AUSTIN– Senator Donna Campbell, MD (R-New Braunfels) has reintroduced the Small Business Protection Act (SB 130) to protect small businesses from unlawful city and county ordinances that dictate specific benefits private businesses must provide to their employees.
Three Texas municipalities have adopted regulations that dictate specific benefits private businesses must provide to their employees. These ordinances come with high regulatory costs and strict fines for non-compliance, which could harm the ability of family-owned businesses and mom-andpop shops to stay open.
“Texas is home to 3.1 million small businesses and constitutes 99.8 percent of all Texas businesses. These businesses form the backbone of the Texas economy and provide employment for millions of Texans,” said Senator Campbell. “While many private businesses have the financial ability to provide additional employee benefits, many others are scraping every last penny to keep employees on their payroll.”
SB 130 codifies the Third Court of Appeals’ decision that local paid leave ordinances are unconstitutional because they violate the Texas Minimum Wage Act as well as the Texas Attorney General’s opinion that cities and counties cannot place mandates on private businesses dictating specific benefits. “ A one- size- fits- all government mandate on employee benefits is cost prohibitive on some small businesses, harming job prospects for the very people these local government ordinances claim to be helping,” concluded Senator Campbell.
SB 130 is scheduled for a hearing in the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
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