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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSince the City of Denton Banned Fracking, Texas GOP Moves to Pre-empt Local Control
"I do feel very strongly that air-quality measures and the engineering and scientific issues of oil and gas should be regulated at the state level, where the expertise is," Texas Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) told a group of North Texans Monday, March 2, during a meeting in his Capitol office about a bill he introduced that would create barriers to a city's ability to regulate the oil and gas industry.
The room was largely filled with people from Denton, which passed Texas' first ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within city limits. Since the ban passed last fall in a landslide victory, state lawmakers connected to the oil and gas industry and to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have introduced a number of bills aimed at undermining local democracy, ostensibly to prevent other cities from following Denton's lead.
Activists, however, says these bills would effectively kill local democracy so that citizens would lose the ability to introduce ballot referendums, and local governments would be unable to regulate industry to protect the health and safety of residents.
"The reason that we're here is because the state did a terrible job. That's why the opposition [to oil and gas drilling] is growing," said Sharon Wilson, a Gulf coast organizer with Earthworks, in response to King's assessment.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/29485-since-the-city-of-denton-banned-fracking-texas-gop-moves-to-pre-empt-local-control#
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Once upon a time Republicans just hated government telling municipalities what they had to accept.
I suspect there is a deep fault line that could be exploited...
hatrack
(59,592 posts)Or embryos.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Just applied the other way around.....
bluedigger
(17,087 posts)Probably just a coincidence.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)They have violated, in intent or in spirit at least, Articles 7, 8 and 17 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights with this one act.
Needless to say, they don't respect any of the others:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/