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Brief History And Influence Of The Texas Railroad Commission

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History and Influence of the Texas Railroad Commission

In my last 10 years working in the oilfield, whenever I was in Texas I always wondered why everything we did was reported directly to the Texas Railroad Commission. There was always a Railroad Commission Representative in all of our Pre-Spud meetings. The question of what power do they ultimately hold on the oil field. I decided to write a paper on the history of the Texas Railroad commission and any controversy that they could have been involved in. From research of the Texas Railroad commission’s web page, it was established in April 1891 to regulate the railroad industry of the 1800s. It is seen as the oldest regulatory agency not only in this state but also in the entire United States. The Railroad was seen as a …show more content…

The Texas Railroad Commission is seen as on the most important regulation institutes in the United States. (Prindle) The Railroad Commission started off in the US as a big business rather than later being knows as big government. The first three Railroad commissioners had been appointed in June 1891 by then Governor Hogg, these were John Reagan, Judge W. Mclean and L. Foster. Reagan had a large amount of influence on the RRC. He came from Tennessee to join the Texas Democrats in 1855. Reagan in the 1870-1880s set in the Congress to have regulation for the railroad through Pragmatic Federalism. This commission was established to prevent discrimination in railroad charges and establish reasonable tariffs through legislative mandates. It wasn’t though until 1917 that the RRC began to regulate the oil and gas industry which is what we will focus on. Choices made by the Texas Railroad Commission can affect other areas of the United States. The current to date

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