The charges directed to be levied by this article are necessary in the exercise of the police power of the State and to provide a means by which to supervise and protect deposits of oil and gas within the State, in which deposits the people of the State have a primary and supreme interest.

There shall annually be imposed upon the person operating each oil well in this state, or owning royalty or other interests in respect to the production from the well, a charge which shall be payable to the Treasurer and which shall be computed at a uniform rate per barrel of oil produced from the well for the preceding calendar year. The charge shall be apportioned among all of those persons in fractional amounts proportionate to their respective fractional interests in respect to the production of the well, but the whole of the charge shall be payable by the operator, who shall withhold their respective proportionate shares of the charge from the amounts otherwise payable or deliverable to the owners of royalty or other interests. In the case of a penalty for late payment as provided in Section 3420, no apportionment shall be made.

There shall annually be imposed upon the person operating each gas well in this state, or owning royalty or other interests with respect to the production from the well, a charge, which shall be payable to the Treasurer, based upon the amount of gas produced in the preceding calendar year, other than gas which is used for recycling or otherwise in oil-producing operations, and which shall be computed at a uniform rate per ten thousand cubic feet. The charge shall be apportioned among all of those persons in fractional amounts proportionate to their respective fractional interests with respect to the production of the well, but the whole of the charge shall be payable by the operator, who shall withhold the respective proportionate shares of the charge from the amounts otherwise payable or deliverable to the owners of royalty or other interests. In the case of a penalty for a late payment as provided in Section 3420, no apportionment shall be made.

the regulatory costs incurred by the state in conducting the activities described in subdivision (a). Each underground gas storage facility operator shall pay a proportionate share of the total regulatory costs projected for each fiscal year based on the field capacity and number of wells for each underground gas storage facility. For each underground gas storage facility, the portion owed by the operator shall be computed by multiplying the operator’s field capacity by the number of the operator’s wells, and dividing that product by the statewide sum across all underground gas storage facilities of the product of the field capacity of each individual underground gas storage facility multiplied by the number of wells at that facility.

hazard to public health and safety, property, or to the environment, there shall be an additional charge imposed entirely on the operator of the underground storage facility at which the uncontrolled leak or release of gas occurred. The charge shall be in the amount of the total directly associated costs incurred by the division in the previous calendar year in the course of responding to the release, including personnel hours, travel expenses, contracting costs, and any other directly associated costs incurred by the division.

underground gas storage facility except those that have been plugged and abandoned pursuant to Section 3208 before the preceding calendar year.

owed by the operator shall be computed by dividing the statewide sum of reasonably incurred regulatory costs across all gravity-based energy source wells by the number of gravity-based energy storage wells.

The charges authorized by this article are in addition to any and all charges, taxes, assessments, or licenses of any kind or nature paid by or upon the properties assessed hereunder.

The department shall prescribe the form and contents of all reports for making the charge or for other purposes to carry out the intent and provisions of this article.

Every person chargeable under this article, shall on or before March 15th of each year, file a report with the department. The report shall show all items of information demanded by the report, which are necessary to carry out this article. The report shall be verified by such person or officer as the department may designate.

The department may, for good cause shown, by order entered upon its records, extend for not exceeding thirty days, the time for filing any report required by this article.

If the person filing the report required under Section 3406, by error or otherwise fails to include the full amount of oil or gas production in the report, the department shall make an estimate of the deficit, based on the monthly production reports filed by such person under Section 3227, and add it to the report. The department shall make a reasonable effort to reconcile the yearly report filed under Section 3406 with the data filed on the regular monthly production reports, before proceeding to change the report, but failure to do so shall not invalidate the assessment.

The department shall, on or before June 15th of each year, acting in conjunction with the Department of Finance, make an estimate of the amount of money which will be required to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including any adjustments for savings or increased expenditures in the current and prior fiscal years.

On or before June 15 of each year, the department shall determine the rate or rates that will produce the sums necessary to be raised as provided in Section 3410. Within the same time, the department shall extend into the proper column of the record of assessments the amount of charges due from each person. The department shall post the information supporting the rate or rates on a publicly available portion of its internet website.

Between the first of March and the 15th of June in each year, the department shall assess and levy the charges as provided in this article. The assessment shall be made against the person operating the property subject to assessment on the first Monday in March, except that, where the actual operation of any well has changed hands during the period for which the charge is imposed, the charge shall be apportioned to each operator upon the basis of the oil or gas produced during the period, and the lien provided for in Section 3423 shall be a lien against the property of each operator. If the name of the owner is unknown to the department the assessment shall be made against unknown owners.

Clerical errors occurring or appearing in the name of any person whose property is properly assessed and charged, or in the making or extension of any assessment or charge upon the records, which do not affect the substantial rights of the payer, shall not invalidate the assessment or charge.

The notice shall state:

The omission to publish notice shall not affect the validity of any assessment levied pursuant to this article.

electronic means deemed appropriate by the division, including, but not limited to, electronic mail or an alternative electronic system that persons opt into for receiving notice.

The department shall prepare each year a record called the “Record of Assessments and Charges” in which shall be entered each assessment and levy or charge made by it upon the property assessed and charged under this article, describing the property assessed. The assessments may be classified and entered in such separate parts of the record as the department may prescribe. If such charges and assessments become delinquent as provided in Section 3420 of this code, in addition to the information contained in the “Record of Assessments and Charges” as herein provided, the department shall furnish to the State Controller upon his request the name and address of any owner of property assessed as such name and address last appears in the office of the tax assessor for county in which such land or a major portion thereof is situate.

