SB 220(5) (Easley/Glover): SB 220 failed in the House and was not enacted. The bill would have restructured the electric industry by requiring separation of generation, transmission and distribution assets of retail electric providers so that electric generation would have become an unregulated competitive service, thereby giving consumers their choice of electric generation providers after July 1, 2002. Transmission and distribution services would have remained regulated by various oversight and supervision authorities. Investor-owned entities and electric cooperatives so electing would have been supervised by the Corporation Commission; self-regulated electric cooperatives would have been supervised by their board of trustees; municipalities opting to come under the provisions of the act would have been supervised by their governing bodies. Municipalities choosing not to opt in to the provisions of the act would have been prohibited from extending electric service outside of their municipal boundaries and their consumers would not have access to competitive electric services. The Grand River Dam Authority was required to conduct a study to determine the benefits of opting to participate in the act. Each oversight and supervision authority was required to provide open access to its retail consumers for competitive electric services and implement consumer protections required by the act. The act provided a process to determine firm territorial boundaries in certain parts of the state where more than one electric distributor currently provides service, thus eliminating expensive duplication of service. The bill contained extensive changes to the current ad valorem tax statutes and implemented a replacement tax based on electric consumption and a formula distributing the funds to the various schools and local governments currently receiving ad valorem taxes. The bill contained a requirement for electric distributors to purchase nine percent of the electric power consumed in this state from renewable energy technologies by January 1, 2008, if the renewable power was available. The State of Oklahoma was mandated to purchase ten percent of its electric needs from renewable sources if it was available. There was a two and one-half cent per kWh tax credit included for new facilities generating zero emission power. Some of the sections of the bill would have been effective immediately to allow entities to begin the asset separation process and the oversight and supervision authorities to begin their rulemaking process. Other sections would have been effective upon the implementation date of electric restructuring, July 1, 2002.

The 2nd Conference Committee Substitute for SB220 was heard on May 25, 2000, and included changes suggested by the Attorney General which gave additional powers to the Corporation Commission to mitigate any market power problems which could have arisen after 2005 if there was not enough demonstrated competition in the electric generation marketplace.

SB 809(1) (Stipe/Rice): Authorizes the Corporation Commission to administer a hazardous waste transportation registration and permitting program for motor carriers engaged in transporting hazardous waste within this state. The bill also repeals a fee of $20.00 per trailer per year for transporter trailer registration for hazardous waste disposal. Effective 4-24-00.

SB 1048(1) (Easley/Rice): Includes various provisions relating to oil and gas and revenue and taxation, as follows:

• Modifies circumstances under which Corporation Commission may not order oil or gas well plugged or closed. Under current law, closure cannot be ordered if the price of oil falls below $15 per barrel. The bill provides that closure cannot be ordered if the well is
  located on an otherwise producing oil or gas lease;
  
  
• Prohibits the Corporation Commission from promulgating, enforcing or interpreting rules inconsistent or more restrictive than the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities; clarifies provisions relating to "liaisons";
  
  
• Extends existing gross production tax incentives until July 1, 2003;
  
  
• Exempts production from secondary recovery property for up to 5 years;
  
  
• Includes wells which experience casing leaks or other failures within the definition of "inactive wells";
  
  
• Modifies the base production level for the exemption on production enhancement projects so that it is based on the well's decline curve;
  
  
• Exempts production based on three-dimensional seismic technology;
  
  
• Increases the price caps above which the exemptions do not apply from $25 to $30 for oil and from $3 to $3.50 for gas;
  
  
• Requires persons distributing revenue to royalty interest owners to withhold 6.75% of the payments and remit such amounts to the Tax Commission;
  
  
• Allows an income tax credit in the amount of such withholdings;
  
  
• Provides for quarterly remittance of such withholdings;
  
  
• Provides penalties for failure to properly remit withholdings; and
  
  
• Allows insurance companies that have operated a regional home office in Oklahoma that have qualified for an insurance premium tax credit to continue to receive the credit if the home office is moved to Oklahoma.

Effective 7-1-00 for Sections 1, 5 and 10 and 10-1-00 for Sections 6-9.

SB 1187(1) (Rozell/Culver) Creates a new process for use by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to update water right permits that have been issued, but are not being used. This change should allow new permits to be issued to meet current needs. The bill also expands the area that the Scenic Rivers Commission may secure. Effective upon signature.

SB 1217(1) (Easley/Rice): Requires the Department of Environmental Quality to file a recordable notice of remediation activities related to environmental damages in the land records of the county where the property is located. Effective 4-14-00.

SB 1223(1) (Easley/Rice): Clarifies the jurisdictional areas of responsibility over certain types of solid waste and underground injection wells between the Department of Environmental Quality and the Corporation Commission. Effective 6-6-00.

SB 1244(1) (Shurden/Leist): Modifies the definitions in the Solid Waste Management Act and prohibits state agencies from developing a plan to utilize suitable solid waste to reclaim lands damaged by surface mining activities. Effective 5-3-00.

SB 1375(1) (Helton/Glover): Creates the Cache Creek Water Supply and Flood Impact Task Force to study the operation of Lake Lawtonka and Lake Ellsworth to maximize water supply and recreation capacity in the region. Effective 6-7-00.