Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act
Bill: H.R.4266 | Sponsor: Rep. Hern, Kevin (R-OK)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act
This bill addresses energy poverty (i.e., insufficient access to affordable energy) in at-risk communities. An at-risk community is a community that is low-income, minority, rural, elderly, or Native American.
The Department of the Interior must report on (1) barriers to the ability of at-risk communities that live on or near federal land or tribal land to access reliable and affordable energy, including how the presence of adequate energy transmission infrastructure affects such access; and (2) actions that it and the Forest Service may take to reduce such barriers. In addition, certain executive actions may not be carried out until Interior conducts energy poverty studies for such actions.
The Congressional Budget Office must report on how a bill or resolution will affect the cost of energy for at-risk communities.
The Government Accountability Office must (1) analyze federal energy and environmental laws and regulations, and state renewable portfolio standards, to determine how such laws, regulations, and standards affected electricity prices, home heating prices, gasoline prices, motor vehicle prices, natural gas prices, and household appliance prices in at-risk communities; and (2) develop criteria to determine whether an at-risk community is experiencing energy poverty.
The Office of Management and Budget must review and publish each applicable energy regulation to determine if any regulation imposes, relative to the general population, disproportionate costs on at-risk communities.

To prevent energy poverty in at-risk communities, 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 ``Energy Poverty Prevention and 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that--
            (1) all citizens should have equal access to affordable and 
        reliable energy to maintain personal health and economic 
        security;
            (2) the United States should mitigate the disparate impact 
        of increases in the cost of energy on at-risk communities 
        because such communities are more likely to have a fixed income 
        and spend a higher percentage of their income on energy than 
        the general population; and
            (3) to prevent energy poverty and to ensure that each at-
        risk community has access to affordable energy, the United 
        States should ensure that laws relating to environmental and 
        energy policy, including the National Environmental Policy Act 
        of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 
        1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Migratory Bird Treaty 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), do not have the effect of 
        increasing the cost of energy for any at-risk community.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR REPORT ON ACCESS TO RELIABLE AND 
              AFFORDABLE ENERGY.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) identifies barriers to the ability of at-risk 
        communities that live on or near Federal land or Tribal land to 
        access reliable and affordable energy, including how the 
        presence of adequate energy transmission infrastructure affects 
        such access; and
            (2) recommends actions that the Secretary of the Interior 
        and the Chief of the Forest Service could take to reduce the 
        barriers described in paragraph (1), including by--
                    (A) establishing lower fees or lowering other 
                costs;
                    (B) streamlining the approval of rights-of-way on 
                Federal land and Tribal land;
                    (C) encouraging private energy sector investment in 
                Federal land and Tribal land; and
                    (D) rapidly developing electric transmission and 
                delivery systems in remote areas.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES FOR EFFECTS ON ENERGY 
              PRICES.

    The Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall include in 
each applicable estimate required under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653) 
an estimate of how the bill or resolution will affect the cost of 
energy for at-risk communities.

SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IDENTIFICATION OF ENERGY 
              POVERTY.

    (a) Analysis.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall conduct an analysis of Federal energy and 
        environmental laws, regulations issued by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Chief of the Forest Service that relate to 
        energy and environmental policy, and State renewable portfolio 
        standards to determine how such laws, regulations, and 
        standards affected the following for at-risk communities during 
        the preceding fiscal year:
                    (A) Electricity prices.
                    (B) Home heating prices.
                    (C) Gasoline prices.
                    (D) Motor vehicle prices.
                    (E) Natural gas prices.
                    (F) Household appliance prices.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall submit to Congress a report on the analysis 
        conducted under paragraph (1).
    (b) Energy Poverty.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall develop criteria to determine whether an at-risk 
        community is experiencing energy poverty.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall submit to Congress a report that--
                    (A) identifies, by location and type of at-risk 
                community, which at-risk communities are experiencing 
                energy poverty; and
                    (B) provides recommendations on how to reduce such 
                energy poverty.

SEC. 6. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET REVIEW OF ENERGY REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall review each applicable energy regulation to determine if 
any applicable energy regulation imposes, relative to the general 
population, disproportionate costs on at-risk communities.
    (b) Publication.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall publish in the Federal Register the results of the review 
required under subsection (a).

