Public Citizen Comments to the Texas House Committee on Energy Resources Regarding the Railroad Commission’s Elimination of Public Comment Opportunities
To: Chairman Drew Darby and the Members of the House Committee on Energy Resources
CC: Rep. Eddie Morales, Rep. Tom Craddick, Rep. Jay Dean, Rep. Paul Dyson, Rep. Josey Garcia, Rep. Gary Gates, Rep. Stan Gerdes, Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, Rep. Ron Reynolds, Rep. Jon Rosenthal.
Via hand delivery and by email.
From: Kamil Cook and Adrian Shelley
Re: Agency Oversight of the Railroad Commission
Dear Chairman Darby and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of 30,000 members and supporters in Texas, Public Citizen’s Texas office appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed elimination of public comment from Railroad Commission (RRC) hearings. We believe the recommendations below, namely changing the name of the commission to more accurately reflect its mission and keeping public comment will ensure that there is a robust and healthy public participation process that is necessary for a functioning government.
- Do not Remove Public Comment from RRC Monthly Meetings
Public comment is one of the foundations of a properly functioning government agency. It increases transparency by making it easier for the public to ask questions to the agency; it increases accountability of appointed officials who must listen to the public; it also increases the visibility of the agency and agency actions by the public. These are all vital for building trust in the agency and the government writ large, especially at a time when the agency is facing increasing scrutiny over the ballooning number of abandoned and orphaned wells that cover the state. In 2025, Texas supplied half of the US with oil.[1] If the data center buildout continues to develop at the pace that we’ve seen over this year, there will be even more oil pumped and gas fracked in the state, which will, in turn, lead to even more produced wastewater and abandoned wells.
These abandoned wells and produced wastewater can negatively impact neighboring land, water, and surrounding air—a concern for anyone who cares about landowners’ rights, water quality, and air quality.
- Change the name of the Railroad Commission to more accurately represent its mission statement
Despite the name of the agency, the Railroad commission does not primarily oversee railroads. It regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipelines, and mining industries. It’s long overdue for a change of name to something that more accurately reflects the mission statement of the agency. This is important for at least two reasons. One, it’s important for Texans to understand how their government works for them. Titles that do not reflect the mission of a government agency make it harder for Texans to understand how their government functions. Two, and more dangerously, we believe that this agency name works to shield public oversight from the oil and gas industry. If people don’t know what official they need to go to when they take issue with the oil and gas industry (or mining industry) in Texas, this reduces their ability to practice their right to be heard and to influence their government. A government agency that’s name doesn’t reflect its mission adds another barrier to effectively engaging with our government. Removing the open public comment section from the monthly meetings would only make this worse.
We recognize that the removal of public comment from RRC monthly meetings is part of a pattern of actions by the RRC to reduce the ability for the pubic to adequately participate in the government process—if one can even recognize that the Railroad Commission is the agency assigned to protect the average Texan from the excesses of the oil and gas industry, it may become even harder for that citizen to tell the commissioners at their monthly meeting in Austin. This is especially important since the RRC’s purview covers matters that impact landowners’ rights, water quality, and air quality of our state.
Thank you for your consideration of these recommendations as you work on this rulemaking.
Sincerely,
Kamil Cook & Adrian Shelley
Public Citizen’s Texas office
[1] See https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/28/texas-railroad-commission-public-comment/