Oil And Gas Funding Drives Texas - 1392 Words

There is no question, oil and gas funding drives Texas political and economic atmosphere. Oil tycoons contribute to political campaigns and fund lobbyists in order to expedite favorable bills in both state and national legislatures. The Texas Legislature passes hundreds of bills while in session and the 84th legislature was in session last summer. The 84th session showed Texas constituents just how quickly they move when motivated and just how powerful big oil is. Hydraulic fracturing, fracking, or the process of polluting millions of gallons of water to create a viscous toxic solution that is then highly pressurized and injected thousands of feet below the earth to break apart rocks and release natural gas and oil deposits, was at the†¦show more content†¦This decision would make sense in California but this is Texas, the heart of oil country, and Denton the birthplace of hydraulic fracturing. This sent shockwaves of discontent through the oil industry executive offices an d the homes of oil workers that culminated in a tsunami of media coverage. This prompted lawmakers to jump into action and work feverishly to pass House Bill 40 (HB40) during the next session, the 84th legislature. HB40 banned fracking bans and essentially crushed the voice of the people. After all the Denton drilling moratorium was a culmination of a grassroots campaign that started with city residents creating a group, The Denton Drilling Awareness Group and obtaining enough signatures on a petition (Malewitz, 2014), (Dropkin Henry, 2016). Governor Greg Abbott signed HB40 into law and essentially forced Denton City Council to repeal the city wide fracking ban after Denton citizens worked to stop the noise, pollution, and inevitable damage to city infrastructure (Dropkin Henry, 2016). Several cities have passed fracking or drilling bans for the same reasons. They too will have to repeal any bans enacted in order to comply with HB40. This decision should not come as a surprise to anyone paying attention, as big oil has been funding political candidates for years. The Koch brothers have been funding political campaigns for years and a few years ago got the Wilks brothers involved also. Both families have made billions from fracking previously