Colorado Decides Next Week on Landscapers' Gas Tools; Texas Bills Would Void Low-Wage Noncompetes, Repeal Licenses and Require AI Overrides

The bottom line today

“Void and unenforceable.” That is what Texas SB 251 would make of any noncompete signed by a worker earning $15 an hour or less [4]. It is one of three bills filed Monday that show the 2027 Texas session pulling in two directions at once: one bill takes a contract tool away from employers, one strips a handful of state licenses off the books, and one adds a new compliance duty for companies using AI [4, 8, 13]. None moves before January. The decision that lands first is in Colorado, where the air commission sits down November 18 to decide how many gas mowers and blowers a landscaping crew may run in summer [2]. That one costs small, local businesses real money starting in 2027.

CO Colorado Regulation 29: a vote next week on landscapers’ summer gas limits

What it does. As this release reported when the rule was noticed on August 10, the Air Quality Control Commission proposes to extend its lawn equipment rule from government agencies to commercial operators [1]. It covers gas string trimmers, hedge trimmers, blowers, edgers, pruners and push or walk-behind mowers of 10 horsepower or less, in the ozone nonattainment area [2]. From June 1 to August 31, an operator could run no more than 90% of its covered gas inventory in 2027, then 75%, 60%, 40% and 20%, reaching 10% in 2032 [1]. Annual equipment reports start March 1, 2028 [1]. Emergency response, fire hazard reduction and public safety work stay exempt from the use limits [3].

Where it stands. The online public comment session runs 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. November 18; the hearing proper opens at 9 a.m. November 19 and continues November 20 [2]. Written comments closed November 10, and the schedule called for a final rule proposal by November 4, “subject to change” [2].

Pratt’s read. The commission’s case is serious. The Denver Metro/North Front Range area was reclassified to severe for the 2008 ozone standard in 2022, and the commission warns that missing attainment again “may subject others to increased costs” [1]. The Denver Gazette reports state estimates that unregulated lawn equipment emits about 36 tons of volatile organic compounds and 7.5 tons of nitrogen oxides a day, roughly 11% of the region’s ozone-forming emissions [3].

The cost side is thinner. The draft calls the rule “cost-effective” more than once [1]. The Gazette cites cordless models at more than 60% of outdoor power equipment unit sales in 2024 and a 30% point-of-sale discount for many electric models, but says commercial grant funding varies [3]. A sales share across every buyer says little about a crew running blowers eight hours a day in July. The cost data deadline was October 21, and anything not filed by then “will not be considered” in the economic analysis [2]. The landscaping firm cannot move its customers out of the Front Range. Watch whether the final percentages hold.

TX Texas SB 251: noncompetes void for workers paid $15 or less

What it does. SB 251, by Sen. Rehmet and Sen. Molly Cook, adds Section 15.502 to the Business & Commerce Code [4, 5]. An employer could not require a noncompete from an employee earning no more than the greater of the federal minimum wage or $15 an hour, and any such covenant is void [4]. Public employers are excluded, and the bill reaches restrictions by time, geography or work for a similar employer [4]. It applies only to covenants signed on or after September 1, 2027 [4].

Where it stands. Filed November 9 [5]. A 2021 bill with the same caption, HB 4290, was referred to the House Business & Industry committee and went no further [6].

Pratt’s read. This one is narrower than its headline. A $15 cap leaves most skilled, sales and management jobs alone, and the bill does not reach back to existing agreements [4]. Texas has already moved this way once: SB 1318 in 2025 capped noncompetes for physicians, dentists, nurses and physician assistants, with a one-year limit and a five-mile radius for the latter three [7]. The bill’s own premise is that a covenant restraining a $15-an-hour worker protects little goodwill, and that is a fair point for most front-line jobs.

The cost falls on employers who train hourly staff on customer accounts or routes, such as staffing, home services and distribution. Those employers still have nondisclosure and nonsolicitation tools. The bill also folds the new section into Section 15.52’s preemption clause, which keeps one statewide standard [4]. That is worth keeping in any version that moves.

TX Texas HB 849: Texas would stop licensing PEOs, linemen and breeders

What it does. HB 849, by Rep. Harrison, repeals Subchapter B of Labor Code Chapter 91 and strikes “license holder” throughout the chapter on professional employer organizations, drops journeyman industrial electricians and journeyman linemen from the electrician licensing statute, and repeals Occupations Code Chapter 802 and Title 9 of the Agriculture Code [8]. TDLR currently licenses PEOs, both electrician trades and dog and cat breeders under these laws [10, 11, 12]. On the effective date, September 1, 2027, existing licenses expire and pending TDLR enforcement under the repealed laws ends [8].

Where it stands. Prefiled on the first filing day, with no co-authors listed yet [9].

Pratt’s read. This is the kind of bill this release credits. The PEO changes are careful: the organization still assumes wage and payroll tax responsibility for covered employees, still files quarterly client reports with the Texas Workforce Commission, still needs Insurance Department approval to sponsor a self-funded health plan, and must keep a registered agent [8]. What goes is the license itself and the department’s role [8]. Client businesses would need to do their own diligence on a PEO’s finances, which most already do.

For energy, dropping the lineman and industrial electrician licenses gives utilities and plants more flexibility in staffing grid and plant work [8, 11]. The case for those licenses is the safety judgment written into the electrician licensing statute, and lawmakers will hear it [8]. Industrial employers that already train to their own standards have the better argument.

TX Texas HB 510: a mandatory human override for high-risk AI

What it does. HB 510, by Rep. Bhojani, adds a subchapter to the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act [13, 14]. A “high-risk” system is one capable of independently initiating or executing an action with a reasonably foreseeable risk of substantial harm to health or safety, property, critical infrastructure or information security [13]. Developers must supply and test override mechanisms; deployers must install them so an authorized human can approve, reject, modify, override or terminate the system’s actions, and test them before deployment, at least annually, and after material changes or failures [13]. Retaliation against employees or contractors who report violations is barred [13].

Where it stands. On file since Monday; no referral until the session opens [14].

Pratt’s read. Credit first. There is no private right of action, and a developer that complies is not liable when a deployer fails to use the tools [13]. The 2025 act’s 60-day cure period and its rebuttable presumption of reasonable care still apply [15].

The problem is reach. “Property” is in the harm list, so a pricing engine or a building controls system could qualify, and energy and healthcare operators are squarely inside the critical infrastructure and safety categories [13]. HB 510 also lets the attorney general seek an injunction before giving the cure notice when a system poses “an immediate and substantial risk of serious harm” [13]. Uncured violations carry $10,000 to $12,000 each if curable, $80,000 to $200,000 if not, and up to $40,000 a day for continuing violations [15]. The supporters’ case is plain from the text: a machine that acts on its own should have a person who can stop it. Most operators already build that. The question for January is whether “property” stays in the definition.

On the calendar

• November 18-20: Colorado’s commission hears Regulation 29 [2].
• January 12, 2027: The Texas Legislature convenes at noon; SB 251, HB 849 and HB 510 await committee referral [16].
• September 1, 2027: Effective date for all three Texas bills if enacted [4, 8, 13].