[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2938 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2938

  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to reestablish the Royalty 
 Policy Committee in order to further a more consultative process with 
key Federal, State, tribal, environmental, and energy stakeholders, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 17, 2016

  Mr. Daines (for himself, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to reestablish the Royalty 
 Policy Committee in order to further a more consultative process with 
key Federal, State, tribal, environmental, and energy stakeholders, 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 ``Certainty for States and Tribes 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Royalty 
        Policy Committee reestablished under section 3(a).
            (2) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the State and Tribal 
        Resources Board established under section 3(c).
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. RECONSTITUTION OF THE ROYALTY POLICY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall reestablish the Royalty Policy 
Committee in accordance with the charter of the Secretary dated March 
26, 2010, except as otherwise provided in this Act.
    (b) Corrections and Updates.--In reestablishing the Committee, the 
Secretary shall make appropriate technical corrections and updates to 
the charter of the Committee, including by revising--
            (1) all references to the Minerals Management Service or 
        the Minerals Revenue Management so as to refer to the Office of 
        Natural Resources Revenue;
            (2) the estimated number and frequency of meetings of the 
        Committee so that the Committee shall meet not less frequently 
        than once each year; and
            (3) the non-Federal membership of the Committee to 
        include--
                    (A) not fewer than 5 members representing Governors 
                of States that receive more than $10,000,000 annually 
                in royalty revenues from Federal leases; and
                    (B) not more than 5 members representing Indian 
                tribes that are mineral-producing Indian tribes under--
                            (i) the Act of May 11, 1938 (commonly known 
                        as the ``Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938'') 
                        (25 U.S.C. 396a et seq.);
                            (ii) title XXVI of the Energy Policy Act of 
                        1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
                            (iii) the Indian Mineral Development Act of 
                        1982 (25 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.); or
                            (iv) any other law relating to mineral 
                        development that is specific to one or more 
                        Indian tribes.
    (c) Establishment of Subcommittee.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        subcommittee of the Committee, to be known as the ``State and 
        Tribal Resources Board''.
            (2) Membership.--The Board shall be comprised of the non-
        Federal members of the Committee described in subsection 
        (b)(3).

SEC. 4. REVIEW OF REGULATIONS AND POLICIES.

    (a) Consultation and Report.--
            (1) In general.--With respect to any proposed regulation or 
        policy relating to mineral leasing policy for Federal land or 
        Indian land for exploration, development, or production of oil, 
        gas, or coal (including valuation methodologies and royalty and 
        lease rates for oil, gas, or coal), not later than 180 days 
        after the applicable date described in paragraph (2), the 
        Committee shall--
                    (A) assess the proposed regulation or policy; and
                    (B) issue a report that describes the potential 
                impact of the proposed regulation or policy, including 
                any State and tribal budgetary and economic impacts 
                described in subsection (b).
            (2) Date described.--The date referred to in paragraph (1) 
        is, as applicable--
                    (A) with respect to a proposed regulation or policy 
                issued on or after the date of enactment of this Act, 
                the date of the issuance by the Secretary of the 
                proposed regulation or policy; and
                    (B) with respect to a proposed regulation or policy 
                that is pending as of the date of enactment of this 
                Act, the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) State and Tribal Impact Determination.--
            (1) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, before 
        any proposed regulation described in subsection (a)(1) is 
        issued as a final rule, the Board shall publish a determination 
        of the impact of the regulation on school funding, public 
        safety, and other essential State or Indian tribal government 
        services.
            (2) Delay request.--If the Board determines that a 
        regulation described in paragraph (1) will have a negative 
        State or tribal budgetary or economic impact, the Board may 
        request a delay in the issuance of the proposed regulation as a 
        final rule for the purposes of further--
                    (A) stakeholder consultation;
                    (B) budgetary review; and
                    (C) development of a proposal to mitigate the 
                negative budgetary or economic impact.
            (3) Limitation.--A delay under paragraph (2) shall not 
        exceed a 180-day period beginning on the date on which the 
        Board requested the delay.
    (c) Revision of Proposed Regulation.--
            (1) In general.--Before any proposed regulation described 
        in subsection (a)(1) may be issued as a final rule, the 
        Secretary shall take into account any negative State or tribal 
        budgetary or economic impact determined by the Committee under 
        subsection (a)(1) and revise the proposed regulation to avoid 
        the negative impact.
            (2) Final rule.--Any final regulation subject to paragraph 
        (1) shall include--
                    (A) a summary of the report required under 
                subsection (a)(1)(B); and
                    (B) a clear explanation of why the recommendations 
                of that report (including the State and tribal 
                determination under subsection (b)(1)) were or were not 
                taken into account in the finalization of the 
                regulation.
    (d) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to the Chairmen 
and Ranking Members of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report regarding 
the explanation under subsection (c)(2)(B) of why the recommendations 
of the report under subsection (a)(1)(B) (including the State and 
tribal determination under subsection (b)(1)) were or were not taken 
into account in the finalization of the regulation.

