Texas GOP push to limit city ordinances could target rules from droughts to beekeeping
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott is throwing his weight behind a push to limit city ordinances that local officials say could undermine rules from beekeeping to payday lending.
The GOP-backed legislation would stop cities from regulating anything beyond what’s covered by large sections of state law, including those governing agriculture, finance and labor.
Abbott, a third-term Republican, said the state must rein in local policies “that are hostile to businesses.” He specifically panned ordinances that ban gas-powered lawn equipment, such as the one Dallas city officials are considering.
“We’re tired of it,” Abbott said last week at a forum put on by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation. “If local officials want to shape state policy, they should run for the state Legislature, not for City Council.”
The crackdown on cities isn’t new, but the scope of this year’s proposal has local officials wringing their hands.
In the past, legislators targeted specific city ordinances, such as those related to tree removals, short-term rentals and paid sick leave. Now, the bill wants entire sections of state code off limits for city regulation, “unless explicitly authorized by statute.” The legislation specifically names areas of agriculture, finance, insurance, natural resources, labor and occupations.
The approach is so broad that it’s hard to fully measure the impact, said Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League. For example, he said, the state agriculture code covers plant growth and drought. However, many cities have in place ordinances against weedy lots and that limit water use during dry periods.
“Are we allowed to dabble in that area, or are we preempted?” Sandlin said. “We just don’t know.”
A memo put out by his organization flagged 15 different types of ordinances at risk, including those governing pawn shops, raising animals, uncontrolled burns and doorto-door sales.
“I call it a top down-approach to preemption, which really can be risky because you just don’t know what you’re dealing with,” Sandlin said.
The legislation, authored by Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe, has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in either chamber.
Burrows said he filed it in response to business concerns and a raft of local ordinances that attempt to regulate areas typically left to the state, such as fracking.
He accused the Texas Municipal League of “fear-mongering to try and protect liberal mayors from pushing their anti-business agendas.”
Burrows’ office did not answer questions about whether the ordinances the group identified could be undone by the bill.
Some of the state’s most controversial local ordinances ultimately have been blocked by courts, including bans on plastic bags and mandates that private employers offer paid sick leave.
Annie Spillman, Texas director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said small businesses benefit from the consistency of statewide regulations, rather than a variety of local rules. A broad approach is best because city councils meet regularly, while the Legislature convenes once every two years, she said.
“We don’t have the time, the money, the bandwidth to come back every single session and try to undo what cities have been one step ahead in doing,” she said.
Still, Sandlin noted that cities should be able to respond to their own citizens’ unique concerns and that local officials have no interest in hurting the small-business owners that drive local economies.
Carlos Evans, director of Dallas’ Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability, said the city is still evaluating the bill. But Evans noted the legislation “has not impacted our effort to develop a landscape equipment transition plan.”