OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that earmarks $5 million to pay for repairs to roads in small towns damaged by oil field equipment cleared the House of Representatives last Tuesday on a unanimous vote.
House Bill 3073 creates a $5 million fund to pay for road and infrastructure repair caused by oil field equipment. The bill targets cities and towns with a population of less than 15,000 people and can only be used to repair roads damaged as a result of oil or gas drilling activity, it’s author, state Rep. Brad Boles said.
The bill passed the House 86-0.
Boles said many of the communities were in the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province and the and Sooner Trend, Anadarko, Canadian and Kingfisher drilling plays. Those areas, he said, have a large portion of the state’s drilling activity but the smaller cities and towns don’t have enough sales to repair roads damaged by drilling activity.
"Currently, the whole state benefits from revenue from the gross production tax paid by the oil and gas industry. In 2021, approximately $200 million was apportioned to school districts, more than $100 million to county governments for road repairs and over $1 billion in GPT from this industry alone went to the state government," Boles said. "However, municipalities don't receive any funds from this tax, so this bill proposes a way for smaller communities with oil and gas activity to apply for an annual grant to repair damage to their local municipal roads caused by the heavy machinery used by this industry."
Boles, a Republican from Marlow, said the bill will use funds already being collected by the Red-Dyed Diesel Sales tax. He said the measure also requires communities to apply for funds through a grant program overseen by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
House Bill 3037 now moves to the state Senate.