Federal Land Freedom Act of 2021
This bill authorizes a state with an established oil and gas leasing program to take responsibility from the federal government for leasing and regulating the exploration and development of oil, gas, and other forms of energy on certain federal land in the state.
In addition, the bill exempts state actions to lease, permit, or regulate oil and gas exploration and development from certain requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2394 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2394
To achieve domestic energy independence by empowering States to control
the development and production of all forms of energy on all available
Federal land.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 20, 2021
Mr. Inhofe (for himself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cramer, Ms. Lummis,
Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Crapo) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To achieve domestic energy independence by empowering States to control
the development and production of all forms of energy on all available
Federal land.
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 ``Federal Land Freedom Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) as of the date of enactment of this Act--
(A) 113,000,000 acres of onshore Federal land are
open and accessible for oil and natural gas
development; and
(B) approximately 166,000,000 acres of onshore
Federal land are off-limits or inaccessible for oil and
natural gas development;
(2) despite the recent oil and natural gas boom in the
United States, the number of acres of Federal land leased for
oil and natural gas exploration has decreased by 24 percent
since 2008;
(3) in 2013, the Federal Government leased only 36,000,000
acres of Federal land, in contrast to the 131,000,000 acres
that were leased in 1984;
(4) the reduction in leasing of Federal land harms economic
growth and Federal revenues;
(5) in 2013, it took 197 days to process applications for
permits to drill on Federal land; and
(6) the States have extensive and sufficient regulatory
frameworks for permitting oil and natural gas development.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Available federal land.--The term ``available Federal
land'' means any Federal land that, as of May 31, 2013--
(A) is located within the boundaries of a State;
(B) is not held by the United States in trust for
the benefit of a federally recognized Indian tribe;
(C) is not a unit of the National Park System;
(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge
System; and
(E) is not a congressionally designated wilderness
area.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) a State; and
(B) the District of Columbia.
(3) State leasing, permitting, and regulatory program.--The
term ``State leasing, permitting, and regulatory program''
means a program established pursuant to State law that
regulates the exploration and development of oil, natural gas,
and other forms of energy on land located in the State.
SEC. 4. STATE CONTROL OF ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION ON ALL
AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.
(a) State Leasing, Permitting, and Regulatory Programs.--Any State
that has established a State leasing, permitting, and regulatory
program may--
(1) submit to the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture,
and Energy a declaration that a State leasing, permitting, and
regulatory program has been established or amended; and
(2) seek to transfer responsibility for leasing,
permitting, and regulating oil, natural gas, and other forms of
energy development from the Federal Government to the State.
(b) State Action Authorized.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, on submission of a declaration under subsection (a)(1), the
State submitting the declaration may lease, permit, and regulate the
exploration and development of oil, natural gas, and other forms of
energy on Federal land located in the State in lieu of the Federal
Government.
(c) Effect of State Action.--Any action by a State to lease,
permit, or regulate the exploration and development of oil, natural
gas, and other forms of energy pursuant to subsection (b) shall not be
subject to, or considered a Federal action, Federal permit, or Federal
license under--
(1) subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the ``Administrative
Procedure Act'');
(2) division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States
Code;
(3) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.); or
(4) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
SEC. 5. NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL REVENUES.
(a) In General.--Any lease or permit issued by a State pursuant to
section 4 shall include provisions for the collection of royalties or
other revenues in an amount equal to the amount of royalties or
revenues that would have been collected if the lease or permit had been
issued by the Federal Government.
(b) Disposition of Revenues.--Any revenues collected by a State
from leasing or permitting on Federal land pursuant to section 4 shall
be deposited in the same Federal account in which the revenues would
have been deposited if the lease or permit had been issued by the
Federal Government.
(c) Effect on State Processing Fees.--Nothing in this Act prohibits
a State from collecting and retaining a fee from an applicant to cover
the administrative costs of processing an application for a lease or
permit.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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