DALLAS – Requiring that municipalities in Texas stay within state law when it comes to ballot initiatives and referenda is an entirely reasonable requirement, especially since some Texas municipalities have recently acted outside of Texas Law. A bill being voted on today in the Texas Legislature, HB 40, is a positive step toward making sure that rule of law, not majority tyranny, governs municipal rule-making.
“Tyranny isn’t okay just because it is approved by a majority of your fellow townsfolk,” said Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) president Tom Giovanetti. “Your property rights should not be subject to the whims of the majority. The most important function of government is to protect the rights of the minority against the tyranny of the majority.”
“It's entirely appropriate for the State of Texas to develop the means to protect Texas residents from having their fundamental rights taken away by a majority vote of their neighbors,” said Giovanetti.
“Rule of law, not local control, must be the governing principle,” said Giovanetti. “States create their own local municipalities, and have the authority to limit the power of municipalities, and to pass new laws that limit municipalities further, if necessary. There is no sacred principle of ‘local control’ that supersedes this structure of legal authority.”