HBA-DMH H.B. 735 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 735
By: King, Tracy
Civil Practices
3/19/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In the 1999 case of De Los Santos v. Coastal Oil & Gas Corp., the oil
company filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit in the Dallas Court of
Appeals.  The court ruled that the declaratory judgment lawsuit did not
need to follow the mandatory venue provisions in the Natural Resource Code.
The court allowed the lawsuit to be tried in Dallas, the location of the
oil company, instead of in Zapata County where the minerals and wells were
located.  Not requiring landowners to file an action in the county where
wells are located may offer an advantage to businesses and be a financial
burden on landowners.  House Bill 735 requires an action arising under an
oil and gas lease to be brought in a county in which all or a part of the
real property subject to the lease is located. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 735 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to require an
action arising under an oil and gas lease to be brought in a county in
which all or a part of the real property subject to the lease is located. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.