Texas made it illegal to make fossil fuels illegal in Texas

Don't California my Texas said the Legislature

"I Signed SB 1017 into law to protect energy choice in Texas.   No city or county should be able to deny Texans the ability to put gas in their cars, power their lawnmowers, or use natural gas in their homes.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took to Twitter on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, to sign a law passed by the Texas legislature that prevents local governments from banning natural gas-powered equipment or utilities. SB1017 passed the Senate on April 5, 2023.

SB 1017, authored by Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) and sponsored by Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa), was signed into law on May 13. However, Abbott waited until May 17 to share a video of the signing.

The law stipulates that a “political subdivision may not adopt or enforce an ordinance, order, regulation, or similar measure that limits access to or use of an energy source or that results in the effective prohibition of infrastructure necessary to provide access to a specific energy source.”

The law was written to stop the City of Dallas from considering an ordinance that forbids gasoline-powered lawnmowers and edgers within the Dallas city limits, which irked conservative lawmakers, so they passed a State law making such regulations illegal in Texas. However, the law does not forbid cities or counties from adopting an ordinance “to encourage, promote, or provide rebates for engines and fuel sources from alternative sources … that does not directly or effectively ban, restrict, or prohibit the use, sale, or lease of an engine based on the engine’s fuel source.”

Since the State of Texas derives a substantial portion of its state revenue from the energy industry, primarily the oil and gas, it does not take kindly to any law, regulation, or city/county ordinance that could potentially damage that industry.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association reported on its website that data for 2022 shows that the Texas oil and natural gas industry “paid a record-breaking, blockbuster $24.7 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties – that’s the equivalent of $67 million each day.”

Texas is also the nation’s largest wind producer and is second to California in solar production. However, that may change soon because solar installations are soaring in Texas in the last few years.

But at its heart, Texas is an oil and gas state.

God Bless Texas!