AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a paper by Center for Local Governance Senior Policy Analyst Jess Fields on the emergence of Liberty Cities. The paper, The Liberty City: A New Concept for Self-Governance, examines the emergence of the liberty city movement that seeks to restore liberty at the local level in Texas.
“Texans looking to preserve their liberty are increasingly doing so by insulating their small communities from the webs of excessive regulation found in some of our larger cities,” said Fields. “By creating a Liberty City, Texans have the opportunity to not only preserve their freedom and property rights, but also to provide for basic services within their community at a very low tax rate.
“Texans want to guard their basic right to use their property as they please without undue government interference. As more and more of our cities impose heavy restrictions on property usage and development, it’s refreshing to have a local government option to protect property rights instead. Liberty Cities open a new door for Texans to protect their rights by creating cities focused on enshrining their freedom, not infringing upon it.
“Liberty Cities should be an option for every Texan looking to take back their government, and the Liberty City concept is the ultimate local embodiment of the spirit of freedom that created Texas in the first place. The Legislature should adopt this new type of general law city and allow Texans to restore their rights at the local level."
The Liberty City is a city that incorporates for the specific purpose of protecting its citizens' rights. The modern Liberty City movement began when the City of Von Ormy incorporated in 2008 to avoid being annexed by San Antonio. In the years that followed, Von Ormy adopted a series of limited government policies that distinguished it among Texas' local governments, including the complete abolition of the property tax in 2014. Last Friday, the Guadalupe County Judge signed an order allowing Kingsbury residents to vote on incorporation as the City of Kingsbury, which would prevent it from being annexed by the City of Seguin in the future.
To read the full report, visit: http://txpo.li/liberty-cities
The Hon. Jess Fields is the Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former College Station City Councilman.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.