Arthur DiBianca, a San Antonio native and former Texas Department of Transportation employee, is running for Texas Railroad Commissioner in 2026. He aims to bring a fresh perspective to the role, focusing on transparency, accountability, and the responsible management of Texas' natural resources.

Arthur DiBianca | 2026 candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner

Welcome!

Arthur DiBianca lives in Austin, Texas. He has been a Libertarian activist for many years.

Arthur DiBianca for Railroad Commissioner

Arthur Dibianca is originally from San Antonio. He lives in Austin, Texas.

DiBianca, a retired programmer who has called Texas home since 1991, has no background in the oil and gas industry. However, he said the Railroad Commission should promote a free-market energy policy while protecting landowners' rights.

Big Country Politics: Arthur DiBianca on Texas Railroad Commission priorities

Arthur Dibianca is a retired programmer. He previously worked for the Texas Department of Transportation.

What Arthur DiBianca wants to change at Texas Railroad Commission

Arthur is a retired programmer. He previously worked for the Texas Department of Transportation.

2026 Texas General Election

"One of the things that can happen with what they call regulatory capture is that big industry players who develop relationships with commissioners get them to regulate in a way that gives them advantages over newcomers and generally protects them from competition. That's exactly what we don't want. We want to make sure that competition is always allowed to thrive. So that could mean less regulation, or it could just mean regulating properly to avoid that problem," DiBianca said.

"The Railroad Commission's been making rules and regulations for over 100 years. It's this just giant mess of stuff that has built up over that time. We should go through and clean house and simplify that set of regulations so that it's modern, deals with issues we're dealing with now, and isn't just cluttering the books," DiBianca explained.

Priorities
Promote Free Market Energy Policy

Let the market—not the government—decide the energy mix. Support “all of the above” energy development without subsidies or mandates for any source.

Oppose government picking winners and losers between oil, gas, wind, solar, or nuclear.

Encourage competitive access to pipelines and markets rather than monopoly protections.

Defend Property Rights

Protect mineral owners and surface owners from government overreach and eminent domain abuse.

Require voluntary, market-based solutions for disputes between landowners and energy developers rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.

Environmental Responsibility Through Accountability

Hold operators accountable for well plugging and cleanup, but make compliance predictable and transparent.

Encourage bonding and insurance markets to handle environmental risks instead of taxpayer bailouts.

Use market pricing of risk — companies that create higher risk should pay higher insurance, not shift cost to others.

"So whether that's through requiring insurance, or posting bond, or having cleanup funds, oil and gas companies need to proactively provide restitution processes so that when damage occurs, you don't have a situation where homeowners have to do very difficult and expensive lawsuits," DiBianca said.

"The important thing is to make sure that restitution is readily available. So there are different mechanisms to do that. You can require insurance... What we don't want is a situation where taxpayers are expected to foot the bill to clean up problems caused by industry action," DiBianca shared.

Calls for regulations that prevent agencies from being unduly influenced by the industries they regulate and allow competition among energy companies to thrive.

Calls for simplifying and modernizing the Railroad Commission's regulations.

Supports an all-of-the-above energy mix without government subsidies or mandates for oil, gas, wind, solar, or nuclear.

Encourages competitive access to pipelines and energy markets rather than monopoly protections.

Supports protecting mineral and surface owners from government overreach and eminent domain abuse.

Calls for voluntary, market-based solutions to disputes between landowners and energy developers rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.

Supports holding operators accountable for plugging wells and cleanup through predictable, transparent compliance requirements.

Advocates financial guarantees, insurance, or cleanup funds to provide compensation for damage caused by the industry without requiring taxpayers to fund cleanup.

- Calls for regulations that prevent agencies from being unduly influenced by the industries they regulate and allow competition among energy companies to thrive.
- Calls for simplifying and modernizing the Railroad Commission's regulations.
- Supports an all-of-the-above energy mix without government subsidies or mandates for oil, gas, wind, solar, or nuclear.
- Encourages competitive access to pipelines and energy markets rather than monopoly protections.
- Supports protecting mineral and surface owners from government overreach and eminent domain abuse.
- Calls for voluntary, market-based solutions to disputes between landowners and energy developers rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.
- Supports holding operators accountable for plugging wells and cleanup through predictable, transparent compliance requirements.
- Advocates financial guarantees, insurance, or cleanup funds to provide compensation for damage caused by the industry without requiring taxpayers to fund cleanup.

Energy & the Environment

Arthur Dibianca

- Supports an all-of-the-above energy mix without government subsidies or mandates for oil, gas, wind, solar, or nuclear.
- Encourages competitive access to pipelines and energy markets rather than monopoly protections.
- Supports protecting mineral and surface owners from government overreach and eminent domain abuse.
- Calls for voluntary, market-based solutions to disputes between landowners and energy developers rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.
- Supports holding operators accountable for plugging wells and cleanup through predictable, transparent compliance requirements.
- Advocates financial guarantees, insurance, or cleanup funds to provide compensation for damage caused by the industry without requiring taxpayers to fund cleanup.

Mauricio Mendez

Buket Urgen

Bo French

Jon Rosenthal

- The railroad commissioner is one of three members of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, liquified petroleum gas, coal and uranium mining, and oversees clean drinking water. Despite its name, the commission no longer regulates railroads.
- Railroad commissioners are elected in statewide partisan elections for six-year, staggered terms, with one seat up for election every two years. The commissioners elect the chairman, and the Governor appoints replacements if a vacancy arises.

One of three commissioners who oversee the oil and gas industry, coal and uranium mining, and clean drinking water. 