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District Judge blocks 'Death Star' law in Texas

The law bans cities from adopting or enforcing ordinances that contradict or are substantially different from state laws.

Texas

(Wikimedia Commons)

Published by
Juan Peña

A Travis County judge blocked HB 2127, also known as the "Death Star" law, in reference to Star Wars. The law was scheduled to go into effect this Friday. Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra, a Democrat, declared it unconstitutional. Republicans plan to appeal her decision.

District Judge Maya Guerra's decision on Wednesday affects a law proposed to equalize policies throughout the state of Texas. In a way, it will take away local governments' authority so as to avoid differences within the state.

HB 2127 prohibits cities from adopting or enforcing ordinances that go beyond what is allowed under state law. Cities will need a permit from the state if they want to pass regulations that go beyond what is established by Texas law.

The law also gives people the chance to contest ordinances that go against state law or harm them in any way.

Cities such as Houston (D), El Paso (I) and San Antonio (D) took the state of Texas to court to try and preserve their autonomy. These three cities sued the state of Texas in Travis County. Democrats claim that Republicans just want to gain influence in suburban areas that often have Democratic majorities.

Republican Representative Dustin Burrows, one of the promoters of HB 2127, posted on X (formerly Twitter), about Judge Guerra's decision. In his message, Burrows claimed that the Supreme Court will end up ruling in favor of HB 2127.

The judgment today by a Democrat Travis County District Judge is not worth the paper it’s printed on. The Texas Supreme Court will ultimately rule this law to be completely valid. The ruling today has no legal effect or precedent, and should deter no Texan from availing themselves of their rights when HB2127 becomes law on September 1, 2023. 
As an aside, given what happened today in the Travis County District Court, I now better understand why the business community was clamoring for the creation of specialized business courts to ensure our state’s laws are fairly upheld and our justice system is preserved.
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