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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott speaks Texas State Capitol in Austin on May 18, 2020.
  • Home Rule

‘A Huge Win’: Texas Judge Finds Law Limiting Local Rule Is Unconstitutional

"When local policymaking is stifled, community voices are silenced," said Local Progress Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Workers Defense Project, the ACLU of Texas, and Every Texan.
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Henry Gomez uses a blower to dry his clothes after working with a crew to remove a tree during a heatwave in Houston, Texas, on 24 August. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
  • Home Rule

Texas judge blocks bill that would allow state to override local water breaks rules

Local Progress Texas, Every Texan, Texas AFL-CIO, ACLU Texas, and Workers Defense Project explain what this win means.
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Members of the Fe Y Justice Worker Center hold signs to protest House Bill 2127, dubbed the "Death Star bill," during a press conference at Houston’s City Hall on July 14. Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune
  • Home Rule

Judge blocks new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules

The Death Star Law was scheduled to go into effect on Friday. Today, a Travis County judge declared it unconstitutional. Local Progress Texas members and partners weigh in.
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LPTX members, staff, and partners posing in front of a sign that says "Fighting for Texas Workers."
  • Home Rule

Local Progress Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Every Texan, ACLU of Texas & Workers Defense Project Celebrate Win for Local Democracy

In response to the ruling of the Travis County Civil District Court in the case of The City of Houston v. Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Local Progress Texas, Every Texan, ACLU of Texas, and Workers Defense Project celebrate a win for local democracy
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Black and white photo of the Texas Capitol in Austin.
  • Home Rule

Judge Strikes own Lege’s Power-grab Against Cities, HB 2127

Local Progress Texas Chapter Manager Tannya Benavides underscores that today's ruling impacts not only Texas cities, but local communities across the country under attack by conservative state governments.
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Photo of the Texas Capitol building in Austin lit up at night
  • Home Rule

Texas “Death Star” Law Ruled Unconstitutional Two Days Before Taking Effect

Local Progress Texas, the Texas AFL-CIO, Every Texan, ACLU of Texas, and Workers Defense Project stress that the Death Star Law directly contradicts Texas' core values of democracy and freedom.
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Photo of three people standing in front of a Texas flag -- one of whom is El Paso County Commissioner & LP Member David Stout
  • Home Rule

Nueva ley afectará a Texas

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout warns that the Death Star Law's impact on local democracy will be devastating.
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Photo of a large group of people part of a UPS Teamster Practice Picket holding up signs that read "Photo of a group of UPS workers in uniform and holding up signs that say "UPS Teamsters: Just Practicing for a Just Contract" with Scabby in the background
  • Economic Justice

What the UPS Contract Means for Collaborative Governance

UPS workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a historic contract that will mean higher wages, better benefits, and more growth for 340,000 employees and that raised labor standards across the country. Here's what that means for how local electeds should collaboratively govern.
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Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes speaking during a virtual press briefing.
  • Home Rule

Texans Warn Death Star Law Silences Communities

At a press briefing organized by Local Progress Texas, Every Texan, Workers Defense Project, and the Texas AFL-CIO, leaders talked about the devastating impact the Death Star law has for everyday Texans.
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Empowering Leadership & Transformative Change: Progressive Governance Lab and Our Partnership with Bay Rising

The partnership between Bay Rising and Local Progress Impact Lab through the Progressive Governance Lab brings together the power of grassroots activism, collaborative governance strategy, and policy expertise.
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Image of the El Paso skyline with a desert foreground.
  • Home Rule

El Paso and other Texas cities are getting ready for Abbott’s ‘Death Star Law’

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout, along with LP members representing Austin and San Antonio, explain how the Death Star Law will hinder their ability to meet their communities' most urgent needs.
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  • Housing

Two New Resources Help Electeds and Community Members Advocate for Strong Rent Stabilization Policies

A new rent stabilization toolkit in partnership with Power Switch Action and a messaging guide to support local elected officials developing their own ordinances.
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Have a Media Inquiry?

Local Progress is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. 

Want to get in touch with us for a story? Reach us at press@localprogress.org.

In The News

At Local Progress, we seek to make the aspirational pragmatic by showing how government can be a tool to create just and equitable outcomes and reshaping peoples’ understanding of governing from an institution to a collective responsibility. Here are some highlights of our media coverage:

Photo: Josh Katz| The state should no longer design roads where pedestrians are just an afterthought, like this entrance to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
  • Climate Justice

New York Pols Back Gounardes’s Bill to Cut Driving by 20%

For decades, transit planners have widened roads and expanded highways as cities have grown. But these interventions have only increased traffic and worsened pollution. LP members in New York wrote to legislative leaders demanding state DOT take a new approach to planning.
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Factory workers and UAW union members form a picket line outside the Ford Motor Co. Kentucky Truck Plant in the early morning hours on October 14, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Michael Swensen / Getty Images)
  • Economic Justice

Workplace Militancy Isn’t Enough for Labor

Progressive labor movement must collaborate with like-minded local, state, and federal elected officials through networks such as Local Progress, the State Innovation Exchange, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus to expand and sustain hard-won gains.
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US Citizenship and Immigration Services has been asked to extend the work eligibility period for people with pending renewals on their permits to work in the states. Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images

Immigrant Advocates Push Work Permit Fix as Deadlines Near

LP member Pious Ali – a city council member in Portland, Maine – stresses the importance of work authorization for new arrivals. “They are transforming the face of the workforce and the face of the community in a very positive way,” he said.
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Image of a hammer smashing a city (TAP)
  • Home Rule

Pre-Preemption

Conservative states have now taken to blocking liberal cities from even thinking about legislating on behalf of their residents. LP's Francesca Menes weighs in.
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press Releases

  • Climate Justice, Economic Justice, Home Rule

180+ State and Local Elected Officials Urge Congress to Reject the EATS Act

LP and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) released letters calling on Congress to protect local and state governments ability to create policy that is responsive to the issues their own communities face in the agricultural industry. 
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  • Immigrant Justice

Local Leaders Denounce Senate Deal That Would Gut Asylum

In response to the Senate’s proposed border deal that would gut asylum in exchange for foreign military spending, Local Progress released this statement.
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📬 LP Network Download | Traffic safety, ceasefire, history in Minnesota, & more! | January 2024

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.
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  • Public Safety

Local Electeds Call on NHTSA to Recall Kia & Hyundai with Theft Vulnerabilities

A coalition representing elected officials from 8 municipalities across the country – including Baltimore, New York City, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Austin – called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a recall of Kia and Hyundai models with theft vulnerabilities.
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  • Housing

Local Progress joins 100 tenants in DC at Homes Guarantee’s Tenant Takeover

Local Progress joined over 100 tenants at Homes Guarantee's Tenant Takeover to urge the federal government for vital tenant protections.
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