American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015 - 40

resentative Phil King, R-Weatherford,
has filed two bills relating to the issue:
* HB 539 requires cities to reimburse
the state for lost revenue relating to taxes,
fees, royalties or other income lost to
local drilling and production bans.
* HB 540 seeks to require municipalities to submit ballot initiatives to the
state attorney general for review before
holding an election.
Under HB 539, TIPRO says, municipalities will be required to provide a
fiscal note detailing the economic impact
of oil and gas ordinances to local and
state governments, and report the information to the Legislative Budget Board.
The fiscal statement then must be published for voter review, the association
details, and the policy will apply to both
potential hydraulic fracturing bans and
local oil and gas regulation.
Additionally, the associations confirm
they are monitoring HB 128, introduced
by Representative Craig Goldman, RFort Worth, which seeks to raise from
$500 to $2,000, eligibility requirements
for an ad valorem tax exemption for mineral interests (see story page 119).
Other legislation has been introduced
that will create a statutory process for
water rights permit applications and establish regulatory timelines for processing

permit applications, TIPRO notes. Also,
HB 224, by Representative Ryan Guillen,
D-Rio Grande City, seeks to change the
Texas Railroad Commission's name to
the Texas Energy Resources Commission,
the association states.

PIOGA Well Acquainted With
Session's Issues For Industry
WEXFORD, PA.-"In the immortal
words of Yogi Berra, it's beginning to
look like déjà vu all over again," ponders
Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association President Lou D'Amico as he
considers the legislation he says his organization expects to address during the
2015 Pennsylvania General Assembly,
which began in early January.
Last session, PIOGA monitored more
than 200 bills, 65 of which it considered
high priority, the association recounts.
As lawmakers begin to introduce legislation and circulate co-sponsorship memos
seeking support for bills they plan to
offer, D'Amico reports, PIOGA anticipates
the return of many of last session's failed
proposals, including a severance tax on
unconventional gas production, landowner

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40 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

According to TIPRO, the commission's
budget likely will be a much-discussed
matter. Among other industry-related issues, the association predicts the legislature
will introduce bills on brackish water
use.
Ì

rights proposals, mandatory participation
in the Pennsylvania One Call System,
and creation of a council aimed at helping
conventional oil and gas producers.
The association indicates its top legislative priority will remain the same as
its last three two-year sessions: to yet
again turn back a severance tax on unconventional gas production (see related
story, page 109). "This time around, we
have a new governor who has campaigned
on the claim that a 5 percent production
tax will raise $1 billion annually and
solve our state's education-funding problems," D'Amico observes. "We will work
relentlessly to demonstrate that such a
tax will be a disaster not only for our industry, but for the entire commonwealth."
Initial Proposals
Lawmakers began filing co-sponsorship
memos in December, D'Amico notes,
adding that such figurative trial balloons
address matters including 1,000-foot setback requirements between new Class
IID disposal wells and drinking water
sources or occupied structures. Another
co-sponsorship memo seeks to levy an
impact fee on pipeline construction, while
others would:
* Mandate that pipelines be made of
domestically manufactured steel;
* Require air quality monitoring systems near all compressor stations, processing plants and water impoundments;
* Exempt from severance tax any gas
sold to a manufacturing facility within 5
miles of the production site; and
* Declare that subsurface rights are
abandoned in a surface owner's favor if
the subsurface ownership is unknown or
has not been exercised his rights for
longer than 20 years.
The Senate began its work a few days
ahead of the House of Representatives,
PIOGA reports, and not only had several
industry-related bills been introduced by
late January, but one panel already had
approved three measures.
The Senate Environmental Resources
& Energy Committee on Jan. 21 voted
out Senate Bills 147, 148 and 279-all repeats of legislation offered last session,
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2015

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