Last month, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published a short study on the city of Denton’s proposed fracking ban that explores the ramifications a fracking ban would have on the economy, taxes, and property rights. With the issue close to being decided, it’s worth rehashing the crux of this analysis once more.

From the study:

On November 4, 2014, residents of the city of Denton will decide whether to ban all hydraulic fracturing within the city limits. The ballot measure was proposed by anti-fracking activists via initiative petition, and approved for the ballot by the Denton City Council. The ban would not apply to conventional oil and gas production. The Denton city council has imposed a moratorium on fracking until the ballot measure is decided.

Thanks to innovative energy entrepreneurs, fracking is a safe, proven job-creating tool that has been a boon for the Texas economy and many communities. Where it has been used, local tax bases have expanded to the benefit of resident taxpayers. To ban it is to ignore the clear evidence in its favor and the negative consequences that would result from its absence.

The idea of banning fracking is a gross overreaction to the concerns of some Denton residents that could leave the taxpayers of Denton on the hook to pay for the potential lawsuits from producers.

Denton should not enact a fracking ban. If they do, it will hurt their economy, decrease their tax base, and highlight Denton as an example of how to overreact via local regulation.

To read the study in full, please see Denton and Other Texas Cities Shouldn’t Ban Fracking