II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 203 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 31, 2005 Mr. Thomas introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To reduce temporarily the royalty required to be paid for sodium produced on Federal lands, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Soda Ash Royalty Reduction Act of 2005.

2.

Reduction in royalty rate on soda ash

Notwithstanding section 102(a)(9) of the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(9)), section 24 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 262), and the terms of any lease under that Act, the royalty rate on the quantity or gross value of the output of sodium compounds and related products at the point of shipment to market from Federal land in the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 2 percent.

3.

Study

After the end of the 4-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, and before the end of the 5-year period beginning on that date, the Secretary of the Interior shall report to the Congress on the effects of the royalty reduction under this Act, including— (1) the amount of sodium compounds and related products at the point of shipment to market from Federal land during that 4-year period; (2) the number of jobs that have been created or maintained during the royalty reduction period; (3) the total amount of royalty paid to the United States on the quantity or gross value of the output of sodium compounds and related products at the point of shipment to market produced during that 4-year period, and the portion of such royalty paid to States; and (4) a recommendation of whether the reduced royalty rate should apply after the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.