The Texas Tribune: Local Government, School Lobbying in Ethics Crosshairs.
Thursday unleashed a torrent of criticism against a pair of bills that would restrict how they can interact with members of the Texas Legislature.
The legislation, sponsored by freshman Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, is designed to bar school districts and local government entities from using tax dollars to hire lobbyists or pay associations that lobby for them in Austin, such as the Texas Association of Counties or the Texas Association of School Boards. Some last-minute tweaks would weaken the outright prohibition in some circumstances.
Dallas Morning News: Energy interests are threatening local control.
At the behest of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, bills rocketing through the Legislature would “expressly pre-empt” local ordinances that regulate drilling in urban areas. The bills would undermine drilling ordinances in more than 300 Texas cities, including Dallas. Limits on drilling near homes, prohibitions of drilling in parks and bans on waste injection wells could be eliminated.
Dallas Morning News: Senators debate tighter caps on city, county property taxes.
Tea party activists called Thursday for restrictions on what cities and counties can collect from property taxes, despite warnings by mayors and county judges that a “revenue caps” bill could result in fewer cops and more potholes.
Dallas Morning News: Local control looms over House committee debate on statewide rules for Uber, Lyft.
The vehicle-for-hire rules crafted by the city of Dallas last year in a laborious, months-long process would be effectively wiped out under legislation heard Thursday by House lawmakers. A bill by Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, would instead create statewide regulations for “transportation network companies” like Uber and Lyft. The state Department of Motor Vehicles would administer the rules, which wouldn’t apply to cabs and limos.
Houston Chronicle: Unhappy businesses make Austin lobbyists rich.
Democracy is about giving the power of self-determination to the people, and in the United States we believe that power should be given to local governments as much as possible. Conservatives in the Texas Legislature rail all the time about federal environmental regulations designed to stop interstate pollution. They say the rules infringe on the rights of Texans to make their own laws. However, that same lawmaker is more than happy to pass a state law trumping a city ordinance. That's why business people spend millions of dollars a year on lobbyists in Austin. And this year is a very good year to be a lobbyist.
