Posted on Aug 30, 2023
Travis County judge rules Texas' 'Death Star' law is unconstitutional
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A Texas law that would have undone local laws was ruled unconstitutional by a Travis County state judge Wednesday, days ahead of when it was slated to take effect.
The law, referred to as the "Death Star" bill, would limit cities' abilities to write laws that don't conform with state laws that regulate transportation, agriculture, labor and property codes, among other areas. Houston, San Antonio and El Paso sued the state, arguing the law eliminated cities' abilities to govern themselves.
The law, referred to as the "Death Star" bill, would limit cities' abilities to write laws that don't conform with state laws that regulate transportation, agriculture, labor and property codes, among other areas. Houston, San Antonio and El Paso sued the state, arguing the law eliminated cities' abilities to govern themselves.
Travis County judge rules Texas' 'Death Star' law is unconstitutional
Posted from kut.org
State of Texas
Law
Houston
San Antonio
El Paso
Posted 8 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The bench ruling from state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble came at the end of a hearing Wednesday morning in Travis County, two days before the law, born from the so-called Death Star bill, was set to go into effect.
In preemptively striking down the law — which Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June — Guerra Gamble sided with plaintiff city of Houston and two other cities that later intervened in the lawsuit, San Antonio and El Paso. Dozens more cities informally supported the fight, including Austin, but were not official participants in the lawsuit.
The state is likely to appeal the ruling, setting up what could be a lengthy legal fight destined for the Texas Supreme Court. The first stop is the state 3rd Court of Appeals, an all-Democratic court in Austin.
For now, Guerra Gamble’s ruling blocks a long-standing GOP push to bring regulatory consistency across the state that business groups say would standardize processes and promote economic growth. During the recent legislative session, supporters of the bill flooded the Capitol to make a case that the patchwork of rules is crippling to small businesses, like construction companies, that are required to provide certain worker protections, such as water breaks, in one city but not in another.
In court Wednesday, however, lawyers for the cities argued that the law as written would overwhelm cities and counties and fails to provide clear guidance on which ordinances must be canceled before the Friday deadline."...
..."The bench ruling from state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble came at the end of a hearing Wednesday morning in Travis County, two days before the law, born from the so-called Death Star bill, was set to go into effect.
In preemptively striking down the law — which Gov. Greg Abbott signed in June — Guerra Gamble sided with plaintiff city of Houston and two other cities that later intervened in the lawsuit, San Antonio and El Paso. Dozens more cities informally supported the fight, including Austin, but were not official participants in the lawsuit.
The state is likely to appeal the ruling, setting up what could be a lengthy legal fight destined for the Texas Supreme Court. The first stop is the state 3rd Court of Appeals, an all-Democratic court in Austin.
For now, Guerra Gamble’s ruling blocks a long-standing GOP push to bring regulatory consistency across the state that business groups say would standardize processes and promote economic growth. During the recent legislative session, supporters of the bill flooded the Capitol to make a case that the patchwork of rules is crippling to small businesses, like construction companies, that are required to provide certain worker protections, such as water breaks, in one city but not in another.
In court Wednesday, however, lawyers for the cities argued that the law as written would overwhelm cities and counties and fails to provide clear guidance on which ordinances must be canceled before the Friday deadline."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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Since when does a lower court get to rule a law in unconstitutional. The general rule is you can't negate or make it lighter than higher law but you make it tougher. Cities have been trying to ignore state laws. That is wrong. JMHO
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PO1 Richard Cormier
All three areas that are contesting it are Democrat run. I live in El Paso and they want to preserve the "rights" of illegal aliens while taxing the heck out of the Citizenry.
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