Just days after Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 2127 into law in Texas, a thirty-five-year-old lineman died of heatstroke while trying to restore power to Texans after a major storm. Another man in Dallas died of heat exhaustion while working for the US Postal Service just days after that. Texas is among the most dangerous places to work in the country. From absent and under-enforced labor laws to the scalding heat, millions of Texans are under threat just trying to make a living. Unfortunately, HB 2127 will make it harder to protect Texas workers.

HB 2127 is a sweeping “preemption” bill that bars cities and localities from passing city ordinances in a huge array of policy areas defined in state code. The legislation’s broad power grab jeopardizes popular, sometimes lifesaving local policies, including water break and heat safety mandates for construction workers in cities like Austin and Dallas.

HB 2127, labeled the “Death Star Bill” by the Texas AFL-CIO, will go into effect on September 1. The bill will block cities and local governments from passing regulations on issues like labor protections, housing, and health care. Effectively, it will bar local governments in Texas from governing, hampering democracy in the state.