SEC. 7. ENERGY POVERTY STUDY REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
President or a designee of the President may only carry out an activity 
described in subsection (b) if the Secretary of the Interior has 
fulfilled the requirements described in subsection (c) with respect to 
such activity.
    (b) Activities.--An activity, as referred to in subsection (a), is 
one or more of the following:
            (1) Declaration of a moratorium on the leasing of Federal 
        lands for the drilling, mining, or collection of oil, gas, or 
        coal, or related activities unless such moratorium is 
        authorized by Federal statute.
            (2) An action that would prohibit or substantially delay, 
        with respect to Federal land, the issuance of--
                    (A) a new oil and gas lease, drill permit, 
                approval, or authorization;
                    (B) a new coal lease, permit, approval, or 
                authorization; or
                    (C) a new hard rock (including the list of critical 
                minerals published in the notice of the Secretary of 
                the Interior entitled ``Final List of Critical Minerals 
                2018'' (83 Fed. Reg. 23295 (May 18, 2018))) lease, 
                permit, approval, or authorization.
            (3) Withdrawal of Federal land from--
                    (A) forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 
                under the public land laws;
                    (B) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
                laws; or
                    (C) disposition under laws pertaining to mineral 
                and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.
    (c) Requirements.--To fulfill the requirements described in 
subsection (a) with regard to an activity described in subsection (b), 
the Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) conduct a study to determine if the activity, relative 
        to the general population, is likely to--
                    (A) impose disproportionate costs on at-risk 
                communities; or
                    (B) increase the likelihood that at-risk 
                communities will experience energy poverty and job 
                losses;
            (2) publish such study on a public website of the 
        Department of the Interior; and
            (3) transmit a report on such study to Congress.
    (d) Energy Poverty Study.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (3), upon request 
        from an entity described in paragraph (2), a lead Federal 
        department or agency responsible for leasing or permitting an 
        energy or mineral development project, pipeline project, or 
        transmission project on Federal land, in consultation with any 
        other Federal department or agency with jurisdiction over such 
        project, shall conduct a study relating to how such project is 
        likely to alleviate energy poverty in at-risk communities, 
        including by--
                    (A) creating jobs;
                    (B) reducing energy prices; and
                    (C) other relevant measures identified by the lead 
                Federal department or agency or the requestor the 
                study.
            (2) Requestors.--The following entities may compel a study 
        by request under paragraph (1):
                    (A) The sponsor of the energy or mineral project, 
                pipeline project, or transmission project on Federal 
                land regarding which the study is being conducted.
                    (B) A State or local government.
                    (C) An Indian Tribe.
                    (D) An entity determined appropriate by the lead 
                agency for the relevant project.
            (3) Memorandum of understanding.--The lead Federal 
        department or agency with respect to the project to be studied 
        under paragraph (1) may not begin the study until that lead 
        Federal department or agency has entered into a memorandum of 
        understanding with the requestor of the study. A memorandum of 
        understanding entered into under this paragraph shall include--
                    (A) an agreement regarding a neutral third party to 
                conduct the study;
                    (B) a determination of what entity (with the 
                consent of that entity) will bear the cost of the 
                study, which may include stakeholders other than the 
                requestor; and
                    (C) such other aspects of the study that the lead 
                Federal department or agency and the requestor consider 
                appropriate.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) At-risk community.--The term ``at-risk community'' 
        means each of the following:
                    (A) A low-income community.
                    (B) A minority community.
                    (C) A rural community.
                    (D) An elderly community.
                    (E) A Native American community.
            (2) Applicable energy regulation.--The term ``applicable 
        energy regulation'' means any Federal regulation that relates 
        to energy and--
                    (A) has an annual effect on the economy of not less 
                than $100,000,000;
                    (B) results in a major increase in costs or prices 
                for any consumer, industry, government agency, or 
                geographic region; or
                    (C) has a significant adverse effect on 
                competition, employment, investment, productivity, 
                innovation, or the ability of an enterprise based in 
                the United States to compete with a foreign-based 
                enterprise in a domestic or international market.
            (3) Designee of the president.--The term ``designee of the 
        President'' includes--
                    (A) the Secretary of Agriculture;
                    (B) the Secretary of Energy; and
                    (C) the Secretary of the Interior.
            (4) Energy poverty.--The term ``energy poverty'' means a 
        condition in which individuals and families do not have access 
        to affordable and reliable energy to maintain economic 
        security.
            (5) Federal land defined.--In this section, the term 
        ``Federal land''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) National Forest System land;
                            (ii) public lands (as defined in section 
                        103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
                        Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702));
                            (iii) the outer Continental Shelf (as 
                        defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental 
                        Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331)); and
                            (iv) land under the jurisdiction of the 
                        Secretary of Energy; and
                    (B) includes land described in paragraph (1) for 
                which the rights to the surface estate or subsurface 
                estate are owned by a non-Federal entity.
            (6) State renewable portfolio standard.--The term ``State 
        renewable portfolio standard'' means any State regulation that 
        is designed to increase the use of renewable energy sources, 
        including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, to generate 
        electricity.
            (7) Tribal land.--The term ``Tribal land'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``Indian land'' in section 2601 of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501).
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