20 Weeks in Which the Budget Held Sway
The 82nd Texas Legislature’s regular session ends as it started, with lawmakers arguing about a shrunken state budget and redistricting. Full Story
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Railroad Commission Bill Passes After Amemndment Pulled
The newly named Texas Oil and Gas Commission won't be able to meet in secret to discuss contentious issues after all. Full Story
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House Bill Sets Up Railroad Commission Fight
Members of the Texas Railroad Commission would be allowed to meet behind closed doors to discuss the details of disputed cases under a bill tentatively approved by the Texas House on Monday. Full Story
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Senate OKs Renaming, Shrinking RR Commission
The Senate approved a bill today that would change the name of the Railroad Commission to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission and reduce the size of the commission from three elected members to one elected commissioner. Full Story
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Gen. Tommy Franks Joins Michael Williams Campaign
Outgoing Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams announced today that former Gen. Tommy Franks has endorsed his 2012 U.S. Senate bid and signed on to serve as the campaign's national chairman. Full Story
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Texas Could Require Disclosure of Drilling Chemicals
A recently introduced bill would make Texas one of only a few states to require natural gas companies to disclose, for a public website, what chemicals they use in the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
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![A worker untangles a hose at a Fountain Quail water management and treatment facility in Roanoake, Texas. Fountain Quail cleans and separates water used in fracking for natural gas removal.]()
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Railroad Commission Clears Gas Driller of Harming Water
In a meeting this morning punctuated by harsh denunciations of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Railroad Commission voted unanimously to clear a natural gas driller, Range Resources, of charges that it contaminated two water wells in Parker County. The EPA, however, said it stands by its charges against the driller. Full Story
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Environmental Regulators Brace for Budget Cuts
Texas' environmental regulators, already under fire from green groups for not doing enough to keep air and water pollution in check, are bracing for deep cuts as lawmakers hash out the budget. Full Story
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Does Gas Drilling Put Radiation in Texas Water?
With drilling on the rise, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality answer questions about whether Texans need to worry about radioactivity in their water. Full Story
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Triblive: Michael Williams
Triblive: Evan Smith interviews Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. Full Story
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Energy or Railroad: Are the Politics Different?
What’s in a name? The Texas Railroad Commission — and the elected officials who run it — may soon find out. Full Story
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Warren Chisum for Texas Railroad Commissioner?
Put state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, on the "maybe" list for Texas railroad commissioner — if there is such a thing when the job comes open. Full Story
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Senators Express Incredulity at Rolling Blackouts Hearing
At a state Senate hearing this morning on Texas's rolling blackouts earlier this month, ERCOT released the first list — albeit a very partial one — of power plants that failed during the Feb. 2 crisis. Full Story
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A Conversation with Michael Williams
For our latest TribLive conversation, I sat down with the soon-to-be-ex Rairoad Commissioner and declared 2012 U.S. Senate candidate to talk about why he's qualified to serve, what he thinks of his potential primary opponents and a range of issues that he'd face if he were in D.C. today. Full Story
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![Education Commissioner Michael Williams, a former railroad commissioner, is shown at a TribLive event on Jan. 27, 2011.]()
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TribBlog: Michael Williams' Liveblog
Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams joined The Texas Tribune's Evan Smith for a TribLive event this morning in Austin. Williams made it official that he's running for the U.S. Senate in 2012. Full Story
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Michael Williams Sizes Up Senate Race
Michael Williams is leaving the Railroad Commission in April and preparing to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. In an interview today with the Trib's Ross Ramsey, he talked about the 2012 race and about his confidence that minorities don't face any special hurdles in Texas GOP primaries. Full Story
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TribBlog: The Drilling Grilling
More than 40 people crammed into the Texas Railroad Commission’s hearing today on what caused two water wells in Parker County to become contaminated by natural gas. Missing: the Environmental Protection Agency. Full Story
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TribBlog: Michael Williams Will Resign to Run
Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will resign this week, allowing him to work full time on a race for U.S. Senate — and to avoid a potentially bruising legislative fight over the future of his agency. Full Story
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TribBlog: Sunset on Railroad Commission
The Sunset Advisory Commission met today and recommended that the Railroad Commission be renamed the Oil and Gas Commission, and that its top structure shrink from three elected commissioners to one. Full Story
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Atmospheric Politics
Every politician needs a villain. George W. Bush had Saddam Hussein; Barack Obama had George W. Bush. Gov. Rick Perry has the EPA., which has had the audacity to order Texas to do more to clean its air. Full Story
Credit: Illustration by Bob Daemmrich/Todd Wiseman
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