HBA-NMO H.B. 1989 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1989
By: Hardcastle
Energy Resources
3/16/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires gas utilities to report to or gain approval from the
Texas Railroad Commission (railroad commission) for certain transactions.
These statutes were adopted to address certain problems in the natural gas
industry in the mid-1970s, and may now need revision because the
marketplace is no longer subject to the same conditions.  H.B. 1989
increases the minimum amount of a financial transaction involving a gas
utility plant which triggers a reporting requirement, and repeals a
provision that prohibits a gas utility from transferring gas rights without
prior approval of the railroad commission.          

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 102.051, Utilities Code, to increase to $1
million, from $100,000, the total consideration of a sale, acquisition, or
lease of a plant as an operating unit or system from which a gas utility is
prohibited, unless it reports the transaction to the Texas Railroad
Commission (railroad commission) within a reasonable time.  

SECTION 2.  Repealer: Section 102.054 (Approval of Conveyance of Gas
Reserve Rights), Utilities Code, which prohibits a gas utility from
selling, conveying, banking, or assigning rights to a gas reserve to a
utility or an interstate pipeline without the prior approval of the
railroad commission. 

SECTION 3.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Effective date: September 1, 1999. 

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.