Weems Proposes Railroad Commission Finance Reform
Jeff Weems Campaign—December 14th, 2009
Democratic Railroad Commissioner candidate Jeff Weems proposed a solution to limit the influence of big money interests at the Texas Railroad Commission. Current Texas Railroad Commissioners receive hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in campaign contributions from the very companies they regulate, even in years they are not up for election. This fact undermines Texans’ faith in the Commissioners’ impartiality.
“As your next Texas Railroad Commissioner, I will urge and help craft legislation that will do three things: (1) eliminate payments to incumbent Commissioners when they are not running for election, (2) require incumbent Commissioners to resign before running for other offices, and (3) restrict the use of campaign contributions for funding travel not related to Commission business or election activities,” Weems said.
Weems proposes to limit the dates that Commissioners may accept contributions to the period from July 1 in the year before the election year to two months after the general election. Further, Weems proposes an outright ban on incumbent Commissioners from seeking campaign contributions for other political offices, effectively requiring them to resign before running for other positions. “The Railroad Commission is a critically important state agency,” Weems noted. “Texas deserves Commissioners who are on the job full-time and not preoccupied with running for other offices.”
Weems, recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer in Energy and Natural Resources Law by Texas Monthly, is concentrating his campaign on ensuring Texas’ vibrant energy industry, protecting Texas’ environment, giving consumers a voice at the commission, and restoring the good name and reputation of the Texas Railroad Commissioners.
