For the third legislative session in a row, a proposal to strip Austin of its city status and place it under direct state control has failed – with a resounding bipartisan rejection.

On March 26, the Texas House Committee on State Affairs voted 11-0 to kill House Bill 274, filed by Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park. The bill aimed to create the “District of Austin,” a new legal entity that would serve as the official seat of state government, effectively reclassifying the city as a state-run district while preserving its charter and ordinances under legislative oversight.

“This is a simple bill,” Cain said during a March 19 committee hearing. “It seeks to establish a District of Austin as the official city of Texas government, ensuring the capital city remains responsible to the state it represents.”

Cain argued the move was necessary because of what he described as failed leadership by city officials, pointing to crime, homelessness, and perceived anti-police policies as justification. “For years, staffers, constituents, and even our own family members visiting the capital face rising fears due to surging crime in Austin,” Cain said. “The failures of Austin city government have made it clear: The city of Texas government should be run by the representatives of the people of Texas.”

But critics of the bill – including Austin leaders and policy experts – say HB 274 was less about safety and more about control. The city of Austin issued a formal memo opposing the legislation, arguing that the bill would create confusion about the city’s legal status and potentially disrupt traffic regulation, infrastructure planning, and city governance. The memo also said the change would waste $1 million on a constitutional amendment to establish the district.

“HB 274 would only cause confusion about the legal status of the City of Austin and raise questions about the intent of the legislation,” the memo states, emphasizing that the city already operates with transparency through livestreamed meetings and published ordinances. It also notes that reassigning oversight of local functions to the state would undermine the city’s ability to address issues directly and efficiently.

Luis Figueroa, chief of legislative affairs at Every Texan, called the bill “a classic example of abusive preemption overreach.”

“This is legislation aimed at someone who disagrees with the policies the city of Austin has taken on – maybe disagrees with the voters of Austin – and instead of focusing on their own districts, [Cain] is trying to undermine the entire city,” Figueroa told the Chronicle.

This was the third straight legislative session in which a bill with the same objective has failed. Since the 87th session in 2021, lawmakers – including Cain – have proposed versions of the “District of Austin” idea. Each has been met with strong resistance from Austin officials, advocates for local control, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Cain said his bill’s framework would be akin to how Washington, D.C. functions. “It would not affect representation by their state rep or state senator,” he said during a hearing. But Cain struggled to explain how a city of nearly a million residents would be governed under legislative control – or what problems the reclassification would meaningfully solve.

Figueroa said the proposal wasn’t just about Austin – it sent a message to other cities, too. “The economic centers of Texas are in these big cities,” he said. “To tell the voters of Austin, or Dallas, or Houston that we don’t like one local policy so we’ll just take over is fundamentally undemocratic.”

Though HB 274 is dead for now, many expect the idea to return in some form during the next session. For critics, that’s exactly the problem. “This bill is a message,” Figueroa said. “And that message is: We don’t respect the voters of Austin.”