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. 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.

The case, Suncor Energy v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, 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’s cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. 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.

Start with what the industry pays for in Texas, one of the most affordable........

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