According to city authorities, San Antonio has joined Houston’s lawsuit against Texas over a recent state law that eliminates many local ordinances.
Costly taxpayer-funded lawsuits
In a report from Axios San Antonio, city attorney Andy Segovia tells Axios that San Antonio concurs with Houston’s claim that the law is unconstitutional. The city contends that city citizens are best represented on local problems by their elected municipal leaders. According to Segovia, the new law is ambiguous and exposes San Antonio to costly taxpayer-funded lawsuits.
According to eight different codes of governance, including agriculture, business and commerce, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources, vocations, and property, local governments will no longer be able to enact certain laws and regulations. It gives citizens and businesses the ability to sue cities if they believe a local regulation goes beyond what is permitted. The law will go into force on September 1st.
Ron Nirenberg, the mayor, claims that state legislators overstepped their bounds.
According to a statement from Nirenberg, they do not intend to humbly give up our community’s ability to self-govern. City Council members are elected by local voters, and as a result, they are much more familiar with the interests and concerns of their communities than Austin legislators are.
According to Nirenberg, city citizens have options to use when they disagree with a decision made by the City Council, including casting their vote in local elections.
According to the law’s proponents, in order to facilitate commercial operations throughout the state, a patchwork of local legislation must be avoided.
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Whyte: The bill will prevent local governments from trying to pass legislation
In an article from KSAT stated that the citys decision to file a lawsuit, according to District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte, is ill-considered and disregards the requirements of businesses in San Antonio and other parts of Texas. Whyte is the only councilman from San Antonio to openly endorse the measure.
Whyte claims that the bill will prevent local governments from trying to pass legislation on matters that the state already oversees and instead keep them focused on local issues.
The bill is the most recent example of the conflict between Republican legislators and Democratic Texas cities.
According to Segovia, the law attacks more than a century’s worth of Texas cities’ local control. The Texas Constitution’s provision for “home rule” effectively allows localities the authority to make all decisions that are not expressly prohibited by state law.
Segovia denied to provide a list of the city regulations that are being opposed by the new state law, claiming that the language is too vague to be explicit.
After the law is put into effect, the city has no intention of removing any ordinances from the books. According to Segovia, officials will instead wait to see if the city is sued over particular regulations.
A resolution, similar to those already in place in Austin and Dallas, was being considered by the San Antonio City Council to mandate rest breaks for construction workers during the summer’s intense heat. But those actions are probably prohibited by the new state statute.
After Gov. Greg Abbott made the legislation official, San Antonio reduced its original plan.
The city of Austin is also debating taking the state law to court.
The “chilling effect” of the law and the potential for lawsuits against the city, according to Nirenberg, won’t stop the City Council from addressing local government issues and moving through with any regulations.
August 17 is the date of a hearing. Segovia tells Axios that the city intends to receive a decision before to the law’s scheduled implementation.
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