(1) as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act— 
(A) 113,000,000 acres of onshore Federal 
land are open and accessible for oil and gas de-
velopment; and 
(B) approximately 166,000,000 acres of 
onshore Federal land are off-limits or inacces-
sible for oil and gas development; 
(2) despite the recent oil and gas boom in the 
United States, the number of acres of Federal land 
leased for oil and gas exploration has decreased by 
31 percent since 2008; 
(3) in 2015, the Federal Government leased 
only 36,000,000 acres of Federal land, in contrast to 
the 131,000,000 acres that were leased in 1984; 
(4) the reduction in leasing of Federal land 
harms economic growth and Federal revenues; 
(5) in 2015, it took, on average, 220 days to 
process applications for permits to drill on Federal 
land; and 
(6) States have extensive and sufficient regu-
latory frameworks for permitting oil and gas devel-
opment. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) AVAILABLE
FEDERAL
LAND.—The term 
‘‘available Federal land’’ means any Federal land 
that, as of May 31, 2017— 
(A) is located within the boundaries of a 
State; 
(B) is not held by the United States in 
trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 
Indian tribe; 
(C) is not a unit of the National Park Sys-
tem; 
(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 
Refuge System; 
(E) is not Congressionally approved wilder-
ness area under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.); and 
(F) has been identified as land available 
for lease for the exploration, development, and 
production of oil or gas— 
(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment under a Resource Management Plan 
pursuant to the process provided for in the 
Federal Land Management and Policy Act 
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 
(ii) by the Forest Service under a 
Forest Management Plan pursuant to the 
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process provided for in the National Forest 
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 
et seq.). 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) one of the several States; and 
(B) the District of Columbia. 
(3) STATE REGULATORY PROGRAM.—The term 
‘‘State regulatory program’’ means a program estab-
lished pursuant to State law that regulates oil and 
gas exploration, development, and production on 
land located in the State. 
SEC. 4. STATE CONTROL OF OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION, 
DEVELOPMENT, AND PRODUCTION ON ALL 
AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 
(a) SUBMISSION
OF
STATE
REGULATORY
PRO-
GRAM.—Each State in which there may be the leasing, 
permitting, or regulating of oil and gas exploration, devel-
opment, and production activities on available Federal 
lands, and which wishes to assume exclusive jurisdiction 
over the leasing, permitting, and regulation of such oil and 
gas activities, shall submit to the Secretaries of the Inte-
rior and Agriculture a State regulatory program which 
demonstrates that such State has the capability of car-
rying out the provisions of this Act and meeting its pur-
poses through— 
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(1) a State law which provides for the leasing, 
regulation and permitting of oil and gas exploration, 
development, and production activities; 
(2) a State law which provides sanctions for 
violations of State laws, regulations, or conditions of 
permits concerning oil and gas exploration, develop-
ment, and production activities; 
(3) a State regulatory authority with sufficient 
administrative and technical personnel, and suffi-
cient funding to enable the State to lease, regulate 
and permit oil and gas exploration, development, and 
production activities; and 
(4) a State law which provides for the effective 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of a 
permit system for oil and gas exploration, develop-
ment, and production activities on available Federal 
lands within the State. 
(b) APPROVAL OF STATE REGULATORY PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The State regulatory pro-
gram submitted under subsection (a) shall be 
deemed approved, unless, not later than 60 days 
after submission, the Secretaries of the Interior and 
Agriculture— 
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(A) find approval of a State regulatory 
program would result in decreased royalty pay-
ments to the Federal Government; or 
(B) determine that the State Regulatory 
Program submitted under subsection (a) does 
not have the capability to carry out the provi-
sions of this Act. 
(2) ADVERSE DETERMINATION.—For any ad-
verse determination by the Secretaries, the Secre-
taries shall— 
(A) notify, in writing, the State applicant 
of the reason for the withholding of approval; 
and 
(B) provide any additional information, 
data, or analysis upon which such determina-
tion is based. 
(c) EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF STATE REGULATORY 
PROGRAM.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
on approval of a State regulatory program under sub-
section (b), the State shall assume the Federal leasing, 
permitting and regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas 
exploration, development, and production on available 
Federal land located in the State in accordance with the 
approved plan. 
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(d) EFFECT OF STATE ACTION.—Any action by a 
State to lease, permit, or regulate oil and gas exploration, 
development, and production in accordance with an ap-
proved State regulatory program shall not be subject to, 
or considered a Federal action, Federal permit, or Federal 
license under— 
(1) subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, 
of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’); 
(2) chapter 3001 of title 54, United States 
Code; 
(3) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 
(4) the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
(e) REASSUMPTION OF REGULATORY AUTHORITY BY 
THE SECRETARY.— 
(1) VOLUNTARY SURRENDER OF AUTHORITY.— 
If a State regulatory program has been approved 
under subsection (b), such state may voluntarily re-
voke such approval, and relinquish the duties under 
subsection (c) upon providing a 60-day notice to the 
Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. Upon 
the expiration of the 60-day period, the state shall 
no longer be permitted to lease, regulate, or permit 
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oil and gas exploration, development, and production 
activities on available Federal lands. 
(2) INVOLUNTARY
SURRENDER
OF
AUTHOR-
ITY.—If the Secretaries of the Interior or Agri-
culture determine a State regulatory program has 
resulted in a 20-percent decrease in royalties to the 
Federal government from the preceding year, the 
Secretaries shall notify the state of such decrease. 
Such notified state shall have 180 days to address 
the royalty deficiency. If a state fails to improve the 
amount of royalties paid to the federal government, 
then the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture 
may jointly determine to revoke the approval of the 
state regulatory program under subsection (b). 
SEC. 5. NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL REVENUES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any lease or permit issued by a 
State under section 4 shall include provisions for the col-
lection of royalties or other revenues in an amount equal 
to the amount of royalties or revenues that would have 
been collected if the lease or permit had been issued by 
the Federal Government. 
(b) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Any revenues col-
lected under a lease or permit issued by a State under 
section 4 shall be deposited in the same Federal account 
in which the revenues would have been deposited if the 
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lease or permit had been issued by the Federal Govern-
ment. 
(c) EFFECT ON STATE PROCESSING FEES.—Nothing 
in this Act prohibits a State from collecting and retaining 
a fee from an applicant to cover the administrative costs 
of processing an application for a lease or permit. 
Æ 
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