Ask AI
Opens the assistant with a question about this page. Answers come from the AI, not this site.
ChatGPTClaudePerplexity· Context
Attorney General opinion says state law does not preempt home-rule cities' sex offender residency ordinances
Texas Attorney General Opinion No. GA-0526, issued at the request of the chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, concluded that state law does not preempt a home-rule municipality's ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from living within a specified distance of places where children typically congregate. It said whether a particular ordinance is constitutional is for a court to decide, and that it found no law authorizing general-law municipalities to adopt such restrictions. Amarillo is a home-rule city.[1][2]
What the sources say
- ✓ Verified
Opinion No. GA-0526 (March 6, 2007) summarizes: "State law does not preempt a home-rule municipality's ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from living within a specified distance from locations where children typically congregate." It adds that whether a particular ordinance is permitted by the Texas Constitution "must be determined by a court," and states that it found no law authorizing a general-law municipality to adopt this type of residence restriction. [1]
- ✓ Verified
Amarillo Tribune; Thomas Hover, Police Chief: The Amarillo Tribune reported that an informal 2015 Texas Municipal League survey found 64 Texas cities had adopted a sex offender residency restriction ordinance, and that in 2016 about 20 small general-law towns reworked or eliminated theirs. It reported that Chief Hover said about 25 other cities have a similar ordinance. [2]
