Short answer
Generally no. HB 2127, in effect since September 1, 2023, bars cities and counties from regulating in fields covered by several state codes, including the Labor Code, and it eliminated Austin's and Dallas's construction water-break rules [1][2][3]. A trial court declared the law unconstitutional in 2023, but an appeals court reversed that ruling in July 2025 [4][6]. A petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to review the case was filed in June 2026 [8].
What HB 2127 does
House Bill 2127 of the 88th Legislature concerns state preemption of certain municipal and county regulation [1]. It was signed on June 14, 2023, and took effect September 1, 2023 [1]. Opponents nicknamed it the "Death Star" bill [4][7].
The law adds preemption provisions to nine state codes: Agriculture, Business and Commerce, Finance, Insurance, Labor, Local Government, Natural Resources, Occupations, and Property [2]. Each generally bars a city or county from regulating conduct in a field occupied by that code unless another statute expressly authorizes it [2].
The law also lets a person, or a trade association representing that person, sue a city or county over an ordinance that causes an actual or threatened injury [2]. The claimant must give the local government notice at least three months before filing, may recover attorney's fees, and the law waives governmental immunity to the extent of the liability it creates [2].
Effect on water-break ordinances
Before the law took effect, Austin and Dallas required construction employers to give workers a 10-minute water break every four hours [3]. The Texas Tribune reported in 2023 that HB 2127 eliminates such local water-break rules [3][4]. San Antonio scaled back a proposed water-break ordinance after the law passed, and Houston did not have one [3][4].
As of July 2023, there were no specific national workplace standards for preventing heat-related illness [3].
The 2023 trial court ruling
Houston sued the state in July 2023, and San Antonio and El Paso later joined the case [4]. On August 30, 2023, a Travis County district judge declared HB 2127 unconstitutional, but did not block it from taking effect [4]. The ruling found the law unconstitutional in its entirety, on its face and as applied, and Littler noted that the law appears to lack a severability clause [5]. The state appealed [4][5].
The 2025 appeals court ruling
On July 18, 2025, the Third Court of Appeals overturned the trial court's ruling [6]. The appeals court found that the cities had not shown "sufficient concreteness" in how the law would harm them, and that their case blaming the state for those concerns was weak [6].
According to the San Antonio city attorney's office, the court dismissed the case because the cities lacked standing while no challenges to their ordinances had been brought under the law [6][7]. The office said the ruling did not prevent the cities from raising the constitutional issues again if a specific challenge arises, and that it was coordinating with Houston and El Paso on next steps [7].
In the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers did not pass Senate Bill 2858, which would have let the attorney general sue cities and counties over ordinances that overstep state law [6].
The cities asked the appeals court to rehear the case, and it denied rehearing and rehearing en banc on April 15, 2026; a dissenting opinion was issued on May 14, 2026 [8]. A petition for review was filed in the Texas Supreme Court on June 29, 2026, and the court docket did not show a decision on it as of mid-October 2026 [8].
Common questions
- Is HB 2127 in effect?
- Yes. It took effect September 1, 2023, and the 2023 trial court ruling against it did not block it [1][4]. An appeals court overturned that ruling in July 2025, and a petition for review was filed in the Texas Supreme Court in June 2026 [6][8].
- What water-break rules did Austin and Dallas have?
- Both required a 10-minute water break every four hours for construction workers before HB 2127 eliminated such local rules [3].
- Who can sue a city under HB 2127?
- A person who suffers an actual or threatened injury from a noncompliant ordinance, or a trade association representing that person, after giving three months' notice [2].
- Why did the appeals court rule against the cities?
- It found the cities had not shown with sufficient concreteness how the law would harm them [6].
Sources
- HB 2127, 88th Legislature (R): Bill History, Texas Legislature Online, 2023-06-14
- H.B. No. 2127 (Enrolled version), Texas Legislature Online, 2023
- "We are dying": Houston workers protest new state law removing water break requirements, The Texas Tribune, via Texas Standard, 2023-07-17
- Judge declares new Texas law that would erode cities' power to enact local rules unconstitutional, The Texas Tribune, 2023-08-30
- Texas District Court Declares State Preemption Law Unconstitutional: What Now?, Littler Mendelson, 2023-09-01
- Appeals court upholds Texas law limiting cities' enforcement of local ordinances, The Texas Tribune, 2025-07-18
- Appeals court upholds Texas 'Death Star' law limiting cities' enforcement of local ordinances, Texas Public Radio, 2025-07-19
- Case 03-23-00531-CV, The State of Texas v. The City of Houston, The City of San Antonio, and The City of El Paso: Case Events, Texas Judicial Branch, Third Court of Appeals, 2026