MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2006 Regular Session
To: Conservation and Water Resources; Oil, Gas and Other Minerals
By: Representative Franks
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THAT EACH REFINER AND MAJOR MARKETER OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SUBMIT CERTAIN INFORMATION TO THE OFFICE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION WITHIN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE; TO AUTHORIZE THE OFFICE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION TO MONITOR THE PROCESS OF REPORTING THE INFORMATION; TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL PENALTIES FOR THOSE PERSONS WHO FAIL TO MAKE REPORTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and determines that the petroleum industry is an essential element of the Mississippi economy and is therefore of vital importance to the health and welfare of all Mississippians.
The Legislature further finds and determines that a complete and thorough understanding of the operations of the petroleum industry is required by state government at all times to enable it to respond to possible shortages, oversupplies, or other disruptions and to assess whether all consumers, including emergency service agencies, state and local government agencies, and agricultural and business consumers of petroleum products have adequate and economic supplies of fuel.
The Legislature further finds and determines that information and data concerning all aspects of the petroleum industry, including, but not limited to, crude oil production, production and supplies of finished branded and unbranded gasoline, supplies of diesel fuel and other distillates, supplies of blendstocks used to make gasoline and other refined products, refining, product output, exports of finished gasoline, diesel fuel, and blendstocks, prices, distribution, demand, and investment choices and decisions are essential for the state to develop and administer energy policies that are in the interest of the state's economy and the public's well-being.
SECTION 2. (1) Each refiner and major marketer shall submit information each month to the Office of Consumer Protection within the Attorney General's Office in such form and extent as the Office of Consumer Protection prescribes under this section. The information shall be submitted within thirty (30) days after the end of each monthly reporting period and shall include the following:
(a) Refiners shall report, for each of their refineries, feedstock inputs, origin of petroleum receipts, imports of finished petroleum products and blendstocks, by type, including the source of those imports, exports of finished petroleum products and blendstocks, by type, including the destination of those exports, refinery outputs, refinery stocks, and finished product supply and distribution, including all gasoline sold unbranded by the refiner, blender, or importer; and
(b) Major marketers shall report on petroleum product receipts and the sources of these receipts, inventories of finished petroleum products and blendstocks, by type, distributions through branded and unbranded distribution networks, and exports of finished petroleum products and blendstocks, by type, from the state.
(2) Each major oil producer, refiner, marketer, oil transporter, and oil storer shall annually submit information to the Office of Consumer Protection in such form and extent as the Office of Consumer Protection prescribes under this section. The information shall be submitted within thirty (30) days after the end of each reporting period, and shall include the following:
(a) Major oil transporters shall report on petroleum by reporting the capacities of each major transportation system, the amount transported by each system, and inventories thereof. The Office of Consumer Protection may prescribe rules and regulations that exclude pipeline and transportation modes operated entirely on property owned by major oil transporters from the reporting requirements of this section if the data or information is not needed to fulfill the purposes of this act.
(b) Major oil storers shall report on storage capacity, inventories, receipts and distributions, and methods of
transportation of receipts and distributions.
(c) Major oil producers shall, with respect to thermally enhanced oil recovery operations, report annually by designated oil field, the monthly use, as fuel, of crude oil and natural gas.
(d) Refiners shall report on facility capacity, and utilization and method of transportation of refinery receipts and distributions.
(e) Major oil marketers shall report on facility capacity and methods of transportation of receipts and distributions.
(3) Each person required to report under subsection (1) of this section shall submit a projection each month of the information to be submitted under subsection (1) for the quarter following the month in which the information is submitted to the Office of Consumer Protection.
(4) The Office of Consumer Protection may by order or regulation modify the reporting period as to any individual item of information setting forth in the order or regulation its reason for so doing.
(5) The Office of Consumer Protection may request additional information as necessary to perform its responsibilities under this act.
(6) Any person required to submit information or data under this act, in lieu thereof, may submit a report made to any other governmental agency, if:
(a) The alternate report or reports contain all of the information or data required by specific request under this act; and
(b) The person clearly identifies the specific request to which the alternate report is responsive.
(7) Each refiner shall submit to the Office of Consumer Protection, within thirty (30) days after the end of each monthly reporting period, all of the following information in such form and extent as the Office of Consumer Protection prescribes:
(a) Monthly Mississippi weighted average prices and sales volumes of finished leaded regular, unleaded regular, and premium motor gasoline sold through company-operated retail outlets, to other end-users, and to wholesale customers.
(b) Monthly Mississippi weighted average prices and sales volumes for residential sales, commercial and institutional sales, industrial sales, sales through company-operated retail outlets, sales to other end-users, and wholesale sales of No. 2 diesel fuel and No. 2 fuel oil.
(c) Monthly Mississippi weighted average prices and sales volumes for retail sales and wholesale sales of No. 1 distillate, kerosene, finished aviation gasoline, kerosene-type jet fuel, No. 4 fuel oil, residual fuel oil with 1 percent (1%) or less sulfur, residual fuel oil with greater than 1 percent (1%) sulfur and consumer grade propane.
(i) 1. An oil refiner, oil producer, petroleum product transporter, petroleum product marketer, petroleum product pipeline operator, and terminal operator, as designated by the Office of Consumer Protection, shall submit a report in the form and extent as the Office of Consumer Protection prescribes under this section. The Office of Consumer Protection may determine the form and extent necessary by order or by regulation.
2. A report may include any of the following information:
(a) Receipts and inventory levels of crude oil and petroleum products at each refinery and terminal location.
(b) Amount of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, blending components, and other petroleum products imported and exported.
(c) Amount of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, blending components, and other petroleum products transported intrastate by marine vessel.
(d) Amount of crude oil imported, including information identifying the source of the crude oil.
(e) The regional average of invoiced retailer buying price. This subparagraph does not either preclude or augment the current authority of the Office of Consumer Protection to collect additional data under subsection (5) of this section.
SECTION 3. (a) The Office of Consumer Protection shall notify those persons who have failed to timely provide the information specified in Section 2 of this act. If, within five (5) days after being notified of the failure to provide the specified information, the person fails to supply the specified information, the person shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per day for each day the submission of information is refused or delayed, unless the person has timely filed objections with the Office of Consumer Protection regarding the information and the Office of Consumer Protection has not yet held a hearing on the matter, or the Office of Consumer Protection has held a hearing and the person has properly submitted the issue to a court of competent jurisdiction for review.
(b) Any person who willfully makes any false statement,
representation, or certification in any record, report, plan, or
other document filed with the Office of Consumer Protection shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.