SAN ANTONIO – Despite his business-friendly reputation, North Side Councilman Manny Pelaez didn’t hold back Thursday as he blasted a local business group from the dais over its support for bills in the Texas Legislature that would curb cities’ authority.
Following a briefing on the current legislative session, Pelaez highlighted the fact that the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had testified in favor of a pair of bills the city has been fighting. City staff has warned that House Bill 2127 and Senate Bill 814 would severely restrict the city’s ability to tackle a wide variety of issues, though they say the sweeping nature of the bills makes it hard to nail down specific examples.
Supporters, though, say the bills are about keeping regulations consistent across the state. The Texas House passed HB 2127 on Tuesday in a 92-55 vote.
Martin Gutierrez Jr., the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber’s director of government affairs and policy, was in the audience during Thursday’s council meeting and drew Pelaez’s eye.
“So, Martin, I see you over there,” the District 8 councilman said. “I don’t think a glib, a smug smile, is the appropriate response to having an entire council telling the world that this is an emergency situation that is going to hurt the city and leave us with a lot of questions. I’m really disappointed in you guys. This is the wrong way to approach partnership with the city. And the Hispanic Chamber, you guys are better than this, and you guys should do better than this. Please take that back to your leadership.”
Pelaez’s comments came as he and other San Antonio officials showed rising alarm over the bill’s progress.
“Our friends up in Austin are not our friends up in Austin,” Pelaez had said earlier in the meeting. “They literally have their knives sharpened for cities.”
The Texas Tribune has reported that the bill is backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and business lobbying groups. It would bar cities and counties from passing regulations — and overturn existing ones — that go further than state law in a broad swath of areas including labor, agriculture, natural resources and finance.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Coyle said the bill is vague and the fact that it would allow any person or business in the state to sue over a potential violation means the city would likely be flooded with litigation.
“It’s more about the fact that, from here forward, when issues emerge, the city is not going to be able to address them unless it’s explicitly authorized in state law,” Coyle told reporters.
For his part, Gutierrez told reporters the Hispanic Chamber supports the bills because it opposes local regulation of “private employment practices, and this bill is the driver this session.”
Gutierrez used paid sick leave as an example of the chambers’ concerns. Although the city council passed such an ordinance in October 2019, it was thrown out after business groups took the city to court.
The council’s reliably conservative voice, District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry, congratulated Gutierrez on the chamber’s stance.
“This should not be an echo chamber of everything - even at the state level, it’s not an echo chamber. Everybody has different opinions,” Perry said.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg, though, warned the bill would upend “hundreds of years of authority.”
“We have to get the word out to our businesses and our local residents who expect their local problems to be solved by their elected representatives. And when we lose the authority to do so on their behalf that is an affront to our democratic process,” Nirenberg said.