Drilling bill better, not good

The Texas House of Representatives made major changes to a bill on urban drilling that was designed to ensure that the state, rather than cities, would have the ultimate power of regulation.

Legislation in both the House and Senate, reacting to Denton residents’ approval of a hydraulic fracturing ban, produced an outcry from municipal officials who argued that the Legislature was taking away proper local control. They said such action would negate local ordinances in about 300 cities that have already approved regulations on drilling.

The revised House Bill 40 allows cities to regulate surface operations like traffic, lights, noise and “reasonable” setbacks. It was overwhelmingly passed by the Natural Resources Committee. A Senate bill without the House’s modified language was passed out of committee last week.

Although legislators have acquiesced a bit in the views of local officials, this is still bad legislation written to appease the oil and gas industry with too little regard for local governments and the constituents they represent.

These bills should be rejected.

This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Drilling bill better, not good."