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.