I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5973 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Gulf of Mexico 

Energy Security Act of 2006 to increase the percentage of revenues 

from new offshore leases that will be shared with coastal States to 

50 percent. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2010 

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. OLSON, Mr. BRIGHT, Mr. PAUL, Mr. 

SCALISE, Mr. BONNER, Mr. BARTON of Texas, and Mr. CAO) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the 

Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to increase 

the percentage of revenues from new offshore leases that 

will be shared with coastal States to 50 percent. 

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 ‘‘Offshore Lease Fair5 ness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASED REVENUE SHARING WITH STATES FOR 

2 LEASES WITHIN 3 MILES OF THE COAST LINE. 

3 (a) LEASES FOR ACTIVITIES AUTHORIZED IN OCS 

4 LANDS ACT.—Section 8(g)(2) of the Outer Continental 

5 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(g)(2)) is amended by 

6 inserting after ‘‘27 percent of those revenues,’’ the fol7 lowing: ‘‘or, for leases entered into after the date of enact8 ment of the Offshore Lease Fairness Act, 50 percent of 

9 those revenues,’’ 

10 (b) LEASES FOR ENERGY-RELATED ACTIVITIES.— 

11 Section 8(p)(2)(B) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

12 Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting 

13 after ‘‘27 percent of the revenues received by the Federal 

14 Government as a result of payments under this section’’ 

15 the following: ‘‘, or, for any lease, easement, or right-of16 way granted after the date of enactment of the Offshore 

17 Lease Fairness Act, 50 percent of those revenues,’’. 

18 SEC. 3. INCREASED REVENUE SHARING WITH STATES FOR 

19 LEASES BEYOND 3 MILES OF THE COAST 

20 LINE. 

21 (a) DEFINITION OF NEW OUTER CONTINENTAL

22 SHELF REVENUES.—Section 102 of the Gulf of Mexico 

23 Energy Security Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 43 

24 U.S.C. 1331 note) is amended— 

25 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

26 (11) as paragraphs (10) through (12), respectively; 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(9) NEW OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REVE4 NUES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘new outer 

6 Continental Shelf revenues’ means all rentals, 

7 royalties, bonus bids, and other sums received 

8 by the United States from leases entered into 

9 after the period described in paragraph 

10 (10)(A)(i) for areas on the outer Continental 

11 Shelf (as defined in section 2(a) of the Outer 

12 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

13 1331(a)). 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘new outer 

15 Continental Shelf revenues’ does not include 

16 revenues and other amounts described in para17 graph (10)(B).’’; and 

18 (3) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (10) (as 

19 redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection)— 

20 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘due and pay21 able to the United States’’ and all that follows 

22 through ‘‘on or after the date of enactment of 

23 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘received by the United 

24 States from leases entered into in the period be25 ginning on December 20, 2006, and ending on 


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1 the date of enactment of the Offshore Lease 

2 Fairness Act’’; and 

3 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘on or after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘in the period described in clause (i)’’. 

6 (b) DISPOSITION OF NEW OUTER CONTINENTAL

7 SHELF REVENUES.—The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

8 Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note) 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following new sec10 tions: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 106. DISPOSITION OF NEW OUTER CONTINENTAL 

12 SHELF REVENUES. 

13 ‘‘(a) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Notwithstanding 

14 section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

15 U.S.C. 1338) and subject to the other provisions of this 

16 section, for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year there17 after— 

18 ‘‘(1) 50 percent of new outer Continental Shelf 

19 revenues shall be deposited in the general fund of 

20 the Treasury; and 

21 ‘‘(2) 50 percent of new outer Continental Shelf 

22 revenues shall be deposited in a special account in 

23 the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Treasury 

24 shall disburse such amount to coastal States under 

25 subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION AMONG COASTAL STATES.—The 

2 amount made available under subsection (a)(2) shall be 

3 allocated to coastal States using rules substantially similar 

4 to the rules in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 105(b), 

5 except that— 

6 ‘‘(1) references in such paragraphs to Gulf pro7 ducing States shall be treated as references to coast8 al States; and 

9 ‘‘(2) new outer Continental Shelf revenues from 

10 leases in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the 

11 Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean may only be al12 located to States that are in, or that border on, the 

13 Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific 

14 Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean, respectively. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 107. TIMING AND ADMINISTRATION OF DISPOSITION 

16 OF REVENUES. 

17 ‘‘(a) TIMING.—Amounts required to be deposited 

18 under sections 105(a)(2) and 106(a)(2) for a fiscal year 

19 shall be made available in accordance with those sections 

20 for the subsequent fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Amounts made available 

22 under sections 105(a)(2) and 106(a)(2) shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) be made available, without further appro24 priation, in accordance with this section; 

25 ‘‘(2) remain available until expended; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) be in addition to any amounts appro2 priated under— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

4 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(B) the Land and Water Conservation 

6 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–4 et seq.); 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(C) any other provision of law.’’. 

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 105 of the 

10 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (Public Law 

11 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking subsections (c) and (e); and 

13 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (f) as 

14 subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

Æ 


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