Austin's local policies on homelessness, police funding, property taxes and even plastic bags have been a thorn in the side of Texas' GOP majority over the years.
Now, a bill from Houston-area Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain would create a "District of Austin," effectively defanging Austin's local government and giving state lawmakers oversight on policy and budgetary decisions. A companion bill would amend the state's constitution to put Austin under state control — and force a statewide vote — but the details in the plan aren't exactly clear.
In a House committee meeting Wednesday, Cain said Austin's local government has "proven itself incapable" of governing, citing a perceived spike in crime in Austin and arguing the city's progressive policies regularly violate state law. A Republican lawmaker filed a similar bill in 2022.
"We've certainly had issues with this city," Cain said. "Many bills have been filed and gone to [the House] floor, where they've died or survived ... and I believe that the capital city should be representative of the capital of Texas."
Cain pointed to the city's decision to cut and reallocate its police budget in 2020 and it's request for assistance from state police for patrols in 2023 as proof the Austin City Council hasn't effectively governed, saying the bill would "guarantee the safety of its residents."
"This is a public safety issue," Cain said. "The people of Texas deserve a safe and secure seat of government."
Austin Police Department data submitted to the FBI shows violent crime is down 20% compared to two years ago.
But the Deer Park Republican provided little details on the scope of the bill, repeatedly saying it would "create a vehicle" to move Austin under the thumb of state lawmakers if it passed with an adjoining bill that would put the issue to a statewide vote. Cain offered little granularity on how the bill would affect the City of Austin's nearly $6 billion budget, its thousands of employees or how state lawmakers could put pressure on the city to address crime rates.
Grand Prairie Democratic state Rep. Chris Turner said the bill, as written, wasn't clear on how it would affect day-to-day governance and wouldn't give more state resources to address crime.
"I think we can all agree bad guys need to be put in jail, but I don't think this is going to do that," Turner said.
Dallas Democratic state Rep. Rafael Anchía criticized the bill, asking Cain pointed questions about the crime stats in Deer Park and pointing out that the per capita crime rates were higher there than in Austin, going as far as quoting chapter and verse to Cain.
"There's a parable in the Bible about a glass house and throwing stones," he said. "And I'd ask you to reflect."
Luis Figueroa of the left-leaning think tank Every Texan said the bill is indicative of a larger trend by the state to assert control over local officials.
“The bottom line is every city and county in Texas has pluses and minuses" he said. "Some have more parks, some have more crime. Some have more expensive taxes, some have this or that, but we would never consider removing or taking away their entire jurisdiction based on one plus or minus of a particular city or county because in each and every one of our communities we respect the rule of those voters."
The bill was left pending in the House State Affairs Committee.
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