American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016 - 98

ConventionSection: Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners
Interim Charges
TIPRO has been sifting through more
than a couple hundred interim legislative
charges, closely monitoring those that
affect oil and gas as the 2017 session approaches, Longanecker reports.
Following Texas' 2015 session, TIPRO
notes, Speaker of the House Joe Straus,
R-San Antonio, released 150 interim

TIPRO Summer Meeting
San Antonio, Tx.
Wednesday, Aug. 17
1 p.m. Audit Committee Meeting, Hyatt
Hill Country Resort
3 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting
5:30 p.m. Welcome Reception

Thursday, Aug. 18
8 a.m. Membership Breakfast, Hyatt Hill
Country Resort
Speaker: Kathleen Hartnett White, Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment, Texas Public Policy Foundation, "Fueling Freedom: Exposing
the Mad War on Energy"
9 a.m. Opening Remarks, TIPRO Chairman
Allen Gilmer
9:30 a.m. Panel Discussion: "Strategies
for Countering Anti-Oil-and-Natural
Gas Agendas;" Russ Capper, The Energy Makers Show; Ken Cho, People
Patterns; James Hahn, Tribe Rocket
Inc.
10:45 a.m. Break
11 a.m. Panel Discussion: "The Future of
Water and Waste;" Doug Bailey, Quail
Run Services LLC; Blake Scott, Scott
Environmental Services Inc.; Anastasia
Valdes, Water Markets Inc.
Noon Keynote Luncheon
Speaker: Jody Elliott, Occidental Petroleum
1:30 p.m. Break
2 p.m. Panel Discussion: "Pay Your Fair
Share (and No More) of Property Taxes;" Mark Andrews, KE Andrews;
Jonathan M. Hyman, Gray Reed &
McGraw PC; David Leonard, Gray
Reed & McGraw PC
2:45 p.m. Texas and National Political
Outlook, Harold Cook and Ted Delisi,
Capital Tonight Show
3:30 p.m. Legislative and Federal Update,
Congressman Michael McCaul, R-Tx.,
(Invited) and State Representative Larry
Gonzales, R-Round Rock
4:30 p.m. Afternoon Break
6 p.m. Chairman's Dinner and Casino
Night
Recognition of TIPRO Outgoing Chairman Raymond Welder III
Presentation of the 2016 Mr. TIPRO Award
98 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

charges and Lieutenant Governor Dan
Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, released 93. Interim charges include
a review of oil field theft issues, how low
oil and gas prices are affecting Texas,
and a look at the potential impact of 40
newly proposed or recently passed federal
regulations that deal with oil and gas, including the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Clean Power Plan and the
agency's moves to reduce methane emissions, tighten ozone standards, and redefine
"Waters of the United States" under the
Clean Water Act.
"Oil field theft legislation passed last
session, but the governor vetoed it because
the language was too broad and could
have had unintended consequences," Longanecker reviews. "Despite the industry
downturn, oil field theft remains a significant problem. We support legislation
next session to ensure that enforcement
policies are adequate to prosecute it."
Meanwhile, during the interim, TIPRO
members have testified before the House
Energy Resources Committee on the impact of commodity prices as lawmakers
assess fiscal implications for the state
and how changes impact struggling operators, especially smaller companies
with marginal wells, which yield about
20 percent of Texas' total oil and gas
output, says Servando Esparza, manager
of government affairs.
Other issues up for discussion during
the 2017 session likely will include water
use, groundwater protection, seismicity
issues, and property tax reform, Longanecker predicts.
Last session, the legislature allocated
$4.4 million for seismic monitoring equipment and established a technical advisory
committee under the governor to analyze
the information and provide the legislature
with additional information about causes
of the state's seismic events. "We probably
are going to see additional funding allocated to the issue of seismicity next session," Longanecker forecasts. "Certainly,
additional data will be available."
A report from the technical advisory
committee is due to the legislature by
December and will include information
on the state's seismic monitoring efforts
and a review of the findings, Miller notes.
TIPRO continues to assess potential
property tax reform proposals, Longanecker indicates. Last session, property
tax relief translated into about $200 in
savings for each homestead, he says. "It
was not significant on an individual basis,

but ad valorem taxes and other property
related taxes are very important for a
number of these oil and gas areas, so ensuring assessments are proper during this
downturn is very important," he maintains.
The Texas House has focused on business tax relief, while the Senate has
championed additional property tax relief,
Miller points out, adding that TIPRO
supports both.
Further, the association will continue
to track any moves to alter facets of a bill
passed last session to protect state regulatory oversight of oil and gas activities,
following a vote in Denton, Tx., to ban
hydraulic fracturing within city limits,
Gilmer adds. "There is a lot of effort for
local control and it's good for the emotional headline," Gilmer considers. "All
these municipalities show how feckless
they are when it comes to these kinds of
issues. There is a very compelling case
for standardization."
Court Case
While legislative and political issues
remain imperative, TIPRO also is weighing
in on a key court case that the group's
members fear could have dire consequences for oil and gas operators, Miller
relates.
In Longview Energy Co. v. The Huff
Energy Fund LP, et al., TIPRO insists
that the state's 4th Court of Appeals erred
by overturning a lower court ruling that
Longview Energy had been undermined
by Huff officers who were also Longview
board members. According to a TIPRO
summary, those board members used the
information to prevent Longview from
investing in a 21,000-acre tract of land in
the Barnett Shale in a move that benefitted
Huff.
"An individual with unique knowledge
of an oil and gas company should not be
able to take advantage of information
made available in the course of work to
compete with the company," Longanecker
states.
"Critical information, such as drilling
opportunities and prospects (both nearand long-term), must be shared with an
entity's officers and directors so that the
entity can plan for the future and manage
its expenditures and development," TIPRO
writes in an amicus brief filed March 7
with the Texas Supreme Court. "The
management of a company must be able
to present and discuss potential future
prospects and activities in an environment

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016