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North Richland Hills reviews draft 2025 legislative priorities emphasizing local control and opposition to unfunded mandates
Summary
City staff presented a draft legislative program for the 2025 Texas session focusing on preserving municipal authority (land use, local revenue and debt financing), opposing unfunded mandates, and using a four-part engagement strategy; council members asked for clarity on advocacy costs and how the city would handle time-sensitive bill positions.
City staff presented a draft 2025 state legislative program to the North Richland Hills City Council on Dec. 9 that outlines guiding principles and priority issues the city intends to monitor and, when appropriate, advocate for or against during the 2025 Texas legislative session.
The engagement approach described by staff includes four tools: relationship management (staff- and elected-level networking), tracking filed bills, providing hearing testimony when the council has approved a position, and sending letters of support or opposition (sometimes jointly with other local governments).
Key policy priorities in the draft include preserving municipal authority over land use and zoning, resisting state preemption of local ordinances, protecting local revenue tools and the ability to use debt financing for capital projects, opposing unfunded mandates (particularly those affecting public safety), and supporting sales-tax equity. Staff highlighted examples of potential legislative topics that could affect cities, including proposed changes to the Public Funds Investment Act, additional property-tax exemptions, and bond preclearance rules.
Council members generally supported staff—s engagement framework but sought clarifications: one member asked whether the council would formally vote on the priorities or simply provide direction (staff said the item seeks council consensus and staff would return in January for adoption); another asked whether taxpayer dollars would be spent on advocacy and, if so, how much (staff indicated advocacy may be limited to staff time and occasional letters/testimony, and that staff will return with specifics).
Council asked staff to coordinate with associations such as Texas Municipal League (TML) and the North Texas Commission for bill-tracking resources and to bring any time-sensitive letters (usually late in session) to the mayor when a rapid response is required and the guiding principles are met.
Next steps: staff will return in January with a formal item to adopt the council—s legislative priorities for 2025 and will continue to brief council during the session as notable bills emerge.
