ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, known by its opponents as the “Death Star” law, will take away the power to regulate pet sales from city governments.
HB 2127 will not allow local governments to have more strict regulations when it comes to business and commerce. Some local rules that will be removed by the bill include mandatory water breaks for construction workers, eviction moratoriums and protections against predatory lending.
Those who are against the law say it targets progressive ordinances passed by cities, while the supporters of the law say it will make it easier for businesses to comply with regulations across the state.
The bill is generally broad and a City of Austin spokesperson told KXAN it could take years before the full extent of the law is known.
But an amendment to the bill is very specific when it comes to pet sales. The section of the law reads, “A municipality may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance or rule that restricts, regulates, limits, or otherwise impedes a business involving the breeding, care, treatment, or sale of animals or animal products.”
Will this have any impact?
When it comes to the city of Round Rock, this section of the law will have an impact. The city has two privately owned businesses that sell pets.
In 2018, the city passed an ordinance that created requirements a business had to meet to commercially sell pets. Those include:
Animals have to be at least eight weeks old or sold with their mother
Animals must originate from Williamson or Travis county
If an animal is kept in a cage, the cage must be big enough for the animal to comfortably move around in
The cage must have food and water access
The cage must be located near heating and cooling and be made of a solid, non-permeable metal
The two privately owned businesses in Round Rock have faced criticism. An online petition that was posted in February this year called for the removal of these types of businesses from the city.
City Mayor Craig Morgan said a group had been lobbying the city to place a ban on these types of businesses. Morgan said the city was in very early talks about a possible ban on any future stores from opening within the city, but with the new law, the city can not do anything.
The mayor calls the law an attack on local control.
“For me, I think cities need to focus on their core responsibilities and I think the state ought to focus on their core responsibilities. And for some reason it has gotten to be where it’s a very anti-local session it seems like every session,” Mayor Morgan said.
What happens moving forward?
The law, already signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, will not go into effect until September 1. The city would not be able to change its ordinance before then.
The law states that a city may maintain any ordinance that was passed before April 1 this year. However, once the state adopts a statewide regulation on the sale of pets, it will get rid of the 2018 ordinance.
Houston leaders sued the state on Monday to try and stop the law from taking effect.
ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, known by its opponents as the “Death Star” law, will take away the power to regulate pet sales from city governments.
HB 2127 will not allow local governments to have more strict regulations when it comes to business and commerce. Some local rules that will be removed by the bill include mandatory water breaks for construction workers, eviction moratoriums and protections against predatory lending.
Those who are against the law say it targets progressive ordinances passed by cities, while the supporters of the law say it will make it easier for businesses to comply with regulations across the state.
The bill is generally broad and a City of Austin spokesperson told KXAN it could take years before the full extent of the law is known.
But an amendment to the bill is very specific when it comes to pet sales. The section of the law reads, “A municipality may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an ordinance or rule that restricts, regulates, limits, or otherwise impedes a business involving the breeding, care, treatment, or sale of animals or animal products.”
Will this have any impact?
When it comes to the city of Round Rock, this section of the law will have an impact. The city has two privately owned businesses that sell pets.
In 2018, the city passed an ordinance that created requirements a business had to meet to commercially sell pets. Those include:
Animals have to be at least eight weeks old or sold with their mother
Animals must originate from Williamson or Travis county
If an animal is kept in a cage, the cage must be big enough for the animal to comfortably move around in
The cage must have food and water access
The cage must be located near heating and cooling and be made of a solid, non-permeable metal
The two privately owned businesses in Round Rock have faced criticism. An online petition that was posted in February this year called for the removal of these types of businesses from the city.
City Mayor Craig Morgan said a group had been lobbying the city to place a ban on these types of businesses. Morgan said the city was in very early talks about a possible ban on any future stores from opening within the city, but with the new law, the city can not do anything.
The mayor calls the law an attack on local control.
“For me, I think cities need to focus on their core responsibilities and I think the state ought to focus on their core responsibilities. And for some reason it has gotten to be where it’s a very anti-local session it seems like every session,” Mayor Morgan said.
What happens moving forward?
The law, already signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, will not go into effect until September 1. The city would not be able to change its ordinance before then.
The law states that a city may maintain any ordinance that was passed before April 1 this year. However, once the state adopts a statewide regulation on the sale of pets, it will get rid of the 2018 ordinance.
Houston leaders sued the state on Monday to try and stop the law from taking effect.