The new Select Committee on Government Oversight will take invited and public testimony on local-ordinance conflicts under the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act and on whether governmental immunity statute needs an update.
When: 9:00 AM, Thursday, June 4, 2026
Where: Room E2.012, Capitol Extension, Austin
Chair: Rep. Cody Vasut, R–Angleton (HD-25)
Vice Chair: Rep. Armando Walle, D–Houston (HD-140)
Format: Invited and public testimony; length of public testimony subject to the chair’s discretion; electronic public comment accepted on both charges
Live video: house.texas.gov/video-audio/
Submit comments online: comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c075
The Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight will gavel in at 9 a.m. Thursday to begin a full-scale audit of how the 2023 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act is functioning three years in and to consider whether amendments are warranted to the Texas Tort Claims Act and the broader doctrine of governmental immunity. The committee will hear invited and public testimony.
Chaired by Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, and vice-chaired by Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, the 13-member select panel was created by Speaker Dustin Burrows in 2025 to police state-local government conflicts and accountability questions. The hearing arrives with the underlying preemption statute — HB 2127 of the 88th Legislature, often called the “Death Star” bill — still working its way through state and federal courts.
The first charge, Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, directs members to conduct a full-scale review of local ordinances repealed or modified since HB 2127 took effect and to identify ordinances that conflict with the act. The committee will investigate whether local governments are unlawfully enforcing such ordinances, review suits filed to enforce the preemption framework, and explore alternative enforcement mechanisms. Members are also asked to identify additional regulatory areas where local governments have sought to act as the primary regulator and to recommend ways to reduce inconsistency for small businesses.
The second charge, Texas Tort Claims Act, asks members to examine governmental immunity and the limited waivers established in the Tort Claims Act and to review the recent case law that has shaped the act’s reach. Members are tasked with determining whether amendments are warranted to clarify or update its provisions. The Texas Supreme Court’s recent string of mandamus rulings — most prominently the line of cases addressing whether the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is a governmental unit shielded by sovereign immunity under the Tort Claims Act, with exclusive jurisdiction running through the Public Utility Commission — is likely to figure heavily in the briefing.
Electronic public comment is open on both charges. The hearing notice carries the standard May 21–26 Texas Legislature Online system-maintenance advisory; the public comment portal resumed normal availability on May 26.
Because the meeting is an interim hearing, the committee will gather information and may issue findings and recommendations rather than advance bills; any responsive legislation would not be filed until the 90th Legislature convenes next January. The select committee’s HB 2127 review is one of the highest-profile state-local items on the interim slate and is widely expected to inform a second-round preemption bill in 2027.
Committee members
- Rep. Cody Vasut, R–Angleton (HD-25) — Chair
- Rep. Armando Walle, D–Houston (HD-140) — Vice Chair
- Rep. Richard Hayes, R–Hickory Creek (HD-57)
- Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R–Odessa (HD-81)
- Rep. Mitch Little, R–Lewisville (HD-65)
- Rep. AJ Louderback, R–Edna (HD-30)
- Rep. Christian Manuel, D–Beaumont (HD-22)
- Rep. Eddie Morales, D–Eagle Pass (HD-74)
- Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D–Laredo (HD-42)
- Rep. Shelby Slawson, R–Stephenville (HD-59)
- Rep. Carl Tepper, R–Lubbock (HD-84)
- Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R–Lakeway (HD-19)
- Rep. Erin Zwiener, D–Driftwood (HD-45)