Texas has always been fiercely protective of its prerogatives as a state. From challenging federal regulatory overreach in court to maintaining our own electric grid, we are willing to go to great lengths to ensure we can chart our own political destiny.

Historically, most of the threats to state prerogatives have come from above, from the federal government. Recently, Texas has faced a new set of challenges to its authority, this time coming from below, from cities and municipalities, often driven by activist groups or entrenched special interests.

Last November, Denton became the first city in Texas to ban fracking, and other cities are now looking to follow suit. The Denton ban, which was initiated not by the City Council but as the result of initiative petition, has created costly uncertainty for both the energy industry and the city itself. Numerous lawsuits challenging the legality of the new ordinance currently are pending. Oil and gas production is the lifeblood of the Texas economy, yet action on the local level is threatening to undermine the industry.

The last few years also have seen the rapid rise of transportation network companies, which use smartphone apps to connect drivers and riders in real time. This emerging market provides a service that can be cheaper and more convenient than traditional taxis. TNCs such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar quickly have become a staple of life in urban areas.

This new transportation model frequently buts up against existing vehicle-for-hire regulations, which were built around traditional taxi and limo services. But the past year has seen a remarkable turnaround in how some of America’s biggest cities deal with alternative transportation. Cities from Washington to San Francisco have implemented sensible regulatory frameworks that allow TNCs to provide an alternative to traditional taxis while still addressing legitimate safety concerns.

However, Texas cities have lagged in dealing with TNC regulation. In a recent ranking by the R Street Institute of vehicle-for-hire regulations in America’s top 50 cities, most Texas cities rank toward the bottom. Recent burdensome regulations in Houston and San Antonio have forced the major TNC companies to suspend operations in both those cities.

When cities begin to enact regulations that threaten Texas’ continued success, the state has both the right and the duty to step in. The Legislature currently is looking at a number of options that would address municipal overreach on energy, transportation and other issues.

Opponents of these measures rely chiefly on a misplaced appeal to local control. Just as we don’t like the federal government meddling in state affairs, the argument goes, so the state Legislature shouldn’t interfere with cities that want to pass their own regulations.

This argument misunderstands the purpose of local control. Unlike states, which are protected by the 10th Amendment from federal overreach, local entities are creations of the state and have only those powers the state has chosen to grant them.

In many cases, local control makes perfect sense. But local control is valuable only to the extent that it helps protect individual liberty and good government. It should never be used as a justification to add another layer of regulation on top of what the state already provides.

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