According to LegiScan, House Bill 2127 (known as the “Texas Regulatory Consistency Act”) was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 14 and will go into effect on September 1. According to the bill text, “[t]he purpose of th[e] Act is to provide statewide consistency by returning sovereign regulatory powers to the state where those powers belong in accordance with Section 5, Article XI, Texas Constitution.”

The law amends certain sections of the Texas Code with a field preemption clause stating that “[u]nless expressly authorized by another statute, a municipality or county may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a field of regulation that is occupied by a provision of this code. An ordinance, order, or rule that violates this section is void, unenforceable, and inconsistent with this code.” According to ChangeLab Solutions, preemption is a legal doctrine that allows a higher level of government to limit or even eliminate the power of a lower level of government to regulate a specific issue.

Bloomberg reports that HB 2127 explicitly strips from cities the ability to set or enforce eviction regulations. Four Texas cities have eviction-related ordinances on the books today, according to the report, including Dallas which has established a ten-day “right to cure”, affording tenants a window of time to avoid eviction by catching up on their rent or applying for rental assistance. Bloomberg, citing Mark Melton (a Dallas-based attorney and housing advocate), reports that under HB 2127, those rights would be preempted.

The law (HB 2127) states that “[a]ny person who has sustained an injury in fact, actual or threatened, from a municipal or county ordinance, order, or rule adopted or enforced by a municipality, county, or municipal or county official acting in an official capacity in violation of any of the [listed] provisions or a trade association representing the person has standing to bring and may bring an action against the municipality, county, or official” and may recover declaratory and injunctive relief, costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

Opponents of the legislation have nicknamed it the “Death Star” bill and see it as being part of a prolonged effort by those on the political right to rein in the power of Texas’ left-leaning metropolitan areas, according to Bloomberg.

Last Updated on June 29, 2023 by Ramin Seddiq