Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB3016 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Creighton S.B. No. 3016
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to state preemption of certain municipal and county
9	9	regulation.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
12	12	(1) the state has historically been the exclusive regulator
13	13	of many aspects of commerce, trade, elections, and criminal justice
14	14	in this state;
15	15	(2) in recent years, several local jurisdictions have
16	16	sought to establish their own regulations that are different than
17	17	the state's regulations; and
18	18	(3) such local regulations have led to a patchwork of
19	19	regulations that apply inconsistently across this state.
20	20	SECTION 2. The purpose of this Act is to provide additional
21	21	statewide consistency by returning sovereign regulatory powers to
22	22	the state where those powers belong in accordance with Section 5,
23	23	Article XI, Texas Constitution.
24	24	SECTION 3. This Act:
25	25	(1) may not be construed to prohibit a municipality or
26	26	county from building or maintaining a road, imposing a tax, or
27	27	carrying out any authority expressly authorized by statute;
28	28	(2) may not be construed to prohibit a home-rule
29	29	municipality from providing the same services and imposing the same
30	30	regulations that a general-law municipality is authorized to
31	31	provide or impose in its corporate limits;
32	32	(3) does not affect the authority of a municipality or
33	33	county to conduct a public awareness campaign; and
34	34	(4) does not affect the authority of a municipality or
35	35	county to repeal or amend an existing ordinance, order, or rule that
36	36	violates the provisions of this Act for the limited purpose of
37	37	bringing that ordinance, order, or rule in compliance with this
38	38	Act.
39	39	SECTION 4. Title 5, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
40	40	amended by adding a new Section 120A.0025 to read as follows:
41	41	Sec. 102A.0025. LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN REGULATION. Any
42	42	person who has sustained an injury in fact, actual or threatened,
43	43	from a municipal or county ordinance, order, or rule adopted or
44	44	enforced by a municipality or county in violation of Sections
45	45	40.001 or 250A.001, Local Government Code, a nonprofit
46	46	organization, or a trade association representing the person has
47	47	standing to bring and may bring an action against the municipality
48	48	or county.
49	49	SECTION 5. Chapter 102A, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
50	50	is amended by adding sections 102A.008 through 102A.014 to read as
51	51	follows:
52	52	Sec. 102A.008. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
53	53	(1) "Local government" means a municipality or county.
54	54	(2) "No-new-revenue tax rate" means the no-new-revenue tax
55	55	rate calculated under Chapter 26, Tax Code.
56	56	Sec. 102A.009. ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATION AND ACTION.
57	57	(a) The attorney general may investigate an alleged violation of
58	58	this chapter by a local government.
59	59	(b) If, after conducting an investigation under Subsection
60	60	(a), the attorney general determines a local government adopted,
61	61	enforced, or maintained an ordinance, order, or rule in violation
62	62	of the provisions listed in section 102A.002, the attorney general
63	63	may bring an action in the name of the state against a local
64	64	government for the violation.
65	65	Sec. 102A.010. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS DURING PENDENCY OF
66	66	ACTION. During the pendency of an action brought under Section
67	67	102A.009, with respect to a local government defending the action:
68	68	(1) the comptroller shall withhold payment of any money due
69	69	to the local government under Section 321.502 or 323.502, Tax Code,
70	70	as applicable;
71	71	(2) the local government may not adopt an ad valorem tax
72	72	rate that exceeds the local government's no-new-revenue tax rate;
73	73	and
74	74	(3) the local government may not receive state grant funds
75	75	and any pending application for such funds shall be denied.
76	76	Sec. 102A.011. BURDEN OF PROOF; INITIAL HEARING. (a) A
77	77	local government defending an action brought under Section 102A.009
78	78	has the burden of proof to establish by a preponderance of the
79	79	evidence that the local government complied with the law the
80	80	alleged violation of which is the subject of the action.
81	81	(b) The court of original jurisdiction shall set an action
82	82	brought under Section 102A.009 for an initial hearing not later
83	83	than the 30th day after the date the local government defending the
84	84	action was served with process for the action.
