Across Texas, a concerning trend is emerging: local governments are rewriting critical rules on vital topics like crime, elections, and basic governance to serve their political agendas rather than the public interest. From progressive prosecutors ignoring the Penal Code to city councils experimenting with ranked-choice voting schemes, local government activism is creating confusion and inconsistency throughout the state.
Concerns over local overreach prompted the 88th Texas Legislature to pass the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 2127), nicknamed the “Death Star bill” by the liberal media, in order to mitigate the patchwork quilt of city and county regulations aimed at Texas businesses. However, the TRCA has not yet had its intended effect, in large part because “the vast majority of cities and counties appear to be ignoring the law.”
In order to correct this problem and ensure compliance with state law, Senate Bill 2858 has been filed this session.
We may as well call it “Death Star 2.0.”
SB 2858 reinforces a simple but powerful principle: that the rule of law is the bedrock of society and a faithful observance requires all parties—even local governments—to observe its rules and requirements. This bill reinforces that ideal by explicitly preventing local governments from enacting ordinances that conflict with the Texas Penal Code or Election Code—two areas that should not be subject to the whims of local political agendas in a select few cities.
Additionally, to ensure compliance, it adds teeth to the law.
SB 2858 seeks to restore real accountability by empowering the Texas Attorney General to intervene when local governments enact policies that conflict with state law. If a city or county does this, the Attorney General can investigate and take legal action against the locality. During such investigations, the state comptroller is mandated to withhold a portion of the city’s sales tax revenue, deny access to state grants, and prohibit increases in property taxes beyond the no-new-revenue threshold. These measures impose meaningful consequences, ensuring taxpayers are no longer burdened by local governance that disregards the law.
Opponents argue that SB 2858 infringes on “local control”. However, in reality, they are defending a status quo that breeds chaos and lawlessness. Cities are currently exploring implementing their own electoral frameworks, imposing criminal justice policies that are at odds with state law, and a variety of other elements of a patchwork of conflicting regulations and ordinances.
The consequences of unchecked local power are not theoretical—they are already apparent. Soft-on-crime policies in urban centers have led to rising violent crime rates, while experiments with local election rules like ranked-choice voting confuse voters and undermine confidence in our democratic process. SB 2858 provides a remedy by ensuring that Texas returns to the fundamentals: fair elections, public safety, and clear, consistent governance.
This legislation is not about punishing cities; rather, it is about protecting the broader public interest. When local governments act as if they are above the law, they threaten the stability of the state’s legal order. SB 2858 is a reminder that no city, regardless of its size or political leaning, is exempt from the rule of law in Texas.