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91_HB1969enr HB1969 Enrolled LRB9104731ACtm 1 AN ACT to amend the Oil and Gas Act by changing Section 2 1.2. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by 6 changing Section 1.2 as follows: 7 (225 ILCS 725/1.2) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5403) 8 Sec. 1.2. The Director shall appoint an Oil and Gas Board 9 consisting of 76members, 6 of whomwhoshall be actively 10 engaged in the oil and gas industry. In appointing the 6 11 members representing the oil and gas industry, the Director 12 shall give due consideration to the recommendations of 13 organizations and associations representing the various 14 interests of the oil and gas industry and shall appoint 15 individuals in such a manner as to assure representation of 16 petroleum engineering, petroleum geology, oil and gas 17 operations and production, and the servicing of oil and gas 18 operations and production. The one remaining member shall be 19 appointed by the Director upon consultation with the Illinois 20 Farm Bureau and the member must be active in production 21 agriculture. Members shall be appointed to 2 year terms 22 commencing on the third Monday in January of odd numbered 23 years, and may be reappointed for additional terms provided 24 that no member may be reappointed for a term which would 25 cause his continued service to exceed 8 years. Any 26 appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired 27 portion of the term. The Director may remove any member who 28 fails to attend 2 consecutive meetings of the Board without 29 sufficient excuse or for any other good cause as determined 30 by the Director. 31 Members of the Oil and Gas Board shall be reimbursed for HB1969 Enrolled -2- LRB9104731ACtm 1 all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in attending 2 Board meetings and may receive a per diem stipend as 3 determined by the Director from appropriations made available 4 for that purpose. 5 The Oil and Gas Board shall meet at least quarterly and 6 at such other times as the Department or the Board deems 7 necessary to: 8 (1) Review all federal and State rules and laws 9 affecting the oil and gas industry in Illinois. 10 (2) Advise and consult with the Director concerning 11 the adoption of rules pertaining to the conservation of 12 oil and gas. 13 (3) Review technical information and operations 14 concerning the improvement of methods, conditions, and 15 equipment for the production of oil and gas. 16 (4) Advise and consult with the Director concerning 17 the proper drilling, casing and plugging of oil wells. 18 (5) Review the methods and procedures for the 19 issuance of proper permits to drill oil and gas wells. 20 (6) Advise and consult with the Director in the 21 administration of the Oil and Gas Well Site Plugging and 22 Restoration Program. 23 (7) Advise and consult with the Director on any and 24 all other subjects about which the Department should seek 25 information in relation to the oil and gas industry. 26 The Oil and Gas Board, by a record vote of a majority of 27 its membership, may make specific recommendations to the 28 Department on any of the matters enumerated above, but the 29 Board shall act solely as an advisory body to the Department 30 and its recommendations shall have no binding effect on the 31 Department. 32 Before proposing any new rule or any changes to existing 33 rules implementing the provisions of this Act under Section 34 5.01 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and prior HB1969 Enrolled -3- LRB9104731ACtm 1 to adopting any new form or changing any existing form 2 required to be completed by a person regulated under this 3 Act, the Department shall first present the proposed rule or 4 form to the Oil and Gas Board for its review and 5 recommendations. If the Oil and Gas Board, by a unanimous 6 record vote of its membership, makes specific objection to a 7 proposed new rule or proposed change to an existing rule, the 8 Department shall set forth the objection in its notice of 9 proposed rulemaking together with the reasons for proposing 10 the rule notwithstanding the objection of the Oil and Gas 11 Board. 12 The Department shall annually publish and present to the 13 Oil and Gas Board a financial report describing the income, 14 expenditures, and obligations of the Underground Resources 15 Conservation Enforcement Fund and the Plugging and 16 Restoration Fund. The annual report shall provide 17 information on the administration of the Oil and Gas Well 18 Site Plugging and Restoration Program, and shall include the 19 number of orphan wells identified and the status of closure 20 of these wells. 21 In situations involving drilling or operations through 22 veins or seams of mineable coal, the entire authority and 23 discretion of the Department shall be vested in the Mining 24 Board. 25 (Source: P.A. 87-744.) 26 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 27 becoming law.