MS HB740

Removes the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board from the requirement that its expenses be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund, allowing it to be funded instead through user charges and fees collected from oil and gas producers.

Reinstates the Oil and Gas Conservation Fund as the primary funding source for board operations, with charges levied at up to 60 mills per barrel of oil and 6 mills per 1,000 cubic feet of gas produced in Mississippi.

Allows the Director of the Department of Finance and Administration to transfer funds from the Capital Expense Fund to the Oil and Gas Board for emergency plugging of orphaned wells, with this authority expiring on July 1, 2021.

Deletes provisions from the 2016 Budget Transparency and Simplification Act that required general fund appropriations and deposit of board fees into the state general fund.

Effective upon passage, with the Capital Expense Fund transfer authority for orphaned well plugging sunsetting on July 1, 2021.