Scalise bill would incentivize energy production with revenue sharing

U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) last week introduced new legislation incentivizing domestic energy production through regulatory reform.

The Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand (SECURE) American Energy Act features smoother permitting structures, revenue sharing, and expanded access to renewable and conventional resources.

“The SECURE American Energy Act incentivizes offshore energy production by establishing revenue-sharing agreements for Alaska and qualified Atlantic states, and raises existing revenue-sharing caps so that Louisiana and other states can receive hundreds of millions in additional dollars to restore our coast,” Scalise said. “Our bill empowers states and optimizes onshore resource management by delegating certain permitting functions to state regulatory agencies instead of Washington.”

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Vicente González (D-TX) joined Scalise in introducing the bill.

“Through cooperative federalism and common sense regulatory practices we can fundamentally improve the way our federal lands and waters are managed for oil, gas and wind development,” Bishop said.

The offshore title of H.R. 4239 would expand Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) development that would create both 840,000 new jobs and more than $200 billion in revenue, according to the Natural Resources Committee.

The bill would also direct 6.25 percent of revenue from OCS development to both the Department of the Interior for National Park System conservation projects and to the Department of Transportation for energy port infrastructure projects. It also would require the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to study feasibility of potential wind lease sales off the California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands coasts.

H.R. 4239’s onshore title, among other provisions, would end one-size-fits-all regulatory processes that do not consider each state’s circumstances, the Natural Resources Committee said. Additional revenues and availability of fees eliminated under the onshore title would enable states to address their public services and infrastructure projects. The Department of the Interior would be prohibited from enforcing hydraulic fracturing regulations on federal lands if the state or states containing the land have corresponding regulations.