Invoice that will create ‘District of Austin’ heard by Texas Home committee

AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers within the Texas Capitol are discussing a proposal to create a “District of Austin,” in all or a part of town of Austin.

Home Invoice 274, filed by State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), was first introduced in December and would permit the state to successfully assume management over town. The district would nonetheless observe metropolis legal guidelines presently in place, however would permit the state to amend or repeal legal guidelines, ordinances and insurance policies it chooses.

Austin is a home-rule metropolis, which means it operates below a constitution. That metropolis constitution is taken into account Austin’s structure.

Cain mentioned creating the district would assist deal with crime within the metropolis.

“From carjackings, to open drug use blocks from this very constructing, the failures of Austin metropolis authorities have made clear: the Seat of Texas Authorities ought to be run by the representatives of the folks of Texas,” Cain mentioned.

However opponents of the invoice imagine it to be an overreach of authority.

“This invoice actually simply violates the core tenets of democracy by disenfranchising Austinites and depriving them of a authorities that is accountable to their wants and priorities,” mentioned Luis Figueroa with the nonprofit group Each Texan.

The invoice was left pending in committee on Wednesday.

Provided that the invoice is a constitutional modification, it is rather unlikely to go. An modification to the state structure would require two-thirds of each the Texas Home and Senate to go, which means a handful of Democrats must vote in favor together with all Republicans. If it had been to succeed in that time, the modification would then should be accepted by Texas voters.

If it had been to go, the District of Austin can be established on Jan. 1, 2026. You’ll be able to learn the complete textual content of the invoice right here.