Houston Chronicle by Jeremy Wallace Nov. 20, 2020
Texas Senate is jump-starting its 2021 offensive against city and county governments
It didn’t take long for Republicans in the Texas Senate to send a clear message to local governments that they should prepare for another high-stakes battle in Austin.
Just weeks after the Nov. 3 election, the Texas Senate’s State Affairs committee is already setting up its first meeting for Dec. 7 to discuss lobbying reforms that would bar cities and counties from using taxpayer funds to hire lobbyists. While there is no specific bill set to be discussed, the committee chaired by Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Republican from northeast Texas, made clear in its meeting announcement that it will “make recommendations to protect taxpayers from paying for lobbyists who may not represent the taxpayers’ interests.â€
It is hardly a surprise that cities and counties will immediately be put on the defense. The last two sessions have been aggressively anti-local government with Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — both Republicans — pushing to hem in cities and counties on issues ranging from tree ordinances and annexation rules to property taxes, police budgets and how much they can spend on lobbyists.
In May 2019, a bill that would have prohibited cities and counties from hiring lobbyists died in the final days of the Legislative Session after the House voted down the legislation.
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