TPPF’s James Quintero and Texas State Representative Dustin Burrows discuss House Bill 2127, otherwise known as the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act.
In recent years, local jurisdictions have established many of their own regulations of commerce that are different than state regulations, leading to a “patchwork” of regulations and regulatory inconsistency.
HB 2127 would create greater consistency of regulations and increased compliance by ensuring that the state of Texas is the exclusive regulatory authority over specified areas of state commerce. Municipalities would be precluded from adopting or enforcing an ordinance, order, rule, or policy that violates specified state codes such as: Agriculture, Finance, Insurance, Labor, Natural Resources and Occupations.
HB 2127 would be a victory for liberty for Texas citizens adversely affected by excessive, conflicting, and often unjust local regulations. This new law will allow the average Texan to reclaim their sovereign rights of autonomy in the face of government overreach.
The bill recommits local policymaking to a limited government framework and ensures that only where necessary, the state—not local governments—regulates commercial activity in Texas. The people would be able to push back in court against municipalities that have been acting without foresight and have been negligent of people’s rights.