Perreault reported in late April 2025 that the Texas House has given initial approval to legislation aimed at making the Lone Star State a world leader in nuclear technology and power. House Bill 14 would establish the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office within the governor's office. Dubbed the Texas Nuclear Deployment Act, state lawmakers said the bill will make Texas the epicenter of a national nuclear renaissance.
The bill's author, State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine), called the investment in nuclear energy a moral and strategic imperative, given the global race for energy dominance.
“The United States cannot afford to seek leadership in nuclear energy to China, which is aggressively expanding not only its domestic nuclear footprint, but in the developing world as well and Russia exports more uranium than any other country on Earth,” Harris said. “House Bill 14 will help ensure that America dictates the future of energy security and technological leadership, not our adversaries.”
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, in 2023, the United States led the world with 779,186 GW-hr of Nuclear Electricity supplied. China was second with 406,484 GW-hr, France was third with 323,773 GW-hr and Russia was fourth with 203,957 GW-hr of Nuclear Electricity supplied. In addition to the national security implications, Harris said it will help the state deal with the growing strain on the electric grid driven by the expansion of energy-intensive industries such as data centers and advanced manufacturing.
“This bill is not just an energy policy. It is a strategic imperative for Texas and the nation,” Harris said. “By embracing nuclear energy, we guarantee a stable grid, foster immense economic growth and secure our geopolitical standing in the world, where we are losing ground by the day."
Harris said creating the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office will attract billions in investment and create tens of thousands of high-wage jobs in the state for things like uranium mining and enrichment, technology development and advanced manufacturing. This new office will oversee nuclear energy projects, help with regulatory barriers, and manage grant programs for the projects.
“We're not creating any new permitting authority in the state of Texas,” Harris said. “The state of Texas can't go in and say, All right, we approve you for this site, but the federal government doesn't, so go ahead and build. That's not what we're doing in this what we're doing in this bill.”
The bill establishes a tiered funding mechanism that incentivizes the actual deployment of nuclear energy infrastructure. The tiers are for early-stage development, construction, and completion and operation incentives for nuclear facilities. Harris said the program would prioritize projects that demonstrate financial viability, compliance with regulations, and utilization of Texas-based manufacturing and workforce.
It also directs the Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop training programs to randomly address gaps in skilled trade and labor in the advanced nuclear sector, to help the Texas Workforce meet the opportunity created by this investment. Lawmakers gave initial approval with a voice vote. State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) spoke against the bill. He said he strongly supports increasing and growing nuclear production in the state but believes HB 14 is the wrong way to do it.
“This is going to cost a ton of our constituents’ tax money at a time when we should be cutting government and returning money back to them in the form of property tax relief. it's going to continue off the books accounting through constitutionally dedicated funds that allow us to skirt the constitutional spending limit,” Harrison said. “This burns through more of the surplus. It creates more government. It creates more bureaucracy. It adds more bureaucrats, and this is pure crony corporatism and corporate welfare.”
The Texas House has to vote on and approve HB 14 one more time before it can head over to the Senate for consideration.
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