Texas’ biggest cities are having trouble addressing local issues due to state interference, Travis and Harris County politicians said Friday during a panel during this year’s Texas Tribune Festival.
The bipartisan panel featured Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard, Harris County attorney Christian Menefee and Austin City Council member Mackenzie Kelly.
The group discussed a wide range of issues facing local municipalities including state involvement in city government, housing affordability and voting.
Commissioner Howard spoke about House Bill 2127, nicknamed the “Death Star” bill. The bill limits what cities and counties can pass and what projects local governments can approve.
“We can’t require that you have water for (a new) development,” Howard said. “We can ask if you have it, but we can’t ask to see the proof.”
Although Austin’s City Council is nonpartisan, Kelly is the sole conservative-leaning member on the council. She said it requires her to compromise with other council members and work within the parameters required by the state. However, she is aware the state focuses on the bigger cities and experiences pushback from state legislators.
“We are very much in a place where the state comes after the city,” Kelly said. “Every session there is a bill that is filed that wants to create ‘the district of Austin.’”
The panelists also addressed state officials continuously stepping in and overriding approved bills and ordinances to address problems facing cities, such as housing affordability and people experiencing homelessness.
“We convinced the Austin City Council to say ‘in Austin you have to take (housing) vouchers’ … it wasn’t long before the state struck that down and said ‘cities can’t do that,’” Howard said. “We worked on sick leave, we passed a sick leave ordinance, the state said ‘cities can’t do that.’”
County attorney Menefee spoke about the ongoing state and Harris County back-and-forth after investigations and election contests after the 2022 midterm elections.
“I’m okay with disagreeing, but we’ve shifted so far into nonsensical arguments and talking points that it makes it really hard to believe that other people are acting in good faith,” Menefee said. “I’m hoping that we are now turning the page on this and moving to a place where the election will be conducted and will be fairly graded at the end of it.”
The panelists said elections matter, and speaking to your local legislators and forming a coalition to speak at the State Capitol are some of the best ways for individuals to get attention on the issues that matter most to them.
“The title here is ‘the Future of Local Control’ and I think you guys are holding the future,” Howard said. “It’s how do our voters talk to their legislators and help educate them on the challenges locally.”
