HOUSTON (AP) - The Texas Railroad Commission has announced a member of Gov. Rick Perry’s staff will be the new executive director of the agency that oversees most permitting for oil and gas drilling in the state.

The commission said in a statement released Tuesday that Milton Rister would begin his new job on Oct. 1. Rister has been Perry’s director for administration since 2010. Rister takes control of the commission as it begins a second exhaustive state auditing process, called the Sunset Review.

Rister replaces John Tintera, who announced his retirement in March.

The commission is responsible for permitting oil and gas drilling and production wells, as well as pipelines in Texas.

It once also oversaw the state’s railroads, but handed over that responsibility several years ago.

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