AUSTIN, Texas — Efforts to eliminate paid sick leave requirements across Texas just took a step forward Thursday as a Senate Committee advanced SB 15, which seeks to preempt local ordinances pertaining to such measures.

City Councils in Austin and San Antonio passed ordinances that seek to require businesses to offer all employees a certain amount of paid sick time based on the number of hours worked.

Business owners who support paid sick leave say the state should adopt its own statewide version of Austin and San Antonio's policies. Robert Livar of San Antonio's CDI Technologies said SB 15 prevents his local leaders from acting in what they believe is the community's best interest.

"We are a local business; we believe in retaining that local dollar within our communities as long as possible," he said. "N We believe in investing into our workforce in order to retain them and in order to train them."

Critics of the local ordinances told the committee they support SB 15 because it prevents a patchwork of labor laws for them to navigate for employees and offices that cross city limits.

"It is really not good when you have a business that's got 15 people and has to play by three different rules across the municipalities," said David Smith, who spoke on behalf Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas.

Adam Orman is co-owner of L'Oca d'Oro, an Italian restaurant in Austin. He's disappointed a Texas court ruled Austin's ordinance requiring all businesses to provide paid sick leave unconstitutional.

"We would still keep paid sick leave in place, but we also know there are plenty of other restaurants out there that won't," Orman said.

Orman said his concern is public health and food safety.

"You are not having sick cooks and servers interacting with people's food," he said.

SB 15 now goes before the full Texas Senate for a vote; an identical bill, HB 1654, has been filed in the Texas House.