Houston sues Texas protesting the "DeathStar" bill- What's Your Point?
Houston fights against state legislation stripping local governance control
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and city officials protest House Bill 2127, which removes the authority of city and county governments to establish local laws differing from state standards, leading to a lawsuit seeking to declare the law unconstitutional. Supporters argue that uniform standards statewide would benefit businesses.
Houston - Houston Mayor Sylvester protesting new legislation which will strip the authority of city and county governments to establish a wide array of local laws which differ from standards set by the state legislature.
Opponents have labeled this "preemption" statute the "death star" law - which, if allowed to stand, would effectively eliminate "home rule" for Texas cities.
City attorney Arturo Michele says that means "no purely local solutions, for purely local problems" like emergency response.
And so, the city of Houston is suing the state...seeking to have this new law declared unconstitutional.
Advocates claimed that by enforcing uniform standards statewide - businesses, in particular, would benefit.