By: Nichols, Huffman S.B. No. 212
      Patrick
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the continuation, functions, and name of the Railroad
  Commission of Texas; providing for the imposition of fees and the
  elimination of a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 81.  TEXAS ENERGY RESOURCES [RAILROAD] COMMISSION [OF
  TEXAS]
         SECTION 2.  Section 81.001, Natural Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Energy Resources
  [Railroad] Commission [of Texas].
               (2)  "Commissioner" means any member of the Texas
  Energy Resources [Railroad] Commission [of Texas].
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 81.003 to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.003.  TEXAS ENERGY RESOURCES COMMISSION. (a)  The
  Railroad Commission of Texas is renamed the Texas Energy Resources
  Commission.
         (b)  A reference in law to:
               (1)  the Railroad Commission of Texas means the Texas
  Energy Resources Commission; and
               (2)  a railroad commissioner or a member of the
  Railroad Commission of Texas means a member of the Texas Energy
  Resources Commission.
         SECTION 4.  Section 81.01001, Natural Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.01001.  SUNSET PROVISION.  The Texas Energy
  Resources [Railroad] Commission [of Texas] is subject to Chapter
  325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act).  Unless continued in
  existence as provided by that chapter, the commission is abolished
  September 1, 2023 [2013].
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Sections 81.010015, 81.010045, and
  81.010046 to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.010015.  ELECTION AND TERMS OF COMMISSIONERS;
  VACANCIES. (a)  The commission is composed of three commissioners
  elected at the general election for state and county officers.
         (b)  Commissioners serve staggered terms of six years, with
  the term of one commissioner expiring December 31 of each
  even-numbered year.
         (c)  The governor shall appoint a person to fill a vacancy on
  the commission until the next general election.
         Sec. 81.010045.  CERTAIN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
  RESTRICTED. (a)  In this section, "political committee" and
  "political contribution" have the meanings assigned by Section
  251.001, Election Code.
         (b)  A commissioner may not knowingly accept a political
  contribution given or offered with the intention that it be used in
  connection with a campaign for or the holding of any elective
  office, including the office of commissioner, except during the
  period:
               (1)  beginning 17 months before the date of the next
  general election at which the commissioner's office is filled; and
               (2)  ending on the 30th day after the date of that
  election.
         (c)  A person other than a commissioner may not knowingly
  accept a political contribution given or offered with the intention
  that it be used in connection with a campaign for the office of
  commissioner, except:
               (1)  during the period:
                     (A)  beginning 17 months before the date of the
  next general election at which any commissioner's office is filled;
  and
                     (B)  ending on the 30th day after the date of that
  election; or
               (2)  during the period beginning on the date a vacancy
  in the office of commissioner occurs and ending on the date that
  vacancy is filled.
         (d)  A commissioner may not knowingly accept a political
  contribution, and shall refuse a political contribution that is
  received, from a party in a contested case before the commission or
  a political committee affiliated with such a party during the
  period:
               (1)  beginning on the date notice of the hearing in the
  contested case is given; and
               (2)  ending on:
                     (A)  the 30th day after the date the decision in
  the contested case is rendered; or
                     (B)  if a request for rehearing is filed:
                           (i)  the date the request is denied; or
                           (ii)  the 30th day after the date the
  decision after rehearing is rendered.
         (e)  A commissioner shall return a political contribution
  that is received and refused under Subsection (d) not later than the
  30th day after the date the commissioner received the contribution.
         (f)  The commission shall adopt all rules necessary to
  implement Subsections (d) and (e), including rules that:
               (1)  direct the commission to maintain a list of the
  contested cases before the commission and the parties to each case
  in order to aid the commissioners in complying with those
  subsections; and
               (2)  ensure that each notice of a hearing in a contested
  case that is issued by the commission or a commissioner contains
  information about the political contributions prohibited under
  Subsection (d).
         Sec. 81.010046.  AUTOMATIC RESIGNATION. If a person who is a
  member of the commission announces the person's candidacy, or in
  fact becomes a candidate, in any general, special, or primary
  election for any elective office other than the office of
  commissioner at any time when the unexpired term of the office then
  held by the person exceeds 18 months, that announcement or that
  candidacy constitutes an automatic resignation of the office of
  commissioner.
