[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3859 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3859

  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to adjust minimum bids and annual 
rentals for oil and gas and tar sands leases to reflect inflation, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2014

 Mr. Lowenthal (for himself, Mr. DeFazio, and Mr. Holt) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to adjust minimum bids and annual 
rentals for oil and gas and tar sands leases to reflect inflation, 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 ``Oil and Gas Leasing Inflation 
Adjustment Act''.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF MINIMUM BIDS AND ANNUAL RENTALS FOR OIL AND GAS 
              AND TAR SANDS LEASES TO REFLECT INFLATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 
226) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``$2 per acre'' 
        and inserting ``$4 per acre'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by striking ``$2 per acre'' 
        and inserting ``$5 per acre'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``$1.50 per acre'' and inserting 
                ``$3 per acre''; and
                    (B) by striking ``$2 per acre'' and inserting ``$4 
                per acre''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(q) Inflation Adjustment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) by regulation, at least once every 4 years, 
                adjust each of the dollar amounts that applies under 
                subsections (b)(1)(B), (b)(2)(C), and (d) by the cost-
                of-living adjustment; and
                    ``(B) publish each such regulation in the Federal 
                Register.
            ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Cost-of-living adjustment.--The term `cost-
                of-living adjustment' means the percentage (if any) for 
                a dollar amount by which--
                            ``(i) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June of the calendar year preceding 
                        the adjustment, exceeds
                            ``(ii) the Consumer Price Index for the 
                        month of June of the calendar year in which the 
                        dollar amount was last set or adjusted pursuant 
                        to law.
                    ``(B) Consumer price index.--The term `Consumer 
                Price Index' means the Consumer Price Index for all-
                urban consumers published by the Department of 
                Labor.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 17(b)(1)(B) of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(B)) is amended beginning in the first 
sentence by striking ``for a period'' and all that follows through 
``Thereafter, the'' and inserting ``. The''.
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