83R5501 SMH-D
	By: Bonnen of Brazoria	H.B. No. 2166

	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, the
	repeal of provisions for the suspension of the collection 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.  Sections 81.0531(c) and (d), 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.  Sections 81.069(b) and (c), 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 11.  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 12.  Section 81.116(d), Natural Resources Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(d)  [The comptroller shall suspend collection of the fee in
	the manner provided by Section 81.067.]  The exemptions and
	reductions set out in Sections 202.052, 202.054, 202.056, 202.057,
	202.059, and 202.060, Tax Code, do not affect the fee imposed by
	this section.
	SECTION 13.  Section 81.117(d), Natural Resources Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(d)  [The comptroller shall suspend collection of the fee in
	the manner provided by Section 81.067.]  The exemptions and
	reductions set out in Sections 201.053, 201.057, 201.058, and
	202.060, Tax Code, do not affect the fee imposed by this section.
	SECTION 14.  Section 91.1135(e), Natural Resources Code, is
	transferred to Section 81.069, Natural Resources Code,
	redesignated as Section 81.069(d), 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 15.  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 16.  Section 117.012(a), 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 17.  Section 52.092(c), 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 18.  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 19.  Section 121.201(a), 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 20.  The following provisions of the Natural
	Resources Code are repealed:
	(1)  Section 81.067(b);
	(2)  the heading to Section 91.1135;
	(3)  Sections 91.1135(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g);
	and
	(4)  Subchapter I, Chapter 113.
	SECTION 21.  (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 22.  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 23.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.