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2015 Texas Legislative Session Wrap Up
There were a total of 6,290 bills introduced of which 4,215 were House Bills and 2,075 were
Senate Bills which does not include resolutions and constitutional amendments.
Overview PPROA and the oil and gas industry had a really good session. The following are
bills of particular importance that passed:
The biggest issue, local city oil and gas ordinances HB 40, was signed into law. HB 40
makes it clear that the state has jurisdiction over the drilling of wells and cities may only address surface operations that are commercially reasonable.
Tax proposals by the Senate that would have hurt business were averted and the end result was
the passage of a 25% tax rate reduction in the Franchise Tax. See, HB 32.
Transportation Funding for state roads was increased by $2.5 Billion from the motor vehicle
sales tax. This will require a constitutional amendment that will be voted on in November
2015. County roads will see funding continue via Reinvestment Zones and revenues from oil
and gas produced under the county roads. In the past those revenues went to the state. See, HB
4025 and HB 2521.
Oilfield theft of crude and condensate or HB 3291 passed. This bill gave law enforcement the
ability to use the lack of Railroad Commission permits or authorizations to prosecute crude and
condensate thefts. Make sure your security people have copies!
Crude and LNG Export Resolutions passed. SCR 13 lifted the export ban on crude oil.
SCR 32 sped up permitting of LNG Export Facilities.
Tort bills that passed. Let your lawyers know about these.
HB 1692. New and Improved Forum Non Conveniens statute.
SB 735. Can’t use a person’s net worth in determining punitive damages
Missed Opportunities. Here are some bills that almost passed:
HB 1552. The Allocation Bill.
HB 2595. The Initiative and Referendum bill on local ordinances that impact private property
rights.
Wrap-up cont’d p. 7