I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9077 
To transfer the duties of the Office of Public Participation of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission to a Public Participation Division within 
the Office of External Affairs of such Commission, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2024 
Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself, Mr. PENCE, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. 
BURGESS, Mr. PFLUGER, Mr. ARMSTRONG, and Mr. BUCSHON) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce 
A BILL 
To transfer the duties of the Office of Public Participation 
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to a Pub-
lic Participation Division within the Office of External 
Affairs of such Commission, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair and Efficient 
Regulatory Commonsense Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DIVISION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319 of the Federal Power 
Act (16 U.S.C. 825q–1) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 319. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DIVISION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a division within 
the Office, to be known as the Public Participation Divi-
sion, administered by a Director appointed by the Director 
of the Office. 
‘‘(b) RATE OF PAY.— 
‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall be com-
pensated at an equivalent rate of basic pay pre-
scribed for a director in the Office. 
‘‘(2) EMPLOYEES.—The Director may appoint, 
and assign the duties of, employees of such Division, 
and, with the concurrence of the Office, fix the com-
pensation of such employees and procure temporary 
and intermittent services to the same extent as is 
authorized under section 3109 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES OF DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Director shall be responsible for the discharge of 
the functions and duties of the Division, including— 
‘‘(A) coordinating assistance to the public 
with respect to authorities exercised by the 
Commission; and 
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‘‘(B) coordinating assistance available to 
persons intervening or participating or pro-
posing to intervene or participate in proceedings 
before the Commission. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Any assistance coordinated 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 
shall be limited to technical and logistical assistance. 
‘‘(d) NO COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN INTERVE-
NORS OR PARTICIPANTS.—The Commission, including the 
Director and the Division, may not, under rules promul-
gated by it, provide compensation for attorney’s fees, ex-
pert witness fees, or other costs of intervening or partici-
pating in any proceeding before the Commission to any 
person whose intervention or participation substantially 
contributed to the approval, in whole or in part, of a posi-
tion advocated by such person. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Division. 
‘‘(2) DIVISION.—The term ‘Division’ means the 
Public Participation Division described under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(3) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of-
fice of External Affairs of the Commission.’’. 
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(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Public Par-
ticipation Division, described in section 319 of the Federal 
Power Act (16 U.S.C. 825q–1), as amended by subsection 
(a), shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives a report on— 
(1) the actions and initiatives taken by the Di-
rector, including actions and initiatives taken to in-
crease public participation, pursuant to the authori-
ties provided in such section 319 of the Federal 
Power Act; 
(2) the results of taking the actions and initia-
tives described in paragraph (1); and 
(3) how the authorities provided in such section 
319 of the Federal Power Act may complement or 
overlap any existing authorities of the Federal En-
ergy Regulatory Commission outside of the Division 
with respect to engaging with landowners and inter-
ested parties under that Act. 
Æ 
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