85	85	Sec. 102A.012. RESOLUTION OF ACTION IN FAVOR OF ATTORNEY
86	86	GENERAL. (a) If the attorney general prevails in an action brought
87	87	under Section 102A.009:
88	88	(1) the local government defending the action may not,
89	89	during the five state fiscal years following the year in which the
90	90	judgment becomes final:
91	91	(A) adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the local
92	92	government's no-new-revenue tax rate; or
93	93	(B) receive state grant funds; and
94	94	(2) the court issuing the final judgment resolving the
95	95	action shall provide in the judgment that the state is entitled to
96	96	recover from the local government defending the action a penalty
97	97	equal to the balance of the suspense account maintained for the
98	98	local government under Section 321.501 or 323.501, Tax Code, as
99	99	applicable, that exists on the date the judgment is signed.
100	100	(b) The comptroller shall, on receipt of a copy of the final
101	101	judgment in an action brought under Section 102A.009 that includes
102	102	a provision described by Subsection (a)(2), deposit the balance of
103	103	the suspense account maintained for the local government defending
104	104	the action under Section 321.501 or 323.501, Tax Code, as
105	105	applicable, as of the date the judgment is signed to the credit of
106	106	the general revenue fund.
107	107	Sec. 102A.013. RESOLUTION OF ACTION IN FAVOR OF LOCAL
108	108	GOVERNMENT. If a local government prevails in an action brought
109	109	under section 102A.009, the comptroller shall, notwithstanding any
110	110	other law, immediately send to the local government the balance of
111	111	the suspense account maintained for the local government under
112	112	Section 321.501 or 323.501, Tax Code, as applicable, as of the date
113	113	the judgment resolving the action is signed.
114	114	SECTION 6. Title 2, Subtitle C, Local Government Code, is
115	115	amended by adding Chapter 40 to read as follows:
116	116	CHAPTER 40. PREEMPTION.
117	117	Sec. 40.001. PREEMPTION. Unless expressly authorized by
118	118	another statute, a municipality may not adopt, enforce, or maintain
119	119	an ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a field of
120	120	regulation that is occupied by a provision of this subtitle. An
121	121	ordinance, order, or rule that violates this section is void,
122	122	unenforceable, and inconsistent with this subtitle.
123	123	SECTION 7. Title 7, Subtitle C, Local Government Code, is
124	124	amended by adding Chapter 250A to read as follows:
125	125	CHAPTER 250A. PREEMPTION.
126	126	Sec. 250A.001. PREEMPTION. Unless expressly authorized by
127	127	another statute, a municipality or county may not adopt, enforce,
128	128	or maintain an ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a
129	129	field of regulation that is occupied by a provision of this title.
130	130	An ordinance, order, or rule that violates this section is void,
131	131	unenforceable, and inconsistent with this title.
132	132	SECTION 8. Section 102A.0025, Civil Practices and Remedies
133	133	Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that
134	134	accrues on or after the effective date of this Act. Section
135	135	102A.009, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act,
136	136	applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the
137	137	effective date of this Act. Section 102A.014, Civil Practice and
138	138	Remedies Code, as added by this Act, and Section 22.220, Government
139	139	Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an appeal initiated on
140	140	or after the effective date of this Act.
141	141	SECTION 9. Every provision, section, subsection, sentence,
142	142	clause, phrase, or word in this Act, and every application of the
143	143	provisions in this Act to every person, group of persons, or
144	144	circumstances, are severable from each other. If any application
145	145	of any provision in this Act to any person, group of persons, or
146	146	circumstances is found by a court to be invalid, preempted, or
147	147	unconstitutional, for any reason whatsoever, then the remaining
148	148	applications of the Act to all other persons and circumstances
149	149	shall be severed and preserved and shall remain in effect. All
150	150	constitutionally valid applications of the provisions in this Act
151	151	shall be severed from any applications that a court finds to be
152	152	invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional, because it is the
153	153	legislature's intent and priority that every single valid
154	154	application of every statutory provision be allowed to stand alone.
155	155	The legislature further declares that it would have enacted this
156	156	Act, and each provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause,
157	157	phrase, or word, and all constitutional applications of the
158	158	provisions of this Act, irrespective of the fact that any
159	159	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word,
160	160	or applications of this chapter were to be declared invalid,
161	161	preempted, or unconstitutional.
162	162	SECTION 10. The Texas Supreme Court has exclusive and
163	163	original jurisdiction over a challenge to the constitutionality of
164	164	this Act or any part of this Act and may issue injunctive or
165	165	declaratory relief in connection with the challenge.
166	166	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
167	167	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
168	168	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
169	169	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
170	170	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.