H.C.R. No. 183
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The oil and natural gas exploration industry has
been a significant part of the state's economy since the early 20th
century; today, Texas is the leading producing state for oil and
natural gas in the country, accounting for 21.3 percent and 27.8
percent of total U.S. production, respectively; and
WHEREAS, Texas producers provide more than 200,000 jobs for
Texas citizens, with an average pay that is almost three times
higher than the average paid by all other industries; during fiscal
year 2008, Texas producers paid over $5 billion in taxes and fees to
the state's general revenue fund; and
WHEREAS, Natural gas is a highly valued, clean fuel that has
become a mainstay of electricity production and other industrial
operations in Texas, while oil continues to constitute the backbone
of the state's industrial sector and fuels virtually all of the
state's transportation system; and
WHEREAS, Renewable energy sources offer great promise for
Texas' long-term energy needs, but the technology that would make
these sources abundant is in its infancy, and until that technology
is adequately developed, renewable energy sources will remain
dispersed and unable to deliver base load capacity; and
WHEREAS, Conservation can help satisfy the state's energy
needs, and action to reduce customer demand is the quickest way to
meet energy needs in the short term, but a growing economy and
population will require more energy than can be saved through more
efficient energy use; and
WHEREAS, To keep pace with increased demand, independent
producers completed more than 11,000 wells in Texas in 2008, and in
the two-year period 2007-2008, they increased the production of
natural gas in Texas by more than 12 percent; and
WHEREAS, In addition to generating high-quality jobs,
independent producers help to reduce America's dependence on Middle
East oil by exploring for domestic resources and providing stable
supplies of cost-effective energy to consumers; and
WHEREAS, Independent producers rely on longstanding tax
provisions to plan their activities and to explore for new wells to
offset declining production from older ones; without the
development of new wells, energy supplies would decline and the
costs to consumers would rise; and
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama's initial budget includes
provisions deleting the intangible drilling costs deduction,
percentage depletion allowance, geologic and geophysical costs
deduction, and domestic production activities deduction, and the
elimination of these provisions would cripple this state's energy
jobs, reduce small businesses' access to capital, and harm royalty
owners; and
WHEREAS, Intangible drilling costs (IDCs) typically include
expenditures for physical items with no salvage value, as well as
other costs associated with preparing and completing a well for the
production of oil, gas, or geothermal steam or water; producers
have long been able to deduct IDCs as current business expenses,
rather than depreciate or amortize them over the life of the well;
IDCs are actually similar to research and development costs, for
which most manufacturing businesses are able to take a tax credit,
rather than a deduction; and
WHEREAS, The percentage depletion allowance, also known as
the small producers exemption, was created in the 1920s to
encourage oil and natural gas exploration, which is an inherently
high-risk venture; the exemption is available only to the smallest
producers and allows them to deduct 15 percent of their gross income
from oil and gas properties; and
WHEREAS, Geologic and geophysical (G&G) costs relate to the
surveys that producers conduct or commission in order to locate and
develop oil and natural gas reserves and to minimize unnecessary
drilling; G&G costs may be amortized over the first 24 months of the
life of a well; and
WHEREAS, The domestic production activities provision allows
businesses a tax deduction for qualified production activities that
are based in the United States; the deduction helps to preserve
American jobs and American small businesses; and
WHEREAS, Major integrated companies are not eligible for the
IDC deduction, percentage depletion allowance, or domestic
production activities deduction, and they are subject to a
seven-year amortization schedule for G&G work; consequently, "big
oil" is not impacted by the proposed budget changes; and
WHEREAS, President Obama has stated his intention to support
the development of jobs, promote the use of clean-burning energy,
and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, yet his budget
proposals would lessen the ability of independent producers to help
meet those three goals; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to reject the
provisions of President Barack Obama's budget that would eliminate
the intangible drilling costs deduction, percentage depletion
allowance, geologic and geophysical costs deduction, and domestic
production activities deduction and to encourage instead the
development of Texas oil and natural gas; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution
be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
the Congress of the United States of America.
Farabee
Davis of Harris
Hardcastle
Gonzalez Toureilles
Rios Ybarra
Riddle
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 183 was adopted by the House on May
30, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 134, Nays 5, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 183 was adopted by the Senate on
June 1, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor