{"id":2680680,"date":"2026-10-10T12:52:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T16:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-colorado-county-is-trying-to-write-energy-policy-for-texas-scotus-has-a-chance-to-shut-it-down\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T12:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T16:57:22","slug":"one-colorado-county-is-trying-to-write-energy-policy-for-texas-scotus-has-a-chance-to-shut-it-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/one-colorado-county-is-trying-to-write-energy-policy-for-texas-scotus-has-a-chance-to-shut-it-down\/","title":{"rendered":"One Colorado County Is Trying to Write Energy Policy for Texas: SCOTUS Has a Chance to Shut It Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fone-colorado-county-is-trying-to-write-energy-policy-for-texas-scotus-has-a-chance-to-shut-it-down%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2680680&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the article discusses the critically important impact of the oil and gas industry in Texas, highlighting that last year it contributed nearly $30 billion in benefits for the state, supporting essential services like education, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-crenshaw-headlines-n-h-gop-fundraiser-denies-rumors-about-run-for-white-house-2024\/\" title=\"Rep. Crenshaw headlines N.H. GOP fundraiser, denies rumors about run for White House 2024\">property tax relief<\/a>, and infrastructure. It emphasizes the industry&#8217;s economic importance, noting it generates ample employment, wages, and tax revenues, and funds major programs such as the Permanent University Fund. <\/p>\n<p>However, a upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case from Boulder, Colorado, threatens to undermine this stability. The case questions whether Colorado tort law can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-can-stop-blue-cities-from-forcing-energy-diktats-on-the-rest-of-the-country\/\" title=\"SCOTUS Can Stop Blue Cities From Forcing Energy Diktats On The Rest Of The Country\">hold energy companies liable<\/a> for the global effects of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>, effectively challenging the authority of Texas and other states to regulate their energy policies. If prosperous, it could lead to a wave of similar lawsuits nationwide, risking the economic gains and energy investments that Texas relies on. <\/p>\n<p>The article warns that such legal actions could increase costs, reduce investment, and diminish the jobs and revenue crucial for Texas\u2019 economy. It emphasizes that the core issue is about whether out-of-state jurisdictions can dictate energy policies for other states and urges the Supreme Court to limit this power, protecting Texas&#8217;s energy future and economic well-being.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Last year, the oil and gas industry paid for nearly $30 billion dollars of benefits across Texas that most people never stop to think about, from school funding to property tax relief to the roads and water systems that keep the state running.<\/p>\n<p>Next month, a lawsuit out of Boulder, Colorado could put all of that at risk. Having spent eight years in the Texas House representing the Hill Country, where I sat on the Energy Resources and Environmental Regulation committees, I have rarely seen a case with this much riding on it for ordinary Texans.<\/p>\n<p>The case, , will be heard by the Supreme Court on Oct. 5. It centers on whether Colorado tort law can impose liability on American energy companies for the global effect of the world\u2019s cumulative greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<p>News coverage has described the case as a legal battle between Big Oil and climate activists. But at its core, this is a fight over whether Boulder can set energy policy for Texas, and every other state.<\/p>\n<p>Start with what the industry pays for in Texas, one of the most \u00a0in the nation. Oil and gas activity generated roughly \u00a0in combined state and local taxes and royalties in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n<p>It \u00a0more than 440,000 Texans at an average wage of $115,000, nearly double that of other private-sector jobs. In total, the energy supply chain employs more than 1.4 million Texans.<\/p>\n<p>Oil and gas severance taxes, which energy companies are required to pay to the state whenever they extract or \u201csever\u201d natural resources from the ground, filled Texas\u2019 \u00a0to its constitutional cap , and the overflow now goes toward water infrastructure, broadband, and property tax relief.<\/p>\n<p>The \u00a0and Permanent University Fund each received more than $2 billion in a single year from Texas energy. When people ask what oil and gas has done for Texas lately, that is the answer is \u201cjust about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Consider what Boulder\u2019s lawsuit would put at risk.<\/p>\n<p>. Those gains came from <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >capital-intensive long-horizon bets<\/a> on drilling efficiency, completions technology, and the pipelines that carry Permian gas to Gulf Coast LNG terminals.<\/p>\n<p>Now, a company weighing whether to invest another billion dollars in Texas production has to price in the risk that any of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stlouisfed.org\/publications\/regional-economist\/2024\/march\/local-governments-us-number-type\">more than 90,000<\/a> local governments in this country, not just Boulder, could later sue over the same lawful product produced and sold today. That uncertainty shows up as a higher cost of capital, slower buildout, and fewer of the jobs and tax revenue Texans depend on.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, \u00a0warning that Boulder\u2019s suit \u201cthreatens to let a single State\u2019s judiciary set climate-change policy for other States,\u201d subjecting energy companies to a patchwork of \u201cvague and conflicting rules\u201d nationwide and undermining what the brief calls the \u201ccoequal sovereignty of each State to regulate emissions within their respective borders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Louisiana all have the same stake Texas does.<\/p>\n<p>If Boulder\u2019s climate lawsuit survives, a wave of identical climate suits from dozens of other progressive jurisdictions will receive the green light to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>The impact of these suits on will not be confined to Colorado or the other suing jurisdictions. Instead, the economies of energy producing states like Texas will be destroyed and the affordability fight will be lost.<\/p>\n<p>The question before the Supreme Court is not whether climate change is real. It\u2019s whether a lone county in Colorado can write energy policy for states far away like Texas.<\/p>\n<p>After eight years watching what this industry builds across our state, I hope the justices make clear that Boulder, and every other out-of-state plaintiff, has no say in the future of Texas energy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year, Texas benefited from nearly $30 billion from oil and gas, supporting schools, taxes, roads, and water. A Boulder lawsuit next month could threaten these benefits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2680681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Michael-Featured-Image-1437.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[87024,36468,32714,6994],"class_list":["post-2680680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-colorado-county","tag-energy-policy","tag-legal-challenges","tag-scotus"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Michael-Featured-Image-1437.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2680680"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2680684,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2680680\/revisions\/2680684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2680681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2680680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2680680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2680680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}