SCJN invalidates sanctions in municipal revenue laws of Tlaxcala

The Plenary Court of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation declared the invalidity of various articles of the municipal revenue laws of Tlaxcala for the 2025 fiscal year, upon resolving unconstitutionality action 184/2024 promoted by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH). The ruling, issued in a session on December 8, 2025, was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on Friday, September 11, 2026.

The lawsuit was filed on December 5, 2024, by the then-president of the CNDH, within the thirty-calendar-day period provided by law. It challenged normative portions of the revenue laws of the municipalities of San Lucas Tecopilco, San Juan Huactzinco, Nanacamilpa de Mariano Arista, and Santa Catarina Ayometla, issued through decrees 53, 55, 56, and 57 and published in the state’s Official Gazette on November 5, 2024. The matter was referred to Minister Irving Espinosa Betanzo, who served as the rapporteur.

Sanctions affecting freedom of expression

The Plenary invalidated the rules that classified behaviors such as “disrespect to the traffic authority” and “other violations” as infractions, considering them too broad and ambiguous. When analyzing article 62, fraction V, subsection q), of the Revenue Law of Santa Catarina Ayometla, the court recalled that sanctions for insults, obscene phrases, and lack of respect for authority are closely related to the rights to freedom of expression and honor, a criterion already upheld in unconstitutionality actions 47/2019 and its accumulated 49/2019.

Drinking water charges without clear elements

Charges for drinking water services that lacked a contribution element or whose elements were indeterminate were also invalidated. Article 42, first paragraph, of the Revenue Law of San Lucas Tecopilco delegated the determination of the tariff to the Drinking Water and Sewerage Commission, without specifying whether the amount was equivalent to the Updated Measurement Unit (UMA) or in pesos, which violates the principles of legality and legal certainty. In the case of San Juan Huactzinco and Nanacamilpa de Mariano Arista, fees were set based on indeterminate dimensional criteria (“small, medium, or large”) or with regard to specific subjects, without objective parameters.

Effects and scope

The declaration of invalidity will take effect upon notification of the resolutive points to the Congress of the State of Tlaxcala. The Plenary urged the legislative body to refrain from incurring the same unconstitutionality flaws in the future and ordered the ruling to be notified to the involved municipalities, who are responsible for applying the invalidated rules.

The resolution was approved unanimously by nine votes on most issues, and by a majority of seven regarding the contravention of the provisions of the revenue law. The ruling must also be published in the Official Gazette of the state and in the Judicial Weekly of the Federation.

The decision has a direct impact on the citizens of Tlaxcala, as it eliminates sanctions that could be applied arbitrarily and forces municipalities to adjust their charges for basic services to clear and legal parameters. At the same time, it reaffirms the constitutional protection of freedom of expression against local regulations that restrict it.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, No. 247/2026, Friday, September 11, 2026, p. 97 (official reference: unconstitutionality action 184/2024).