57-919. Oil and Gas Conservation Fund; investment; charges; exemptions; payment; report of producer; filing; interest; lien; penalties.

(1) All money collected by the Tax Commissioner or the commission or as civil penalties under sections 57-901 to 57-921 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to a special fund to be known as the Oil and Gas Conservation Fund. Expenses incident to the administration of such sections shall be paid out of the fund. Transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature. Any money in the Oil and Gas Conservation Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(2) There is hereby levied and assessed on the value at the well of all oil and gas produced, saved, and sold or transported from the premises in Nebraska where produced a charge not to exceed fifteen mills on the dollar. The commission shall by order fix the amount of such charge in the first instance and may, from time to time, reduce or increase the amount thereof as in its judgment the expenses chargeable against the Oil and Gas Conservation Fund may require, except that the amounts fixed by the commission shall not exceed the limit prescribed in this section. It shall be the duty of the Tax Commissioner to make collection of such assessments. The persons owning an interest, a working interest, a royalty interest, payments out of production, or any other interest in the oil and gas, or in the proceeds thereof, subject to the charge provided for in this section shall be liable to the producer for such charge in proportion to their ownership at the time of production. The producer shall, on or before the last day of the month next succeeding the month in which the charge was assessed, file a report or return in such form as prescribed by the commission and Tax Commissioner together with all charges due. In the event of a sale of oil or gas within this state, the first purchaser shall file this report or return together with any charges then due. If the final filing date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the next secular or business day shall be the final filing date. Such reports or returns shall be considered filed on time if postmarked before midnight of the final filing date. Any such charge not paid within the time herein specified shall bear interest at the rate specified in section 45-104.02, as such rate may from time to time be adjusted, from the date of delinquency until paid, and such charge together with the interest shall be a lien as provided in section 57-702. The Tax Commissioner shall charge and collect a penalty for the delinquency in the amount of one percent of the charge for each month or part of the month that the charge has remained delinquent, but in no event shall the penalty be more than twenty-five percent of the charge. The Tax Commissioner may waive all or part of the penalty provided in this section but shall not waive the interest. The person remitting the charge as provided in this section is hereby authorized, empowered, and required to deduct from any amounts due the persons owning an interest in the oil and gas or in the proceeds thereof at the time of production the proportionate amount of such charge before making payment to such persons. This subsection shall apply to all lands in the State of Nebraska, anything in section 57-920 to the contrary notwithstanding, except that there shall be exempted from the charge levied and assessed in this section the following: (a) The interest of the United States of America and the interest of the State of Nebraska and the political subdivisions thereof in any oil or gas or in the proceeds thereof; (b) the interest of any Indian or Indian tribe in any oil or gas or in the proceeds thereof produced from land subject to the supervision of the United States; and (c) oil and gas used in producing operations or for repressuring or recycling purposes. All money so collected shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Oil and Gas Conservation Fund and shall be used exclusively to pay the costs and expenses incurred in connection with the administration and enforcement of sections 57-901 to 57-921.

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