Roger B. Borgelt - Austin, TX
Attorney at Borgelt Law
Administrative Law and Appeals Lawyers in Austin, TX
614 S. Capital of Texas Highway Austin, TX 78746
- 1 Super Lawyers®
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37
Years
Experience
Austin Administrative Law and Appeals Lawyer
Updated: 04/20/2026
Areas of Practice
- Administrative Law and Appeals
- Zoning
- Civil Litigation and Appeals
- Environmental, Energy and Utility Regulatory Practice
- Local Government
- Ethics Advising, Campaign Finance and Election Law
- Legislative and Governmental Affairs
Attorney Information
Overview
Mr. Borgelt is well known and highly regarded for his work in telecommunications, natural gas and electric utility regulation, having served as a drafter of numerous regulations of the Texas Public Utility Commission. He has practiced before numerous state and federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Public Utility Commission, and the Railroad Commission. Also noted as a national authority in pest control law, Mr. Borgelt was actively involved in the drafting of significant amendments to the Texas Structural Pest Control Act.
Mr. Borgelt provides representation before state and federal administrative agencies, including drafting of rule-making comments and contested case hearings.
A native of Austin, Texas, Mr. Borgelt attended the University of Texas at Austin as a National Merit Scholar, graduating from The University of Texas School of Law in 1988. He earned his BA in psychology from the University in 1984.
REPRESENTATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Lead counsel representing Texas A&M University in a major gas rate case on behalf of the University, saving it at least $1.5 million annually in gas transportation costs.
- Represented State of Texas' interests in electric rate cases concerning securitization of stranded costs at the Public Utility Commission involving requests for securitization totaling nearly $3 billion.
- Lead counsel representing state agencies in numerous gas utility rate cases at the Railroad Commission, including a case of first impression on transportation rates to be paid by state agencies, resulting in rate reductions and beneficial tariff provisions.
- Represented state interests in the investigation of the application for merger of MCI and Sprint, which was ultimately withdrawn, but obtained service quality improvements for Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities.
- Advocated for regulatory provisions enhancing the availability of telecommunications services in rural areas of Texas, specifically supporting state government and university access to high speed data services.
- Discovered major accounting discrepancies in a gas utility audit case at the Railroad Commission, resulting in a savings to ratepayers of at least $1,000,000.
- Settled major rate case with Verizon, providing for no rate increase in several exchanges, a six- month waiver of some fees and an agreement to promote their customer refund program.
- As General Counsel, represented agency in its administrative hearings annually, prevailing in over 90% of cases during seven-year period.
- Taught nationally accredited training program in administrative law for state and federal enforcement officials to groups of over 100.
- Advocated successfully in numerous rulemaking proceedings at the Public Utility Commission, Railroad Commission and Federal Communications Commission, almost always with a significant positive result for state government or consumers on the rule or regulation finally adopted, either in protection of customer rights or financial savings to the State.
- Helped draft national guidelines for the marketing of energy generated from renewable resources.
- Represented state government interests in the negotiated process to implement the first retail electric pilot program in Texas, which ultimately assisted competitive retail electric markets in opening successfully.
- Participated in the Governor's Policy Conference on broadband deployment and the broadband working group.
- Assisted in international discussions on cross-border telecommunications services sponsored by the Public Utility Commission.
- Helped draft the Strategic Plan of the Texas Telecommunications planning and Oversight Council, ensuring that the Council included the viewpoints of multiple state government and university interests, and that all state and federal regulatory issues potentially affecting the plan were assessed.
- Resolved multiple gas and telecommunications billing disputes between state agencies/universities and utilities on an informal basis, saving the State thousands of dollars in utility costs related to improper billing.
- Provided regulatory and legislative updates on telecommunications and gas utility issues to state agency advisory groups and the Department of Information Resources.
- Testified before State legislative committees, public hearings and City board.
- Drafted legislation which was incorporated in bills passed by Texas Legislature and U. S. Congress.
- Appointed chairman of three national regulatory committees, representing state agency to federal agencies and congressional staff.
- Organized and coordinated series of Seminars between environmental regulatory officials from the U. S. and Mexico for resolution of issues and facilitation of NAFTA agreements.
- Trained and supervised 17 personnel of legal department and enforcement staff.
- Petition for Review granted by the Texas Supreme Court in an appeal of a Public Utility Commission telecommunications rate case.
- Multiple oral arguments before the Railroad Commission in gas utility rate cases.
- Prosecuted lawsuits involving deceptive trade practices engaged in by telecommunications carriers in Travis County District Court.
- Settled deceptive trade practices law suit for $1 million to the State of Texas, consumers and higher educational institutions.
