76R13069 SMH-F                           
         By Hawley                                             H.B. No. 3696
         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3696:
         By Hawley                                         C.S.H.B. No. 3696
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the approval of assignments of oil and gas leases
 1-3     covering certain state land.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 52.026, Natural Resources Code, is
 1-6     amended by amending Subsection (a) and by adding Subsection (e) to
 1-7     read as follows:
 1-8           (a)  A lessee of an area under this subchapter may transfer
 1-9     the [his] lease at any time with the prior written consent of the
1-10     commissioner.  The commissioner may not withhold the consent
1-11     unreasonably.  The commissioner may require the transferee to
1-12     demonstrate that it has the financial responsibility to properly
1-13     discharge its obligations under the lease, including the
1-14     obligations to properly plug abandoned wells, remove platforms or
1-15     pipelines, or remediate contamination at drill sites.  The
1-16     commissioner may require the transferee to post a bond or provide
1-17     other security to secure those obligations if the transferee is
1-18     unable to demonstrate such financial responsibility to the
1-19     satisfaction of the commissioner.
1-20           (e)  This section does not relieve a person from the duty to
1-21     comply with a rule adopted or order issued by the Railroad
1-22     Commission of Texas under another provision of this code.
1-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-24           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
 2-1     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 2-2     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 2-3     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 2-4     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.