[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1820 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1820

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference 
     right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an 
    affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2015

    Mr. Ben Ray Lujaan of New Mexico (for himself and Mrs. Lummis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference 
     right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an 
    affirmative commercial quantities determination, 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. EXCHANGE OF COAL PREFERENCE RIGHT LEASE APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may retire any coal 
preference right lease application for which the Secretary has made an 
affirmative commercial quantities determination, by issuing bidding 
rights in exchange for relinquishment of the coal preference right 
lease application, including, notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, payment to the relevant State of 50 percent of the dollar amount 
of any bidding right subsequently used in lieu of any monetary payment 
of a bonus in a coal lease sale or of rental or royalty under a Federal 
coal lease.
    (b) Source of Payments.--The Secretary shall make payments under 
subsection (a) from monies that would otherwise be deposited to 
miscellaneous receipts under section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act 
(30 U.S.C. 191(a)) from revenues received under that section under 
Federal mineral leases.
    (c) Treatment of Payments.--A payment to a State under this section 
shall be treated for all purposes as if it were a payment under section 
35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(a)).
    (d) Transferability; Limitation.--
            (1) Transferability.--A bidding right issued under this 
        section shall be fully transferable to any other person.
            (2) Notification of secretary.--A person who transfers such 
        a bidding right shall notify the Secretary of the transfer by 
        any method determined to be appropriate by the Secretary.
            (3) Effective period.--
                    (A) In general.--A bidding right issued under this 
                section shall terminate upon the expiration of the 5-
                year period beginning on the date it is issued.
                    (B) Tolling of period.--Such 5-year period shall be 
                tolled during any period in which exercise of the 
                bidding right is precluded by temporary injunctive 
                relief granted under, or administrative, legislative, 
                or judicial suspension of, the Federal coal leasing 
                program.
    (e) Bidding Right Defined.--In this section the term ``bidding 
right'' means an appropriate legal instrument or other written 
documentation, including an entry in an account managed by the 
Secretary, issued or created under part 3435 of title 43, Code of 
Federal Regulations, that may be used--
            (1) in lieu of a monetary payment for a bonus bid for a 
        coal lease sale under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
        seq,); or
            (2) as a monetary credit against any rental or royalty 
        payments due under any Federal coal lease.
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