An Insiders ENERGY REPORT: Texas SUNSET ADVISORY COMMISSION issues its Texas Railroad Commission Report
By Alex Mills
AUSTIN Texas (Texas Insider Report) The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers has received
the Texas Railroad Commission Sunset Report for 2016 and is carefully reviewing it. Sunset staff and RRC staff are to be commended for working together. Reports like this are time-consuming and complicated to generate. We respectfully ask our elected officials in the Legislature to please be very careful in
the consideration of any new taxes fees increased overhead costs or a transfer of regulatory duties.
We have policy operational and funding concerns on several Sunset recommendations notably issues 2 3 and 4 (hearings oil & gas monitoring and enforcement and bonding). We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with our elected officials as we review and subsequently discuss these in detail.
We would like to emphasize that the money funding the Railroad Commission Oil & Gas Division the Well Plugging Program and the Commissions Enforcement & Contested Hearing process are not typical taxpayer funds. They are special fees and monies
collected solely from the oil and gas industry.
This tax on the oil and gas industry pays for the abandoned well pluggings hearings and Oil & Gas Division operating costs. General revenue dollars are not spent to fund RRCs oil and gas regulatory oversight.
We believe that the special expertise necessary to understand and regulate the industry lies within the Railroad Commission. We are hesitant especially in these difficult times for the oil field to weaken the state regulator and re-assign duties to other less experienced entities.
We also have serious concerns about raising the cost of doing business in the state by increasing overhead through new bonding requirements.
We respectfully ask our elected officials in the Legislature to please be very careful in the consideration of any new taxes fees increased overhead costs or a transfer of regulatory duties involving the Railroad Commission due to the negative impact it may have on our Texas oil and gas industry that is already facing a drastic downturn.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers is an oil & gas trade association that represents some 3000 members. It has offices in Austin Houston Fort Worth & Wichita Falls. Alex Mills is President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
