Petroleum industry

A group of 15 Texas Republican House members, led by Rep. August Pfluger, is threatening to derail the more than $1 trillion farm bill over a Senate provision expanding ethanol blending requirements. The lawmakers argue the measure, backed by Midwestern senators and corn-state interests, would raise costs for Texas oil refineries and push fuel prices higher. The dispute revives a long-running fight between the agriculture and oil industries over federal ethanol mandates dating to 2005. The House already passed its version of the farm bill in April; the Senate has yet to act before the current congressional session ends in January, and Texas farm groups worry the ethanol dispute could further delay final passage.

California's carbon market, the cap-and-invest program created under AB 32, underwent major changes this year. A contentious reauthorization is projected to roughly halve annual auction revenue while opening billions in free permits for polluters investing in decarbonization. Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced plans to link the state's market with Washington's and eventually Quebec's, expected to raise credit prices and take effect next year. Critics say the changes push California's 2030 and 2045 emissions targets further out of reach, while regulators and some economists call the program still functional. The next governor will appoint air board members, oversee linkage rulemaking, and shape climate policy; neither gubernatorial candidate has made it a campaign focus.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case brought by Boulder, Colorado, seeking damages from ExxonMobil and Suncor over claims the companies deceived the public for decades about fossil fuels' role in climate change. The justices are deciding only whether the lawsuit can proceed in state court, not whether the companies are liable, but the outcome could shape dozens of similar suits filed by municipalities nationwide.

The court's three liberal justices appeared sympathetic to Boulder, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the most vocal supporter of the energy companies' position. Chief Justice John Roberts raised concerns that a win for Boulder could trigger a wave of copycat lawsuits, but also pushed back on the companies' argument that such claims are governed solely by federal law. Justice Samuel Alito, who holds fossil fuel stock, recused himself, meaning a tie would leave the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling intact and let the case move forward. A decision is expected by late June or early July.

Ohio lawmakers rushed through a 90-day suspension of the state's 38.5-cent gas tax just before early voting, with officials estimating the average driver could save about $55 over the period. Critics note the real savings will likely be smaller, since oil companies and fuel distributors are not expected to pass along the full break to consumers. The holiday will cost the state roughly $725 million in lost revenue, prompting pushback from some lawmakers who argue the money would be better spent on school funding, childcare, or paid sick leave. Both a Republican and a Democratic gubernatorial candidate have claimed credit for the idea.

The debate comes as Ohio also faces unresolved questions over electric grid costs tied to data center growth, with the state's grid operator warning residential customers could absorb higher bills unless lawmakers create new rules before data centers expand further. Separately, Ohio's minimum wage will rise to $11.40 an hour for non-tipped workers in January under the state's inflation-indexing law.

Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, sparked bipartisan backlash after posting on social media about Asian American students cheering at a University of Texas football game following a comeback win over Ohio State, calling them "foreigners" and saying they showed how "Americans have been displaced by foreigners." Two students identified in the photo, Dhairya Gupta and Rahul Kodali, said they are U.S. citizens and called the post racist; Gupta said the incident showed racism "isn't looked down upon as much as it used to be." UT Austin enrollment data show international students make up less than 10% of the student body, with Asian students, mostly U.S. citizens or permanent residents, accounting for about 22.4% of enrollment. French has refused to delete the posts, denied regret when asked directly, and said "Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth," using the controversy for fundraising.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn condemned the posts as racist, warning that tolerating such intolerance is "how great political parties self-destruct," and Rep. Dan Crenshaw also criticized French. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and GOP representatives including Jared Patterson, Jeff Leach, Matt Shaheen, and Lacey Hull called on French to delete the posts, while former Speaker Dade Phelan called him "unfit for office." Gov. Greg Abbott said the message wasn't his but stopped short of directly condemning French, instead touting support for freezing H-1B visas at universities; he has since endorsed French, as has Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing a Senate primary challenge from Democrat James Talarico, deflected criticism onto Talarico rather than address French's remarks. French previously faced calls to resign as county chair over a poll on Jews versus Muslims.

A bipartisan pair of Texas lawmakers is challenging the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's oil and gas regulator, over its decision to eliminate general public testimony at monthly meetings unless a commissioner requests it. The agency has replaced the practice with listening sessions and outreach events that commissioners aren't required to attend. A House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the matter is set for September 15.

Rep. Drew Darby, the committee's Republican chair, said the change revoked a 21-year guarantee and replaced it with unchecked discretion. Democratic Rep. Terry Canales wants the Legislature to extend mandatory public-comment rules, currently applied only to local governments, to state agencies. Commissioner Wayne Christian, who pushed the policy on a 2-1 vote, defended it as expanding access statewide rather than restricting it, noting comment had been used narrowly by a small number of speakers, including political candidates. Watchdog groups, transparency experts, and Democratic commission candidate Jon Rosenthal have criticized the move as limiting accountability over an agency with major sway over oil and gas production, pollution, and wastewater regulation.

Texas is confronting a surge in electricity demand tied to data centers, with ERCOT reporting roughly 474 gigawatts of proposed large loads under review by August, about 90 percent linked to data centers and more than five times the state's record peak demand. The buildout, rooted in post-2021 grid reliability reforms after Winter Storm Uri, now includes massive new 765-kilovolt transmission lines and other projects cutting across ranches and farmland.

Opposition is emerging across the political spectrum. Landowners like Erath County's Lance Cashion have testified about eminent domain fears, inadequate notice, and cumulative impacts from multiple overlapping transmission projects. Republican lawmakers such as Wes Virdell have condemned eminent domain use for these lines, while Democratic agriculture commissioner candidate Clayton Tucker has made opposing data centers and protecting water central to his campaign. Gov. Greg Abbott has directed regulators to scrutinize data center grid connections and proposed shifting infrastructure costs to developers and eliminating tax incentives, but has resisted calls for a special session, deferring action to the next regular legislative session despite the scale of the issue.