Bill Summary
The North Pacific Ocean Protection Act of 2023 is a bill that aims to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas leasing in specific areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. This bill, if passed, would prevent the Secretary of the Interior from issuing leases for oil and gas exploration, development, or production in the Washington/Oregon planning area, the Northern California planning area, and the Central California planning area. This prohibition would be in effect regardless of any other laws or provisions. The bill also references a document from 2018 and any subsequent oil and gas leasing programs developed under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect people who work in the oil and gas industry in the specified areas, as their job opportunities would be limited due to the prohibition of leasing.
2. It could also affect the economy of the affected areas, as oil and gas production is a major source of revenue for many communities. The prohibition of leasing could lead to a decrease in economic growth and job opportunities.
3. This legislation could also impact environmentalists and conservationists, who may view this as a win for protecting the ocean and its resources from potential harm caused by oil and gas exploration and production.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4030 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4030
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas
leasing in certain areas of the Outer Continental Shelf.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2023
Mr. Huffman (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Bonamici, Mr.
Khanna, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Peters, Ms. Brownley,
Mr. Blumenauer, and Ms. Jayapal) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas
leasing in certain areas of the Outer Continental Shelf.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``North Pacific Ocean Protection Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.
Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(q) Prohibition of Oil and Gas Leasing in Certain Areas of the
Outer Continental Shelf.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section or any other law, the Secretary of the Interior may not issue a
lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural
gas in the Washington/Oregon planning area, the Northern California
planning area, or the Central California planning area (as such
planning areas are described in the document entitled `2019-2024
National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program', dated January
2018, or a subsequent oil and gas leasing program developed under
section 18 of this Act.''.
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