Description:
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 12, 2013
H.R. 2231 would revise existing laws and policies regarding the development of oil and gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). It would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to adopt a new leasing plan for the 2015-2020 period, require auctions of leases in certain areas in the Atlantic and Pacific OCS, and reduce the department’s discretion regarding which regions would be included in future lease sales. Under this bill, some of the offsetting receipts from leases issued in newly available areas would be spent, without further appropriation, to make payments to states. Finally, H.R. 2231 would direct DOI to collect fees from certain firms that operate in the OCS and to implement various administrative reforms.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2231 would reduce net direct spending by $1.5 billion over the 2014-2023 period. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would reduce direct spending. In addition, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $40 million over the 2013-2018 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting this bill would not affect revenues.
H.R. 2231 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
