State Agencies Undergo Sunset Review Process – Railroad Commission Of Texas
As I mentioned in last week’s article, there are several key state agencies and programs currently under review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. As a reminder, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is an advisory organization charged with monitoring the performance of over 130 state agencies and programs. The Commission’s membership is made up of five Texas State Senators, five Texas State Representatives, and two members of the public, as appointed by the Lt. Governor and Speaker of the Texas House. Together with Sunset staff, the Sunset Advisory Commission conducts a comprehensive review of each agency or program to determine its effectiveness and efficiency. Each state agency or program generally undergoes a comprehensive review process every 12 years and, on average, 20-30 agencies are evaluated each legislative session. Today, I would like to go into greater detail about one of the agencies currently undergoing review ahead of the upcoming 2017 Texas Legislative Session: the Railroad Commission of Texas.
According to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) website, the Commission was established in 1891 in order to regulate the rail industry. Since that time, the agency no longer oversees the rail industry and instead has been given the responsibility of regulating several different aspects of Texas’ energy industry, including oil and gas drilling and production and pipeline safety. In addition, the Railroad Commission oversees other aspects and activities of the energy industry, including environmental safety, well plugging and site remediation, surface mining of coal and uranium, rate regulation of gas utilities, and regulation of alternative fuels. As stated by the agency, the mission of the Railroad Commission of Texas is to serve Texas through stewardship of the state’s natural resources, protection and concern for public, community and environmental safety, and support for a strong state economy.
In April 2016, Sunset staff released a report outlining several proposed changes intended to help the RRC fulfill its stated mission and improve the agency’s overall operations. For example, given it no longer oversees the state’s railroads, one of the report’s recommendations is to change the agency’s name to something more in line with its current mission statement in order to reduce public confusion and increase government transparency. While on the surface this recommendation may seem like a simple task, there are several factors that must be taken into account when deciding to adopt this type of recommendation, including constitutional issues and the cost of implementation. Other proposed changes included in the report relate to potentially shifting functions currently managed by the RRC to another agency, increasing the agency’s ability to protect public safety, and finding ways to increase the overall efficiency and responsiveness to meet the needs of the industries it regulates. Over the next several months, the Sunset Advisory Commission will hold public hearings in order to evaluate the report’s proposals to determine whether or not they should be included in the RRC’s Sunset legislation next session.
For additional information visit the Railroad Commission of Texas. You can find a link to both the agency self-evaluation report submitted visit the Sunset Advisory Commission by the RRC, as well as the internal report prepared by Sunset staff. To learn more visit the Sunset Advisory Commission and the agencies undergoing the sunset review process.
If you have any questions regarding the Texas Legislature or the Sunset review process, please don’t hesitate to contact either my Capitol or District office. My offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Nueces (Part) County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
