Reports detail Texas Railroad Commissioners’ ties to oil and gas industry

A number of advocacy reports have made sweeping claims that all three elected members of the Texas Railroad Commission are too closely related to the oil and gas industries that they regulate.

Commission Shift, a nonprofit group, alleges in a series of reports drawn up with Texans for Public Justice that the Railroad Commission is a “trapped” agency – one that is so closely related to the industry that it is no longer effectively overseeing it can.

Among its numerous findings, Commission Shift found that all three commissioners received more than 60% of their campaign contributions from companies or individuals with direct or indirect links to the oil and gas industry.

It also noted that some members did not oppose votes involving companies with which they had personal or indirect ties through their business or investment interests.

Commission Shift calls for stricter rules on disapproving commissioners, more precise financial disclosures, and rules on campaign contributions, which discourage companies with pending matters before the board from donating to candidates or commissioners. It also suggested that Texas introduce rules similar to Oklahoma that require members of its oil and gas regulatory committee to break out of the industry.

“Bottom line, I think the time has come to reform the Railroad Commission’s conflict of interest policy,” said Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift.

The series of three reports underscores that all three commissioners have ties to the oil and gas industry. The oddly named Railroad Commission has little to do with trains and is Texas’ ultimate regulator for the state’s vast oil and natural gas industry.

Unlike many other Texas regulators, their members are elected in statewide elections. Many see the Railroad Commission as a stepping stone to higher office.

In a series of three reports released in the past few months, Commission Shift has detailed each railroad commissioner’s personal finances and examined their personal financial reports for elected officials to file with the Texas Ethics Commission.

All three commissioners answered questions from the Dallas Morning News about Commission Shift’s findings and its links to the oil and gas industry. All three either did not respond to Commission Shift’s criticism of their ability to regulate an industry in which they are involved or said it made no difference to their assessment.

Some commissioners have called the reports biased and one commissioner, Jim Wright, questioned the motivations behind the groups funding Commission Shift’s research.

The Laredo-based organization was founded about nine months ago. Its main donors, the Funder Collaborative on Oil and Gas, are nonprofit foundations affiliated with organizations that focus on environmental and nature conservation. Your tax sponsor is the Rockefeller Family Foundation, which also does charitable work in the environmental sector.

Palacios told The Dallas Morning News that its conclusions are all based on public documents it posted on its website.

In reviewing the reports, Commission Shift found deep connections between Commissioner Christi Craddick and the oil and gas industry. Given the family name, that’s no surprise.

Craddick is the daughter of the longest serving member of the Texas House, Rep. Tom Craddick, a former spokesman. The Midland family has ties to several oil and gas companies, and Christi Craddick’s financial statements showed numerous oil leases and holdings in fossil fuel companies.

Commission Shift estimates that Craddick has at least a $ 1.5 million stake in the oil and gas industry, though that number could be much higher due to financial disclosure regulations that don’t require exact dollar amounts.

“In accordance with the Texas Ethics Commission, my personal accounts will be fully disclosed and made publicly available in accordance with the law,” Craddick said in a statement. “The Texas Ethics Commission laws ensure the transparency of our officers and maintain public confidence in our ability to govern properly, and I take these laws seriously.”

The reports also detail Wright’s holdings in oil and gas disposal companies, an industry that is also regulated by the Commission. In addition, his attempts to promote the use of recycled oil by-products in road maintenance with the Texas Department of Public Safety were highlighted.

Wright called some of Commission Shift’s allegations “false and intentionally misleading” and “absurd” the conclusions about its links to promoting the recycling of waste oil for road construction.

“As a candidate for office and now as the newest member of the Railway Commission, I base my decisions on what I believe is best for the state and our citizens. Period, ”said Wright. “Maintaining the public’s trust, not to mention my personal integrity, is important to me, and I am committed to following all rules and regulations established by state law and administered by the Texas Ethics Commission.”

Railroad Commission chairman Wayne Christian had the least involvement in the oil and gas industry, with much smaller and more indirect connections than Wright or Craddick’s.

“My entire investment portfolio is made up of mutual funds and other similar accounts that are controlled without my assistance by an outside manager registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” said Christian. “My personal financial report (the quote Commission Shift uses) is a snapshot and may look different every day.”

Commission Shift and Texans for Public Justice examined the campaign finance reports of the current and a former rail commissioner and examined the donations they received from 2015-2020. They found that 67% of these commissioners’ donations came from the oil and gas industry.

For comparison, according to Texans for Public Justice, the oil and gas industry made up about 21% of donations to Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign from 2017 to 2020.

“I think it’s a big red flag for Texans, especially people affected by oil and gas developments,” said Palacios, director of Commission Shift.

The string of reports comes as the Railroad Commission faces the toughest scrutiny it has seen in recent times. So far, commissioners have weathered scathing criticism following the fatal February freeze that killed at least 210 Texans.

The event resulted in the sacking of every member of the Public Utility Commission as well as the chief executive of the Texas power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. But as elected officials, the railway commissioners have so far managed to escape the guillotine after the freeze. Christian, the chairman of the Railroad Commission, is up for election next year and faces at least one challenger in the Republican primary and a Democrat if he makes it to the general election.

The larger gas industry also managed to avoid much of the blame. New regulations enacted during the freeze focused more on electricity providers and grid operations. Natural gas producers have been given a lot of leeway in weathering standards, and even as winter approaches, the Railroad Commission still has significant steps to take to ensure the reliability of Texas’ vast natural gas infrastructure.

The commission is expected to finalize new weathering regulations on November 30th. One contains a loophole that would allow natural gas producers to skip weathering by just completing a unilateral waiver and paying a $ 150 fee that lawmakers have called “the Achilles’ heel” of grid reform.

[ad_1]
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/11/29/reports-detail-texas-railroad-commissioners-ties-to-oil-and-gas-industry/