Republicans in the statehouse advanced the preemption measure earlier this year with support from business and industry groups, who said it would spare businesses from having to comply with a patchwork of local laws.īut it faced vocal opposition, including from worker advocates and LGBTQ+ rights groups. This will stay the effect of the court’s declaration pending appeal.”

“The Office of the Attorney General has also immediately appealed because the ruling is incorrect. “While the judge declared HB 2127 unconstitutional, she did not enjoin enforcement of the law by Texans who are harmed by local ordinances, which HB 2127 preempts,” said Paige Willey, spokesperson for the AG’s office, in an emailed statement. Shortly after the hearing, she signed a three-page decision.

Ruling from the bench following a Wednesday hearing, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble (D) of the Travis County District Court granted Houston’s request for summary judgment and blocked the preemption law, also denying the state’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. The law ( HB 2127), which its opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” for its potential to broadly kill off local regulations, attempts to override the local governing authority that the Texas Constitution gives to cities with more than 5,000 residents, the City of Houston argued in its lawsuit challenging the measure. But the mayor and city attorney in Houston, which sued to challenge the law, disagreed and said the ruling blocks the law while the appeal is pending. The state attorney general’s office said its immediate appeal stays the judge’s Wednesday decision and lets the law become effective Sept.

A judge has ruled to block a Texas law designed to preempt a wide swath of local ordinances two days before it was due to take effect, though disagreement remains on whether an appeal would still permit the law to be implemented starting this week.

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