Senate Bill 968 Summary

• Establishes the "Oil and Gas Resources Fund" in the state treasury to receive permit application fees and other moneys for administering oil and gas regulations; allows the state geologist to serve as council administrator instead of a representative from the division of geology and land survey

• Creates new fee revision procedures for multiple regulatory programs (oil and gas, mining, water quality, air quality, drinking water) requiring stakeholder input and two-thirds commission approval, with a sunset date of August 28, 2024 for the authority to revise fee structures

• Renames the "Land Reclamation Commission" to the "Missouri Mining Commission" and increases appointed public members from four to five, with up to two (instead of one) able to have direct mining industry connections

• Adds water quality standards assessment requirements before revision and establishes "affordability findings" process for water pollution permits to evaluate impacts on household utility bills based on median income levels

• Modifies various definitions and technical provisions across natural resource chapters, including expanding the definition of minerals subject to mining regulations to include rare earth elements and other strategic metals