Description:
H.R. 1373 would withdraw roughly 1 million acres of federal land in Arizona from mining laws and mineral and geothermal leasing, subject to valid existing rights. That is, the bill would not allow new mining or mineral production on those lands, which are adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park. Under a public land order issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI), the affected lands are withdrawn from location and entry under mining laws until 2032. CBO estimates that any administrative costs to implement the mineral and geothermal leasing withdrawal would be insignificant; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 1373 could increase direct spending. Payments from mineral and geothermal leasing are classified as offsetting receipts and recorded in the budget as reductions in direct spending. Using information from DOI, CBO expects that the affected land has moderate potential for geothermal resources and could be leased in the future. We estimate that any forgone receipts under the bill would be insignificant over the 2019-2029 period. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1373 would not significantly increase on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2030.
