Bill > SB185

This bill aims to strengthen protections for unleased mineral interest owners in the forced pooling process conducted by the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission. The key provisions include: 1. Requiring the applicant for a forced pooling order to provide an affidavit declaring that they own or have secured consent from owners of over 45% of the mineral interests to be pooled, and to identify any recorded or unrecorded leases or agreements used to support this claim. 2. Allowing unleased mineral interest owners to file a protest disputing the applicant's declaration, and requiring the Commission to resolve such protests before issuing a pooling order. 3. Prohibiting the Commission from entering a pooling order that pools the mineral interests of a local government if the local government has rejected an offer to lease and the minerals are within the local government's geographic boundaries. 4. Appropriating funds to the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Law to implement the act. The bill aims to provide more transparency and protections for unleased mineral interest owners in the forced pooling process, and to respect the authority of local governments over their mineral interests.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-185