Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, June 19, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Supreme Court Blocks Texas Lawsuit Over Nuclear Waste Site

• In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has tossed out Texas’ legal fight to stop the federal government from storing nuclear waste in West Texas. As Brandon Waltens notes, state leaders have described the plan as dangerous and illegal.
      
• The case centered on a license the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave to a private company to store spent nuclear fuel—radioactive waste from power plants—in Andrews County, in the heart of the Permian Basin.
           
• In its ruling, the Court declined to weigh in on whether the federal government has the authority to authorize such storage projects. Instead, the justices found that Texas and nearby landowner Fasken Land and Minerals lacked standing to challenge the license because they were not official parties to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s internal proceedings. 
       
• The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had submitted comments, and Fasken unsuccessfully sought to intervene in the process. Since then, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott both fought the plan, arguing it puts the state’s environment and economy at risk and jeopardizes national security.
      
• While this ruling is a setback for the state, it doesn’t end the debate. A future challenge could still happen—if it comes from someone the courts say has proper standing.

RELATED NEWS

• The U.S. Geological Survey has stated that “fluid injected at depth is sometimes hydraulically connected to faults,” thereby making earthquakes “more likely to occur on them.”
       
• In December 2023, the Texas Railroad Commission issued a regional ban on the practice following a series of earthquakes. While major operators such as Chevron and Coterra agreed to work with regulators to cease deep injection, Blackbuck Resources defied the order and continued operations.
       
• While Tuesday’s decision revokes Blackbuck’s injection permit, the company still has the option to appeal the ruling through the courts.

General Mills Will Remove Artificial Dyes After Texas Investigation

• Luca Cacciatore reports that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has secured an agreement with food manufacturer General Mills to remove petroleum-based artificial colors from its products.
         
• On Wednesday, General Mills announced plans to remove the artificial dyes from its U.S. cereals and foods served in K-12 schools by summer 2026. It also plans to eliminate the dyes from all U.S. retail products by the end of 2027. This comes one month after Paxton sent General Mills a Civil Investigative Demand—a legal tool similar to a subpoena used to gather information—as a part of his office’s investigation into the company.
      
• In addition to General Mills, Kraft Heinz announced on Tuesday that it will remove color additives from its remaining products by the end of 2027.

RELATED NEWS

• In 2021, Texas enacted legislation that forbids governmental entities from entering into contracts with companies that discriminate against the firearm or ammunition industries. Companies must certify in writing that they do not engage in such discrimination as a condition of doing business with Texas governmental bodies.
       
• Despite this law, the City of Austin has continued to use WEX Bank for its fleet card management services. WEX Bank, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton, has a history of “debanking” or refusing services to firearms-related businesses. The A.G. argues that Austin’s ongoing multi-million dollar contracts with WEX Bank are in direct violation of the law and must be terminated or brought into compliance immediately.

After A Decade, State Charges Against Paxton Officially Dismissed

• After years of legal wrangling, the state has officially moved to dismiss the long-standing felony securities fraud charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
         
• The charges—first brought by a political opponent before a Collin County grand jury—accused Paxton of failing to properly disclose financial ties to a tech firm while soliciting investors. For his part, Paxton has maintained his innocence and claimed the case was politically motivated.
       
• The charges and the drawn-out prosecution were a central piece of the Texas House’s impeachment of Paxton in 2023. While the Senate ultimately acquitted him, House leaders had pointed to the pending fraud case as further justification for their actions.
       
• The dismissal marks a formal end to one of the most high-profile and politically charged prosecutions in Texas history.

East Texas School Board President Faces Felony Child Porn Charge

• An East Texas school board president and longtime trustee was arrested this week for possessing child sexual abuse material following a joint investigation by federal, state, and local authorities. Erin Anderson has the story.
      
• Jerry James Svatek Jr. is the president of the board of trustees of Boling Independent School District, located in Wharton County southwest of Houston. He is being held on a $200,000 bond.
      
• The arrest was a joint effort led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and assisted by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, and the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office.

Quote-Unquote

"No man in his senses can hesitate in choosing to be free, rather than a slave."

– Alexander Hamilton​

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