Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
KP-0085
| Tex. Att'y Gen. | Jul 2, 2016Background
- Before 2015, Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 81.111 levied a tax of 3/16 of one cent per barrel on crude petroleum produced in Texas; related subsections prescribed disposition and use of proceeds.
- S.B. 757 (enacted May 22, 2015) expressly repealed Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 81.111–81.114 and removed references to that tax from § 81.116; it preserved collection/enforcement for liabilities accrued before its effective date.
- H.B. 7 (enacted May 29, 2015) amended § 81.112 to state, without reenacting the levy, that "the tax shall be deposited in the oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund."
- The Railroad Commission (via its predecessor) asked whether the tax remains in effect given the two enactments in the same legislative session.
- Requestor relied on contemporaneous bill language and legislative history suggesting the Legislature intended the tax to continue and be dedicated to the cleanup fund.
- The Attorney General analyzed whether the later amendment could revive or preserve a tax that had been repealed earlier in the same session.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the crude oil production tax remains in effect after S.B. 757 repealed the levy but H.B. 7 amended the disposition provision to dedicate "the tax" to a cleanup fund | H.B. 7’s post‑repeal amendment and surrounding legislative drafting show legislative intent to keep the tax and place proceeds into the oil & gas regulation and cleanup fund | S.B. 757 repealed the statutory levy; H.B. 7 does not recreate or levy the tax; an amendment cannot revive a repealed statute | The repeal of § 81.111 eliminated the authority to levy the tax; because the levy was not reenacted, the tax does not remain in effect after repeal |
Key Cases Cited
- Dutcher v. Owens, 647 S.W.2d 948 (Tex. 1983) (courts will not rely on proposed-but-uneacted legislation as evidence of legislative intent)
- Nat'l Liab. & Fire Ins. Co. v. Allen, 15 S.W.3d 525 (Tex. 2000) (courts do not look to extraneous matters for an intent the statute does not state)
- Willaby v. State, 698 S.W.2d 473 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1985, no writ) (an amendment referring to a repealed statute does not revive the repealed statute)
Summary: Because the Legislature repealed the statutory authority to levy the crude petroleum production tax and did not reenact that authority, the tax formerly imposed by § 81.111 ceased to be in effect after the repeal's effective date.