As legislators curtail Texas cities’ options on police, taxes, local control gets lost | Opinion
A broadly worded bill making its way through the Texas Legislature would limit what laws cities and counties can pass within their borders. It has set off another discussion about what regulations should fall under state authority and which should remain with local governments.
When I served on the Fort Worth City Council, we would always have to be aware of what the state of Texas allowed us to do and what it prevented. The U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment established that local governments are bound to follow state laws, just as the state of Texas must abide by federal legislation.
It makes sense that locally elected officials should make decisions regarding local matters. They know their areas. I grew up in Fort Worth, and in 2017, I spent about four months knocking doors in Council District 3 to win my first council election. Those thousands of conversations gave me an extensive knowledge of residents’ concerns.
Locally elected officials are also more accountable than those in higher levels of government. When I was a council member, folks would often approach me with opinions while I was eating out or during neighborhood gatherings. I loved it because it was the working out of government by the people and for the people. Try doing that with the governor or a state senator — it is just much less likely to happen.
Fort Worthians know what is good for Fort Worth. We don’t want elected state officials from Houston, for example, telling us how to run our city. Similarly, we Texans don’t want elected officials in Washington, D.C., telling us how to run our state courts, elections, prisons, utilities and universities.
Eyebrows in Austin get raised, however, when certain city councils do what is unexpected … and unwelcome. Examples are attempts to cut police funding or ban gas-powered lawn equipment.
One might say that those cities’ residents have the option of voting in municipal elections to express their displeasure. But for conservatives in left-leaning cities like Austin or Dallas, there is little chance of overturning a liberal City Council. Their only recourse, then, is to appeal to state legislators who have been eager to respond.
Texas is a vast and diverse state, separated into a handful of big liberal cities and hundreds of conservative towns. You can’t keep conservatives living in Houston and Dallas from pushing state lawmakers to come to their aide.
Texas legislators reaching into local politics is nothing new. In 2019, the Legislature capped how much municipalities could raise taxes year over year. In the current legislative session, one bill would prevent local municipalities from banning products that emit too much carbon.
I agree in principle with many of the Legislature’s intentions when it comes to local control. Police defunding, aggressive taxation, fracking bans, and unfair landlord requirements are bad ideas. And last year I publicly opposed Fort Worth’s 10% tax increase.
Legislators pushing for more state control emphasize the need for a more uniform set of rules for businesses that operate in Texas. Since healthy commerce funds everything we do, I am a consistent supporter of policies that keep our city and state attractive to business owners.
We must realize, though, that with every small step away from local control, we lose the accountability and familiarity that local governments give us. What is good for San Antonio may not work well in Cowtown.
And by pulling more influence from municipal governments, we make locally elected positions less attractive. It is already difficult enough to find people who are qualified to do the hard work of getting elected and to carry the heavy mantle of governing our cities and counties.
Brian Byrd, a former City Council member, is a physician in Fort Worth.
