Feb. 2, 2012
Del. Wendell R. Beitzel (R–Dist. 1A) and Sen. George C. Edwards (R–Dist. 1) announced yesterday they will offer legislation regarding the recordation of natural gas and oil leases during the 2012 Maryland General Assembly session in Annapolis.
“Based largely on discussions with local officials and concerned citizens, we believe that the current statutes regarding the recordation of leases for natural gas and oil should be addressed this session,” Beitzel said.
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One of the measures being pursued by the legislators from western Maryland, who represent almost exclusively the area in which the Marcellus shale formation is found, would require court clerks to file an intake sheet with natural gas and oil leases. Current law provides that a clerk cannot reject an otherwise completed lease based solely on the lack of an intake sheet.
“These sheets will be used by the folks in the land records department to properly index the properties leased by natural gas and oil companies,” Edwards said. “With this important change in the law, people can more easily find these records.”
Another bill being offered by Beitzel and Edwards would require the recordation of leases of oil and natural gas, and stipulate general information to be included within the leasing documents. Other states, including Ohio, already have similar provisions on the books, according to the local lawmakers.
“It has been reported to us that some individuals who have entered into these leases were caught off guard with some of the provisions found in the fine print that bind them indefinitely to the lease provisions,” Beitzel noted. “Though legislation cannot be crafted to safeguard everyone from every provision, this measure will put into place some very important protections for landowners who enter into these leases.”
More here.
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