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79R7461 CBH-F
By: West H.B. No. 2160
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Energy Education Council; authorizing the
imposition of an assessment on producers of oil, gas, and
condensate.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 70, Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
Article 4413(47g) to read as follows:
Art. 4413(47g). TEXAS ENERGY EDUCATION COUNCIL
PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 1.01. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
(1) "Condensate" has the meaning assigned by Section
201.001, Tax Code.
(2) "First purchaser" has the meaning assigned by
Section 201.001 or 202.001, Tax Code, as applicable.
(3) "Gas" has the meaning assigned by Section 201.001,
Tax Code.
(4) "Oil" has the meaning assigned by Section 202.001,
Tax Code.
(5) "Person" includes an individual or group of
individuals and a partnership, corporation, association,
cooperative, or other legal entity.
(6) "Producer" has the meaning assigned by Section
201.001 or 202.001, Tax Code, as applicable.
PART 2. TEXAS ENERGY EDUCATION COUNCIL
Sec. 2.01. COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL. (a) The Texas Energy
Education Council is composed of 15 members.
(b) The chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas or the
chairman's designee is a member of the council and shall serve as
chair of the council.
(c) The commissioner of the Texas Education Agency is a
member of the council and serves as vice chair of the council.
(d) The presidents of The University of Texas, Texas A&M
University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Houston
shall each appoint one member to the council from their faculty. To
be eligible for appointment, a faculty member must teach courses in
petroleum engineering, geology, math, or science.
(e) The executive officer, or a person designated by the
executive officer, of each of the following organizations serves on
the council:
(1) the Texas Oil & Gas Association;
(2) the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners
Association;
(3) the Permian Basin Petroleum Association;
(4) the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers; and
(5) the Panhandle Producers and Royalty Owners
Association.
(f) The governor shall appoint four members to serve on the
council from lists of nominees provided by the organizations listed
in Subsection (e) of this section.
Sec. 2.02. TERMS; VACANCIES. (a) The members of the
council appointed under Section 2.01(f) of this article serve for
staggered six-year terms, with the terms of one or two members, as
applicable, expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
(b) A vacancy in an appointed position on the council shall
be filled for the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner
as the original appointment.
Sec. 2.03. COMPENSATION. A member of the council may not
receive compensation for service performed for the council. A
member is entitled to reimbursement for actual or necessary
expenses incurred in performing services as a member of the council
in the amount provided by the General Appropriations Act. Money
paid to a council member under this section shall be paid from the
energy education account.
PART 3. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COUNCIL
Sec. 3.01. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COUNCIL. (a) The council
shall:
(1) coordinate a program designed to:
(A) support educational activities at all levels
of public education in this state regarding the mathematic and
science skills needed for the exploration and production of oil and
gas in this state;
(B) support job training and public education
research activities regarding the exploration and production of oil
and gas in this state; and
(C) educate school children in this state in the
kindergarten through 12th grade levels and the general public in
this state on the exploration, production, refining, and
transportation of oil and gas;
(2) employ an executive director and appropriate staff
to implement the decisions and programs of the council; and
(3) implement the other provisions of this article.
(b) The council shall pay administrative expenses,
including the salaries and benefits of the executive director and
staff, from the energy education account. Annual administrative
expenses may not exceed an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount
deposited to the credit of the account that year.
PART 4. ENERGY EDUCATION ACCOUNT
Sec. 4.01. ENERGY EDUCATION ACCOUNT. (a) The energy
education account is an account in the general revenue fund. The
fund may be appropriated only to the council for the purposes of
this article.
(b) The energy education account consists of:
(1) gifts and grants;
(2) appropriations of money to the account by the
legislature; and
(3) assessments collected under Part 5 of this
article.
PART 5. ASSESSMENT
Sec. 5.01. IMPOSITION OF ASSESSMENT. (a) An assessment is
imposed on each producer of oil, gas, or condensate. The amount of
the assessment is equal to four-hundredths of one percent of the
market value of the oil, gas, or condensate produced and saved in
this state by the producer. The market value of oil, gas, or
condensate is the value of the oil, gas, or condensate at the mouth
of the well from which it is produced.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section, a
producer may not be assessed in any year an amount that exceeds
$150,000. For purposes of the limitation provided by this
subsection on assessments imposed on a producer, assessments
imposed on an affiliate or subsidiary, as defined by Article 13.02,
Texas Business Corporation Act, of a producer are considered to
have been imposed on the producer and the $150,000 limitation
applies in the aggregate as to the producer and the producer's
affiliates or subsidiaries.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this article, Chapters
201 and 202, Tax Code, apply to the assessment imposed by this
article as if the assessment were a tax imposed by those chapters.
