83R8989 PMO-D
 
  By: Taylor H.B. No. 1496
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to governmental actions affecting private property rights
  in certain oil and gas wells.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2007.002(4), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (4)  "Private real property" means an interest in real
  property recognized by common law, including any interest in an oil
  or natural gas well or a groundwater or surface water right of any
  kind, that is not owned by the federal government, this state, or a
  political subdivision of this state.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 2007.003(a) and (b), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  This chapter applies only to the following governmental
  actions:
               (1)  the adoption or issuance of an ordinance, rule,
  regulatory requirement, resolution, policy, guideline, or similar
  measure;
               (2)  an action that imposes a physical invasion or
  requires a dedication or exaction of private real property;
               (3)  an action by a municipality that has effect in the
  extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality, excluding
  annexation, and that enacts or enforces an ordinance, rule,
  regulation, or plan that does not impose identical requirements or
  restrictions in the entire extraterritorial jurisdiction of the
  municipality; [and]
               (4)  enforcement of a governmental action listed in
  Subdivisions (1) through (3), whether the enforcement of the
  governmental action is accomplished through the use of permitting,
  citations, orders, judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, or
  other similar means; and
               (5)  an action by a political subdivision that imposes
  or enforces a limitation that has the effect of preventing or
  prohibiting the development of an oil or gas well that has been
  permitted by the Texas Railroad Commission under Chapter 91,
  Natural Resources Code.
         (b)  This chapter does not apply to the following
  governmental actions:
               (1)  an action by a municipality except as provided by
  Subsection (a)(3) or (5);
               (2)  a lawful forfeiture or seizure of contraband as
  defined by Article 59.01, Code of Criminal Procedure;
               (3)  a lawful seizure of property as evidence of a crime
  or violation of law;
               (4)  an action, including an action of a political
  subdivision, that is reasonably taken to fulfill an obligation
  mandated by federal law or an action of a political subdivision that
  is reasonably taken to fulfill an obligation mandated by state law;
               (5)  the discontinuance or modification of a program or
  regulation that provides a unilateral expectation that does not
  rise to the level of a recognized interest in private real property;
               (6)  an action taken to prohibit or restrict a
  condition or use of private real property if the governmental
  entity proves that the condition or use constitutes a public or
  private nuisance as defined by background principles of nuisance
  and property law of this state;
               (7)  an action taken out of a reasonable good faith
  belief that the action is necessary to prevent a grave and immediate
  threat to life or property;
               (8)  a formal exercise of the power of eminent domain;
               (9)  an action taken under a state mandate to prevent
  waste of oil and gas, protect correlative rights of owners of
  interests in oil or gas, or prevent pollution related to oil and gas
  activities;
               (10)  a rule or proclamation adopted for the purpose of
  regulating water safety, hunting, fishing, or control of
  nonindigenous or exotic aquatic resources;
               (11)  an action taken by a political subdivision:
                     (A)  to regulate construction in an area
  designated under law as a floodplain;
                     (B)  to regulate on-site sewage facilities;
                     (C)  under the political subdivision's 
  [subdivisions's] statutory authority to prevent waste or protect
  rights of owners of interest in groundwater; or
                     (D)  to prevent subsidence;
               (12)  the appraisal of property for purposes of ad
  valorem taxation;
               (13)  an action that:
                     (A)  is taken in response to a real and
  substantial threat to public health and safety;
                     (B)  is designed to significantly advance the
  health and safety purpose; and
                     (C)  does not impose a greater burden than is
  necessary to achieve the health and safety purpose; [or]
               (14)  an action or rulemaking undertaken by the Public
  Utility Commission of Texas to order or require the location or
  placement of telecommunications equipment owned by another party on
  the premises of a certificated local exchange company; or
               (15)  an action described by Subsection (a)(5) that
  imposes or enforces a reasonable standard established by the
  political subdivision for oil or gas wells relating to:
                     (A)  visual aesthetics;
                     (B)  noise abatement; or
                     (C)  hours of operation.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.