Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2571 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Keffer (Senate Sponsor - Fraser) H.B. No. 2571
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2013;
3	3	May 2, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
4	4	Resources; May 8, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 8, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the inspection of certain information regarding the
11	11	production, transportation, sale, and marketing of oil and gas from
12	12	state land; imposing an administrative penalty.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 52.135, Natural Resources Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (e), and (f) and
16	16	amending Subsection (c) to read as follows:
17	17	(a-1) Not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt
18	18	of a request from the commissioner, the attorney general, or the
19	19	governor for information described by Subsection (a), a lessee
20	20	shall produce the requested information.
21	21	(a-2) A lessee who is unable to produce requested
22	22	information in the time required by Subsection (a-1) must, not
23	23	later than the 30th day after the date of receipt of a request for
24	24	the information, reply in writing to the requestor and state the
25	25	reason for the inability to provide the information in the time
26	26	required and when the information will be available. A requestor
27	27	who receives a reply under this subsection may extend the deadline
28	28	for the production of the requested information by written response
29	29	to the lessee. If the requestor does not extend the deadline, the
30	30	lessee shall produce the information not later than the later of:
31	31	(1) the fifth day after the date of receipt of a
32	32	written response from the requestor rejecting the extension; or
33	33	(2) the 60th day after the date of receipt of the
34	34	original request.
35	35	(a-3) A lessee who withholds requested information on a good
36	36	faith legal basis must, not later than the 60th day after the date
37	37	of receipt of a request for the information, provide the requestor
38	38	with a detailed explanation of the basis for withholding the
39	39	information.
40	40	(c) A [The] lessee shall have 30 days from the date of the
41	41	receipt of an [such] audit billing notice under Subsection (b) or a
42	42	notice of a penalty assessment under Subsection (e) in which to pay
43	43	the [such] audit deficiency assessment or penalty or to request a
44	44	hearing before the commissioner or the commissioner's [his]
45	45	representative for redetermination of the [such] assessment or to
46	46	challenge the assessment of the penalty. A statement of grounds
47	47	setting out in detail the lessee's reasons for disagreement with
48	48	the [such] assessment or penalty and the factual and legal grounds
49	49	on which the claim is based must be submitted by a lessee with its
50	50	request for a hearing. The [Such] hearing shall be conducted in
51	51	accordance with the rules and procedures established by the
52	52	commissioner.
53	53	(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the commissioner
54	54	may assess an administrative penalty against a lessee who fails to
55	55	produce requested information in the time required under Subsection
56	56	(a-1) or (a-2) by intentionally withholding information to which
57	57	the land office is legally entitled. The penalty may not exceed:
58	58	(1) $100 a day for each day after the deadline for
59	59	producing the information that the lessee fails to produce the
60	60	information until the 60th day after the deadline; and
61	61	(2) $1,000 a day for each day after the 60th day after
62	62	the deadline for producing the information that the lessee fails to
63	63	produce the information.
64	64	(f) The commissioner may not assess a penalty against a
65	65	lessee who withholds information under Subsection (a-3) until the
66	66	commissioner determines that the requestor is entitled to the
67	67	information.
68	68	SECTION 2. Section 52.135, Natural Resources Code, as
69	69	amended by this Act, applies only to a request for information made
70	70	under that section on or after the effective date of this Act. A
71	71	request for information made under that section before the
72	72	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
73	73	date of the request, and the former law is continued in effect for
74	74	that purpose.
75	75	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
76	76	* * * * *