SEC. 5. SPECIAL REVIEW OF PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.

    (a) Participants in Programmatic Review.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the programmatic review of 
        coal leasing on Federal land as described in section 4 of 
        Secretarial Order 3338, issued by the Secretary on January 15, 
        2016, and entitled ``Discretionary Programmatic Environmental 
        Impact Statement to Modernize the Federal Coal Program'', the 
        Secretary shall confer with, and take into consideration the 
        views of, representatives appointed to the review board 
        described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Review board.--Each Governor of a State in which more 
        than $10,000,000 in revenue is collected annually by the United 
        States as bonus bids, royalties, and rentals, and fees for 
        production of coal under leases of Federal land, may appoint 
        not more than 3 representatives to a review board to carry out 
        the programmatic review described in paragraph (1), not fewer 
        than one of whom shall be a member of the Board.
            (3) Deadline.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall complete the 
                programmatic review described in paragraph (1) not 
                later than January 15, 2019.
                    (B) Failure to meet deadline.--If the programmatic 
                review is not completed by the deadline described in 
                subparagraph (A), the programmatic review shall be 
                considered to be complete as of that deadline.
    (b) Termination of Other Programmatic Review.--Beginning on January 
16, 2019, no Federal funds may be used to carry out the programmatic 
review described in subsection (a)(1).
    (c) No Implementation Requirement.--Nothing in this section 
requires the Secretary to conduct or complete the programmatic review 
or keep in effect the pause or moratorium on the issuance of new 
Federal coal leases under the Secretarial order described in subsection 
(a)(1) after January 20, 2017.
    (d) Termination of Moratorium.--Effective January 16, 2019--
            (1) the pause or moratorium on the issuance of new Federal 
        coal leases under the Secretarial order referred to in 
        subsection (a)(1) is terminated; and
            (2) that Secretarial order shall have no force or effect.

SEC. 6. GRANDFATHERING OF COAL LEASES ON APPLICATION AND COAL LEASE 
              MODIFICATIONS.

    Nothing in Secretarial Order 3338, issued by the Secretary on 
January 15, 2016, and entitled ``Discretionary Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement to Modernize the Federal Coal Program'' 
shall be considered to prohibit or restrict any issuance of a coal 
lease on application, or modification to a coal lease on application 
pursuant to subpart 3432 of part 3430 of title 43, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or successor regulations), for which the Bureau of Land 
Management has begun a review under section 102 of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) as of January 15, 
2016.

SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR COAL LEASE SALES AND MODIFICATIONS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary 
completes the analysis required under section 102 of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) for an application 
for a coal lease, or an application for a modification to a coal lease 
pursuant to subpart 3432 of part 3430 of title 43, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or successor regulations), accepted by the Secretary, the 
Secretary shall conduct the lease sale and issue the lease, or approve 
the modification, unless the applicant indicates in writing that the 
applicant no longer seeks the lease or modification to the lease.
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