Trust Lands board modernizes leasing rules and proposes moving oil‑and‑gas auction notices off newspapers

James Wald, general counsel for the Department of Trust Lands, and Chris Elsley, minerals director, described a large redline package intended to clarify definitions (permanent vs. non‑permanent improvements), address handling of items left after lease expiration, change aggregate royalties to a per‑ton basis, consolidate annual royalty reporting, streamline sale and exchange procedures and tighten submittal requirements for encumbrances. The package also included procedural modernization for oil‑and‑gas lease nominations and auction notices.

Wald and Elsley said industry and departmental practice suggested the shift away from mandatory newspaper publication for oil‑and‑gas lease auctions: auction participants obtain notices through the department website, vendor platforms and email distribution lists. "We did some research into, where our bidders are coming from and just did not find that anybody had really been using the papers," Elsley told the committee, adding that vendor platforms already market auctions across multiple states. Department staff said removing the newspaper mandate reduces administrative burden and cost, estimating publishing and AG fees at approximately $3,600 for the overall package.

Representative Longmire moved to hold over the specific change removing the newspaper-notice requirement so the committee could obtain more information; the motion was seconded and the committee conducted a roll call. The motion failed on the committee floor and the package otherwise proceeded through committee consideration. Committee members pressed the department for more details about outreach to local landowners and how the web/email approach would ensure local notice.

Wald emphasized several other substantive changes where the department accepted public feedback, such as removing a blanket requirement to remove below‑ground pipeline infrastructure during reclamation and allowing case‑by‑case resolution when removal would cause more disturbance than leaving infrastructure in place.

The department characterized the rule set as mostly organizational and procedural with a limited fiscal impact; staff provided a full set of analyses to legislative counsel.