[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8954 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8954
To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2024
Mr. Gosar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, 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 ``Public Land Renewable Energy
Development Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Limited grandfathering.
Sec. 5. Disposition of revenues.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means land
that is--
(A) Federal land administered by the Secretary; and
(B) not excluded from the development of
geothermal, solar, or wind energy under--
(i) a land use plan; or
(ii) other Federal law.
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
(A) public lands; and
(B) lands of the National Forest System as
described in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.
1609(a)).
(3) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Renewable Energy
Resource Conservation Fund established by section 5(c)(1).
(4) Renewable energy project.--The term ``renewable energy
project'' means a project carried out on covered land that uses
wind, solar, or geothermal energy to generate energy.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. LIMITED GRANDFATHERING.
(a) Definition of Project.--In this section, the term ``project''
means a system described in section 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of
Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act).
(b) Requirement To Pay Rents and Fees.--Unless otherwise agreed to
by the owner of a project, the owner of a project that applied for a
right-of-way under section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) on or before December 19, 2016,
shall be obligated to pay with respect to the right-of-way all rents
and fees in effect before the effective date of the rule of the Bureau
of Land Management entitled ``Competitive Processes, Terms, and
Conditions for Leasing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy
Development and Technical Changes and Corrections'' (81 Fed. Reg. 92122
(December 19, 2016)).
SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.
(a) Disposition of Revenues.--
(1) Availability.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
beginning on January 1, 2025, of amounts collected from a wind
or solar project as bonus bids, rentals, fees, or other
payments under a right-of-way, permit, lease, or other
authorization the following shall be made available, without
further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, as follows:
(A) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the
Secretary of the Treasury to the State within the
boundaries of which the revenue is derived.
(B) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the
Secretary of the Treasury to the one or more counties
within the boundaries of which the revenue is derived,
to be allocated among the counties based on the
percentage of land from which the revenue is derived.
(C) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in the
Treasury and be made available to the Secretary to
carry out the program established under this Act,
including the transfer of the funds by the Bureau of
Land Management to other Federal agencies and State
agencies to facilitate the processing of renewable
energy permits on Federal land, with priority given to
using the amounts, to the maximum extent practicable
without detrimental impacts to emerging markets, to
expediting the issuance of permits required for the
development of renewable energy projects in the States
from which the revenues are derived.
(D) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in the
Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund established
by subsection (c).
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the
following:
(A) Amounts collected under section 504(g) of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1764(g)).
(B) Amounts deposited into the National Parks and
Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund under section
200402(b) of title 54, United States Code.
(b) Payments to States and Counties.--
(1) In general.--Amounts paid to States and counties under
subsection (a)(1) shall be used consistent with section 35 of
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191).
(2) Payments in lieu of taxes.--A payment to a county under
paragraph (1) shall be in addition to a payment in lieu of
taxes received by the county under chapter 69 of title 31,
United States Code.
(c) Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury a
fund to be known as the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation
Fund, which shall be administered by the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.
(2) Use of funds.--The Secretary may make amounts in the
Fund available to Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies to
be distributed in regions in which renewable energy projects
are located on Federal land. Such amounts may be used to--
(A) restore and protect--
(i) fish and wildlife habitat for affected
species;
(ii) fish and wildlife corridors for
affected species; and
(iii) wetlands, streams, rivers, and other
natural water bodies in areas affected by wind,
geothermal, or solar energy development; and
(B) preserve and improve recreational access to
Federal land and water in an affected region through an
easement, right-of-way, or other instrument from
willing landowners for the purpose of enhancing public
access to existing Federal land and water that is
inaccessible or restricted.
(3) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative
agreements with State and Tribal agencies, nonprofit
organizations, and other appropriate entities to carry out the
activities described in paragraph (2).
(4) Investment of fund.--
(A) In general.--Amounts deposited in the Fund
shall earn interest in an amount determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current
average market yield on outstanding marketable
obligations of the United States of comparable
maturities.
(B) Use.--Interest earned under subparagraph (A)
may be expended in accordance with this subsection.
(5) Report to congress.--At the end of each fiscal year,
the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate that includes a
description of--
(A) the amount collected as described in subsection
(a), by source, during that fiscal year;
(B) the amount and purpose of payments during that
fiscal year to each Federal, State, local, and Tribal
agency under paragraph (2); and
(C) the amount remaining in the Fund at the end of
the fiscal year.
(6) Intent of congress.--It is the intent of Congress that
the revenues deposited and used in the Fund shall supplement
(and not supplant) annual appropriations for activities
described in paragraph (2).
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