Cities and counties draw up legislative wish lists as Democrats take over, though state limits on local power remain

After Denton voters banned fracking inside the city limits, the Republican-led Legislature answered by outlawing such local bans statewide. That episode opens a Texas Tribune analysis of how city and county officials expect their dealings with Austin to change now that Democrats have won the statewide offices and a majority in the Texas House.

The short version, according to the Tribune: local leaders are shifting from defense to wish lists, but the laws that reined them in are not going anywhere soon.

A different tone from the Capitol

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, a Republican, told the Tribune that partnership is "the number one ask right now." Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said local officials can now spend less energy fending off the state. Local officials are talking about state help with transportation, indigent health care and policing.

Parker said the state could pick up more of the cost of school resource officers that Fort Worth splits with its school district.

Several proposals local governments had braced for are effectively off the table, the Tribune reported, including tighter limits on raising property taxes and a ban on local governments hiring lobbyists.

The old rules stay for now

Republicans still hold the Texas Senate. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, a Republican and chair of the Senate Local Government committee, told the Tribune "there could be a lot of stalemates," and also room for agreement.

The sweeping preemption law nicknamed the "Death Star" bill, which bars local rules that go beyond broad areas of state law, could be a target for repeal, but its priority is unclear. Caps on local property tax revenue growth without voter approval are likely to stay, the Tribune said, since Democrats would not want to be accused of raising taxes.

Housing may produce the sharpest disagreement. As House members, Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin both voted for Senate Bill 840, last year's law that lets apartments go up in commercial areas without the usual city approvals. Some Dallas-Fort Worth cities want that law scaled back.

Nicole Nosek, founder of Texans for Reasonable Solutions, a group that lobbied for the housing bills, told the Tribune she expects the drive for more housing to continue under Democrats.

Monty Wynn, who leads the Texas Municipal League, said years of conflict had shut down basic dialogue between cities and the state. "It just became so adversarial," he told the Tribune.

Lawmakers convene in January.

Sources

The Texas Tribune

Denton Record-Chronicle