To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-hr-1820
Sponsor: Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3]
Introduced: 2015-04-15 in the House
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Coal
Energy revenues and royalties
Intergovernmental relations
Mining
Public contracts and procurement
State and local finance

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: 
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to retire any coal preference right lease application for which an affirmative commercial quantities determination has been made, by issuing bidding rights in exchange for relinquishment of the application, including payment to the relevant state of 50% of the dollar amount of any bidding right subsequently used in lieu of any monetary payment of a bonus in a coal lease sale or of rental or royalty under a federal coal lease.
 
Requires the Secretary to make such payments from revenues received under federal mineral leases. 
 
Declares such bidding rights to be fully transferable to any other person. 
 
Terminates a bidding right five years from its date of issue, not counting any period in which exercise of the bidding right is precluded by temporary injunctive relief granted under, or administrative, legislative, or judicial suspension of, the federal coal leasing program. 

action_date: 2016-03-10
text: 
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of that version is repeated here.)
 
(Sec. 1) This bill authorizes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to provide bidding credits for a coal preference right lease applicant to acquire federal mineral rights if such applicant agrees to relinquish its rights to an existing coal lease on federal land. Bidding credits, which are fully transferable, are assigned a dollar value and can be used in lieu of cash to make certain payments to the federal government. The dollar value should be equal to the estimated fair market value of the existing lease being relinquished.
 
The BLM is required to provide payments, equal to 50% value of any bidding credit, to any state where federal mineral rights are being acquired through the use of bidding credits. Such payments are required to be derived from revenues obtained under federal mineral leases.
 
 A bidding credit terminates five years from its date of issue, not counting any period in which exercise of the bidding credit is precluded by law or suspension of the federal coal leasing program. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-03-10
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 341.
action_date: 2016-03-10
text: Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 114-446.
action_date: 2016-03-10
text: Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 114-446.
action_date: 2015-10-08
text: Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2015-10-08
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-10-08
text: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.
action_date: 2015-10-07
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-04-30
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Introduced in House