Local residents are suing the City of Dallas for enforcing 89 ordinances that the City itself admitted are in violation of the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act and the Texas Constitution, according to allegations from the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (TRCA)—referred to by critics as the “Death Star Bill”—is designed to rein in out-of-control local governments and protect Texans from tyrannical local regulations.
The act—passed in 2023—preempts local governments from adopting, enforcing, or maintaining ordinances related to agriculture, business and commerce, finance, labor, natural resources, occupations, and property.
Background
In July, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) sent a letter to Dallas City Attorney Tammy Palomino highlighting 133 illegal city ordinances and threatened legal action should the City not repeal or amend them.
TPPF’s list was derived from an April 26, 2023 memorandum from the City of Dallas to State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D–Dallas) on the TRCA specifying the ordinances that would be preempted by the act’s eventual passage.
Despite the City preemptively acknowledging that these ordinances would be in violation of the TCRA, they continued to be enforced nearly two years later.
Since receiving the threatening letter from the TPPF in July, the City has reportedly only repealed or amended six of those ordinances.
“We commend Dallas for doing the right thing by repealing a few of its unconstitutional ordinances,” said TPPF attorney Nathan Seltzer. “However, Dallas kept the overwhelming majority of these ordinances on the books, even though it admitted they are preempted by the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act.”
This led the TPPF to follow through on its promise to sue.
The Lawsuit
Filed in a Denton County District Court on Wednesday, the lawsuit seeks the following relief:
- A declaratory judgment that each ordinance listed is preempted by the Texas Legislature and is void under the Texas Constitution and state laws
- A permanent injunction against Dallas prohibiting the enforcement of each unconstitutional ordinance listed
- Plaintiffs’ costs and reasonable attorney’s fees
Plaintiffs include Haley Kyles, Daniel Rodriguez, and Tamara Brown, three residents and taxpayers of the City of Dallas who are reportedly injured by the ordinances. They are represented by TPPF attorneys Matthew Chiarizio and Nathan Seltzer.
Chiarizio told Texas Scorecard in July that Kyles, Rodriguez, and Brown “are frustrated that their city government continues to maintain these unlawful ordinances almost two years after the TRCA took effect.”
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