically hightech taxi companies, spent between $1.2 million and $2.3 million on lobbyists, according to Texans for Public Justice, a government watchdog group.
Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, dutifully introduced House Bill 100 to strip cities of the power to regulate those companies. In the Senate, Uber and Lyft had an early ally in Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-College Station, who often considers the will of the people an affront to corporate freedom. Corporations are people, after all.
The best part is that HB 100 doesn’t mention Uber and Lyft’s main competitors, local taxi companies. They will conveniently remain under the yoke of local tyranny.
The construction industry is a perennial big spender in Austin, and firms are none too happy with local authorities levying fees on new construction to help pay for more affordable housing. Houston, Dallas and Austin are all experiencing rapid growth, and these firms are not building enough homes for lower- and middleclass workers.
Republican Rep. Ron Simmons and Sen. Jane Nelson happily obliged with HB 1449 to overrule local elected officials and forbid such fees.
The oil and gas industry has given lawmakers $11.3 million over the last two election cycles, Texans for Public Justice reports. The Legislature has been working on a bill to reauthorize the industry’s regulator, Texas Railroad Commission, for another 12 years.
The reauthorization process is a chance for lawmakers to overhaul the agency. Environmentalists, government watchdogs and legislative staff had hoped to dilute the industry’s influence over the commission, increase environmental regulation and boost transparency. That included renaming the agency the Texas Energy Commission so voters will know what it does.
HB 1818 does none of those things and repeals the Alternative Fuels Promotion Program and the Oil and Gas Regulation and Cleanup Fund Advisory Committee. The bill awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.
“The influence of oil and gas money in our political system again appears to prevent real reform of the Railroad Commission by the Texas Legislature,” Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter, said. “Virtually every reform or amendment that would have impacted the industry was rejected by legislative leadership.”
The Texas Auto Dealers Association protected its turf this session, effectively fighting billionaires Elon Musk and Warren Buffett in their attempt to loosen auto franchise laws. Texas prohibits automakers from selling directly to the public, or even owning a share in an auto dealership.
Musk’s latest failure to repeal the law was expected; what’s more surprising is that he keeps trying. The law grants a monopoly to new car and truck dealers, and they will fight to keep their ability to print money.
Buffett’s loss in the Senate is a bit more of a surprise, since he was seeking only an exemption to the ban on owning a dealership. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns an auto dealership and an RV company, though one does not sell the products of the other.
For all of the behindthe-scenes sweet-talking and arm-twisting on little issues, though, lawmakers continue to disappoint on the big issues for Texas’ business community.
They passed Senate Bill 4, a harsh and likely unconstitutional immigration law condemned by law enforcement. And neither has Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick dropped his effort to discriminate against transgender Texans by limiting bathrooms they can use.
Lawmakers will also soon vote on cuts to perpupil spending on public schools, reduced support for state universities, and delaying money for roads and bridges to balance the budget. All of these decisions will affect whether corporations want to relocate their headquarters and employees to our state, or whether they will consider our commitment to the future workforce lacking.
So if you need some relief from democracy in action or want to avoid effective oversight, Texas lawmakers are ready to help. If you want a properly governed state, on the other hand, prepare for disappointment.