Bill > HB80

This bill amends the Oil & Gas Conservation Tax Act to increase the percentage of taxes collected under that act that are distributed to the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund, a nonreverting fund in the state treasury managed by the energy, minerals and natural resources department. The bill specifies a phased increase in this distribution, starting at fifty percent in July 2027 and reaching one hundred percent by July 2029, before decreasing to fifty percent in July 2037. The bill also expands the uses of money in the fund, allowing it to be used for surveying abandoned wells and well sites, preparing plans for plugging and remediating them, and for restoration and remediation of abandoned well sites and associated production facilities, which are defined as equipment used in oil and gas operations. Importantly, the bill allows for appropriations from the fund to avoid unconstitutional deficits under specific conditions, requiring a two-thirds majority vote of both legislative houses. The bill also clarifies that the energy, minerals and natural resources department, rather than the oil conservation division, administers the fund and that expenditures are made by warrant of the secretary of finance and administration. Finally, the bill authorizes contractors to sell salvaged equipment from reclamation projects and deduct the proceeds from their costs, and allows the state to sue for indemnification for costs incurred in plugging wells or restoring sites.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legtype=B&legno=80&year=26