         SECTION 6.  Section 81.01005, Natural Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.01005.  NAME AND SEAL. (a)  The commissioners are
  known collectively as the "Texas Energy Resources [Railroad]
  Commission [of Texas]."
         (b)  The seal of the commission contains a star of five
  points with the words "Texas Energy Resources [Railroad] Commission
  [of Texas]" engraved on it.
         SECTION 7.  The heading to Section 81.0521, Natural
  Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.0521.  FEE FOR APPLICATION FOR EXCEPTION TO
  [RAILROAD] COMMISSION RULE.
         SECTION 8.  Subsections (c) and (d), Section 81.0531,
  Natural Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (c)  In determining the amount of the penalty, the commission
  shall consider the [permittee's history of previous violations, the
  seriousness of the violation, any hazard to the health or safety of
  the public, and the demonstrated good faith of the person charged.
  In determining the amount of the penalty for a violation of a
  provision of this title or a rule, order, license, permit, or
  certificate that relates to pipeline safety, the commission shall
  consider the] guidelines adopted under Subsection (d).
         (d)  The commission [by rule] shall adopt guidelines to be
  used in determining the amount of the penalty. The commission shall
  provide an opportunity for public input on the guidelines [for a
  violation of a provision of this title or a rule, order, license,
  permit, or certificate that relates to pipeline safety]. The
  guidelines must [shall] include a penalty calculation worksheet
  that specifies the typical penalty for certain violations,
  circumstances justifying enhancement of a penalty and the amount of
  the enhancement, and circumstances justifying a reduction in a
  penalty and the amount of the reduction. The guidelines must
  provide for different penalties for different violations based on
  the seriousness of the violation and any hazard to the health or
  safety of the public resulting from the violation. The guidelines
  must [shall] take into account:
               (1)  the permittee's history of previous violations,
  including the number of previous violations;
               (2)  the seriousness of the violation and of any
  pollution resulting from the violation;
               (3)  any hazard to the health or safety of the public;
               (4)  the degree of culpability;
               (5)  the demonstrated good faith of the person charged;
  [and]
               (6)  the number of times the permittee's certificate of
  compliance issued under Subchapter P, Chapter 91, has been
  canceled; and
               (7)  any other factor the commission considers
  relevant.
         SECTION 9.  Subchapter C, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Sections 81.0645, 81.065, and 81.066 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 81.0645.  EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS. The commission by
  rule shall develop a policy to prohibit an ex parte communication
  between a hearings examiner and a commissioner or between a
  hearings examiner and a member of the technical staff of the
  commission who has participated in a hearing. The policy must
  prohibit a commissioner from communicating with a hearings examiner
  other than in a formal public hearing.
         Sec. 81.065.  NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
  RESOLUTION POLICY. (a)  The commission shall develop and implement
  a policy to encourage the use of:
               (1)  negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
  2008, Government Code, for the adoption of commission rules; and
               (2)  appropriate alternative dispute resolution
  procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
  resolution of internal and external disputes under the commission's
  jurisdiction.
         (b)  The commission's procedures relating to alternative
  dispute resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any
  model guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative
  Hearings for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state
  agencies.
         (c)  The commission shall:
               (1)  coordinate the implementation of the policy
  adopted under Subsection (a);
               (2)  provide training as needed to implement the
  procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute
  resolution; and
               (3)  collect information concerning the effectiveness
  of those procedures.
         Sec. 81.066.  ENFORCEMENT POLICY. (a)  The commission shall
  adopt an enforcement policy to guide the employees of the
  commission in evaluating violations of the provisions of this title
  that pertain to safety or the prevention or control of pollution or
  the provisions of a rule, order, license, permit, or certificate
  that pertains to safety or the prevention or control of pollution
  and is issued under this title.
         (b)  The enforcement policy adopted under this section must
  include:
               (1)  a specific process for classifying violations
  based on:
                     (A)  the seriousness of any pollution resulting
  from the violation; and
                     (B)  any hazard to the health or safety of the
  public; and
               (2)  standards to provide guidance to commission
  employees on which violations may be dismissed once the permittee
  comes into compliance and which violations must be forwarded for
  enforcement.
