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REFERENCE TITLE: oil and gas commission; fees |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026
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HB 2748 |
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Introduced by Representative Rivero
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AN ACT
Amending sections 27-513, 27-517, 27-522, 27-653 and 27-659, Arizona Revised Statutes; RELATING to the oil and gas conservation commission.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 27-513, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
27-513. Permit to drill well
Before a person desiring to may drill a well in search of oil or gas, the person shall notify the commissioner on a form prescribed by the commissioner, and shall pay a fee of twenty-five dollars for each well as determined by the commissioner in rule. Upon On receipt of notification and the fee, the commissioner shall promptly issue the person a permit to drill, unless drilling the well is contrary to law or to a rule, regulation or order of the commissioner. Drilling the well is prohibited until a permit to drill is obtained in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Sec. 2. Section 27-517, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
27-517. Hearings; reporter; fees; rules
A. Any interested person shall, by written request, have the right to have may request the commissioner to call a hearing for the purpose of taking to take action in respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the commissioner. Hearings shall be held at the time and place the commissioner directs, and any person having an interest in the subject matter of the hearing may appear and be heard. Upon On receipt of the request, the commissioner shall promptly call a hearing, and, not more than thirty days thereafter shall take action with regard to the matter as he the commissioner deems appropriate. The request for a hearing shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars as determined by the commissioner in rule.
B. The commissioner shall prescribe rules of order and procedure in hearings or other proceedings held under this article. The commissioner shall appoint a competent shorthand reporter to be present throughout all public hearings. The reporter shall be sworn by the commissioner faithfully to perform the duties of a reporter. The commissioner shall have the same control and authority over the reporter as the judge of the superior court exercises over a court reporter, and the duties of the reporter shall, insofar as applicable, be the same as those fixed by law for a court reporter.
C. As soon as possible following the hearing, the commission shall bill the person requesting the hearing for the total cost of publication for the notices of such hearing and the total cost of the court reporter's fees less the original fifty dollar fee as determined by the commissioner. The requesting party shall within ten days after receipt of the billing by the commission reimburse the commission the amount of money so monies billed or be subject to the penalties as prescribed in subsection A of section 27-527, subsection A. The money so monies collected by the commission shall not be is not subject to section 27-523 but shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, by the commission in the fund from which the expenditure was originally made.
Sec. 3. Section 27-522, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
27-522. Records
A. All rules and orders made by the commission shall be in writing and entered in full in a book kept by the commission. The book shall be a public record open to inspection at all reasonable times during office hours. A copy of any rule, order or other document on file in the office of the commission and certified by the commission shall be received in evidence in all courts of the this state with the same effect as the original.
B. Well logs, casing records, compiled data and other information shall be properly indexed and suitably recorded in the permanent records of the commission and shall be open to inspection by the public at all reasonable times during office hours. The well records of a well drilled in unproven territory shall outside of an established pool may not be subject to inspection for a period of one year after drilling is completed, at the discretion of the commission. The commission shall provide sixty days' notice to the operator before records become subject to inspection. At the operator's request, the commission shall may extend the confidential period for not more than two years from the date of the request if the operator can provide credible evidence that disclosure of the information is likely to cause harm to the operator's competitive position. The director of the department of water resources may inspect any well records at any time but shall keep confidential all information that is not subject to inspection as otherwise provided in this section.
Sec. 4. Section 27-653, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
27-653. Information; filing; confidentiality
The commission shall collect all information regarding all wells drilled in the this state for geothermal resources and necessary for the purpose of supervision of such wells. All such data shall be filed in the commission office and, upon request of the operator, shall be kept if the well is drilled outside of a proven geothermal area, the commission may keep the data confidential for a period of not more than one year after drilling is completed. On request of an operator, the commission may extend the confidential period if the operator provides credible evidence that disclosure of the information is likely to cause harm to the operator's competitive position. All such data shall also be available to the director of the department of water resources, who shall keep the information obtained confidential when such a request has been made of the commission by the operator.
Sec. 5. Section 27-659, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
27-659. Application to drill
The owner or operator of any property, before commencing the drilling of a well or entering or deepening an abandoned well, shall file with the commission an application to drill, on a form prescribed by the commission, containing such information as may be required by the commission. Such application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars per well as determined by the commissioner in rule. All monies so received by the commission shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, in the state general fund.