The Senate Finance Committee has it right — the Texas Racing Commission has gone rogue and must be reined in. Senators should continue to deny funding for the agency until it reverses its decision on “historical racing” gambling, and submits to the elected members of the Legislature.

“Members of the Senate Finance Committee grilled racing commission Chairman Robert Schmidt for more than 40 minutes on Wednesday, making the case that the commission should have waited for the Legislature’s approval before deciding last summer to approve a new form of gambling technology at Texas racetracks,” reports the Texas Tribune.

The dispute is over a new kind of gambling that racing interests pushed for — betting on historical horse races, with all identifying information removed. The Commission approved this new activity, despite a letter from Senate Republicans warning that such decisions should be made by legislators, not an unelected, unaccountable body.

“The Senate Republican Caucus urges the Texas Racing Commission to not adopt the proposed rules on historical racing,” the letter reads. “Historical racing goes beyond the statutory language and legislative intent, and is a matter best left to the Texas Legislature to consider.”

The letter explains that gambling is illegal in Texas, with narrow exceptions — pari-mutuel wagering on horse and greyhound races.

And the rules are pretty clear that for a gambling activity to qualify, “the full amount waged by all parties on any single race (is) split among the race contestants, the racetrack, and the winning bettors,” the senators note. Obviously, “historical races” don’t meet those conditions — and “any gambling in Texas on horse or greyhound races that does not comply with those regulations is a crime.”

In his testimony last week, Schmidt claimed that “historical racing” isn’t an expansion of gambling, just a technological upgrade. That’s ridiculous. Of course it’s an expansion, and it’s far beyond the Commission’s proper scope and authority.

The matter is already being litigated. In November, a state district judge ruled against the Commission.

“State District Judge Lora Livingston ruled that the Texas Racing Commission did not have the authority to allow the installation of historical racing machines at Texas racetracks,” the Tribune reported. “Critics have described the machines as glorified slot machines. Supporters of horse racing have said the machines are needed to boost the industry’s struggling business in Texas.”

That’s the industry’s problem, not ours. And “they’re broke” is a terrible argument for unilaterally changing the rules.

The Senate has it right. When an executive agency is out of control and unaccountable, one of the best responses it to cut off its funding.

Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, has already filed a bill abolishing the agency, and giving its duties to the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation.

But Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, counters, “I think they need to continue to exist, but they must be accountable to the Legislature.”

Either way, the agency should be on notice that its actions are unacceptable, and it should quickly reverse its ill-conceived decision.

If it doesn’t, the Senate is well within its rights to defund or even abolish it.