A. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund for the Corporation Commission to be designated the "Corporation Commission Plugging Fund". The plugging fund shall consist of monies received by the Corporation Commission as required by law to be deposited to the credit of said fund. The fund shall be a continuing fund not subject to fiscal year limitations and shall not be subject to legislative appropriations. Expenditures from the plugging fund shall be made pursuant to the laws of this state and the statutes relating to the Corporation Commission. For each fiscal year, the Commission may expend not more than eight percent (8%) of the total amount deposited to the credit of the plugging fund during the previous fiscal year for the purpose of responding to occurrences of seeping natural gas as provided for in Section 317.1 of Title 52 of the Oklahoma Statutes. In addition, expenditures from the plugging fund may be made pursuant to The Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, Section 85.1 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, for purposes of immediately responding to emergency situations, within the Commission's jurisdiction, having potentially critical environmental or public safety impact. Warrants for expenditures from the fund shall be drawn by the State Treasurer, based on claims signed by an authorized employee of the Corporation Commission and approved for payment by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. The provisions of this act or rules promulgated pursuant thereto, shall not be construed to relieve or in any way diminish the surety bonding requirements required by Section 318.1 of Title 52 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

B. Prior to July 1, 2021, the plugging fund shall be maintained at Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00). If the plugging fund falls below the five-million-dollar maintenance level, the Corporation Commission shall notify the Tax Commission that the plugging fund has fallen below the required maintenance level and that the excise tax which has been levied by subsection A of Section 1101 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes and subsection A of Section 1102 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes which is credited and apportioned to the Corporation Commission Plugging Fund pursuant to Section 1103 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes is to be imposed. Such additional excise tax shall be imposed and collected until such time as is necessary to meet the additional five-million-dollar maintenance level. The Tax Commission shall notify the persons responsible for payment of the excise tax on oil and gas of the imposition of such tax. The provisions of this subsection shall terminate on July 1, 2021.

Added by Laws 1990, c. 107, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1990. Amended by Laws 1995, c. 328, § 5, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 2001, c. 249, § 4, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2006, c. 252, § 1, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2011, c. 154, § 1; Laws 2012, c. 304, § 59; Laws 2015, c. 314, § 1, eff. July 1, 2015; Laws 2016, c. 153, § 1, emerg. eff. April 25, 2016.