The City of Austin can keep making its own budgets and laws.
A bill creating a "District of Austin" that would've given state lawmakers the final say on local decisions was voted down 11-0 by the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
During a committee hearing on the measure was last week, Houston-area state Rep. Briscoe Cain, the bill's author, offered little detail on where Austin City Council's responsibilities would end and where state lawmakers' would begin.
The Deer Park Republican cited a spike in crime as proof the state needed to take over operations. Though Austin has struggled to staff its police department, local data submitted to the FBI shows violent crime is down 20% compared to two years ago.
Even Cain's Republican colleagues were skeptical of the proposal, which was paired with a bill to put the issue to a statewide vote. Members of the committee chuckled ahead of a unanimous vote Wednesday to reject the plan.
It's not the first time the state's GOP majority has attempted to wrest control from Austin City Hall. A similar bill was filed in 2022, and, theoretically, the measure could get folded into other measures during the Texas Legislature's regular session, which ends in May.
