Restoring State Mineral Revenues Act
Restoring State Mineral Revenues Act would remove the administrative fee that the Mineral Leasing Act presently authorizes the federal government to collect for certain lease-related services. Specifically, the bill rewrites Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) to eliminate the fee provision (subsection (b)) and adjusts the remaining structure accordingly. It also makes conforming amendments to related laws (the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, the Geothermal Steam Act, and the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act) to remove references to the now-eliminated fee and to preserve consistency across the statutes. The core effect is straightforward: end the administrative fee on federal mineral leasing transactions. The bill does not change royalty rates, bonuses, or other lease terms. While the title suggests a goal of restoring state mineral revenues, the text focuses on removing the fee and aligning other statutes; how state revenues would be affected depends on mechanisms not detailed in the bill.
Key Points
- 1Eliminates the administrative fee authorized under Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (removing subsection (b) and the related references).
- 2Reorganizes the remaining provisions of Section 35 (renumbering subsections) to reflect the fee’s removal.
- 3Adds conforming amendments to other statutes that reference the now-removed fee, including:
- 4- Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 355)
- 5- Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1019)
- 6- Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1735)
- 7Maintains existing lease economics (royalty rates, bonuses, terms) aside from removing the administrative fee.
- 8Creates a need for agency implementation and potential budget/revenue implications due to the fee’s removal, and it removes cross-references that could cause administrative confusion.