SB1806

Petroleum and equipment offenses: the law retains petroleum theft through unlawful appropriation with intent to deprive the owner and adds offenses for taking petroleum to a waste-disposal location without being able to identify its initial owner; buying it from a seller not authorized by the Railroad Commission; and storing, purchasing or trading it for financial benefit through an unauthorized method. It also covers unlawful appropriation, with intent to deprive the owner, of oil-and-gas equipment such as machinery, pumps, vehicles, pipeline fittings and materials connected with oilfield or refinery operations. Appropriation without the owner’s effective consent is unlawful. The theft statute’s petroleum definition includes crude oil, natural gas and condensate. Final law, section 4.

Higher felony levels: the petroleum offenses and the new equipment-theft offense use three value bands: under $10,000 is a third-degree felony; $10,000 to under $100,000 is second-degree; $100,000 or more is first-degree. Previously, petroleum theft under $10,000 was a state-jail felony, and the first-degree threshold was $300,000. Ordinary statutory prison ranges are 2–10 years for third-degree, 2–20 years for second-degree, and 5–99 years or life for first-degree; each can also carry a fine up to $10,000. These are general ranges, not a prediction of an individual sentence. Final law; Prior petroleum-theft statute; Third-degree range; Second-degree range; First-degree range.

Waste-disposal wells: beginning to drill or use a disposal well, or converting a well to dispose of oil-and-gas waste, without first obtaining a Railroad Commission permit becomes an express offense under Water Code Section 27.031. It is third-degree when no waste has been disposed of or its value is under $10,000, second-degree from $10,000 to under $100,000, and first-degree at $100,000 or more. The permit requirement already existed; the bill adds these express felony classifications. Both this provision and the petroleum/equipment statute allow prosecution under that provision or another applicable law for the same conduct, but not both. Final law, sections 4–5; Prior disposal-well permit requirement.

Cargo-tank inspections: trained commissioned Department of Public Safety officers may comprehensively inspect cargo tanks used or suspected of being used to carry crude oil or condensate on Texas public roads or railroads, take samples and send them to a crime laboratory or another laboratory capable of the required testing. The imported cargo-tank definition covers liquid-hauling tank assemblies and excludes a vehicle’s engine fuel-supply tank. The Public Safety Commission must establish training, including safe sampling, with implementing rules due January 1, 2026. DPS may accept gifts and grants for testing. This does not authorize every officer to inspect every container, and this briefing does not claim the rules have already been adopted. Final law, sections 3 and 7; Cargo-tank definition.

Seized oil can be sold, not automatically forfeited: an officer holding crude oil or condensate alleged to be stolen may arrange its sale at the previous day’s specified NYMEX benchmark price—West Texas Intermediate for crude and the U.S. natural-gas-liquids composite for condensate. Agencies may contract with private sellers. Proceeds may be deposited under the referenced seized-money procedure and remain subject to statutory disposition rules. The real owner may claim sale proceeds under Article 18.17(e), which requires a claim within 30 days after disposition and allows suit if denied or not acted on within 90 days. The sale provision covers crude and condensate, not the theft statute’s broader natural-gas definition. Final law, sections 1–2; Owner’s proceeds claim; Referenced deposit procedure.

Timing and amendments: new property-sale rules apply only to property seized on or after September 1, 2025; if any portion was seized earlier, the old law controls. Other changes apply only to offenses with no element occurring before that date. The Senate substitute changed “shall immediately” sell seized petroleum to “may” sell and revised the disposal-well offense wording. Senate-passed and House committee operative texts otherwise matched the substitute. Craddick’s sole indexed amendment, adopted April 29 and accepted by the Senate May 5, allowed testing by other capable laboratories, not just crime laboratories. Introduced; Senate substitute; Senate-passed; House committee; Craddick amendment; Version index; Amendment index; Final law, sections 6 and 8–9.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

The law gives investigators more tools and raises potential punishment for oilfield crime. Owners may recover sale proceeds rather than stored petroleum, while businesses handling petroleum or waste face greater criminal exposure for prohibited transactions and unpermitted activity. The act does not establish how many thefts will be prevented or guarantee recovery of a particular owner’s loss. Final law.

The fiscal notes say the overall state fiscal effect cannot be determined because offense counts, prosecutions and collected court costs or fees are unknown. They assume DPS and Railroad Commission costs can be absorbed with existing resources and no significant effect on state corrections or local enforcement and confinement costs. The bill makes no appropriation. Those assumptions are not a finding that the entire law is cost-free. Introduced fiscal note; Senate fiscal note; May 1 post-House fiscal note; Enrolled-linked fiscal note.

Source caution: the later fiscal narrative still describes an immediate mandatory sale and thresholds “over” $100,000. The final statute controls: sale is discretionary, and the first-degree threshold includes exactly $100,000. The fiscal narrative is not used here to override those enacted provisions. Final law; Fiscal narrative.