Bill Text: TX SB809 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to governmental actions affecting private property rights in certain oil and gas wells.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-03 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB809 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB809-Introduced.html

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84R6999 PMO-D
By: Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 809

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, 2015.