There are many reasons that might prompt someone to move to or from a city. Before the advent of the pandemic the three top reasons for a move according to Livability.com were for family reasons and: To get a new home or a better home To have their own home or...
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What is municipal law?
Everyone wants to talk about municipal law. Well, that may not actually be the case. The truth is that not many people truly understand the full scope of municipal law. What is compelling is that it can, and often does, influence and affect our day-to-day lives....
What effect has Covid-19 had on the practice of law?
Law firms are typically based on tradition. They are not usually on the cutting edge of technology. In fact, for most people the image of a successful attorney is one sitting behind a broad, sturdy, century-old desk, with a wall of law books as the backdrop. But the...
What do city planners do?
Picture this. You're at a cocktail party. You are pushing the filberts around your glass with your straw. Someone strikes up a conversation with you. You, as is requisite, ask them what they do. "Oh, I'm a city planner," they say. What comes to mind? More than just...
What is the difference between a town being incorporated or unincorporated?
When it comes to municipalities, not everyone understands the difference between a town or area being incorporated or unincorporated. So, what's the difference? The three types of general law municipalities Towns (larger than villages and smaller than cities) are...
Texas city in legal battle over funding for new city hall
Amarillo has been mentioned in songs by a wide range of musical artists, including Nat King Cole and Bob Dylan, and by George Strait, Jason Aldean and Neil Sedaka, among others. It seems unlikely that an ongoing Amarillo legal battle will ever be the subject of song,...
New Shareholder Announcement
Shareholder Announcement The law firm of Denton Navarro Rocha Bernal & Zech is proud to announce that as of January 1, 2021 Clarissa M. Rodriguez, Robert Drinkard, Scott M. Tschirhart, Rebecca S. Hayward, and T. Daniel Santee. II and have been promoted to...
Former lawmaker alleges El Paso is disguising a tax as a fee
Cities and counties in Texas rely on several revenue streams to finance their operations, including property and sales taxes, user fees and funding from the state and federal governments. Former state representative Joe Pickett says the city of El Paso has come up...
Rio Grande Valley city challenges state statute
Sometimes legal disputes involving Texas cities and counties jump around the map. The Hidalgo County city of McAllen has filed a lawsuit in Travis County over a state law passed in Austin to resolve a problem in Progreso (another Hidalgo County city). Pharr – also in...
Can a city perform a drug test on all of its employees?
Drug testing is common among private businesses. A clean test is often a prerequisite before a person can start a job. But what about public entities? Can a city or municipal government require drug testing of all its employees? Generally speaking, the answer is “no,”...