2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 30:21 — Fees and charges of the commissioner of conservation; revisions; exceptions; collections; oil and gas regulatory fund; creation; amounts; requirements

§21.  Fees and charges of the commissioner of conservation; revisions; exceptions; collections; Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund; creation; amounts; requirements

A.  The commissioner of conservation of the office of conservation shall periodically review the fees collected by his office, and, in addition to other statutory authorization, may revise such fees pursuant to the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

B.(1)(a)  There shall be an annual fee payable to the office of conservation, in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, by oil and gas operators on capable oil wells and capable gas wells based on a tiered system to establish parity on a dollar amount between the wells.  The tiered system shall be established annually by rule on capable oil and capable gas production, including nonexempt wells reporting zero production during the annual base period, such that the amount generated does not exceed two million four hundred fifty thousand dollars for each fiscal year beginning with Fiscal Year 2002-2003. Incapable oil, stripper oil, incapable gas well gas, and incapable oil well gas shall be exempt from the fee. For the purposes of this Subsection, "capable oil" means crude oil and condensate not classified as incapable oil or stripper oil by the Department of Revenue.  "Capable gas" means natural and casinghead gas not classified as incapable gas well gas or incapable oil well gas by the Department of Revenue.

(b)  There shall be an annual fee payable to the office of conservation, in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, on Class I wells in an amount not to exceed four hundred thousand dollars for Fiscal Year 2000-2001 and thereafter.

(c)  There shall be an annual regulatory fee payable to the office of conservation, in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, on Class II wells, Class III wells, storage wells, Type A facilities, and Type B facilities in an amount not to exceed eight hundred seventy-five thousand dollars for Fiscal Year 2000-2001 and thereafter.  No fee shall be imposed on a Class II well of an operator who is also an operator of a stripper crude oil well or incapable gas well certified pursuant to R.S. 47:633 by the severance tax division of the Department of Revenue and located in the same field as such Class II well.

(d)  There shall be an application fee payable to the office of conservation, in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, by industries under the jurisdiction of the office of conservation.  The commissioner may, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, increase any application fee that is on the schedule on July 1, 2002, to an amount not in excess of eight and one-half percent above the amount charged for the fee on July 1, 2002.

(2)(a)  There is hereby established a special fund in the state treasury to be known as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund, hereafter referred to as the "fund".  After deposit in the Bond Security and Redemption Fund and after a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all the obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state that become due and payable within each fiscal year, the treasurer shall pay into the fund an amount equal to the monies generated from collection of the fees provided for in this Title or Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, any fines and civil penalties or any other provision of law relative to fees, fines, or civil penalties attributable to the office of conservation.

(b)  The monies credited to the fund shall be appropriated by the legislature and dedicated solely to the use of the office of conservation for the regulation of the oil and gas industry and other industries under the jurisdiction of the office of conservation and shall be used solely for the purposes of that program.  Any monies remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain with the fund and shall not revert to the state general fund.  All interest or earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund.  All fees and self-generated revenue remaining on deposit for the office of conservation at the end of any fiscal year shall be deposited into the fund.  The amount appropriated from the fund to the office of conservation shall be subject to appropriation by the legislature.

(c)  The provisions of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall apply to the administration, collection, and enforcement of the fees imposed in this Section, and the penalties provided by that Subtitle shall apply to the person who fails to pay or report the fee.  Proceeds from the fee, including any penalties collected in connection with the fee, shall be deposited into the fund.

C.  Nothing contained herein shall authorize the charging of inspection fees for shut-in oil wells or temporarily abandoned oil wells in stripper fields.

Acts 1989, No. 227, §1, eff. June 26, 1989; Acts 1991, No. 778, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 811, §1; Acts 1997, No. 826, §1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 47, §1, eff. April 24, 1998; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88, §1; Acts 2001, No. 260, §1; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 97, §1, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 105, §1.