High Court Suspends Houston's Equal Rights Law

Kevin Troutman was quoted in Texas Lawyer on July 27, 2015. The article “High Court Suspends Houston's Equal Rights Law” discussed how the Texas Supreme Court has ordered the city of Houston to scrap its equal rights ordinance or schedule a referendum.

The litigation over the ordinance has been controversial from beginning to end, said Kevin.

"To some extent the city may have been taken a little by surprise in the level of opposition and the way the city reacted to the ordinance," Kevin said. "I don't think this, but some people may say the Supreme Court overreached in their decision. But the Supreme Court says the city and the city council overreached in the way they responded to the petition. Therein lies the controversy."

Kevin said the current ordinance caused confusion in the business community because of its wording. "But if the mayor and the city council feel strongly about it, they can put a better ordinance on the books," he said.

To read the full article, please visit Texas Lawyer.