Darby Blasts Oil and Gas Commish for Defying Order to Appear at Capitol

By Carlos Nogueras Ramos / The Texas Tribune

AUSTIN, TX — State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, on Tuesday berated Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian for failing to appear before a legislative panel scheduled to discuss, among other things, the agency’s decision to eliminate public comment during its meetings.

In light of his absence, Darby, who chairs the House Energy Resources Committee, called on the Legislature to review the Railroad Commission’s policies in next year’s legislative session. 

“I do not recall my request for his presence as being optional,” Darby said at the start of the committee meeting. “It is beyond clear that Commissioner Christian has willfully chosen to defy this committee. A sitting commissioner absconding from his agency’s oversight hearing is nothing more than a mockery of the Texas legislature and the legislative process.”

Darby also reminded attendees that the Legislature created the Railroad Commission and writes the laws the agency is tasked with enforcing, at one point suggesting that lawmakers could abolish its existence “with a simple majority vote.” 

Christian, who introduced the policy changes, said in a Tuesday letter to Darby that he planned to attend the hearing at its original time of 8:30 a.m. However, the hearing was moved to 11:30 a.m., which conflicted with the Railroad Commission’s previously scheduled public meeting, Christian said, rendering him unable to attend. 

Defending his absence, Christian said he submitted his testimony to Darby and the committee, as well as a summary explaining his decision to change the two-decade public comment policy. 

Christian also suggested that the meeting had political ramifications because state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat who sits on the committee, is vying for a seat on the Railroad Commission’s three-member board.

“The Committee risks transforming a taxpayer-funded legislative hearing into a political platform that unfairly impacts an election over a dispute involving a procedural policy implemented by three democratically elected statewide officials,” Christian wrote. 

“The bottom line is that public participation at the Railroad Commission remains alive and well, and is now more accessible to Texans across the state,” he added.

In late August, Christian overhauled the Railroad Commission’s longstanding policy that allowed the public to speak to the agency’s commissioners on matters unrelated to specific agenda items at open meetings. A 2-1 vote prevailed, with Commissioner Christi Craddick voting against.

The Railroad Commission was established 135 years ago, making it one of the oldest regulatory agencies in Texas. It has not regulated railroads for more than a century. 

Instead, Railroad commissioners preside over a half-billion-dollar budget to regulate a constellation of energy issues, including oil and gas production, pipelines and ensuring that natural gas plants are properly maintained and equipped to endure extreme weather. 

Commissioners are elected every six years on staggered terms, so no more than one seat at the Railroad Commission can be up for election.

Earlier this year, incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright was defeated by Bo French in the March primary election. In November, French faces Rosenthal in a contest to fill Wright’s seat. 

In a statement Tuesday, Rosenthal called Christian’s absence unacceptable. 

“Commissioner Christian defended his public comment policy by saying it mirrors the Texas Legislature,” Rosenthal wrote. “If he wants to invoke the Legislature as a model, then he should respect legislative oversight, too.”