He frames the matter in ideological terms we're covering in 2305: individualism v collectivism.
The tension reflects the ideological differences between the state government and local governments.
- New Texas Governor Adds To Tension Between State, City Governments.
"The truth is, Texas is being California-ized with bag bans, fracking bans, tree-cutting bans," Abbott said. "We're forming a patchwork quilt of bans and rules and regulations that is eroding the Texas model."
The Texas model Abbott refers to is a conservative vision of the state's business interests unburdened by regulation, legal obligations and taxes. But while state government is Republican through and through, Texas cities are mostly Democratic.
As the Texas Legislature has become more and more conservative, it's become clear to the state's cities that if they don't pass environmental regulations — requiring business permits for junkyards, charging developers for clear-cutting lots, surcharges on plastic grocery bags — nobody will.
The Dallas Morning News thinks this effort is misguided
- Editorial: Since when did a plastic bag ordinance become a collectivist plot?
Gee, we didn’t think a city ban on polluting plastic bags meant we were turning into socialists. Collectivism? We just have bags in trees.
. . . When possible, decision-making should rest in the hands of local officials and citizens who are trying to solve a specific problem. Certainly, there are exceptions; we’ve favored a few. But the burden of proof for the exception should be on Austin to make its case. Short of that, we would urge Abbott to respect the decisions of cities like Dallas and Denton that don’t want noisy, polluting fracking operations and have found solutions that fit their communities. The same is true for plastic bags and junk yards and other local quality-of-life issues.
Enacting local limits on drilling or tree cutting or plastic bags or junk dealers isn’t collectivism. It’s good local government.
