84R7173 SCL-F
 
  By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 1556
 
 
 
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 250.007 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 250.007.  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, 2015.