[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3079 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3079

     To improve the management of the Federal coal leasing program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 21, 2016

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To improve the management of the Federal coal leasing program.

    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 ``Fairness, Accountability, and 
Certainty for Taxpayers in Coal Leasing Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE RELATING TO A REVIEW OF THE FEDERAL COAL 
              LEASING PROGRAM.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Federal coal leasing program should be reviewed--
                    (A) to ensure that taxpayers receive a fair rate of 
                return for Federal minerals;
                    (B) to provide appropriate transparency; and
                    (C) to ensure that management of Federal land and 
                minerals is in the public interest;
            (2) the responsible development of coal resources on 
        Federal land provides an important source of jobs and revenue 
        for States and local economies; and
            (3) the review under paragraph (1) should be completed as 
        soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF A PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 
              STATEMENT.

    Not later than January 15, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall complete the programmatic review of coal leasing on Federal land 
described in section 4 of Secretarial Order 3338, issued by the 
Secretary of the Interior on January 15, 2016.

SEC. 4. ROYALTY POLICY COMMITTEE.

    (a) In General.--To ensure consultation with key State, tribal, 
environmental, energy, and Federal stakeholders, not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall 
reestablish the Royalty Policy Committee (referred to in this section 
as the ``Committee'') in accordance with the charter of the Secretary, 
dated March 26, 2010, as modified by this section.
    (b) Duties.--The Committee shall--
            (1) provide advice to the Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Office of Natural Resource Revenue, on the 
        management of Federal and Indian mineral leases and revenues 
        under the law governing the Department of the Interior;
            (2) review and comment on revenue management and other 
        mineral and energy-related policies; and
            (3) provide a forum to convey views representative of 
        mineral lessees, operators, revenue payers, revenue recipients, 
        governmental agencies, and public interest groups.
    (c) Advisory.--The duties of the Committee shall be solely 
advisory.
    (d) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at least once a year at the 
request of the Secretary.
    (e) Duration.--The charter of the Committee may be renewed in 2-
year increments by the Secretary.
    (f) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall appoint non-Federal members and alternates to the 
        Committee for a term of up to 3 years.
            (2) Terms.--
                    (A) In general.--The terms of non-Federal Committee 
                members and alternates shall be staggered to preserve 
                the integrity of the Committee.
                    (B) Terms.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 
                the terms of new or reappointed non-Federal members of 
                the Committee shall be 3 years.
                    (C) Shorter terms.--If a term of 3 years would 
                result in more than \1/3\ of the terms of the non-
                Federal members expiring in any year, appointments of 
                non-Federal members may be extended for 1 year or 2 
                terms to provide continuity of the Committee.
                    (D) Maximum number of years.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), 
                        non-Federal members may not serve more than 6 
                        consecutive years as a member of the Committee.
                            (ii) Reappointment.--After a 2-year break 
                        in service, any non-Federal member who has 
                        served 6 consecutive years shall be eligible 
                        for reappointment to the Committee.
            (3) Meetings.--The Secretary may revoke the appointment of 
        a member of the Committee and the alternate if the appointed 
        member or alternate fails to attend 2 or more consecutive 
        meetings of the Committee.
            (4) Balanced representation.--Committee members shall be 
        comprised of non-Federal and Federal members in order to ensure 
        fair and balanced representation with consideration for the 
        efficiency and fiscal economy of the Committee.
            (5) Discretionary service.--All members of the Committee 
        shall serve at the discretion of the Secretary.
            (6) Non-federal members.--In appointing non-Federal members 
        of the Committee, the Secretary shall appoint up to--
                    (A) 5 members who represent States that receive 
                over $10,000,000 annually in royalty revenues from 
                Federal leases;
                    (B) 5 members who represent Indian tribes;
                    (C) 5 members who represent various mineral or 
                energy interests, including at least 1 member who 
                represents labor interests; and
                    (D) 5 members who represent public interest groups, 
                including groups representing taxpayers and groups with 
                academic expertise.
            (7) Federal members.--The following officials, or their 
        designees, shall be nonvoting, ex-officio members of the 
        Committee:
                    (A) The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs.
                    (B) The Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
                    (C) The Director of the Office of Natural Resources 
                Revenue.
    (g) Subcommittees.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the approval of the Secretary 
        and paragraph (2), subcommittees or workgroups of the Committee 
        may be formed for the purposes of compiling information or 
        conducting research.
            (2) Administration.--Subcommittees or workgroups of the 
        Committee shall--
                    (A) act only under the direction of the Committee; 
                and
                    (B) report their recommendations to the full 
                Committee for consideration.
            (3) Appointment.--The Committee Chair, with the approval of 
        the Secretary of the Interior, shall appoint subcommittee or 
        workgroup members.
            (4) Meetings.--Subcommittees and workgroups of the 
        Committee shall meet as necessary to accomplish assignments, 
        subject to the approval of the Secretary and the availability 
        of resources.

SEC. 5. EMERGENCY LEASING.

    (a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall amend section 3425.1-4 
of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, and Secretarial Order 3338, 
issued by the Secretary of the Interior on January 15, 2016, to 
authorize earlier emergency leasing than is authorized under section 
3425.1-4 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as of the date of 
enactment of this Act).
    (b) Administration.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Interior shall substitute ``4 years'' for ``3 years'' each place 
it appears in section 3425.1-4 of title 43, Code of Federal 
Regulations, for the duration of the programmatic review of the Federal 
coal program and the limitations on the issuance of Federal coal leases 
described in Secretarial Order 3338 issued by the Secretary of the 
Interior on January 15, 2016.
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