Counteracting the Decline in County and Local Control
by Roxanna Deane, Treasurer
County Tools Report Released
A coalition of Texas Hill Country organizations including the League of Women Voters Comal Area, Hill Country Alliance, and the Comal County Conservation Alliance hired Gap Strategies to study how Hill Country counties are using existing regulatory authorities to manage growth. "Growth and Conservation in Texas: A Primer on County Tools and Paths Forward", the final report just released, describes how counties are using a patchwork of regulations and that each county has a different view of how much they can legally do. The study offers an opportunity for counties to learn from each other and hopefully increase their ability to protect water, land, and wildlife.
Find the executive summary, abridged version, and full report here:
Hill Country Alliance: County Tools Report
Reversing Local Preemption
Effective Sept. 1, 2023, HB 2127 dubbed the Death Star Preemption bill, prohibits cities or counties from passing local ordinances in ‘fields’ occupied by the State. Those ‘fields’ include Agriculture, Finance, Natural Resources, Labor, Occupations, Energy and Property.
In the July 2023 issue of Texas County Progress, the official publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas; Jim Allison, Senior Counsel for the Association, lists the factors that have led the Texas state legislature to limit the authority of county authority in a column titled "Reversing the Decline in Local Decision Making" He also lists ways to counteract this trend. His call to action includes citizen engagement and voting. This is a wake up call for all of us that want good government and local control over local problems.
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