During a legislative hearing this year related to hydraulic fracturing, Representative James L. Keffer, Republican of Eastland, made a reference to what he thought was an unfair portrayal of the industry in the film “Promised Land.”

“My wife’s seen it, she didn’t like it, so don’t go if you haven’t,” Mr. Keffer said at the hearing, which featured testimony from oil and gas representatives.

Friendliness toward the drilling industry is typical for Texas, where many lawmakers receive campaign contributions from oil and gas groups or have investments in drilling companies. The three elected members of the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees the oil and gas industry, have received significant contributions from the very industry they regulate.

Critics say that the industry exerts excessive control over elected officials, especially in boom times. But lawmakers and the drilling industry say that the donations are the way things operate. And lawmakers say that they make their decisions based on the best interests of the state.