| 1 | 1 | | 84R7173 SCL-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 1556 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to prohibition of certain regulations by a county, |
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| 8 | 8 | | municipality, or other political subdivision. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the |
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| 11 | 11 | | Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act. |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to improve |
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| 13 | 13 | | intrastate commerce by ensuring that businesses, organizations, |
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| 14 | 14 | | and employers doing business in this state are subject to uniform |
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| 15 | 15 | | nondiscrimination laws and obligations, irrespective of the |
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| 16 | 16 | | county, municipality, or other political subdivision in which the |
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| 17 | 17 | | business, organization, or employer is located or engages in |
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| 18 | 18 | | business or a commercial activity. Uniform laws will benefit the |
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| 19 | 19 | | businesses, organizations, and employers seeking to do business in |
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| 20 | 20 | | this state and will attract new businesses, organizations, and |
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| 21 | 21 | | employers to this state. |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 3. PROHIBITED REGULATIONS. Chapter 250, Local |
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| 23 | 23 | | Government Code, is amended by adding Section 250.007 to read as |
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| 24 | 24 | | follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 250.007. PROHIBITED REGULATIONS BY POLITICAL |
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| 26 | 26 | | SUBDIVISIONS. (a) In this section, "local law" means a law, |
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| 27 | 27 | | ordinance, order, resolution, rule, policy, or similar measure |
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| 28 | 28 | | adopted by a county, municipality, or other political subdivision. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) A county, municipality, or other political subdivision |
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| 30 | 30 | | may not adopt or enforce a local law that creates a protected |
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| 31 | 31 | | classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained |
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| 32 | 32 | | in the laws of this state. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (c) A local law that is adopted by a political subdivision |
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| 34 | 34 | | before the date this section becomes law and that violates |
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| 35 | 35 | | Subsection (b) is null and void. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. The heading to Chapter |
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| 37 | 37 | | 250, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 38 | 38 | | CHAPTER 250. MISCELLANEOUS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF |
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| 39 | 39 | | MUNICIPALITIES, [AND] COUNTIES, AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY. (a) It is the intent of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | legislature that every provision, section, subsection, sentence, |
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| 42 | 42 | | clause, phrase, and word in this Act, and every application of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | provisions in this Act to each local law, are severable from each |
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| 44 | 44 | | other. All constitutionally valid and lawful applications of this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act shall be severed from an application that a court finds to be |
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| 46 | 46 | | invalid, leaving the valid applications in force because it is the |
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| 47 | 47 | | legislature's intent and priority that the valid applications be |
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| 48 | 48 | | allowed to stand alone. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (b) A court may not decline to enforce the severability |
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| 50 | 50 | | requirements in this Act on the ground that the enforcement of the |
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| 51 | 51 | | severability requirements would be contrary to legislative intent. |
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| 52 | 52 | | The legislature hereby declares that it intends for the |
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| 53 | 53 | | severability requirements of this Act to be enforced as written, |
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| 54 | 54 | | without any exceptions. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (c) A court may not decline to enforce the severability |
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| 56 | 56 | | requirements of this Act on the ground that the Act's provisions or |
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| 57 | 57 | | applications are essentially and inseparably connected. The |
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| 58 | 58 | | legislature hereby declares that it intends for the severability |
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| 59 | 59 | | requirements of this Act to be enforced without regard to whether |
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| 60 | 60 | | this Act's provisions or applications are essentially and |
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| 61 | 61 | | inseparably connected. |
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| 62 | 62 | | (d) Section 311.032(a), Government Code, applies to this |
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| 63 | 63 | | Act. |
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| 64 | 64 | | SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
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| 65 | 65 | | immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members |
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| 66 | 66 | | elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas |
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| 67 | 67 | | Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
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| 68 | 68 | | immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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