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Local governments have gone too far in issuing emergency orders during the coronavirus pandemic and can expect to have those powers whittled down when the Texas Legislature meets again, key state lawmakers say.

State laws give local leaders broad power during emergencies, but state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, a leading Republican in the Texas Senate, said too many local officials have taken it too far.

“We are going to have to look at all these emergency powers and see if they have to be scrubbed down,” Bettencourt said.

In Chambers County outside of Houston, for example, 10 p.m. curfews have been imposed on adults. In other counties, it’s prohibited to have more than two people in a car. In Laredo, people were allowed to exercise, but bicycle riding was barred.

Local governments are accustomed to playing defense against the Legislature. During each of the last two legislative sessions, state lawmakers have tried to curb local authority on myriad issues including tree ordinances, annexations and property tax collections.

Democrats say they’re getting used to this drumbeat of Republicans trying to take authority away from cities and suburbs as they have become more Democratic. They say the cities and counties needed to move quickly because Republican Gov. Greg Abbott waited to issue a statewide stay-home order until 30 other states had done so.

Democratic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has been a consistent target for frustrated Republicans.

Bettencourt said Hidalgo overstepped her bounds when she tried to release people from jail in the name of fighting the coronavirus.

Series of orders

In early April, Hidalgo called for releasing nonviolent jail inmates, worried that COVID-19 was making jails a “ticking time bomb” where the virus could spread fast. Her order excluded those with three or more drunken-driving convictions, those with a conviction for burglary of a home and those with a temporary restraining order against them.

“There has been broad bipartisan outrage regarding County Judge Hidalgo’s overreaching order throughout Harris County,” said Bettencourt, who joined eight other lawmakers in a lawsuit to fight it.

Almost as fast as the order was issued, state District Judge Herb Ritchie voided it. The Texas Supreme Court and Chief U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal have since both agreed and blocked the releases.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican from Montgomery County, was quick to accuse Hidalgo of more overreach on Wednesday when she announced all residents over the age of 10 would have to wear masks in Harris County.

“Her abuse of the use of executive orders is the ultimate government overreach. These kind of confused government policies fuel public anger — and rightfully so,” said Patrick, who as the state’s No. 2 elected official presides over the Texas Senate.

Hidalgo defended the mask rule, saying it was based on the recommendations of doctors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This is a step people understand we need to take,” Hidalgo said. “It follows CDC guidelines. It is responsible. It is right.”

State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said the Republicans should be thanking local leaders such as Hidalgo and Mayor Sylvester Turner. While Abbott waited to issue statewide orders closing restaurants or requiring residents to stay home, Turner and Hidalgo were moving far faster and helping keep down the spread of the virus, Wu said.

“It’s our local governments that have had to step up and done an outstanding job,” Wu said. “The reason our numbers are so low is because they took decisive action early.”

But it isn’t just Hidalgo getting heat from critics. In Chambers County, officials instituted a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. And long before Hidalgo issued orders on masks, Laredo instituted its own mask requirement and barred people from riding bicycles unless it was to obtain essential services.

In Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley, officials ordered no more than two people per vehicle.

Legislation next session?

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, was quick to send a letter to Hidalgo, the Harris County judge, on Wednesday telling her to reverse course on her latest order requiring masks.

“It has been clear from the start of this crisis that local elected officials have used this opportunity to exceed their authority,” Cain wrote.

When Hidalgo declared a local disaster in Harris County in March, it gave her power under Texas’ Government Code to order restrictions on bars and restaurants and suspend the operations of most businesses and public activities. Other county judges across Texas, including in Dallas and Travis counties, have issued similar orders citing the same state law.

On March 22, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins issued the first stay-at-home order in Texas, more than a week before Abbott would announce a similar stay-at-home order for the rest of the state.

Cain said he plans to write legislation that would eliminate that entire statute that local governments are using to impose “arbitrary” restrictions.

Wu said he is more than ready to defend cities taking actions while Republican leaders have been slow to react.

State Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, said he’s tried to give Hidalgo and other local officials the benefit of the doubt in a time of crisis given the pressure they are under. But he said Hidalgo has gone too far — particularly with the mask order and the threat to fine people who break it.

“Do I believe she’s had overreach? She definitely has,” Harless said.

When the Legislature next meets, he said, the powers local government leaders are exercising are going to have to be reviewed.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com