Texas GOP targets ‘local authority’

For as long as he’s been in office, Gov. Greg Abbott has waged war with Texas cities, warning that the state is being “California-ized” by local overregulation.

But until now, the offensive has stuck to single measures, like barring cities from regulating most oil and gas drilling or forcing landlords to accept federal housing vouchers. Republican lawmakers have pushed off more sweeping proposals, including attempts to prohibit local governments from passing any ordinance more stringent than state law.

Those sorts of measures are on the table this year in what could be the most productive legislative session yet for conservatives looking to rein in the state’s largest cities and counties, most of which are run by Democrats. Among the ideas are enhancing state oversight of county-run elections, taking aim at progressive judges and prosecutors, slashing local officials’ emergency powers and broadly restricting the types of regulations cities and counties can enact.

Local officials are watching a few bills in particular, including one backed by Abbott that would bar cities and counties from regulating entire “fields” already controlled by state law.

Under the proposal, local regulations covering agriculture, labor and other areas would be limited to what’s “explicitly authorized” in state codes. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Con-roe Republican who’s carrying the bill in the Senate, said it would “streamline regulations so Texas job creators can have … the certainty they need to invest and expand.”

Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League, said the idea would kneecap local business regulations and could jeopardize commonplace ordinances that overlap with state codes, like limits on overgrown grass and local drought management plans.

“The problem with these bills is just, we don’t know the scope when you just talk about whole state codes,” Sandlin said.

Local leaders also are tracking a bill that would bar cities from regulating commercial activity unless they’re addressing “a uniquely local concern.” Another proposal would prevent cities from regulating state license holders, such as plumbers, in any way that’s “more stringent” than state law.

Beyond the anti-regulation measures, Republicans have drawn up bills that would curb the emergency powers used by mayors and county judges to set up COVID-19 restrictions, including banning mask mandates and stripping the ability to fine or jail people for violating emergency rules.

Since Abbott took office in 2015, when “local control” emerged as a political issue, the Legislature has clamped down on how much tax revenue cities and counties can collect and rolled back voting initiatives pioneered by Harris County. State leaders also have made it hard for urban areas to cut law enforcement spending and banned so-called sanctuary cities, forcing local police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

“Over the last several sessions, there’s been an assault on local authority,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “I think it erodes the ability of citizens in Texas to govern their own quality of life and have families and businesses thrive in the places they choose to live.”

Local officials say blanket regulatory bans fail to account for differences between large urban centers and small rural towns. And they note that state revenue caps limit their ability to pay for basic services, like police, trash pickup and road upkeep, without sacrificing other things their voters also want.

But proponents say it’s up to the Legislature to ensure local leaders don’t overstep the powers they were granted by the state.

“The county is a subdivision of the state,” said Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on the five-member body. “When a county has significant issues with crime, elections and draconian emergency actions, then we should expect the state to engage. There must be a legitimate reason why Harris County is the target for much of this legislation.”

Houston and Harris County have drawn most of the recent attention from Abbott and other Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who lives in the area.

During the pandemic, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo emerged as one of Abbott’s main antagonists in his fight over local requirements like mask mandates. Mayor Sylvester Turner also has battled with state officials over control of Hurricane Harvey relief funds, while Houston Independent School District leaders have sought to prevent the state from taking over their school board.

This session, Republicans have filed a handful of election-related bills aimed at Harris County, which has tried to expand voter access through drivethru voting and other means, but also has had numerous election stumbles in recent years.

During the November election, about two dozen polling locations ran out of paper to print ballots. Republicans have alleged numerous other Election Day blunders, including the release of early voting results before polls closed, though they have not produced an estimate of voters disenfranchised by what happened.

Helping lead the GOP legislative response is state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who previously oversaw the voter rolls as Harris County tax assessor-collector. One of his bills, Senate Bill 220, would create teams of election marshals to investigate potential voting violations and enlist visiting judges to quickly review the cases.

Bettencourt also is carrying a bill in the Senate that would allow the secretary of state to suspend an appointed county elections administrator and appoint a replacement, if there’s “good cause to believe that a recurring pattern of problems with election administration exists.” The bill outlines five causes for suspension, all targeted at Harris County.

“There’s a lot of precedent in state government to be able to remove appointed officials for a cause,” Bettencourt said. “So that’s what this bill does. It’s a different take on the same problem: What do you do with an elections administrator that has clearly failed?”

State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, said he thinks Republicans are focusing on Harris County because they feel threatened by its potential to swing future statewide elections. The county is the largest in Texas and has voted overwhelmingly for Democrats atop the ticket in recent years.

Johnson said he’s also worried election marshals like those under Bettencourt’s plan would be sent disproportionately to voting sites in communities of color.

“Allowing the secretary of state to send in election marshals into certain communities — because it’ll only be certain communities — for me, that conjures up visions of yesteryear, when the police were always called into Black precincts, in the Black communities, and used to intimidate them from voting,” Johnson said. jasper.scherer@houstonchronicle.com