Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the so-called “Death Star” bill that strips the state’s municipalities of their power to strengthen labor rights, environmental protections, and more.

Texas Republicans this week completed their demolition of local democracy in the state when Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill that drastically limits the ability of cities and counties to enact progressive policies.

House Bill 2127, pushed by corporate lobbyists and signed into law on Wednesday, prohibits municipalities from adopting and enforcing new local ordinances that contradict what’s permitted under nine broad areas of the Texas state code. The new law doesn’t just prevent localities from implementing fresh regulations; it even overturns existing measures that exceed state rules governing agriculture, business and commerce, finance, insurance, labor, local government, natural resources, occupations, and property.

Progressives have long condemned H.B. 2127 as the “Death Star” bill, a reference to the space station the Empire used to destroy self-governing planets in Star Wars. When the law takes effect on September […]