By: Lucio S.B. No. 1407
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 Amending Sec. 201.507 of the State Taxation Code, and relating to
1-2 temporary exemptions of certain high cost gas.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 201.507(e), State Taxation Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 (e) The operator of a proposed or existing gas well,
1-7 including a gas well that has not been completed, or the operator
1-8 of any proposed or existing oil or gas well within a commission
1-9 approved co-production project, may apply to the commission for
1-10 certification that the well produces or will produce high-cost gas.
1-11 Such application, if seeking certification as high-cost gas
1-12 according to Subsection (a)(2)(A), may be made at any time [must be
1-13 made in writing no later than the 180th day] after the first day of
1-14 production. The application may be made but is not required to be
1-15 made concurrently with a request for a determination that gas
1-16 produced from the well is high-cost natural gas for purposes of the
1-17 Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. Section 3301 et seq.) or
1-18 with a request for commission approval of a co-production project.
1-19 The commission may require an applicant to provide the commission
1-20 with any relevant information required to administer this section.
1-21 For purposes of this section, a determination that gas is high-cost
2-1 natural gas according to Subsection (a)(2)(A) or a determination
2-2 that gas is produced from within a commission approved
2-3 co-production project is a certification that the gas is high-cost
2-4 gas for purposes of this section, and in that event additional
2-5 certification is not required to qualify for the exemption or tax
2-6 reduction provided by this section.
2-7 SECTION 2. Section 201.057(f) is amended to read as follows:
2-8 (f) To qualify for the exemption or tax reduction provided
2-9 by this section, the person responsible for paying the tax must
2-10 apply to the comptroller. The application must contain the
2-11 certification of the commission that the well produces high-cost
2-12 gas and, if the application is for a well spudded or completed
2-13 after September 1, 1995, must contain a report of drilling and
2-14 completion costs incurred for each well on a form and in the detail
2-15 as determined by the comptroller. To obtain the maximum tax
2-16 exemption or tax reduction an [An] application to the comptroller
2-17 for certification according to Subsection (a)(2)(A) may not be
2-18 filed after the 180th day after the first day of production or 45
2-19 days after the date of approval or certification by the Commission,
2-20 whichever is later. If the application is filed after the 180th
2-21 day after the first day of production or 45 days after the date of
2-22 approval or certification by the Commission, whichever is later,
2-23 then the tax exemption or tax reduction shall be reduced by an
2-24 amount equal to 10% of the tax exemption or tax reduction for the
2-25 period of time between the 180th day after the first day of
3-1 production and the day on which the application is filed with the
3-2 comptroller. An application to the comptroller for certification
3-3 according to Subsection (a)(2)(B) may not be filed before January
3-4 1, 1990, or after December 31, 1998. The comptroller shall approve
3-5 the application of a person who demonstrates that the gas is
3-6 eligible for the exemption or tax reduction. The comptroller may
3-7 require a person applying for the exemption or tax reduction to
3-8 provide any relevant information in the person's monthly report
3-9 that the comptroller considers necessary to administer this
3-10 section. The commission shall notify the comptroller in writing
3-11 immediately if it determines that an oil or gas well previously
3-12 certified as producing high-cost gas does not produce high-cost gas
3-13 or if it takes any action or discovers any information that affects
3-14 the eligibility of gas for an exemption or tax reduction under this
3-15 section.
3-16 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-21 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-22 passage, and it is so enacted.