Saturday, April 18, 2015
Texas House strikes blow against freedom
At the behest of their corporate masters, and in Texas that would be Big Oil, the Texas House of Representatives has voted to rip the rights of Texans to govern themselves from their still living hands, rights hard won by Texans in places like The Alamo and San Jacinto.
The Texas House of Representatives House voted Friday to bar cities from banning fracking and enacting a wide variety of other oil and gas-related ordinances.How nice of them to throw a bone to their legal beagles.
Backers rejected arguments that the bill would overturn ordinances that have long been in place in some cities. Municipalities would still be able to adopt ordinances that help mitigate traffic, noise and some setbacks, they said. The bill won approval from the House 122-18.
"This strikes a fine balance," said Republican Rep. Drew Darby. "We tried to use a rifle shot to accommodate the needs of this growing state and the needs to develop the oil and gas resources, and yet protect the citizens of this great state."
Some Democrats argued that municipalities need to have the say to protect public health and safety. The bill could also lead to more litigation between cities and the oil and gas industry, opponents said.
"As it is currently written, it would be a gold mine for lawyers," said Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner. The "commercially reasonable" standards for oil and gas ordinances would be a "legal haven" for lawyers to challenge, he said.
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