On or before the first of July the department shall deliver to the State Controller the record of assessments and charges, certified to by the director, which certificate shall be substantially as follows: “I, ____, Director of Conservation, do hereby certify that between the first of March and the first of July, 20__, I made diligent inquiry and examination to ascertain all property and persons, firms, corporations and associations subject to assessment as required by the provisions of this chapter, providing for the assessment and collection of charges; that I have faithfully complied with all the duties imposed upon me by law; that I have not imposed any unjust or double assessment through malice or ill will or otherwise; nor allowed any person, firm, corporation, or association, or property to escape a just assessment or charge through favor or regard or otherwise.” Failure to subscribe the certificate to the record of assessments and charges, or any certificate, shall not affect the validity of any assessment or charge.

charges shall be delinquent if not paid on or before the first of February of the following year.

charge pursuant to this chapter until and including the date of payment.

Every payment on a delinquent charge shall be applied as follows:

A warrant may be issued by the Controller or his or her duly authorized representative for the collection of any charges, interest and penalties and for the enforcement of any such lien directed to the sheriff and shall have the same effect as a writ of execution. It may and shall be levied and sale made pursuant to it in the manner and with the same effect as a levy of and a sale pursuant to a writ of execution.

Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the owner of said land may redeem from any execution sale within a period of three years upon payment of interest, penalties and charges as provided in the case of other sales of real property under execution.

The sheriff shall receive, upon the completion of his or her services pursuant to a warrant, and the Controller is authorized to pay to him or her the same fees and commissions and expenses in connection with services pursuant to the warrant as are provided by law for similar services pursuant to a writ of execution; provided, that fees for publication in a newspaper shall be subject to approval by the Controller rather than by the court; the fees, commissions, and expenses shall be an obligation of the person or persons liable for the payment of the charges and may be collected from the person or persons by virtue of the warrant or in any other manner provided in this article for the collection of those charges.

In the event that the lien of the charges, penalties or interest attaches to real property from which the oil or gas is extracted and more than one parcel of property is included within the lien, the Controller may release by certificate pursuant to Section 7174 of the Government Code from the lien of said charges, interest, penalties, and costs, upon payment by the owner of any parcel or parcels of property of his proportionate share of the assessment of the oil or gas extracted from all land included within said lien owned by him.

It is expressly provided that the remedies provided herein of the state shall be cumulative and that no action by the Controller shall be construed to be an election on the part of the state, or of any of its officers, to pursue any remedy hereunder to the exclusion of any other remedy for which provision is made in this article.

All charges assessed and levied shall be paid to the State Treasurer upon the order of the Controller. The Controller shall record the payment of any charge.

Errors appearing upon the face of any assessment on the record of assessments, or overcharges may be corrected by the Controller, with the consent of the Department of Finance, in such manner as the Controller and the Department of Finance agree upon.

The Controller shall, on or before the thirtieth day of May next following the delinquency of any charge, bring an action in the name of the people of the State, in the county in which the property assessed is situated, to collect any delinquent charges or assessments, together with any penalties or costs, which have not been paid and which are shown as delinquent upon the record of assessments and charges.

The Attorney General shall commence and prosecute any such action to final judgment.

In such actions the record of assessments and charges, or a copy of so much thereof as is applicable, duly certified by the Controller, showing unpaid charges against any person assessed by the department, is prima facie evidence of the assessment, the delinquency, the amount of charges, penalties, and costs due and unpaid, that the person is indebted to the people of the State of California in the amount of charges and penalties therein appearing unpaid, and that all forms of law in relation to the assessment of the charges have been complied with.

The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to service of summons, pleadings, proofs, trials, and appeals are applicable to the proceedings.

Payment of the penalties and charges, or the amount of the judgment recovered in the action, shall be made to the State Treasurer.

Any person claiming and protesting that the assessment made or charges assessed against him are void, in whole or in part, may bring an action against the State Treasurer for the recovery of the whole or any part of the charges, penalties, or costs paid on such assessment, upon the grounds stated in his protest. No action may be brought later than the third Monday in February next following the day upon which the charges were due, and unless the person has filed with the State Controller, at the time of payment of the charges, a written protest stating whether the whole assessment or charge is claimed to be void, or if a part only, what part, and the grounds upon which the claim is founded. When so paid under protest the payment shall not be regarded as voluntary.

Whenever an action is commenced under the provisions of Section 3430, a copy of the complaint and of the summons shall be served upon the treasurer or his deputy and upon the supervisor or his deputy and upon the Attorney General or his deputy. At the time the treasurer demurs or answers, he may demand that the action be tried in the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento, which demand shall be granted.

Failure to begin the action within the time specified in section 3430 is a bar to recovery of the charges. In any such action the court may render judgment for the plaintiff for any part or portion of the charge, penalties, or costs found to be void and paid by plaintiff upon the assessment.

and any supplemental assessments exceed the total amount required to carry out the provisions of this chapter for the fiscal year, the excess shall be carried forward to reduce the assessment for the following year as an adjustment for savings pursuant to Section 3410.

apply to a supplemental assessment, but the department shall otherwise assess and levy the supplemental assessment in accordance with Section 3418.

delinquent charges under a supplemental assessment.

1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.