         (c)  The standards adopted under Subsection (b)(2) must
  require a commission employee to take into account the permittee's
  history of previous violations in determining whether to dismiss a
  violation once the permittee comes into compliance or forward the
  violation for enforcement.
         SECTION 10.  Subsection (b), Section 81.067, Natural
  Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission shall certify to the comptroller the date
  on which the balance in the fund equals or exceeds $30 [$20]
  million.  The oil-field cleanup regulatory fees on oil and gas shall
  not be collected or required to be paid on or after the first day of
  the second month following the certification, except that the
  comptroller shall resume collecting the fees on receipt of a
  commission certification that the fund has fallen below $25 [$10]
  million.  The comptroller shall continue collecting the fees until
  collections are again suspended in the manner provided by this
  subsection.
         SECTION 11.  Section 81.068, Natural Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.068.  PURPOSES [PURPOSE] OF OIL AND GAS REGULATION
  AND CLEANUP FUND.  Money in the oil and gas regulation and cleanup
  fund may be used by the commission or its employees or agents for
  any purpose related to the regulation of oil and gas development,
  including oil and gas monitoring and inspections, oil and gas
  remediation, and oil and gas well plugging, alternative fuels
  programs under Section 81.0681, public information and services
  related to those activities, and administrative costs and state
  benefits for personnel involved in those activities.
         SECTION 12.  Subchapter C, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 81.0681 to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.0681.  ALTERNATIVE FUELS PROGRAMS. (a)  The
  commission may adopt all necessary rules relating to activities
  regarding the use of alternative fuels that are or have the
  potential to be effective in improving the air quality, energy
  security, or economy of this state.
         (b)  The commission may use the oil and gas regulation and
  cleanup fund to pay for activities relating to the use of
  alternative fuels, including direct and indirect costs relating to:
               (1)  researching all possible uses of liquefied
  petroleum gas and natural gas as alternative fuels;
               (2)  researching, developing, and implementing
  marketing, advertising, and informational programs relating to
  alternative fuels to make alternative fuels more understandable and
  readily available to consumers;
               (3)  developing and implementing conservation and
  distribution plans to minimize the frequency and severity of
  disruptions in the supply of alternative fuels;
               (4)  developing a public information plan that will
  provide advisory services relating to alternative fuels to
  consumers;
               (5)  developing voluntary participation plans to
  promote the use of alternative fuels by federal, state, and local
  agencies; and
               (6)  other functions the commission determines are
  necessary to add a program established by the commission for the
  purpose of promoting the use of liquefied petroleum gas, natural
  gas, or other alternative fuels.
         SECTION 13.  Subsections (b) and (c), Section 81.069,
  Natural Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission shall provide to the Legislative Budget
  Board and post on the commission's Internet website quarterly
  reports [to the Legislative Budget Board] that include:
               (1)  the following information with respect to the
  period since the last report was provided as well as cumulatively:
                     (A)  the amount of money deposited in the oil and
  gas regulation and cleanup fund;
                     (B)  the amount of money spent from the fund for
  the purposes described by Subsection (a);
                     (C)  the balance of the fund; and
                     (D)  the commission's progress in meeting the
  quarterly performance goals established under Subsection (a) and,
  if the number of orphaned wells plugged with state-managed funds,
  abandoned sites investigated, assessed, or cleaned up with state
  funds, or surface locations remediated is at least five percent
  less than the number projected in the applicable goal established
  under Subsection (a), an explanation of the reason for the
  variance; and
               (2)  any additional information or data requested in
  writing by the Legislative Budget Board.
