A federal judge has blocked a Texas law aimed at protecting the oil and gas industry, finding that the law is “unconstitutionally vague” and violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
Judge Alan Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled on Wednesday that the 2021 law barring the state from investing in or contracting with businesses that “boycott” fossil fuels is “unconstitutional and unenforceable” because it affects activity protected under the Constitution.
The law’s “definition of ‘boycott energy companies’ permits the state to penalize companies for all manner of protected expression concerning fossil fuels,” wrote the judge, a Trump appointee
Albright ordered Texas to stop implementing or enforcing the law.
