| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to prohibition of certain regulations by a county, |
|
|
municipality, or other political subdivision. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the |
|
|
Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act. |
|
|
SECTION 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to improve |
|
|
intrastate commerce by ensuring that businesses, organizations, |
|
|
and employers doing business in this state are subject to uniform |
|
|
nondiscrimination laws and obligations, irrespective of the |
|
|
county, municipality, or other political subdivision in which the |
|
|
business, organization, or employer is located or engages in |
|
|
business or a commercial activity. Uniform laws will benefit the |
|
|
businesses, organizations, and employers seeking to do business in |
|
|
this state and will attract new businesses, organizations, and |
|
|
employers to this state. |
|
|
SECTION 3. PROHIBITED REGULATIONS. Chapter 250, Local |
|
|
Government Code, is amended by adding Section 250.008 to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
Sec. 250.008. PROHIBITED REGULATIONS BY POLITICAL |
|
|
SUBDIVISIONS. (a) In this section, "local law" means a law, |
|
|
ordinance, order, resolution, rule, policy, or similar measure |
|
|
adopted by a county, municipality, or other political subdivision. |
|
|
(b) A county, municipality, or other political subdivision |
|
|
may not adopt or enforce a local law that creates a protected |
|
|
classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained |
|
|
in the laws of this state. |
|
|
(c) A local law that is adopted by a political subdivision |
|
|
before the date this section becomes law and that violates |
|
|
Subsection (b) is null and void. |
|
|
SECTION 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. The heading to Chapter |
|
|
250, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
CHAPTER 250. MISCELLANEOUS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF |
|
|
MUNICIPALITIES, [AND] COUNTIES, AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS |
|
|
SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY. (a) It is the intent of the |
|
|
legislature that every provision, section, subsection, sentence, |
|
|
clause, phrase, and word in this Act, and every application of the |
|
|
provisions in this Act to each local law, are severable from each |
|
|
other. All constitutionally valid and lawful applications of this |
|
|
Act shall be severed from an application that a court finds to be |
|
|
invalid, leaving the valid applications in force because it is the |
|
|
legislature's intent and priority that the valid applications be |
|
|
allowed to stand alone. |
|
|
(b) A court may not decline to enforce the severability |
|
|
requirements in this Act on the ground that the enforcement of the |
|
|
severability requirements would be contrary to legislative intent. |
|
|
The legislature hereby declares that it intends for the |
|
|
severability requirements of this Act to be enforced as written, |
|
|
without any exceptions. |
|
|
(c) A court may not decline to enforce the severability |
|
|
requirements of this Act on the ground that the Act's provisions or |
|
|
applications are essentially and inseparably connected. The |
|
|
legislature hereby declares that it intends for the severability |
|
|
requirements of this Act to be enforced without regard to whether |
|
|
this Act's provisions or applications are essentially and |
|
|
inseparably connected. |
|
|
(d) Section 311.032(a), Government Code, applies to this |
|
|
Act. |
|
|
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
|
|
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members |
|
|
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas |
|
|
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
|
|
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |