Description:
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 24, 2013
H.R. 1965 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to establish certain fees for activities related to the development of oil and gas on federal lands. A portion of those amounts along with a portion of fees from renewable energy projects on federal lands would be available to the agency, subject to appropriation, to cover the costs of activities aimed at increasing energy development on federal lands. The bill also would exempt lawsuits related to energy production on federal lands from the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). In addition, the legislation would require BLM to offer for sale at least 25 percent of onshore federal lands nominated by firms for oil and gas leasing. Finally, the bill would establish a commercial leasing program for oil shale resources (a type of rock that can be heated to extract an organic compound used to produce synthetic crude oil) on federal lands.
Based on information provided by BLM, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Treasury, and certain environmental groups, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending, by $325 million over the 2014-2023 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. In addition, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $186 million over the 2014-2018 period and $329 million over the 2014-2023 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized and necessary amounts. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
H.R. 1965 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
