Houston, Texas - City of Houston officials on Monday announced they were suing the State of Texas over a new law, dubbed the "Death Star" bill, that places severe limits on local governing power.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2127 – or the "Death Star" bill, as it is known by opponents – in June after it passed out of the state legislature in May.

The ominous measure imposes restrictions on local ordinances around labor, agriculture, climate, and finance that go further than what is allowed under state law.

The law has been cast as a Republican power grab to strip the state's blue cities of their governing authority.

The law has faced criticism this summer as Texas faces a dangerous heatwave. Among the policies on the chopping block are required water breaks for construction workers in Dallas and Austin.

In a new lawsuit filed in Travis County, the City of Houston argues that HB 2127 conflicts with the state constitution, which allows cities to enact their own laws while already barring local governments from passing ordinances "inconsistent with" state law.

The lawsuit adds that local ordinances cannot conflict with state law if there is not already a specific and related state law on the books.

"What [HB 2127] means is that cities like the City of Houston cannot pass ordinances in these areas unless the State of Texas explicitly gives us permission to do so," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a Monday press conference. "That is a total reversal from the way things have been in this state for more than a century."

It remains unclear exactly which local laws will become illegal under HB 2127.