City of Houston Sues Texas Over Preemption Legislation

[Elderberry]

Texas Scorecard by  Emily Medeiros July 5, 2023

The lawsuit asks that the court block a measure that ends the patchwork regulations of local governments by providing statewide consistency.

After Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation to rein in onerous local regulations into law in June, Houston officials are suing the state in an effort to block the legislation from going into effect.

The bill’s author, however, has said the lawsuits amount to little more than a liberal effort made in conjunction with California activists.

House Bill 2127 by State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock) attempts to provide statewide consistency in regulations by returning sovereign regulatory powers to the state, in light of the patchwork of local regulations currently in place across the state.

The legislation would also grant citizens adversely affected by the rules and regulations enforced by the municipality to bring legal action against them for any damages caused to their person or business.

More: https://texasscorecard.com/houston/city-of-houston-sues-texas-over-preemption-legislation/

[Elderberry]

Texas Scorecard by  Emily Medeiros July 7, 2023

The lawsuit claims the new law singles out the county and violates the Texas Constitution.

In an attempt to block new legislation, Harris County is suing Texas in order to halt an election security measure from going into effect.

Until 2020, Harris County elections were administered by the county clerk. Then, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the commissioners court decided to appoint an elections administrator to handle all election duties. Problems emerged with the first appointed administrator, Lina Longoria, who was forced to resign in 2022 after a series of botched elections. Following Longoria’s resignation, the county hired Clifford Tatum, whose mismanagement of the November 2022 election sparked a criminal investigation and multiple lawsuits.

After these incidents occurred, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) filed SB 1750 to abolish the unelected position of county elections administrator and transfer the administrator’s duties to elected officials, but only in counties with a population of more than 3.5 million.

Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law both SB 1750 and Senate Bill 1933. The second measure gives the Texas secretary of state administrative oversight of local elections offices where there are recurring problems, including authority to petition for removal of elected election officials.

More: https://texasscorecard.com/local/harris-county-sues-texas-over-election-legislation/

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