Superlaser Activated: H.B. 2127 and the Home-Rule Amendment

It’s becoming a Texas tradition.

A local government—a city, a county, or other municipality—does something to draw the attention of the Legislature. Then, as soon as an odd-numbered year arrives, the Legislature files a bill or even passes one that reigns in that municipality’s actions.

Tensions then escalate. The local government argues that the Legislature is violating principles of local control while the Legislature argues that the city is acting outside the scope of its delegated powers.

This tension is now coming to a head in the legal challenge to House Bill 2127, which is officially titled the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (TRCA), but is colloquially referred to as the “Death Star Bill.”