83R21485 JAM-F
	By: Keffer	H.B. No. 2571

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the inspection of certain information regarding the
	production, transportation, sale, and marketing of oil and gas from
	state land; imposing an administrative penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 52.135, Natural Resources Code, is
	amended by adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (e), and (f) and
	amending Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(a-1)  Not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt
	of a request from the commissioner, the attorney general, or the
	governor for information described by Subsection (a), a lessee
	shall produce the requested information.
	(a-2)  A lessee who is unable to produce requested
	information in the time required by Subsection (a-1) must, not
	later than the 30th day after the date of receipt of a request for
	the information, reply in writing to the requestor and state the
	reason for the inability to provide the information in the time
	required and when the information will be available. A requestor
	who receives a reply under this subsection may extend the deadline
	for the production of the requested information by written response
	to the lessee. If the requestor does not extend the deadline, the
	lessee shall produce the information not later than the later of:
	(1)  the fifth day after the date of receipt of a
	written response from the requestor rejecting the extension; or
	(2)  the 60th day after the date of receipt of the
	original request.
	(a-3)  A lessee who withholds requested information on a good
	faith legal basis must, not later than the 60th day after the date
	of receipt of a request for the information, provide the requestor
	with a detailed explanation of the basis for withholding the
	information.
	(c)  A [The] lessee shall have 30 days from the date of the
	receipt of an [such] audit billing notice under Subsection (b) or a
	notice of a penalty assessment under Subsection (e) in which to pay
	the [such] audit deficiency assessment or penalty or to request a
	hearing before the commissioner or the commissioner's [his]
	representative for redetermination of the [such] assessment or to
	challenge the assessment of the penalty. A statement of grounds
	setting out in detail the lessee's reasons for disagreement with
	the [such] assessment or penalty and the factual and legal grounds
	on which the claim is based must be submitted by a lessee with its
	request for a hearing. The [Such] hearing shall be conducted in
	accordance with the rules and procedures established by the
	commissioner.
	(e)  Except as provided by Subsection (f), the commissioner
	may assess an administrative penalty against a lessee who fails to
	produce requested information in the time required under Subsection
	(a-1) or (a-2) by intentionally withholding information to which
	the land office is legally entitled. The penalty may not exceed:
	(1)  $100 a day for each day after the deadline for
	producing the information that the lessee fails to produce the
	information until the 60th day after the deadline; and
	(2)  $1,000 a day for each day after the 60th day after
	the deadline for producing the information that the lessee fails to
	produce the information.
	(f)  The commissioner may not assess a penalty against a
	lessee who withholds information under Subsection (a-3) until the
	commissioner determines that the requestor is entitled to the
	information.
	SECTION 2.  Section 52.135, Natural Resources Code, as
	amended by this Act, applies only to a request for information made
	under that section on or after the effective date of this Act. A
	request for information made under that section before the
	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
	date of the request, and the former law is continued in effect for
	that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.