Awards and Honors
Honors
- Named to Best Lawyers in America® 2019, the gold standard for recognition of professional excellence with persistently high ratings from clients and peers
- Texas 2018 and 2019 Super Lawyer in the Land Use/Zoning practice area by Thomson Reuters
- Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
Other Sources of Feedback About Roger B. Borgelt
Included on the 2026 Texas Super Lawyers list
Past Lists
- 2025 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2024 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2023 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2022 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2021 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2020 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2019 Texas Super Lawyers list
- 2018 Texas Super Lawyers list
Education
-
Legal Education
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The University of Texas School of Law,
Austin,
Texas, May, 1988
Doctor of Jurisprudence
Honors: Recipient, First Year Outstanding Student Scholarship, (1986)
Honors: Member of the UT Chancellor's Council
Honors: Member of UT Littlefield Society
Honors: Member of The UT Longhorn Foundation
-
The University of Texas School of Law,
Austin,
Texas, May, 1988
-
Non Legal Education
-
The University of Texas at Austin, May, 1984
Bachelor of Arts
Honors: National Merit Scholar
Major: Psychology
-
The University of Texas at Austin, May, 1984
Current Employment Position(s)
-
Principal and CEO , since 2010
Past Positions
- Railroad Commission of Texas, Austin, Texas, Law Clerk, 1987 - 1989
- Texas Structural Pest Control Board, Austin, Texas, General Counsel, 1990 - 1999
- Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, Austin, Texas, Assistant Attorney General, 1999 - 2006
- Office of the Attorney General, Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Division
Classes and Seminars
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Planning Committee and Moderator, First Annual Advanced Texas Administrative Law Seminar, 2006
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Legislative Update - Utilities Law, Advanced Administrative Law, Austin Bar Association, 2005
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Planning Committee, Administrative Law Conference, University of Texas School of Law, 2003 - Present
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Legislative Update, University of Texas Administrative Law Conference, 2005
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Commissioners Panel, Effective Advocacy for Rule Making and Other Agency Action, University of Texas Administrative Law Conference, 2006
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Attorney General's Environmental Conference for Public Agenics, 1992 - 1995
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U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Special Investigator Training Conference, 1992
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U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Special Investigator Training Conference, 1995
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Texas Recreation and Park Society Annual Conference, 1995
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Speaker, Customer Proprietary Network Information Issues, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates
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Planning Committee, Telecommunications Conference, University of Texas Law School, 2003
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Presenter, "Telecommunications Deregulation", Travis County Bar Association's Computer and Technology Law Section
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Presenter, Ex Parte Issues, Travis County Bar Association, Administrative Law Section
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Moderator, Administrative Law Portion of the 2003 Travis County Bench-Bar Conference, Travis County Bar Association, Administrative Law Section
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Telecommunications Legislative Update, State Bar of Texas Public Utility Law Section, 2005
- Speaker, Utility matters, State Bar's Annual Meeting in Houston, June 2012
Pro Bono Activities
- Christian Legal Society
- President, Austinites for Action
- Board Member/Past Chair, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas
- District 9 Nominating Committee
- Sustaining Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
- Founding Fellow, Austin Bar Foundation
- Chair, Austin Chamber of Commerce State Environmental Policy Group
- Member, Austin Chamber of Commerce State Issues Innovation & Clean Energy Policy Group
Representative Cases
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Cities of Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Hereford, Petitioners v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Respondent, No. 01-0086
- Citation: 92 SW3d 434
- Court: Supreme Court of Texas
- Year: 2002
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Centerpoint Energy Entex, Appellant v. Railroad Commission of Texas, Victor Carrillo, Elizabeth A. Jones, Michael Williams, City of Tyler and the State of Texas Appellees, No. 03-04-00731-CV
- Citation: 2006 WL 1865439
- Court: Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin, Texas
- Year: 2006
Published Works
Articles
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Texas Administrative Discovery (Co-Author) 1990, Contested Case Workshop, Travis County Bar Association, 1990
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Informal Dispositions, Essentials of Administrative Law Seminar, Travis County Bar Association, 1992
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Ex Parte Issues and Questions, Nuts and Bolts of Administrative Law, Travis County Bar Association, 2003 and 2004
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 1988
- U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
Specialties and Certifications
- Trained Mediator, 1993
- Training, UT School of Law Public Policy Alternative Dispute Resolution, 1994
Other Affiliations
- Board of Directors, Austin Bar Association, Administrative Law Section, 2006 - 2007 (Chair)
- Texas Bar Foundation, 1997 - Present (Life Fellow 2006)
- Section Council, State Bar of Texas Public Utility Law Section, 2006 (Member)
- Austin Bar Foundation (Fellow)
- North University Neighborhood Association, 1998 - 2000 (President)
- Celtic Cultural Center of Texas (Legal Advisor)
- Austin Celtic Association, 2005 - 2006 (Board of Directors)
- College of State Bar of Texas, 1993 - Present
- Council of Licensure Enforcement and Regulation, 1996 - 1999 (Member, Professional Discipline and Program Committee)
- Council of Licensure Enforcement and Regulation, 1996 - 1999 (Member, Regulatory Issues Committee)
- Council of Licensure Enforcement and Regulation, 1996 - 1999 (Member, National Certified Inspector Training Committee)
- Travis County Bar Association, Administrative Law Section, 2003 - Present (Board of Directors)
- Austin Bar Association, Technology and Computer, and Oil, Gas, and Minerals Sections (Member)
- Federal Communications Bar Association, Texas Chapter (Member)
- State Bar of Texas Administrative & Public Law, Environmental & Natural Resources, Oil, Gas & Mineral, and Computer & Technology Section (Member)
- Federal Communications Bar Association (Texas Co-Chair)
- The College of the State Bar of Texas (Member)
- Public Utility Law Section of the State Bar of Texas (Past Chair)
- Austin Bar Association Environmental Law Section (Secretary)
- State Bar's Annual Meeting, Houston (Chair of the Public Utility Law Section, 2012)
- Texas Department of Agriculture Structural Pest Control Advisory Committee (Chair, 2013)
- Small Business Group of Central Texas (Executive Committee Member)
- Real Estate Council of Austin (Member, Key Advocacy Committee)
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