"Oppose Bad Bills"

Granbury City Council's Highest Legislative Priority is Oppose Bad Bills. Texas House Bill 2127 seeks to prevent cities and counties from adopting or enforcing local ordinances or orders related to any activity contained in several state codes unless expressly allowed by state law. It’s now being considered by the Texas Senate.

If it becomes law, City of Granbury Ordinances regulating the following go away: Noise, Smoking, Gambling Halls, Alarm Systems, Peddlers & Solicitors, Short-Term Rentals, 18-Wheeler Parking, Mining, Garage Sales, Puppy Mills, Amusement Games, Mobile Car Washes, and more.

This bill raises serious questions: If state law is silent in a certain area, can a home rule city (like Granbury) continue to regulate in that area? There’s a real possibility a court would eliminate city regulatory authority in the absence of state regulation. Such an interpretation by the courts could effectively end home rule authority for Texas cities.

The bill attempts to dramatically scale back 110 years of Texas home rule city authority, bypassing Article XI, Sec. 5 of the Texas Constitution. Some Building Codes used by the City would automatically revert to those over a decade ago. For example, if passed, the Fire Code used by the City would revert to the 2005 version, which will have a significant impact on homeowners’ property insurance premiums. You will have to pay more for insurance if this bill passes.

Your City Council strongly believes in the Jeffersonian principle, “…government closest to the people governs best…” and is not in favor of state legislation such as this that continues to erode cities home rule authority.

This bill could be voted on tomorrow. Please get involved now and contact your Senator, Senator Brian Birdwell, Dist. 22, 512-463-0122 brian.birdwell@senate.texas.gov