[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3284 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3284

   To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the 
    inclusion of areas off the coast of South Carolina in the outer 
 Continental Shelf leasing program for fiscal years 2012 through 2017, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 11, 2012

  Mr. Graham introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the 
    inclusion of areas off the coast of South Carolina in the outer 
 Continental Shelf leasing program for fiscal years 2012 through 2017, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``South Carolina Offshore Drilling 
Act''.

SEC. 2. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF OIL AND GAS LEASING OFF THE COAST OF 
              SOUTH CAROLINA.

    Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1344) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Leasing Off the Coast of South Carolina.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Qualified revenues.--The term `qualified 
                revenues' means all rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and 
                other sums due and payable to the United States under a 
                lease sale conducted under this subsection.
                    ``(B) State.--The term `State' means the State of 
                South Carolina.
            ``(2) Authorization of lease sales.--The Secretary shall 
        include in the schedule of proposed lease sales under the outer 
        Continental Shelf leasing program for fiscal years 2012 through 
        2017 prepared under this section any areas located within the 
        administrative boundaries of the State that are more than 50 
        miles off the coast of the State.
            ``(3) Leasing of additional areas.--
                    ``(A) Petition.--The Governor of South Carolina, 
                with the concurrence of the State legislature, may 
                submit to the Secretary a petition requesting that the 
                Secretary make available for leasing any portion of the 
                area within the administrative boundaries of the State 
                that is more than 10, but less than 50, miles off the 
                coast of the State.
                    ``(B) Action by secretary.--Notwithstanding any 
                other provision of law, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) not later than 90 days after the date 
                        of receipt of a petition under subparagraph 
                        (A), approve the petition; and
                            ``(ii) on approval of the petition, make 
                        the area available for leasing in accordance 
                        with this subsection and any other applicable 
                        provision of law.
                    ``(C) Failure to act.--If the Secretary fails to 
                approve a petition in accordance with subparagraph (B), 
                the petition shall be considered to be approved as of 
                the date that is 90 days after the date of receipt of 
                the petition.
                    ``(D) Treatment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date on which a petition is approved, or considered to 
                be approved, under subparagraph (A) or (B), the 
                Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) treat the petition as a proposed 
                        revision to a leasing program under this 
                        section; and
                            ``(ii) except as provided in subparagraph 
                        (E), initiate a new 5-year outer Continental 
                        Shelf oil and gas leasing program to replace 
                        the outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing 
                        program in effect as of that date, which shall 
                        include any lease sale for any area covered by 
                        the petition.
                    ``(E) Inclusion in subsequent plans.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If there are less than 
                        18 months remaining in the 5-year outer 
                        Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program 
                        described in subparagraph (D)(ii), the 
                        Secretary, without consultation with any State, 
                        shall include the areas covered by the petition 
                        in lease sales under the proposed 5-year outer 
                        Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program.
                            ``(ii) Environmental assessment.--Before 
                        modifying a 5-year outer Continental Shelf oil 
                        and gas leasing program for the next 5-year 
                        period, the Secretary shall complete an 
                        environmental assessment that describes any 
                        anticipated environmental effect of leasing in 
                        the area covered by the petition.
            ``(4) Prohibition on leasing certain areas.--
                    ``(A) Petition.--The Governor of the State, with 
                the concurrence of the State legislature, may submit to 
                the Secretary a petition requesting that the Secretary 
                prohibit the leasing of areas within the administrative 
                boundaries of the State that are more than 50, but less 
                than 100, miles off the coast of the State.
                    ``(B) Action by secretary.--Not later than 90 days 
                after the date of receipt of a petition under 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall approve the 
                petition.''.

SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF QUALIFIED OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES.

    Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1344) (as amended by section 2) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(j) Revenue Sharing for Additional Areas.--
            ``(1) Bonus bids.--If the Governor or legislature of a 
        coastal State requests the Secretary to allow leasing in an 
        outer Continental Shelf area and the Secretary allows the 
        leasing, the coastal State shall, without further appropriation 
        or action, receive 37.5 percent of any bonus bid paid for 
        leasing rights in the area.
            ``(2) Post leasing revenues.--In addition to bonus bids 
        under paragraph (1), a State described in paragraph (1) shall 
        receive, from leasing of the area, 37.5 percent of--
                    ``(A) any lease rental payments;
                    ``(B) any lease royalty payments;
                    ``(C) any royalty proceeds from a sale of royalties 
                taken in kind by the Secretary; and
                    ``(D) any other revenues from a bidding system 
                under section 8.
            ``(3) Allocation among coastal political subdivisions of 
        states.--The Secretary shall pay 20 percent of the allocable 
        share of each coastal State, as determined under this 
        subsection, directly to certain coastal political subdivisions 
        of the coastal State.
            ``(4) Conservation royalties.--After making distributions 
        in accordance with paragraphs (1) through (3), the Secretary 
        shall, without further appropriation or action, distribute a 
        conservation royalty equal to 12.5 percent of Federal royalty 
        revenues derived from an area leased under this section from 
        all areas leased under this section for any year, into the land 
        and water conservation fund established under section 2 of the 
        Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-5) 
        to provide financial assistance to States under section 6 of 
        that Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-8).
            ``(5) Deficit reduction.--After making distributions in 
        accordance with paragraphs (1) through (4), the Secretary 
        shall, without further appropriation or action, distribute an 
        amount equal to 50 percent of Federal royalty revenues derived 
        from all areas leased under this section for any year, into 
        direct Federal deficit reduction.''.
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