A debate in Texas could prove a greater threat to sanctuary city funding than Trump’s executive order denying federal funding to such cities. The Texas House of Representatives is taking up a bill already passed by the state Senate that aims to ban sanctuary cities. In Austin, for example, newly elected Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez has been in a standoff with Gov. Greg Abbott over her decision not to detain any unauthorized immigrants.
The bill, which is largely expected to pass, would fine jurisdictions and college campuses that don’t comply with federal immigration law, allow for criminal charges on elected or appointed officials who knowingly violate these rules, and deny state grant funds (except for grants involving money for body armor) to the jurisdiction.
The Takeaway: While state aid to cities is declining, many jurisdictions are vulnerable to significant changes. And, whereas there are many questions over the legality of a federal intervention into sanctuary cities, there are none in states. They can preempt local actions. So a defunding threat on the state level could make cities more inclined to buckle.
A lot depends on how reliant cities are financially on their states. Municipal analyst Matt Fabian notes that local aid levels are generally low in Texas, so the impact may be minimal. Austin, for instance, reported to the Senate that it has received $9.8 million in state grants in 2017 — a small portion of the city’s $1 billion general fund budget. Still, Fabian writes, “the net effect of state bans like these are likely to worsen state-local relations. In the context of near-certain federal aid cutbacks to the states over the next 10 years, a higher level of antipathy now only implies deeper pain to locals when cuts arrive.”
GOVERNING.COM
BY LIZ FARMER | FEBRUARY 17, 2017