Local Control Was Right Then. Is It Right Now?

For years, Austin told your city council what it could not do. Now the people who were told no are about to run Austin. Local control is a principle or it is a weapon. We are about to find out which.

Plain English Summary

After the November 3 election, the party that spent years stripping power from Texas cities and counties lost the Governor's office and the Texas House. The Texas Tribune reported on November 7 that the long GOP fight with cities "nears its end." Republicans still hold the Texas Senate.

That fight produced real laws. A cap on how fast cities and counties can raise property tax revenue without a vote. A ban on cutting police budgets without voter approval. And the bill people call the "Death Star," which wiped out local rules that go further than state law.

Those laws are still on the books today. Nothing changes until a new Legislature passes a new law and a governor signs it.

Why It Matters

Every one of those laws touches East Texas. Your property tax bill from Gregg, Smith, Harrison and Upshur counties. Your city budget in Longview, Tyler and Marshall. What your commissioners court is allowed to regulate and what it is not.

If the new majority loosens the leash on local government, the decisions move closer to home. That means your commissioners court and your city council get more room to act. It also means they get more room to spend.

More power at the courthouse means more reason to watch the courthouse.

The Receipt

FACT: In 2019 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 2, the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act. It limits how much new property tax revenue a city or county can collect each year before voters must approve it. Texas Legislature Online, 86R SB 2

FACT: In 2021 the Legislature passed House Bill 1900, which penalizes large cities that cut police funding without voter approval. Texas Legislature Online, 87R HB 1900

FACT: In 2023 the Legislature passed House Bill 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, the bill critics named the "Death Star." The House bill analysis describes it as preempting local regulation in broad fields of state law. House Research bill analysis, 88R HB 2127

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: The Texas Tribune reported that the Death Star bill wiped out local rules like construction worker water breaks, payday lending ordinances and noise rules, and that it is enforced by private citizens suing cities. Texas Tribune, Nov. 7, 2026

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: The same report says Democrats now control county government in all five of the state's largest urban counties, and that Republicans still hold a majority in the Texas Senate.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who chairs the Senate Local Government committee, told the Tribune, "There could be a lot of stalemates," and "there could be agreement."

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: Austin Mayor Kirk Watson told the Tribune, "I don't think we need to be on the defense the way we have in the past."

What Ryan Says

RYAN STATEMENT: I have heard "local control" my whole life. It was a good word when the people saying it were on my side. It needs to be a good word now too.

Here is my rule. If local control was right when it protected East Texas from Austin, it is right when it protects Austin from Austin. If it was wrong, say so out loud and own it.

Same Capitol. New majority. Same rule should apply.

And here is the part nobody in Austin will tell you. More local power is not automatically more freedom. It is more power for whoever sits at that table in your county. Some of them earn it. Some of them do not.

The property tax cap is the one I will watch closest. It is the reason your county has to come to you before it takes a bigger bite. If anybody in Austin wants to loosen that, I want to see the bill number, the author and the vote.

Do not cheer for a law because your team wrote it. Do not boo it for the same reason. Read it.

What This Does Not Prove

It does not prove any law will be repealed. The Senate is still Republican, and no bill has passed.

It does not prove your local taxes will go up or down.

It does not prove any East Texas city or county is planning anything. I have no record of that.

The Tribune's reporting on what the new majority plans is reporting, not a filed bill.

What It Does Prove

It proves the state laws that limit your city and county are real, numbered and on the record.

It proves the balance of power in Austin shifted on November 3.

It proves the next session will decide how much say your local officials have over your money and your rules.

The Bottom Line

Power is moving. When power moves, the record matters more, not less.

Watch the bills that touch the property tax cap. Watch the bills that touch preemption. Then watch your own commissioners court and city council, because whatever Austin hands down, they will be the ones holding it.

The record does not lie. Show me the bill.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.