{"id":34706,"date":"2014-02-24T15:51:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T21:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=34706"},"modified":"2014-02-26T15:49:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T21:49:50","slug":"ask-the-candidates-should-the-railroad-commission-change-its-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2014\/02\/24\/ask-the-candidates-should-the-railroad-commission-change-its-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask the Candidates: Should the Railroad Commission Change Its Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2009-08-18\"<\/a>

Photos by Landov<\/p>

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Questioning the Candidates for Texas’ Oil and Gas Regulator<\/h4>\n

The Republican race for a seat opening up on the Railroad Commission of Texas<\/a> has focused on issues that have little or nothing to do with the commission: abortion<\/a>, gun rights<\/a>, and even Obamacare<\/a>. That’s because — and we’re writing this now for what seems like the hundreth time<\/em> — the Railroad Commission is the state oil and gas regulator, and has nothing do with railroads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We here at StateImpact Texas were curious what the Republican candidates had to say about the real policy issues facing the commission, as well as the candidates from other parties. So we put together a\u00a0questionnaire\u00a0that did just that, and every candidate save one, Republican Ryan Sitton<\/a>, agreed to participate. (Despite requests to Sitton’s campaign and to a consulting firm he hired, we have not received any direct response.) The powerful commission is the only state regulatory body run by elected leaders; all other major state regulators are run by gubernatorial appointees.<\/p>\n

But if you’re hoping to hear what most of the Republican candidates have to say about manmade earthquakes linked to drilling activity, the use of eminent domain for routing private oil and gas pipelines, or ethics reforms, you may be disappointed. While all of the Democratic, Libertarian and Green candidates responded to the\u00a0questionnaire\u00a0as promised, only one\u00a0Republican\u00a0candidate, Becky Berger<\/a>, did so. The campaigns of Republicans Wayne Christian <\/a>and Malachi Boyuls<\/a> both agreed to answer the questionnaire, but despite being giving an extra week to do so (and follow-up emails and phone calls), they have not yet turned in their responses.<\/p>\n

Each day this week we’ll be posting the responses we did receive from six of the nine candidates. Today’s issue? Where the candidates stand on changing the name of the commission. The commission got its start regulating railroads in the 19th century<\/a>, but the railroad industry in Texas peaked in the 1930s, and the commission hasn’t had anything to with railroads since the eighties<\/a>. The commission’s name was supposed to be changed as a package of reforms during the last legislative session, but under pressure <\/a>from Railroad Commissioners, those reforms didn’t pass<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Q. Do you believe the name of the Railroad Commission should be changed to more accurately reflect its mission? Why or why not?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n