Bill would standardize royalty payment statements

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

Energy companies would be required to disclose annual sales figures and other information to landowners for oil and gas produced from their properties, under legislation being considered in the Ohio House.

HB 400 was introduced by state Reps. John Carney of Columbus, D-22nd, and Jack Cera of Bellaire, D-96th, to give property owners a better idea of how their royalty payments are determined — and whether a lessee is paying what’s really due.

“Ohio does not require a standardized royalty-payment statement,” Carney told members of the House’s agriculture committee. He added later, “Just as your pay stub includes detailed information about payments and deductions in every check, you would expect the royalty statements, another form of payment, also would include information about deductions impacting your profits.”

HB 400 requires royalty payments to disclose the total amount and value of oil and gas produced, severance and other taxes paid and other details of the producer’s business.

The bill is comparable to laws already in place in other states and is modeled after legislation in Texas and Pennsylvania, Carney said.

“The standardization of royalty statements is a great first step in helping people understand their royalty payments,” he said. “The intent of this bill is to ensure Ohioans are being correctly paid what they are legally owed.”