APPROVAL Act

Bill: 115-hr-1373
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Womack, Steve [R-AR-3]
Introduced: 2017-03-06
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Electric power generation and transmission

Federal-Indian relations

Intergovernmental relations

Land transfers

Land use and conservation

State and local government operations
Latest action: action_date: 2017-03-10
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-03-06
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act or the APPROVAL Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to prohibit the Department of Energy and the Southwestern and Western Area Power Administrations from using the power of eminent domain to implement modernization of electricity transmission infrastructure, unless they have received explicit permission to do so by: (1) the state governor and the head of each applicable public utility commission or public service commission of the affected state, and (2) the head of the governing body of each Indian tribe whose land would be affected.</p> <p> An electricity transmission infrastructure project, to the greatest extent practicable, must be sited upon either an existing federal right-of-way or upon federal land managed by either: (1) the Bureau of Land Management, (2) the Forest Service, (3) the Bureau of Reclamation, or (4) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1373 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 6, 2017 Mr. Womack (for himself, Mr. Crawford , Mr. Westerman , and Mr. Hill ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To prohibit the use of eminent domain in carrying out certain projects.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act or the APPROVAL Act . 2. Prohibition on eminent domain for certain projects Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 16421 ) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as subsections (f) through (i), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: (d) Prohibition on eminent domain Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), the Secretary, SWPA, and WAPA may not carry out any Project under this section through the use of eminent domain, unless the use of eminent domain is explicitly authorized by— (1) the Governor and the head of each applicable public utility commission or public service commission of the affected State; and (2) the head of the governing body of each Indian tribe the land of which would be affected. (e) Siting requirement To the maximum extent practicable, a Project carried out under this section shall be sited on— (1) an existing Federal right-of-way; or (2) Federal land managed by— (A) the Bureau of Land Management; (B) the Forest Service; (C) the Bureau of Reclamation; or (D) the Corps of Engineers. .