1-1     By:  Lindsay                                          S.B. No. 1604

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;

 1-4     April 23, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 23, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to indemnity provisions in certain mineral agreements.

 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-10           SECTION 1.  Section 127.004, Civil Practice and Remedies

1-11     Code, is amended to read as follows:

1-12           Sec. 127.004.  Exclusions.  This chapter does not apply to

1-13     loss or liability for damages or an expense arising from:

1-14                 (1)  personal injury, death, or property injury that

1-15     results from radioactivity;

1-16                 (2)  property injury that results from pollution,

1-17     including cleanup and control of the pollutant;

1-18                 (3)  property injury that results from reservoir or

1-19     underground damage, including loss of oil, gas, other mineral

1-20     substance, or water or the well bore itself;

1-21                 (4)  personal injury, death, or property injury that

1-22     results from the performance of services to control a wild well to

1-23     protect the safety of the general public or to prevent depletion of

1-24     vital natural resources; [or]

1-25                 (5)  cost of control of a wild well, underground or

1-26     above the surface; or

1-27                 (6)  covenants, promises, agreements, and

1-28     understandings to indemnify made by an indemnitor having assets of

1-29     more than $25 million at the end of its last fiscal year preceding

1-30     the making of the covenant, promise, agreement or understanding.

1-31           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, with

1-32     respect to covenants, promises, agreements, and understandings made

1-33     after that date.

1-34           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-35     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-36     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-37     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-38     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-39                                  * * * * *