HB 1369: Oil and gas; evidence of financial ability for drilling and operating wells; modifying surety amount and types; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to transition from a House floor version to a Senate floor version, incorporating amendments that establish a tiered surety system based on the number of wells an operator manages. The changes introduce specific financial thresholds for surety amounts, ranging from $25,000 for one to ten wells up to $150,000 for more than one hundred wells, and modify the phase-out timeline for Category A surety. Additionally, the Senate version adds provisions allowing operators with low plugging liability to post reduced surety amounts and clarifies requirements for new operators versus those with historical records.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include tiered financial requirements based on operational scale, distinguishing between new operators, existing operators, and those with historical compliance records.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced a flat $50,000 Category A surety requirement with a tiered Category B system where amounts increase based on the number of wells operated (1-10 wells: $25,000; 11-50 wells: $50,000; 51-100 wells: $100,000; 101+ wells: $150,000).

ELIGIBILITY

Added provisions allowing operators with low estimated plugging liability to post reduced surety amounts based on affidavits from licensed well pluggers, rather than the standard amount.

Introduced specific eligibility criteria for operators of record as of June 7, 1989, allowing those without outstanding fines or contempt citations to post Category A surety, while requiring new operators or those with fines to post Category B surety.

TIMELINE

Maintained the November 1, 2025 start date for phasing out Category A surety for new operators, but added conditions for existing operators to retain it based on good standing.

ENFORCEMENT

Added authority for the Commission to require additional surety beyond the standard amount for pollution or improper plugging incidents, up to $150,000, following notice and hearing procedures.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted from a House Committee Substitute version to the House Floor version, with the header updated to indicate it is now the official floor version. The substantive legislative content regarding oil and gas surety requirements, including the phasing out of Category A surety and the tiered surety amounts based on the number of wells, remains unchanged.

Scope change

None - the bill's scope and applicability remain the same

TECHNICAL

Header changed from 'COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE' to 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' to reflect the bill's progression through the legislative process

Page numbering and footer text updated from 'Req. No. 12970' to 'HB1369 HFLR' to match floor version formatting

Added note that 'BOLD FACE denotes Committee Amendments' to help identify changes made during committee review

Removed original page footers that referenced 'Req. No. 12970' and replaced with floor version identifiers

REQUIREMENT

Substantive provisions regarding oil and gas well surety requirements, including the $50,000 net worth threshold for Category A surety and the tiered surety amounts based on number of wells, remain identical to the committee version

Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 → House Committee Substitute · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten to replace the old proposed oversight committee substitute with a new committee substitute. The substantive policy content regarding oil and gas well surety requirements remains largely the same, but the document structure, page numbering, and formatting have been updated to conform to the official House Committee Substitute format.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the changes are primarily to the document structure and formatting.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a new version that updates the document title from 'Proposed Oversight Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' and updates the request number from 12755 to 12970.

Page numbers and request numbers were updated throughout the document to reflect the new committee substitute version.

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Committee Substitute (full committee) 1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from an enrolled version to a proposed committee substitute version, with no substantive policy changes to the actual legislative content. The core provisions regarding oil and gas surety requirements, financial thresholds, and operator categories remain identical between versions.

TECHNICAL

Document formatting changed from enrolled bill format to committee substitute format with different header information and page numbering.

Line numbering and spacing were adjusted to reflect committee markup procedures rather than final enrolled version formatting.

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · May 5, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized from its engrossed version to the enrolled version with minor formatting and authorship corrections. The substantive policy content regarding oil and gas well surety requirements remains unchanged, including the phase-out of Category A surety for new operators by November 1, 2025, and the tiered surety amounts based on the number of wells operated.

TECHNICAL

Authorship information was updated to reflect the correct sponsors (Boles and Waldron of the House, Green and Boren of the Senate) instead of the original listing.

Minor formatting and spacing adjustments were made throughout the document to align with final enrolled bill standards.

Page numbering and header formatting were corrected to match the final enrolled version format.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 28, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was amended to update formatting and clarify the requirements for surety bonds that oil and gas operators must post in Oklahoma. The changes primarily address how financial guarantees are calculated and the maximum amounts allowed, ensuring clearer language around the Commission's authority to set bond amounts based on operator history and risk.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on oil and gas operator financial guarantees, but the amendments clarify the maximum bond amounts and conditions under which operators can post reduced surety.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that the Commission can set higher Category B surety amounts based on operator performance history, with a new explicit cap of $150,000.

Updated language to specify that alternative surety amounts for operators with low plugging liability must not exceed $150,000, replacing previous ambiguous phrasing.

Revised the maximum additional surety amount the Commission can require for pollution or improper plugging cases from $100,000 to $150,000.

TECHNICAL

Updated document headers and page numbering from 'As Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect the bill's current legislative status.

Oil and gas; evidence of financial ability for drilling and operating wells; modifying surety amount and types; effective date.

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