It just got a lot harder for Texas towns to ban fracking and other dangerous oil and natural gas activities.

A new law prohibits cities and towns from imposing local ordinances that ban fracking and drilling, which was signed Monday by Gov. Greg Abbott. This measure quickly passed through the heavily-Republican Legislature.

The state's lawmakers sprang into action to pass this legislation after voters in Denton banned local hydraulic fracturing in November.

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The new law limits not only the Denton ban but other actions communities could take limiting energy industry activities. It was backed by oil and gas concerns.

Abbott said Monday he was protecting private property rights from the "heavy hand of local regulation."

He saw no contradiction in new state regulations superseding local voters' will, saying he believes "individuals have a much better idea how to run their own lives than do a bunch of government officials."

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Damage from severe weather is seen near Rio Vista, Texas on April 27, 2015. (Spencer Selvidge/weather.com)