AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have turned Texas’ capital city into the state-controlled “District of Austin.”

Republican Deer Park Rep. Briscoe Cain’s House Bill 274, filed last November, was brought before the Committee on State Affairs, where it died when it received zero votes.

It received bipartisan rejection from the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives.

In a rare sight, the chairman of the committee, Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, paused as he and others in the room attempted to hold back their laughter when the bill was brought up in the public hearing.

The bill would have given power to the Texas Legislature to amend or repeal laws and ordinances in Austin, instead of elected city leaders.

It would have also required that the governing body of the “District of Austin” answer to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House.

In December, Cain said he filed the bill because of “soaring crime and homicide rates” and defunding of the police.

“Our state employees and visitors to the Capitol deserve to feel safe,” Cain said in a statement. “The City of Austin has failed to govern responsibly, and its negligence endangers those who come here to serve Texans and our constituents who participate in state government.”

In a video posted to X on March 19, Rep. Vicki Goodwin, D-Austin, expressed her disapproval for the bill. 

“The Texas Legislature has a bad habit of Austin bashing,” Goodwin said. “This is just another example of political pandering…I believe in the democratic process. I believe in democratically elected officials. We don’t want our city to be run by the state.”