Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog
Senator Dan Patrick and Speaker Joe Strauss have issued their list of interim charges for the next legislative session – issues that committees must study during the interim between sessions. Those interim charges may be found here:
SenateInterimCharges_2017_Round_1_FINAL
Charges that may be of interest to Texas land and mineral owners include:
Senate:
Committee on Property Tax Reform: study tax rollback process, operations of appraisal review boards, feasibility of replacing the property tax with sales tax or other consumption tax revenue
Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee: Monitor Texas Railroad Commission Sunset and funding
House:
Committee on Agriculture & Livestock: study the effects of declining migratory species such as the monarch butterfly and bee populations on agricultural production, evaluate the feasibility of developing an industrial hemp market
Committee on Appropriations: evaluate effectiveness of use of funds for border security operations
Committee on Energy Resources: Examine whether current statutes are adequate to encourage reactivation of non-producing oil and gas wells, evaluate the impact of frac sand mining in the Permian Basin and develop recommendations to assist counties with the impact of frac sand mining on their infrastructure, examine how state policies may facilitate investment in public infrastructure and workforce development in the Permian Basin, study adequacy of well-plugging process and funds and cleanup and removal of abandoned equipment, seismic research needs for UT Bureau of Economic Geology and response to its research findings
Committee on Land & Resource Management: study whether eminent domain statutes ensure a balance between necessary infrastructure grown and fair compensation for landowners
Committee on Natural Resources: Evaluate the status of groundwater policy in Texas, including designation of brackish groundwater production zones and emerging issues in groundwater and surface water interaction in areas of increasing competition for scarce resources
Committee on Transportation: Evaluate the impact energy exploration and production have on state and county roads and make recommendations on how to improve road quality in those areas
Committee on Ways & Means: review the property tax system