Oklahoma Senate Bill 809 (2015)
| Oklahoma Senate Bill 809 | |
 | |
| Legislature: | Oklahoma State Legislature |
| Text: | SB 809 |
| Sponsor(s): | Senators Brian Bingman (R-12) and Jeff Hickman (R-58) |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced: | February 2, 2015 |
| State house: | April 22, 2015 |
| State senate: | March 11, 2015 |
| Governor: | Gov. Mary Fallin (R) |
| Signed: | May 29, 2015 |
| Legal environment | |
| State law: | Local ballot measures |
| Code: | Oklahoma State Statutes |
| Section: | Title 52, Section 137 |
Oklahoma Senate Bill 809, which prohibited cities and counties from regulating the oil and gas industry, was introduced by Senators Brian Bingman (R-12) and Jeff Hickman (R-58) on February 2, 2015. It was approved in the Oklahoma State Senate on March 11, 2015, in a vote of 33-13. In the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the bill was approved on April 22, 2015, in a vote of 64-32. In the house, all of the Democrat representatives voted "no" on SB 809. In the senate, one Democrat voted "yes." Several Republicans voted "no" in each branch. Gov. Mary Fallin (R) signed SB 809 into law on May 29, 2015.[1]
A similar bill, House Bill 40, was passed in Texas in 2015 as well. Both House Bill 40 in Texas and this bill were, in part, a response to the voter approval of a local fracking ban in Denton, Texas.
Background
This bill was enacted while the city council of Stillwater discussed a set of city regulations on oil and gas drilling. SB 809 was designed to prevent the enactment and enforcement of such proposed ordinances.[2]
Provisions
Senate Bill 809 prohibited local regulations of the oil and gas industry, with exceptions for "reasonable" provisions concerning road use, traffic, noise, odors and the health, safety and welfare of residents.[1]
Text of bill
The full text of the section added to the Oklahoma Statutes is shown below:[3]
| “ |
A municipality, county or other political subdivision may enact reasonable ordinances, rules and regulations concerning road use, traffic, noise and odors incidental to oil and gas operations within its boundaries, provided such ordinances, rules and regulations are not inconsistent with any regulation established by Title 52 of the ENR. Oklahoma Statutes or the Corporation Commission. A municipality, county or other political subdivision may also establish reasonable setbacks and fencing requirements for oil and gas well site locations as are reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens but may not effectively prohibit or ban any oil and gas operations, including oil and gas exploration, drilling, fracture stimulation, completion, production, maintenance, plugging and abandonment, produced water disposal, secondary recovery operations, flow and gathering lines or pipeline infrastructure. All other regulations of oil and gas operations shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Corporation Commission. Provided, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a municipality, county or other political subdivision may enact reasonable ordinances, rules and regulations concerning development of areas within its boundaries which have been or may be delineated as a one-hundred-year floodplain but only to the minimum extent necessary to maintain National Flood Insurance Program eligibility.[4] |
” |
Supporters and sponsors
Senators Brian Bingman (R-12) and Jeff Hickman (R-58) sponsored SB 809. Governor Fallin supported the law. Fallin and other supporters argued that SB 809 was necessary to prevent a “patchwork of inconsistent municipal regulations across the state.”[1][2]
Fallin argued:
| “ |
Corporation Commissioners are elected by the people of Oklahoma to regulate the oil and gas industry. They are best equipped to make decisions about drilling and its effect on seismic activity, the environment and other sensitive issues. We need to let these experts do their jobs. The alternative is to pursue a patchwork of regulations that, in some cases, could arbitrarily ban energy exploration and damage the state’s largest industry, largest employers and largest taxpayers.[4] |
” |
| —Gov. Mary Fallin (R)[2] | ||
The Oklahoma State Chamber also endorsed Senate Bill 809. Arnella Karges, vice president of government affairs for the chamber, said, “We’ve seen what happens when a city like Denton, Texas, sends the wrong message to a vital industry by enacting ordinances banning certain activities within city limits. This bill protects Oklahoma’s leadership role in the energy sector while providing necessary public safety protections at the local level.”[5]
Chad Warmington, president of the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, stated that SB 809 was the most essential energy legislation passed in Oklahoma in 2015. Warmington said, “This bill was a good compromise for all involved. It maintains the Corporation Commission’s role in regulating oil and gas activities, without limiting cities’ ability to protect their residents.”[2]
Opposition
The Oklahoma Municipal League opposed Senate Bill 809. In it's legislative update, the league argued that drilling and fracking should be overseen at the city level to ensure the most precise representation of the residents who would be affected directly by the oil and gas industry operations. The city advocacy organization also claimed that SB 809 was an an overreaction to the anti-fracking initiative approved in Denton, Texas, in 2014. The league stated, "Despite there being no attempts by any cities in Oklahoma to ban fracking, the action by the Legislature ensures that this will not happen.”[2]
Similar legislation
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Open States, "Oklahoma Senate Bill 809 (2015)," accessed December 11, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Oklahoman, "Gov. Mary Fallin signs bill preventing Oklahoma cities from enacting drilling bans," May 30, 2015
- ↑ Oklahoma Legislature, "Senate Bill 809," accessed December 17, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oklahoma State Chamber, "Oklahoma’s Energy Leadership Protected by SB 809," May 21, 2015