         (c)  The commission shall submit to the legislature and make
  available to the public, including by posting on the commission's
  Internet website, annually, a report that reviews the extent to
  which money provided under Section 81.067 has enabled the
  commission to better protect the environment through oil-field
  cleanup activities.  The report must include:
               (1)  the performance goals established under
  Subsection (a) for that state fiscal year, the commission's
  progress in meeting those performance goals, and, if the number of
  orphaned wells plugged with state-managed funds, abandoned sites
  investigated, assessed, or cleaned up with state funds, or surface
  locations remediated is at least five percent less than the number
  projected in the applicable goal established under Subsection (a),
  an explanation of the reason for the variance;
               (2)  the number of orphaned wells plugged with
  state-managed funds, by region;
               (3)  the number of wells orphaned, by region;
               (4)  the number of inactive wells not currently in
  compliance with commission rules, by region;
               (5)  the status of enforcement proceedings for all
  wells in violation of commission rules and the period during which
  the wells have been in violation, by region in which the wells are
  located;
               (6)  the number of surface locations remediated, by
  region;
               (7)  a detailed accounting of expenditures of money in
  the fund for oil-field cleanup activities, including expenditures
  for plugging of orphaned wells, investigation, assessment, and
  cleaning up of abandoned sites, and remediation of surface
  locations;
               (8)  the method by which the commission sets priorities
  by which it determines the order in which orphaned wells are
  plugged;
               (9)  a projection of the amount of money needed for the
  next biennium for plugging orphaned wells, investigating,
  assessing, and cleaning up abandoned sites, and remediating surface
  locations; and
               (10)  the number of sites successfully remediated under
  the voluntary cleanup program under Subchapter O, Chapter 91, by
  region.
         SECTION 14.  Subchapter C, Chapter 81, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 81.071 to read as follows:
         Sec. 81.071.  PIPELINE SAFETY AND REGULATORY FEES. (a)  The
  commission by rule may establish pipeline safety and regulatory
  fees to be assessed for permits or registrations for pipelines
  under the jurisdiction of the commission's pipeline safety and
  regulatory program.  The fees must be in amounts that in the
  aggregate are sufficient to support all pipeline safety and
  regulatory program costs, including:
               (1)  permitting or registration costs;
               (2)  administrative costs; and
               (3)  costs of employee salaries and benefits.
         (b)  The commission by rule must establish the method or
  methods by which the fees will be calculated and assessed so that
  fee amounts will reflect the time spent and costs incurred to
  perform the regulatory work associated with permitting or
  registering pipelines, the effects of required fees on operators of
  all sizes, and other factors the commission determines are
  important to the fair imposition of the fees. The commission may
  base the fees on any factor the commission considers necessary to
  efficiently and fairly recover the pipeline safety and regulatory
  program's costs, including:
               (1)  the length of the pipeline;
               (2)  the number of new permits, permit renewals, or
  permit amendments; or
               (3)  the number of pipeline systems.
         (c)  The commission by rule may establish a reasonable late
  payment penalty for a fee charged under this section.
         (d)  The authority provided by this section is in addition to
  the authority provided by Section 121.211, Utilities Code, and the
  commission shall consider any fees assessed under that section in
  establishing the fees to be assessed under this section.
         SECTION 15.  Subsection (e), Section 91.1135, Natural
  Resources Code, is transferred to Section 81.069, Natural Resources
  Code, redesignated as Subsection (d), Section 81.069, Natural
  Resources Code, and amended to read as follows:
         (d) [(e)]  The commission shall provide to the Legislative
  Budget Board and post on the commission's Internet website
  quarterly reports [to the committee and the Legislative Budget
  Board] that include[:
               [(1)]  the following information with respect to the
  period since the last report was provided as well as cumulatively:
               (1) [(A)]  the amount of money deposited in the oil and
  gas regulation and [oil-field] cleanup fund;
               (2) [(B)]  the amount of money spent from the fund;
               (3) [(C)]  the balance of the fund;
               (4) [(D)]  the number of wells plugged with money from
  the fund;
               (5) [(E)]  the number of sites remediated with money
  from the fund; and
               (6) [(F)]  the number of wells abandoned[; and
               [(2)     any additional information or data requested in
  writing by the committee].
         SECTION 16.  Subchapter B, Chapter 102, Natural Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 102.0165 to read as follows:
         Sec. 102.0165.  LOCATION OF HEARING. (a)  At the request of
  an interested party and with the consent of each interested party,
  the commission may hold the hearing on the application in person or
  by telephone at a location in the vicinity of the proposed unit.
         (b)  The commission may contract with another state agency to
  hold hearings on applications for pooling of interests into a unit
  under the provisions of this chapter in person or by telephone at
  field offices of that agency.
