An Efficiency Audit
An Efficiency Audit of the Railroad Commission
October 2026
The State Auditor's Office contracted with McConnell Jones to conduct an efficiency audit of the Railroad Commission (Commission) in accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 327.
McConnell Jones identified two main areas with inefficiencies. These are:
- Technology Modernization. The Commission is in the process of modernizing major information systems; however, current legacy systems and partially adopted platforms continue to create inefficiencies, including incomplete application submissions, limited reporting capability, manual correspondence processes, and reliance on supplemental tools or workbooks to obtain operational information.
- Oil and Gas. Information technology limitations and operator submissions of incomplete or inaccurate information cause inefficiencies within the Oil and Gas Division. This includes rework from incomplete submissions and excessive correspondence requirements, limited management visibility, reliance on supplemental workbooks, inspector and well plugger GPS connectivity limitations, manual distribution of violation letters, and manual data entry from paper submissions.
McConnell Jones did not identify any duplication, overlap, or conflict with other state agencies or misalignment between the Commission's rules in the Texas Administrative Code and its statutory authority and mission.
The Commission agreed to implement McConnell Jones's recommendations and provided an implementation plan, which is presented in the report.
