Sen. Glen Hegar Appointed to Texas Sunset Advisory Commission

The Sunset Advisory Commission has oversight over 150 Texas government agencies.

Who is Sunset?

In 1977, the Texas Legislature created the Sunset Advisory Commission to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies. The 12-member Commission is a legislative body that reviews the policies and programs of more than 150 government agencies every 12 years. The Commission questions the need for each agency, looks for potential duplication of other public services or programs, and considers new and innovative changes to improve each agency’s operations and activities. The Commission seeks public input through hearings on every agency under Sunset review and recommends actions on each agency to the full Legislature. In most cases, agencies under Sunset review are automatically abolished unless legislation is enacted to continue them.

This is a powerful commission that can help us in trying to balance out natural gas development and the need to protect human health and safety, protect vital natural resources and maintain quality of life. The Sunset Commission has oversight over the Texas Railroad Commission and

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst today appointed State Sen. Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) as Chairman of the state’s powerful Sunset Advisory Commission.

As chairman, Hegar will lead the commission in its task of eliminating wasteful government spending and ending inefficient practices.

I’m encouraged that Senator Hegar is a farmer who grew up hunting and fishing. He also fought to stop the Trans Texas Corridor.

The Sunset Advisory Commission conducts thorough reviews of nearly all state agencies, gathering information from the agency itself, members of the public, interest groups and professional organizations. Each review is a three- to eight-month process.

But it is troubling to learn that Hegar wrote a sovereignty resolution (SCR 39).

This resolution sends a message that members of the Texas legislature, elected by their constituents and representing the people of Texas, recognize that over the last several decades, the federal government has become more autocratic in its relationship with the states, interfering more and more in local affairs, to the point that states are no longer able to do what’s best for their citizens. This in turn threatens individual rights, including our right to keep and bear arms. With the increasing unfunded mandates and regulation, the most pressing question becomes: Can we remain the best country to live in?

Please give me any recent examples of Texas doing what’s best for ordinary Texas citizens! That hasn’t happened in Texas for two decades! And, when you consider natural gas drilling, Texas desperately needs federal intervention. Our state regulators are nothing more than paid industry protectors who enable industry to endanger public health and saftey.

Here is where Hegar gets scary as hell:

If the situation gets desperate enough, would we address the question of secession?
While a valid question, the first step is to send a stronger message: We want the federal government to stop going in this direction. If other states continue with this sovereignty effort as well, maybe something will actually change for once. Secession means that Texas would return to being an independent country like we were during our early history, and this resolution, while not addressing secession, is a step in that direction