American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2019 - 124

Pausing after the governor's remarks to
TIPRO are, from left,
TIPRO President Ed
Longanecker, Texas
Governor Greg Abbott
and TIPRO Chairman
Eugene Garcia. During
his remarks, the governor praised the oil
and gas industry's contribution to economic
growth and expressed
his commitment to
hold the line against
unnecessary regulation and taxation.

away from the community in which it is
operating," Bonnen assessed.
The Road To Prosperity
Representative Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, chairman of the House Energy Resources Committee, expressed his commitment to working with other legislators
on transportation funding to improve
roads in producing areas.
"I will advocate this session for increased funding for that infrastructure,
specifically for ways to address problems
with the roads you guys use every day
that are certainly being affected by the
activity," Paddie pledged.
With early proposals that include $500
million for road upgrades, long-term solutions backed by a sustainable source of
revenue are necessary to solve the problem,
he reasoned.
Texas Railroad Commission funding,
including the agency's desire for $100
million over six years for technology upgrades, also is a major priority for the
session, Paddie reported, with about $9.8
million needed this year.
Despite the price tag, upgrading systems at the RRC will save the agency
$10 million-$15 million a year in the future, Paddie said. "That's a pretty good
investment even at $100 million, so I am
very optimistic that we are going to get it
done," he concluded.
Later, TIPRO presented Senator Robert
Nichols, R-Jacksonville, chairman of the
Senate Transportation Committee and
Vice Chair of the Senate Business and
Commerce Committee, with its 2019
Hat's Off Award for his commitment to
helping the state and industry, including
the representative's work to improve the
state's roadways.
"His ambition to support our industry
and help us with transportation infra-

structure in the Permian and Eagle Ford
is second to none," praised TIPRO Chairman Eugene Garcia during the Chairman's
Reception and Dinner.
Nichols recounted his efforts to improve
roads in producing areas and pledged to
continue the search for solutions this session. Undertakings in the past to assess
Eagle Ford area road needs and weigh
various proposals that sought to extract
the revenue for upgrades from oil and
gas companies led Nichols to conclude
that the industry already paid its fair
share to fix and maintain roadways, he
recounted.
"When that well comes into production
in that county, that property value increases," he pointed out. "You are paying
a large amount to that county. We found
that the counties were not spending the
money on that road. They kept lowering
property taxes-which sounded like a
good, Republican approach-but in the
meantime they let the infrastructure go
to pot."
He recounted passage of Proposition
1 in 2013 for road upgrades and legislation-which was later ruled to be unconstitutional-to set aside funds in energy
sector zones. Legislation passed last session to rectify portions of that, and TxDOT
created a fund for energy sector roads,
with $1.8 billion currently going to the
Permian Basin and funds also earmarked
for the Eagle Ford, Nichols said.
Updated Plan
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar urged
TIPRO members to take part in the Texas
Conservation Plan that had been created
to preserve the dunes sagebrush lizard in
the Permian Basin. The document recently
was updated to reflect changes made necessary by the development of mines in
the region to provide sand for hydraulic

124 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

fracturing, he said.
"I ask you to participate in the plan,"
Hegar advised. "It is critical for us to be
able to shore up and make sure we have
a strong plan with good participation."
Hegar pointed to Texas' position as
the world's 10th largest economy and its
391,000 new jobs in 2018.
"During the last 18 months, it is almost
as if we have been through an economic
boom in this state," he said. "Part of that
is thanks to your industry."
He cited as an example the volume of
the state's imports and exports. According
to Hegar, that totaled $650 billion in
value, which exceeded that of any other
state, and exceeded the combined total
of second- and third-place California and
Washington State.
Industry Impact
During the final day of TIPRO's convention, members of the association participated in TIPRO's Capitol Call-Up.
Equipped with data from TIPRO's
2019 State of Energy Report, as well as
specific oil and natural gas production
information for each legislative district,
TIPRO members from across the state
visited with several dozen legislative offices to reinforce the positive economic
contributions of the Texas oil and gas industry and the importance of maintaining
a favorable business environment by supporting sound, science-based policies
throughout the legislative process.
During the TIPRO Capitol Call-Up, the
association notes, members also discussed
the importance of supporting a well-funded
and functioning regulatory system for oil
and natural gas in Texas.
❒

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, reviews
legislative initiatives that include the possibility of lawmakers setting aside funds
for transportation projects in oil and gas
producing regions experiencing congestion and deteriorating road conditions.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2019

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