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Senate committee adopts amendment increasing DOGAMI fees after fiscal office review
Summary
The Senate committee adopted an amendment to raise DOGAMI fees for mineral land regulation and reclamation, with the Legislative Fiscal Office estimating about $3.1 million in additional revenue.
The Senate committee adopted the -4 amendment to Senate Bill 836, which revises fee schedules charged by the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) for the Mineral Land Regulation and Reclamation Program.
Katie Banikov of the Legislative Fiscal Office told the committee the agency’s budget documents contain a fee-detail table that estimates transactions and shows how the amended dollar amounts produce an estimated $3.31 million in additional revenue. Taz Bridal, also with the Legislative Fiscal Office, clarified: “the 3.1 is additional revenue due to the fee change.”
Vice Chair Bonham questioned the Fiscal Office about the underlying math and how estimates of applications or tonnage produce the revenue figure. Banikov said the governor’s requested budget includes the table of estimated transactions and that updating the fee amounts in that table yields the estimated revenue.
The committee adopted the -4 amendment on a roll call (Senator Holden: aye; Senator Manning: aye; Senator Hatcher: no; Vice Chair Bonham: aye; Chair Johnson: aye). Chair Johnson then moved the bill, as amended, to the floor with a do-pass recommendation and referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
Several senators expressed continued concern that fee increases are a recurring, unresolved problem for DOGAMI funding. Senator Coleman said the agency’s funding challenges have recurred over several years and called the amendment a “band aid” rather than a long-term fix. Senator Manning noted industry and DOGAMI had agreed to a workaround that would give industry more input going forward and referenced an upcoming budget note tying to the negotiated agreement. Senator Bonham said he would vote no on the bill’s passage to the floor despite supporting the amendment, citing concerns based on stakeholder testimony about agency delays and punitive actions.
The committee closed the work session on SB 836 and moved the amended bill to the floor for further consideration by the Ways and Means Committee.