         SECTION 17.  Subsection (a), Section 117.012, Natural
  Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission shall adopt rules that include:
               (1)  safety standards for and practices applicable to
  the intrastate transportation of hazardous liquids or carbon
  dioxide by pipeline and intrastate hazardous liquid or carbon
  dioxide pipeline facilities; and
               (2)  [, including] safety standards related to the
  prevention of damage to interstate and intrastate hazardous liquid
  or carbon dioxide pipeline facilities [such a facility] resulting
  from the movement of earth by a person in the vicinity of such a
  [the] facility, other than movement by tillage that does not exceed
  a depth of 16 inches.
         SECTION 18.  Subsection (c), Section 52.092, Election Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  Statewide offices of the state government shall be
  listed in the following order:
               (1)  governor;
               (2)  lieutenant governor;
               (3)  attorney general;
               (4)  comptroller of public accounts;
               (5)  commissioner of the General Land Office;
               (6)  commissioner of agriculture;
               (7)  energy resources [railroad] commissioner;
               (8)  chief justice, supreme court;
               (9)  justice, supreme court;
               (10)  presiding judge, court of criminal appeals;
               (11)  judge, court of criminal appeals.
         SECTION 19.  Section 756.126, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 756.126.  SAFETY STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES. The
  Texas Energy Resources [Railroad] Commission [of Texas] shall adopt
  and enforce safety standards and best practices, including those
  described by 49 U.S.C. Section 6105 et seq., relating to the
  prevention of damage by a person to a facility, including an
  interstate or intrastate pipeline facility, under the jurisdiction
  of the commission.
         SECTION 20.  Subsection (a), Section 121.201, Utilities
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The railroad commission may:
               (1)  by rule prescribe or adopt safety standards for
  the transportation of gas and for gas pipeline facilities,
  including safety standards related to the prevention of damage to
  an interstate or intrastate gas pipeline [such a] facility
  resulting from the movement of earth by a person in the vicinity of
  the facility, other than movement by tillage that does not exceed a
  depth of 16 inches;
               (2)  by rule require an operator that does not file
  operator organization information under Section 91.142, Natural
  Resources Code, to provide the information to the commission in the
  form of an application;
               (3)  by rule require record maintenance and reports;
               (4)  inspect records and facilities to determine
  compliance with safety standards prescribed or adopted under
  Subdivision (1);
               (5)  make certifications and reports from time to time;
               (6)  seek designation by the United States secretary of
  transportation as an agent to conduct safety inspections of
  interstate gas pipeline facilities located in this state; and
               (7)  by rule take any other requisite action in
  accordance with 49 U.S.C. Section 60101 et seq., or a succeeding
  law.
         SECTION 21.  The following provisions of the Natural
  Resources Code are repealed:
               (1)  the heading to Section 91.1135;
               (2)  Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g),
  Section 91.1135; and
               (3)  Subchapter I, Chapter 113.
         SECTION 22.  (a)  On the effective date of this Act:
               (1)  the alternative fuels research and education fund
  is abolished;
               (2)  any money remaining in the alternative fuels
  research and education fund is transferred to the undedicated
  portion of the general revenue fund;
               (3)  any claim against the alternative fuels research
  and education fund is transferred to the undedicated portion of the
  general revenue fund; and
               (4)  any amount required to be deposited to the credit
  of the alternative fuels research and education fund shall be
  deposited to the credit of the undedicated portion of the general
  revenue fund.
         (b)  Any money transferred from the alternative fuels
  research and education fund to the undedicated portion of the
  general revenue fund that was deposited in the alternative fuels
  research and education fund as a gift, grant, or other form of
  assistance under former Subchapter I, Chapter 113, Natural
  Resources Code, and is encumbered by the specific terms of the gift,
  grant, or other form of assistance may be spent only in accordance
  with the terms of the gift, grant, or other form of assistance.  
  Subchapter I, Chapter 113, Natural Resources Code, is continued in
  effect for the limited purpose of administering this subsection.
         SECTION 23.  On the effective date of this Act, the name of
  the Railroad Commission of Texas is changed to the Texas Energy
  Resources Commission.  The change of the agency's name does not
  affect:
               (1)  the agency's powers, duties, rights, or
  obligations;
               (2)  the agency's personnel, equipment, data,
  documents, facilities, contracts, items, other property,
  appropriations, rules, or decisions;
               (3)  a proceeding of or involving the agency under the
  name of the Railroad Commission of Texas; or
               (4)  the terms of the chairman or other members of the
  governing body of the agency.
         SECTION 24.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.