Texas Rural Reporter

Recently in our little community, we experienced firsthand the messy, complicated business of local government. Facing funding challenges, our city manager filed a preliminary deficit budget; as the local newspaper editor, I wrote a story about it to raise awareness. What followed could be a case study for political junkies.

Our City Council is in a real budget crisis, caught between public frustration over taxes and widespread confusion about how the process works. But here’s the good news: we’re having the conversation. It’s loud and messy—on Facebook, at the coffee shop, and at our kids’ sports events—but it’s ours. Neighbors are asking tough questions and pushing for solutions that reflect our community’s values.

What we don’t need is Austin making things harder. Local communities know their needs better than anyone—and they deserve the freedom to make decisions without interference from the Capitol.

The Republican Party of Texas has included a directive to “Ban Taxpayer Funded Lobbying,” and the Governor has placed this on the Special Session call. The Senate has fast-tracked SB 13, and Austin lobbyists are pushing hard for its passage. Ironically, Austin is using its own lobbyists to silence ours.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), funded by Austin insiders and billionaires, leads the charge. Their strategy is familiar: produce “debt reports” that lump every dime of local debt together into one eye-popping number, stirring outrage. They used this same tactic during the voucher debate to discredit public schools. If they can convince you your local government is failing, they can justify stripping away your local voice in Austin and shifting the power to special interests.

The truth is rural and small communities depend on the very associations targeted by SB 13. Groups like the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), Texas Association of Counties (TAC), and Texas Municipal League (TML) provide training, support, and advocacy. They help our local officials navigate complex laws, track legislation, and represent us at the Capitol when our part-time councils and small staffs can’t make the trip. Banning them won’t save taxpayers money—it will centralize power in Austin and silence rural voices.

For conservatives, this should feel backwards. Local control is a conservative principle. Yet SB 13 undermines it. Here’s why legislators should oppose it:

Rural communities need a way to stay in the conversation; associations are often the only affordable option.

SB 13 will silence small towns while urban areas with legal departments keep their seat at the table.

It creates a lopsided system where big business can lobby freely, but small-town governments can’t. That’s not transparency—that’s silencing.

Local advocacy often makes the difference between fair policy and devastating outcomes.

If legislators want to help taxpayers, there are better solutions:

Fix the appraisal system. In stagnant communities, property values are spiking with no basis in reality. It’s unfair and unsustainable.

Require livestreaming of meetings. Mandating transparency and providing small towns with grant funding for equipment would build trust and accountability.

Invest in training. Rural communities struggle to recruit professionals. Require financial officers to complete budgeting courses and continuing education to prevent mistakes and improve local government performance.

These reforms would strengthen local government instead of weakening it.

Thankfully, the House—and leaders like Rep. Ken King of Canadian—have historically pushed back against this kind of overreach. Rural Texas has often been the voice of reason, and I hope that holds true again.

At the end of the day, local control is supposed to be messy. Democracy at the coffee shop, in the bleachers, or at a city meeting is the best kind of politics. But if SB 13 passes, decisions that should be made right here at home will be dictated from Austin.

Don’t let the lobbyists at the Capitol convince you to give away your voice. The day we have to ask for Austin’s permission to fix our roads, fund law enforcement, or maintain our parks is the day we’ve lost what makes local government work. Let’s keep decision-making where it belongs—right here at home, even when it’s messy and complicated.

Suzanne Bellsnyder is editor and publisher of the Hansford County Reporter-Statesman and Sherman County Gazette. A former Capitol staffer with decades of experience in Texas politics and policy, she now focuses on how state decisions shape rural life through her newspapers and the Texas Rural Reporter.  You can subscribe to the newsletter at www.TexasRuralReporter.Substack.com.