Bill Summary
The Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of 2020 is a bill that aims to amend the Mineral Leasing Act in order to increase certain royalty rates, minimum bid amounts, and rental rates for the leasing of public lands for oil and gas exploration and development. The bill, if enacted, would increase the royalty rate from 12.5% to 18.75%, the minimum bid amount from $2 to $10 per acre, and the rental rates from $1.50 to $3 per acre for onshore oil and gas leases. It would also introduce a new fee of at least $15 per acre for anyone expressing interest in leasing public land for oil and gas activities. The bill also includes provisions for adjusting these fees every 4 years to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index and for reinstating competitive leases that have been terminated due to failure to pay back rentals. Finally, the bill mandates a study to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the bill and its amendments.
Possible Impacts
1. Increased costs for oil and gas companies: The increased royalty rates, minimum bid amounts, and rental rates may result in higher costs for oil and gas companies operating on public lands. This could potentially impact their profits and business operations.
2. Potential increase in government revenue: The legislation could lead to an increase in government revenue through higher fees and payments from oil and gas companies. This could potentially benefit the public through increased funding for public services and infrastructure.
3. Changes in oil and gas development on public lands: The legislation may result in changes in the way oil and gas resources are developed on public lands. This could potentially limit or restrict development in certain areas, leading to impacts on local communities and the environment.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3330 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3330
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to increase certain royalty rates,
minimum bid amounts, and rental rates, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 2020
Mr. Udall (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to increase certain royalty rates,
minimum bid amounts, and rental rates, and for other purposes.
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 ``Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. INCREASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS ROYALTY RATES.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended--
(1) by striking ``12.5'' each place it appears and
inserting ``18.75''; and
(2) by striking ``12\1/2\ per centum'' each place it
appears and inserting ``18.75 percent''.
SEC. 3. INCREASED MINIMUM BID AMOUNT.
Section 17(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)--
(A) by striking the subparagraph designation and
all that follows through the period at the end of the
first sentence and inserting the following:
``(B) National minimum acceptable bid.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clauses (ii) and (v), the national minimum
acceptable bid shall be $10 per acre.'';
(B) in the second sentence--
(i) by striking ``Thereafter, the
Secretary'' and inserting the following:
``(ii) Adjustment.--The Secretary'';
(ii) by striking ``is necessary: (i) to
enhance'' and inserting the following: ``is
necessary--
``(I) to enhance''; and
(iii) by striking ``(ii) to promote'' and
inserting the following:
``(II) to promote'';
(C) in the third sentence, by striking ``Ninety
days'' and inserting the following:
``(iii) Notification.--90 days'';
(D) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``The
proposal'' and inserting the following:
``(iv) NEPA.--The proposal''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) Exception.--To ensure a return of
fair market value, as determined by the
Secretary, the Secretary may establish in a
notice of competitive lease sale a minimum
acceptable bid applicable to the lease sale or
one or more parcels within the lease sale that
is higher than the national minimum bid under
clause (i).''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by striking ``$2 per acre''
and inserting ``$10 per acre''.
SEC. 4. INCREASED ONSHORE OIL AND GAS RENTAL RATES.
Section 17(d) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(d)) is
amended, in the first sentence--
(1) by striking ``$1.50 per acre'' and inserting ``$3 per
acre''; and
(2) by striking ``$2 per acre'' and inserting ``$5 per
acre''.
SEC. 5. FEE FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(q) Fee for Expression of Interest.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall charge any person
who submits, in accordance with procedures established by the
Secretary to carry out this subsection, an expression of
interest in leasing land available for disposition under this
section for exploration for, and development of, oil or gas a
fee, in an amount determined by the Secretary under paragraph
(2).
``(2) Amount.--The fee authorized under paragraph (1) shall
be established by the Secretary in an amount that is determined
by the Secretary to be appropriate to cover the aggregate cost
of processing an expression of interest under this subsection,
but not less than $15 per acre of the area covered by the
applicable expression of interest.''.
SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENT.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) (as amended
by section 5) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Adjustment to Certain Fees.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of
the Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of 2020, and at least
once every 4 years thereafter, promulgate regulations adjusting
each of the per-acre dollar amounts of fees imposed under
subsections (b), (d), and (q) and subsections (e) and (f) of
section 31 to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics; and
``(2) as the Secretary determines to be necessary to
enhance financial returns to the United States or to promote
more efficient management of oil and gas resources on Federal
land, promulgate regulations adjusting any of the applicable
per-acre dollar amounts of fees imposed under subsection (b),
(d), or (q) or subsection (e) or (f) of section 31, as
applicable.''.
SEC. 7. REINSTATEMENT OF COMPETITIVE LEASES.
Section 31 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
``(2) payment of back rentals and the inclusion in a
reinstated lease of a requirement for future rentals at a rate
of not less than $20 per acre per year;'';
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking the subparagraph
designation;
(II) by striking ``issued pursuant
to the provisions of section 17(b) of
this Act'';
(III) by striking ``16\2/3\'' and
inserting ``25''; and
(IV) by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
(C) in the second sentence of the undesignated
matter following paragraph (4), by striking ``, but not
to exceed $500''; and
(2) in subsection (f)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``$5'' and
inserting ``$10''; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``12\1/2\'' and
inserting ``25''.
SEC. 8. FISCAL REFORM STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
offer to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of
Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences, in cooperation
with the Comptroller General of the United States, shall conduct a
study evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation
of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Considerations.--The study conducted under subsection (a) shall
include consideration of--
(1) the systems of the Department of the Interior for
collecting and auditing payments under this Act and the
amendments made by this Act;
(2) the performance of the stewardship of the Department of
the Interior and the disposition of receipts by the Department
of the Interior in carrying out this Act and the amendments
made by this Act; and
(3) the performance of the valuation approach carried out
under this Act and the amendments made by this Act, including a
review of whether other approaches could more fully capture
foregone revenue of leasing in low-market conditions in light
of other possible economic uses at different points in the
future.
(c) Report.--If the Comptroller General of the United States enters
into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences under
subsection (a), not earlier than 3, but not later than 5, years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report that describes the results of the study conducted
under that subsection.
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