The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for the American Future had a busy and successful year defending the Constitution. Below is a list of key victories, along with some new cases that launched in the last 12 months. 

VICTORIES 

1. Stopped the feds from destroying Texas’ border barriers
A federal court issued an injunction order that the federal government cannot destroy concertina wire barriers placed by the State of Texas to deter illegal border crossings. Texas is doing the humane thing by working to secure the border. Read more>>

2. Defended Texas’ 2021 election reforms
In 2021, Texas passed a state requirement that voter registration applications contain an original signature to assist in verifying the identity and qualifications of the person registering to vote. A federal court sided with TPPF and the Texas Attorney General, explaining that requiring voters to physically sign registration forms—which list the qualifications for voting and threaten penalties for perjury by the signature line—can dissuade false statements and help Texas determine if a voter is qualified to vote. Read more>>

3. Defended law to ensure that Texans are voting in the correct precinct
Texas Senate Bill 1111 aims to ensure Texans are voting in the correct precinct where they reside. For example, the law requires voters that were using non-residential addresses, such as business addresses or post-office boxes, for voter registration to prove they live in the precinct. A federal circuit court denied the plaintiffs’ challenge to this law, and the Supreme Court outright denied a petition to review that decision. Read more>>

4. Extended lawsuit protecting gun store owners against ATF overreach
Under a new policy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is now recommending revocations of Federal Firearms Licenses over simple paperwork errors, even when those errors did not result in prohibited individuals obtaining firearms. The Department of Justice requested to have our case dismissed, but thankfully a lower court rejected that request. Read more>>

5. Defeated a local ordinance prohibiting property owners from cutting down their own trees
The Percy brothers were facing almost half a million dollars in fines from Canton Township for cutting down trees on their own property. The township had continued to pursue the litigation despite its consistent losses in court, but in April the Michigan Court of Appeals struck down the township’s unconstitutional tree ordinance. Read more>>

6. Advocated for homeowners’ rights to utilize their properties for short-term rentals
A federal court recognized the right of New Braunfels, TX property owners to present their arguments and supporting evidence in a full record, allowing for a fair examination of the city’s unsubstantiated claims regarding short-term rentals. The case involved homeowners seeking to exercise their property rights by utilizing their residences for short-term rental purposes. Read more>>

 

NEW CASES 

1. Challenging the short-term rental ban in New Braunfels, TX
As mentioned above, TPPF argued that cities can’t just declare normal uses of property to be nuisances without providing some evidence of harms that the city is attempting to prevent. Under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Texas and U.S. Constitutions, there must, at a minimum, be a rational basis for a city ordinance. Read more>>

2. Challenging the closure of public off-roading trails near Moab, UT
A coalition of off-roaders is challenging a decision by the Bureau of Land Management to close 317 miles of some of the nation’s best off-roading trails. If allowed to stand, the closures will affect over 40 routes that have been popular for decades with Jeepers, overlanders, side-by-side users, dirt bikers, and dispersed campers. Read more>>

3. Fighting against unconstitutional historical commissions in San Marcos, TX
A couple wants to remove a symbol from the front of their home relating to a previous homeowner who had affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan. However, they are facing opposition from an unelected commission empowered to judge the aesthetics of homeowners’ changes to their homes. This clearly violates the U.S. Constitution’s taking clause by forcing homeowners to keep unwanted objects on their property and exceeds the city’s power given to them by the Texas Constitution. Read more>>

4. Taking on the EPA for abusing the Clean Air Act in California
TPPF filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, challenging their waiver grant for California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule. This state regulation, requiring 40 to 75 percent of all new truck sales be electric or fuel-cell vehicles by 2035, fails to meet the requirements for a waiver grant and is unconstitutional. Read more>>

5. Defending lawful gun owners’ right to own a stabilizing brace
Stabilizing braces are a common accessory that allows individuals—particularly those with disabilities—to fire a pistol accurately and safely. TPPF challenged the Biden administration’s new rule claiming that installing a simple pistol brace converts a pistol into an unlawful “short-barreled rifle.” In doing so, the new rule effectively turns millions of law-abiding Americans into criminals overnight and requires them to take steps to avoid prosecution and a potential ten-year prison sentence. Read more>>

6. Challenging Congress’s unlawful passage of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill
The U.S. Constitution requires a quorum, or a majority, of House members to be physically present for the U.S. House of Representatives to conduct business. As less than half of the members were present when the legislation was passed, with the rest voting by proxy, this legislation never passed, and the president should not have signed it. Amazingly, this case is still pending review, despite the spending package being voted on in February. Read more>>

 

Thanks for reading! Stay up-to-date on our cases in 2024 by visiting centerfortheamericanfuture.com