A low-key municipal election rarely makes international news, but a recent election in a wealthy Austin neighborhood has residents excited about its outcome and its possible effects on the rest of Texas and above.
On May 4, Austin’s Lost Creek community voted 91 cent in favor of seceding from the town and regaining some measure of personal- determination, prompting in- depth coverage by the U. K.’s Daily Mail. A new state law ( House Bill 3053 ) that made some minor but significant changes to Texas ‘ disannexation process allowed Lost Creek to chart its own course.
Disannexation broadly refers to a practice wherein “residents of a particular area]may ] disassociate themselves from a municipal government’s control and jurisdiction”. In ordinary speak, it’s the way a group can tear up with an aggressive city government.
Disannexed places may gain access to certain town services, such as the Austin Police Department’s existing stretched and understaffed by 500, but they also have the opportunity to look for better services abroad, either through an existing company, such as the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, or through a new entity, such as the private market. People have a good chance of receiving more and paying less for all other expired capital solutions, such as trash pickup and emergency medical care.
Cleo Petricek, a public safety advocate from Austin, quoted by the Daily Mail as saying,” I’m really angry that they will have better control and would rather do it on their own than have anything to do with the area.
Of course, the search for better service and lower prices only partly accounts for why Lost Creek people overwhelmingly voted in favor of city independence. Another significant factor was the city hall’s complete lack of political representation.
Austin has a long history of being odd. Its hometown motto is” Keep Austin Weird”, after all. But over the last decade or so, city hall has increasingly catered to a fringe few on the far left, so much so that it’s experimented with “reimagining” public safety, toyed with giving black residents reparations, and even created its own guaranteed income program. Needless to say, many apolitical Austinites have been left wondering what is and why is being done in their name as a result of these radical ideas. Worse, they’ve also served as a stark reminder that the average person’s interests are n’t well represented.
In consequence, communities have begun to either disband or at least take it seriously.
The Road to Capture
The dissolution election for Lost Creek marked the start of a long line of abuses, the first of which occurred when the city of Austin forcibly annexed the area in 2015 without the residents ‘ consent. A hotly contested practice known as involuntary annexation was what allowed this undemocratic land grab.
Historically, Texas cities were allowed to annex surrounding areas without anyone’s permission. This practice, often driven by a desire for tax revenue, led to scenarios in which entire neighborhoods found themselves subject to city ordinances, taxes, and regulations without any input or voting rights. Such annexations imposed a form of taxation without representation, undermining the foundational principles of democratic governance and self- determination.
With the passage of Senate Bill 6, which granted voting rights to residents in more populous areas, in 2017, the Texas Legislature finally responded to the mounting public outcry and partially ended the practice. House Bill 347, which passed in the spring of 2019, fully embodied the movement toward a more democratic system and the eventual end of involuntary annexation.
However, something unfortunate happened as SB 6 and HB 347 were attempting to become law while they were still in the legislative process. Cities began to radically accelerate their annexation plans as they realized that their time was running out. This meant that, so to speak, neighborhoods like Lost Creek were up a creek. Until the 2023 legislative session, that is.
Let My People Go
By 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3053 and Senate Bill 2038. The new laws aim to correct outdated errors and give people a chance to take part in the democratic process.
Although limited, HB 3053 allows some neighborhoods in Texas ‘ biggest cities to vote on whether to disannex if they meet certain conditions, such as being annexed between March 3, 2015, and Dec. 1, 2017. The law that gave birth to Lost Creek’s freedom was this.
For its part, SB 2038 targets a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction ( ETJ) and allows residents in those parts to use a petition and election process to break away from a city’s orbit.
Both laws uphold the principle of self-determination and address long-standing disputes involving the defunct, outdated practice of involuntary annexation. These are major successes for the liberty movement, and they will provide the foundation for much more in the future.
These measures, according to James Quintero, policy director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Taxpayer Protection Project, will serve as the foundation for future legislation that revitalizes good governance ( or people will leave )! and empowers people to control their destiny.
Every Texan is entitled to free and democratic government. And when those rights are trampled, they ought to have the tools to terminate the relationship”, said Quintero.
Quintero suggests that the 2025 legislature consider expanding the framework established by HB 3053 to make it possible for all Texans forcibly annexed within a specific time period to hold an election in their area.
Quintero notes,” Texans need further legislation to fully protect their right to self- determination, including universal disannexation rights, streamlined procedures to qualify for disannexation, and the abolishing of ETJs which allow cities to exert control without providing adequate services or representation”.
The recent annexation reforms in Texas represent a significant advance in the fight to uphold the principle of representation.
