I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 98 

To achieve domestic energy independence by empowering States to control 

the development and production of all forms of energy on all available 

Federal land. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2023 

Mr. BIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To achieve domestic energy independence by empowering 

States to control the development and production of all 

forms of energy on all available Federal land. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Land Freedom 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

2 ‘‘available Federal land’’ means any Federal land 

3 that, as of May 31, 2013— 

4 (A) is located within the boundaries of a 

5 State; 

6 (B) is not held by the United States in 

7 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 

8 Indian tribe; 

9 (C) is not a unit of the National Park Sys10 tem; 

11 (D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 

12 Refuge System; and 

13 (E) is not a congressionally designated wil14 derness area. 

15 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

16 (A) a State; and 

17 (B) the District of Columbia. 

18 (3) STATE LEASING, PERMITTING, AND REGU19 LATORY PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘State leasing, per20 mitting, and regulatory program’’ means a program 

21 established pursuant to State law that regulates the 

22 exploration and development of oil, natural gas, and 

23 other forms of energy on land located in the State. 


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1 SEC. 3. STATE CONTROL OF ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND 

2 PRODUCTION ON ALL AVAILABLE FEDERAL 

3 LAND. 

4 (a) STATE LEASING, PERMITTING, AND REGU5 LATORY PROGRAMS.—Any State that has established a 

6 State leasing, permitting, and regulatory program may— 

7 (1) submit to the Secretaries of the Interior, 

8 Agriculture, and Energy a declaration that a State 

9 leasing, permitting, and regulatory program has 

10 been established or amended; and 

11 (2) seek to transfer responsibility for leasing, 

12 permitting, and regulating oil, natural gas, and 

13 other forms of energy development from the Federal 

14 Government to the State. 

15 (b) STATE ACTION AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding 

16 any other provision of law, on submission of a declaration 

17 under subsection (a)(1), the State submitting the declara18 tion may lease, permit, and regulate the exploration and 

19 development of oil, natural gas, and other forms of energy 

20 on available Federal land located in the State in lieu of 

21 the Federal Government. 

22 (c) EFFECT OF STATE ACTION.—Any action by a 

23 State to lease, permit, or regulate the exploration and de24 velopment of oil, natural gas, and other forms of energy 

25 pursuant to subsection (b) shall not be subject to, or conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jan 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H98.IH H98

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1 sidered a Federal action, Federal permit, or Federal li2 cense under— 

3 (1) subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, 

4 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

5 the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’); 

6 (2) division A of subtitle III of title 54, United 

7 States Code; 

8 (3) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 

10 (4) the National Environmental Policy Act of 

11 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 4. NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL REVENUES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any lease or permit issued by a 

14 State pursuant to section 3 shall include provisions for 

15 the collection of royalties or other revenues in an amount 

16 equal to the amount of royalties or revenues that would 

17 have been collected if the lease or permit had been issued 

18 by the Federal Government. 

19 (b) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Any revenues col20 lected by a State from leasing or permitting on available 

21 Federal land pursuant to section 3 shall be deposited in 

22 the same Federal account in which the revenues would 

23 have been deposited if the lease or permit had been issued 

24 by the Federal Government. 


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1 (c) EFFECT ON STATE PROCESSING FEES.—Nothing 

2 in this Act prohibits a State from collecting and retaining 

3 a fee from an applicant to cover the administrative costs 

4 of processing an application for a lease or permit. 

Æ 


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