The Texas Railroad Commission, one of the more oddly named agencies in Texas, regulates the oil and gas industry. One of three spots on the commission is up...
An array of pumpjacks operate near the site of a new oil and gas well being drilled Friday, April 8, 2022 in Midland. The oddly named Texas Railroad Commission regulates the state's fossil fuel industry. When the Texas Railroad Commission was created in 1891, regulating trains was part of its mission.
The state agency’s duties have changed but the name has not, which can be confusing, particularly for voters who choose the three commissioners who create many of the rules governing Texas’ fossil fuel industry.Texas’ vast oil and natural gas resources make the state a global leader in energy, giving the Railroad Commission – and its more than 1,000 employees – an outsized role in energy and environmental policies that ripple around the globe.
The bulk of the commission’s business relates to pipeline infrastructure and how oil and natural gas is extracted and stored. The commission approves drilling permits, fines noncompliant operators, enforces weatherization standards for critical fossil fuel infrastructure and also does environmental work.Three commissioners, elected to six-year terms, typically meet once or twice a month in Austin.
Hawk Dunlap of Monahans, the Libertarian candidate, has 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and has investigated hundreds of plugged wells in West Texas.Philip Jankowski has covered government, politics and criminal justice in Texas for 13 years. He previously worked for the Austin American-Statesman, the Killeen Daily Herald and the Taylor Press. Philip is a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin.
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