🔴Relating to the availability of certain working papers and electronic communications of certain administrative law judges and technical examiners under the public information law
HB 3516
🔴 HB 3516: Expands Railroad Commission Secrecy Over Internal Records
What it says it does:
HB 3516 amends Government Code 552.144 to protect the working papers, emails, and draft orders of administrative law judges and technical examiners at the Railroad Commission of Texas. It claims to mirror confidentiality rules already used by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
What it actually changes:
The bill removes a key safeguard in the Public Information Act. Before HB 3516, the Railroad Commission had to ask the Attorney General before withholding draft documents or staff notes. Now the agency can deny those requests automatically, without outside review. The change applies to requests made on or after September 1, 2025.
Who is pushing for it:
According to committee records, the bill was filed at the request of the Railroad Commission of Texas. Dana Lewis, the agency’s Chief Administrative Law Judge, testified on the bill in support.
Who benefits:
The Railroad Commission gains new authority to withhold its internal deliberations. Oil and gas companies and pipeline operators that appear before the Commission benefit from reduced transparency in regulatory proceedings.
Who gets left out or exposed:
Public watchdogs such as Commission Shift Action, local governments, and landowners lose access to internal information that once helped track agency decisions. Citizens living near wells, pipelines, and disposal sites will find it harder to understand how the Commission reaches its rulings.
Why this matters long term:
HB 3516 sets a precedent for other agencies to demand similar exemptions. Each time a new carve-out is added, the Public Information Act becomes weaker, and the people of Texas lose another piece of government accountability.
What to watch next:
Other state agencies could use this model to shield their own records, citing HB 3516 as justification. Transparency laws could shrink session by session if the Legislature continues to approve agency-request secrecy bills.
Bottom line:
HB 3516 sounds like an efficiency fix, but it concentrates power inside one of Texas’s most politically connected regulators. When the public loses visibility into government decision-making, industry influence grows and accountability fades.
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