For many Texans, the so-called “sanctuary cities bill” might seem a natural. It’s fairly innocuous, despite the controversy the bill has inspired during the regular session of the Texas Legislature and special session due to end tomorrow. The bill mandates all Texas cities remove barriers that might prevent local law enforcement from inquiring, of their own volition, about a person’s immigration status. If such cities resist, state funding for them could be cut off.

Yet some pro-business interests in Texas oppose this bill, including Bob Perry, owner of Perry Homes and one of the biggest contributors to Gov. Rick Perry through the years. (They’re not related.) Another is Charles Butt, CEO of the H-E-B grocery empire. Prominent Austin lobbyist Neal “Buddy” Jones Jr., also a Baylor University regent, urged in an email to legislators that the bill be allowed to die because “these two giants of Texas business are concerned that this is taking Texas in the wrong direction.” Some fear it will cause a spike in racial profiling, marring our state’s economic glimmer. Several police chiefs have also voiced opposition to the bill.

We’re inclined to agree with Texas’ pro-business and law-and-order communities, particularly in light of all the other problems we face. While we have signaled our strong support for fortifying our borders and believe this nation’s leaders, Republican and Democrat, are remiss in not crafting comprehensive immigration reform, we find the sanctuary city bill more empty political gesture than genuine lawmaking.

As the 82nd Legislature draws to what we hope is its final moments, we must decry this increasing trend by legislators to devote large amounts of time to legislation really intended to make broad political statements, presumably ripe for re-use in campaign ads during the primary season. Meanwhile, we watch as a handful of serious legislators such as state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, search desperately for ideas to fund schools, roads and water to accommodate the large numbers of people moving to our state because of our pro-business environment.

Perhaps the fact state lawmakers are more and more about hot air than hard solutions is why some lately have chosen to forsake their sworn duties for other pursuits, rather than doing the hard and unglamorous work of budgeting and juggling expenditures. The problem has been serious enough that twice the House failed to gain a quorum last week. A reader from Clifton disgustedly noted as much in a call to us this past weekend: “I’m a Republican, but if these guys are going to skip out and not do the work, we need to replace them... even if they are Republicans.”