HB 40 a Tutorial in Preemption for Denton.

HB 40 by Darby not only has a fancy bill number but addresses an interesting constitutional law question on the preemption of state law over local law.

In non-legal but SAT terms, State law is to local law like federal law is to state law. 

HB 40 will:

• Clarify that state law trumps local law on regulation of oil and gas EXCEPT:
• local laws may enact, amend or enforce inceidental surface activity IF:
• what the locals can  do is:
  • commercially reasonable
  • does not effectively prohibit oil and gas operation
  • and isn’t otherwise preempted
• what the locals can’t do, because they’d be bad kiddos:
  • ban, regulate or otherwise limit oil and gas operations