State ‘Drive’ reorganization plan would create Natural Resources Commission and remake energy and permitting offices

Clay Parker, deputy director of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, briefed the board April 16 on the ongoing reorganization of the state Department of Energy and Natural Resources — the administration’s so‑called “Drive” initiative — and summarized legislation filed for the 2025 session.

Parker said the reorganization started under executive order in early 2024 and that the plan’s implementation depends on legislation now before the Legislature. The proposal would rename the agency to the Department of Conservation and Energy and create a seven‑member Natural Resources Commission expected to include agency heads from natural‑resource related state agencies and to provide a venue for strategic coordination, public outreach and a single place for intergovernmental coordination, federal response and legislative engagement.

The reorganization would also consolidate and clarify internal offices: a new Office of Permitting and Compliance to centralize engineering, ecology and geology permitting functions; an Office of Enforcement to centralize compliance and ensure risk‑based prioritization; an Office of State Resources (consolidating mineral, land, and water management functions); and an Office of Energy to retain and focus strategic energy functions including federal grants and grid resiliency work.

Parker said the department envisions the Office of Legal Services and the Office of the Natural Resources Commission as sub‑offices of the Office of the Secretary and that many operational changes would be implemented by regulation and internal reorganization after statutory authority is aligned.

He summarized legislation the department has filed for the 2025 session and the likely timeline if bills pass: Senate Bill 193 (general reorganization by Senator Hensgens), Senate Bill 97 (creating a coordinated use authority or Upland Resource Management Authority, by Senator Presley), House Bill 605 (expedited permitting procedures through the Office of Permitting and Compliance, by Representative Reiser) and House Bill 634 (the saltwater and oil assessment panel process, by Representative Jacob Landry). Parker said that, if enacted as filed, implementation would be effective July 1, 2025.

Parker described the saltwater and oil assessment process (SOPE) concept as a regulatory‑liability tool modeled on medical malpractice review panels; he said SOPE is intended to give expert regulatory review and a predictable path for resolving certain regulatory liability issues and is not intended to change private claims.

Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation. Representative Drain asked whether the Drive initiative would move CPRA under the reorganized department; Parker said it would not. Another board member asked how permanent permitting streamlining would be accomplished; Parker said statutory structure would be created through legislation and that detailed procedural changes would follow through regulation and implementation after the statute passed.

Parker encouraged continued stakeholder engagement and provided an email for written comments. He also noted the department is considering an academic research institute concept — an Institute for Energy and Conservation — but that effort is not part of the 2025 bills.

No board vote was taken on the Drive initiative during the meeting.