For years, Republican state lawmakers engaged in an unrelenting assault on Texas cities in a bid to curb the power of the state's bluer urban areas and stop the spread of progressive policies.

When Denton residents voted to ban fracking in city limits, the GOP-dominated Texas Legislature made it illegal for cities to do so.

When local officials enacted mask mandates to slow the spread of COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic, Gov. Greg Abbott overruled them.