Stating that he wanted to enact a law that “strikes a meaningful and correct balance between local control and preserving the state’s authority to ensure that regulations are even-handed and do not hamper job creation,” Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed into law House Bill 40, authored by Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo and Sen Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay. The new law pre-empts regulation of oil and gas activity at the municipal and local levels and places that duty with the state. In addition, the newly enacted rule requires that any local regulation of surface activity be “commercially reasonable” and not effectively prohibit an oil and gas operation.
“HB 40 does a profound job of helping to protect private property rights here in the state of Texas, ensuring those who own their own property will not have the heavy hand of local regulation deprive them of their rights. This law ensures that Texas avoids a patchwork quilt of regulations that differ from region to region, differ from county to county or city to city,” Abbott said in a recent statement.
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