Judge Strikes Down Lege’s Power-Grab Against Cities, HB 2127

Travis County Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled Texas House Bill 2127, also known as Texas’ “Death Star” law—aimed at kneecapping cities’ and counties’ authority to enact local laws—unconstitutional two days before it was to take effect.  

In her judgment on a lawsuit brought by the City of Houston and joined by the cities of San Antonio and El Paso, Gamble declared, “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.” 

“HB 2127 was a power grab by the Legislature and an unwarranted and unconstitutional intrusion into local power granted to Houston and other home-rule cities by the Texas Constitution,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a public statement. “This self-defeating war on cities needs to end.”

HB 2127 would have barred cities and counties from enacting local ordinances related to agriculture, business, finance, labor, natural resources, occupations, and property. In its lawsuit, the City of Houston argued that not only was this “unconstitutionally vague,” it also violates provisions that require the state to demonstrate that there is a “direct and irreconcilable” conflict between state and local laws before the state can preempt them with “unmistakable clarity.”  

In an interview with the Texas Observer, Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel explained that the Texas Constitution does not allow the state to preempt local laws in broad areas, unlike the federal Constitution, whose supremacy clause allows the feds to preempt state law when it comes to, for instance, immigration. 

“For 100 years, cities have had home rule powers, the power of self-governance, under the state constitution, that does not require the legislature’s permission to pass laws,” Michel said. “The state is trying to turn that on its head.”

HB 2127 would also have allowed individuals or trade associations to sue local governments if they deem HB 2127 has been violated, resulting in what the lawsuit describes as a “barrage of lawsuits … to deregulate their industries or businesses at the local level.” Opponents of the law argued this would have shifted the burden to cities and counties to disprove the grounds for preemption, contravening the state constitution. 

The state is expected to appeal the ruling. An appeal would first be heard at the Third Court of Appeals before heading to the Texas Supreme Court. 

During the hearing, Governor Greg Abbott posted on social media, “Texas small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Burdensome regulations are an obstacle to their success. I signed HB2127 to cut red tape and help businesses thrive.” 

HB 2127’s author, Representative Dustin Burrows, reacted to the ruling on social media, writing that it’s “not worth the paper it’s printed on.” He predicted the Texas Supreme Court would rule on the side of businesses and advocated for “the creation of specialized business courts.”

Organizations representing working families, low-income tenants, environmental rights advocates, and marginalized communities in rural and urban areas are celebrating the ruling. 

David Chicanchan, policy director of the workers rights group Workers Defense Project, which has fought for local rest break ordinances for workers to protect against heat, says Gamble’s ruling is saving workers’ lives. 

“HB 2127 puts the lives of workers in danger when they’re already out there working in dangerous conditions, and now we’re breaking records on temperature and heat during the summer,” Chicanchan said. “We’re celebrating today because that decision is validating the concerns our members have been raising.” 

“This law was targeting very openly, very basic worker protections that workers and unions and community organizations have fought for for many years,” said Texas AFL-CIO policy director Ana Gonzalez. “This included other ordinances that were targeted like payday lending, and tenant protections, non-discrimination ordinances, fair chance hiring, and many other things that local elected officials have passed and response from their community needs will remain in place for now.” 

Tannya Benavides, a representative of Local Progress, whose members are Texas local elected officials advocating for racial and economic justice, says that the ruling impacts not only Texas cities, but local communities across the country under attack by conservative state governments. 

“We are seeing this pattern of preemption not just in the state of Texas, but across the country, with state governments that want to stifle localities from making their own decisions and be able to meet their constituents’ needs,” Benavides said. 

Chicanchan, Gonzalez, and Benavides have vowed that their members will continue to fight HB 2127 and any efforts to appeal today’s ruling. 

“This fight is far from over,” Gonzalez said. “We hope that the Texas Supreme Court will uphold this decision and protect local democracy. But for now, we celebrate this win for Texas communities across our state, and we will continue to fight abuse of state preemption that silences our communities.”

Click here to read Gus Bova’s deep dive into the implications of Texas’ “Death Star” law.