SWB S.B. 988 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


WAYS & MEANS
S.B. 988
By: Brown (Holzheauser)
5-9-97
Committee Report (Amended)



BACKGROUND 

Currently, crude oil production is reported for severance tax purposes at
the county level.  The current system of county-level data cannot capture
the relationship between buyers and sellers, which leaves the State
Comptroller's Office without a means to document the price paid for oil at
the point of sale.  Natural gas is reported at the individual lease level
(the level at which all primary business records are kept).  

PURPOSE

The bill requires records and reports from certain producers and
purchasers of oil to be at the lease level. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.Amends Section 202.201(a), Tax Code (Producer's Report), to
require the report to be submitted to the comptroller by a producer to
include the number of barrels of oil produced from each lease, the county
in which each lease is located from which oil was produced, certain
information on each first purchaser of oil and for each purchaser, the
amount of oil purchased from each lease, the payment received for the oil
from each first purchaser for each lease from which oil was produced, and
the lease identification number of each lease from which oil was produced.
Makes conforming changes. 

SECTION 2.Amends Section 202.202(a), Tax Code (First Purchaser's Report),
to make conforming changes. 

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1997.

SECTION 4.  Emergency Clause.



EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

Committee Amendment Number One changes the effective date of Act from
September 1, 1997 to January 1, 1998 and provides that the effective date
applies to a report due on or after that date.