Krysti Shallenberger A newly-formed 501(c)4 nonprofit is behind efforts to pass a bill that would enact draconian siting requirements for new solar and wind generation, impose additional permit requirements for developers and stifle the ability for some Texan landowners to develop clean energy resources on their property.
The non-profit, Stewards of Texas Association, describes itself as safeguarding Texas’ “ecological and cultural identity” by supporting efforts to restrict renewable energy development. The group issued a press release in support of SB 819, including a statement from primary sponsor Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R), who also sponsored a similar bill SB 624 in 2023 that failed to pass out of the Senate. Two of Stewards’ advisory board members, Randy Nunns of Devils River Conservancy and John Sheppard of Texas Foundation for Conservation, testified in favor of SB 819 during its first committee hearing in March.
Image obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute. Stewards of Texas passed out a one-pager on SB 819 with stuffed bats and birds.
Stewards of Texas Association is a 501(c)(4) organization, a designation the Internal Revenue Service reserves for tax-exempt nonprofits whose primary purpose is promoting social welfare, but which can engage in limited political activity without disclosing their donors, unlike political action committees.
SB 819 would inflict “the police power of the state” on restricting large solar and wind project development in Texas at a time when Texas’ grid has relied heavily on new wind and solar energy generation to keep pace with breakneck growth. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator for most of the state, is demanding record amounts of electricity, and low-cost renewable energy and batteries have been growing rapidly to meet most of that new demand. The impacts of climate change also threaten Texans’ ecological landscape; wind and solar energy displace fossil fuels, reducing the air pollution that causes climate change.
The origin of Stewards of Texas
Texas lobbyist David White and his firm Public Blueprint, were instrumental in founding the Stewards of Texas Association in 2024 after a similar anti-wind and solar bill, SB 624, died in the 2023 Texas Legislature. Documents filed with the Texas Secretary of State show that White, Public Blueprint’s CEO and a former political director for Governor Rick Perry’s 2010 campaign, is listed as a director of Stewards of Texas Association, according to business records filed with the Texas Secretary of State Office (TSOS). Two of White’s employees at Public Blueprint, James Parker and Cara Gustafson, are also lobbyists for the Stewards of Texas Association, with Gustafson listed as the contact person on a press release the organization sent announcing its board last November.
Stewards of Texas Association’s two other directors are Frank Reilly and Brad Jones; all three listed Public Blueprint’s address on the registration record with TSOS. In subsequent filings in January 2025, Stewards of Texas Association changed its registered agent status from the firm Cogency Global to Northwest Registered Agent, LLC, a national company touting its services as a way to protect the physical and online privacy of businesses. Northwest Registered Agent’s services range from providing a forwarding address service to protect the physical address of the company to becoming a registered agent to “limit the personal information” on public business records.
Who is behind Stewards of Texas?
As a 501(c)4, Stewards of Texas Association is not required by law to disclose its donors. Stewards of Texas Association did not respond to a request for comment about its donors from the Energy and Policy Institute.
However, David White, the lobbyist behind Stewards of Texas, has ties to another wealthy opponent of renewable energy, Texas billionaire Daniel Friedkin, the CEO and owner of the Friedkin Group. The Friedkin Group owns Gulf States Toyota, one of the largest private distributors of Toyota vehicles and parts in the Southeast and Oklahoma. Friedkin also owns the large Comanche Maverick Ranch in Eagle Pass, Texas, and he has opposed the expansion of electric transmission lines on his land. Other personnel associated with the Friedkin Group have advocated for previous efforts to restrict wind and solar development in Texas. Laird Doran, the company’s senior vice president of public affairs, registered to lobby in support of SB 819’s predecessor bill, SB 624. White has been listed as the Friedkin’s group lobbyist since 2023, according to documents filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Friedkin has cultivated a reputation for conservation in Texas, currently serving as Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation inducted Friedkin into its “Texas Conservation Hall of Fame” in 2023, citing his “lasting conservation impact.” Friedkin has been a megadonor to former Gov. Rick Perry and current Governor Greg Abbott; both appointed him to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission during their tenures.
Friedkin is credited as an executive producer of “Landman”, a Paramount+ TV series that explores the oil industry in Texas. The show delivered anti-renewable energy misinformation through the main character, played by Billy Bob Thornton.
Friedkin has contributed to a political action committee associated with the Friedkin Group, the Gulf States Toyota Inc. State PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records. The Gulf States Toyota Inc. PAC has donated to Sen. Kolkhorst, giving $5,000 in December 2022. In December 2023, after SB 624 failed to pass out of the Senate, the PAC’s support of Kolkhorst jumped to $20,000, according to campaign finance records. In October 2024, the Gulf States Toyota Inc. State PAC donated $15,000 to Kolkhorst. Both years, the PAC has ranked among the highest of Kolkhorst’s donors.
The Friedkin Group did not respond to a request for comment from the Energy and Policy Institute about whether it funds the Stewards of Texas Association.
Header image credits: Emerson Miller/Paramount+ / Fabrizio Corradetti/LiveMedia/Sipa USA