(d) The assessment imposed by this article is not an
occupation tax, and a person who does not want to pay is entitled to
a refund as provided by Section 5.04 of this article.
(e) A first purchaser or producer, as applicable, shall
include as a separate item in any report required by Chapter 201 or
202, Tax Code, any required information relating to the assessment
imposed by this article.
Sec. 5.02. DEPOSIT OF ASSESSMENT. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (b) of this section, the comptroller shall deposit an
assessment collected under this article to the credit of the energy
education account.
(b) The comptroller shall retain a portion of an assessment
collected under this article to cover the cost of administering the
imposition and collection of the assessment. The comptroller by
rule shall specify the portion of the assessment to be retained.
Sec. 5.03. COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT. (a) The council is
responsible for taking appropriate legal action to collect any
assessment that is not paid to the comptroller. The comptroller is
not responsible for collecting any assessment that is not paid to
the comptroller.
(b) The comptroller shall report to the council any
information the comptroller obtains regarding the failure of any
person to properly pay an assessment and shall provide to the
council any documentation the comptroller may have of that failure.
Sec. 5.04. REFUND OF ASSESSMENT. (a) A person is entitled
to a refund of an assessment paid by the person during the preceding
state fiscal year if the person submits a request for a refund as
provided by this section.
(b) A request for a refund must be made to the comptroller
not later than the third calendar month following the end of the
state fiscal year for which the refund is requested. The request
must be in the form and include the information required by the
comptroller.
(c) If the assessment was paid by the producer, the producer
must submit the refund request, and any refund made shall be paid to
the producer. If the assessment was paid by a first purchaser on
behalf of the producer, the first purchaser, at the request of the
producer, shall submit a request for a refund, and any refund made
shall be paid to the first purchaser. The first purchaser shall
refund to the producer the amount refunded not later than the 60th
day after the date the first purchaser receives the refund.
(d) The council shall give notice of the right to request a
refund through:
(1) press releases;
(2) paid advertisements placed in newspapers with the
largest circulation in each county of the state; and
(3) other means the council considers appropriate.
(e) The comptroller shall determine the validity of a
request for a refund. The comptroller shall perform the
comptroller's duties under this section in a manner that minimizes,
to the extent practicable and appropriate, the burden on persons
providing information to the comptroller.
(f) If the comptroller determines that a person is entitled
to a refund, the comptroller shall refund the amount of the
assessment paid during the preceding state fiscal year, together
with interest at a rate equal to the average rate paid over the
preceding calendar year on United States treasury bills with a
12–month maturity date.
(g) The comptroller shall make refunds under this section in
the order in which the comptroller receives requests for refunds.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the
comptroller may not make refunds in a state fiscal year in an amount
that, in the aggregate, exceeds 60 percent of the total amount of
assessments collected during the preceding state fiscal year.
(h) The comptroller shall adopt rules to implement this
section and rules to suspend all assessments under Section 5.01 of
this article should funds in the energy education account be
appropriated by the legislature for any use other than those
provided by this Act.
PART 6. EXPIRATION
Sec. 6.01. EXPIRATION. This article expires September 1,
2015.
SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after receiving the lists
described by Section 2.01(f), Article 4413(47g), Revised Statutes,
as added by this Act, the governor shall appoint persons to serve on
the Texas Energy Education Council. The governor shall designate
two persons to serve on the council for terms expiring February 1,
2007, one person to serve on the council for a term expiring
February 1, 2009, and one person to serve on the council for a term
expiring February 1, 2011.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to oil, gas, and condensate
produced and saved on or after January 1, 2006. Oil, gas, and
condensate produced and saved before that date is governed by the
law in effect on the date the oil, gas, or condensate is produced
and saved, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
(b) Part 5, Article 4413(47g), Revised Statutes, as added by
this Act, takes effect January 1, 2006.