[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3485 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3485
To expand the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to expand revenue
sharing for offshore wind, to reauthorize the National Oceans and
Coastal Security Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2020
Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. King) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expand the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to expand revenue
sharing for offshore wind, to reauthorize the National Oceans and
Coastal Security Act, 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 ``Opening Federal Financial Sharing to
Heighten Opportunities for Renewable Energy Act of 2020'' or the
``OFFSHORE Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL OCEANS AND COASTAL SECURITY FUND.
(a) Repeal of Authorization of Appropriations for Fiscal Years
2017, 2018, and 2019.--Section 908 of the National Oceans and Coastal
Security Act (16 U.S.C. 7507) is repealed.
(b) Deposits.--Section 904 of the National Oceans and Coastal
Security Act (16 U.S.C. 7503) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (1) and
inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--The Fund shall consist of such amounts
as--
``(A) are deposited in the Fund under subparagraph
(C) of section 8(p)(2) of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)); or
``(B) are appropriated or otherwise made available
for the Fund.''; and
(2) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``, and amounts appropriated or otherwise
made available for,'' before ``the Fund''.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF CONSTITUTION, LAWS, AND JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED
STATES TO ENERGY FACILITIES AND DEVICES ON THE OUTER
CONTINENTAL SHELF.
Section 4(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1333(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or producing or supporting the
production of energy from sources other than oil and gas''
before ``, or any such installation'';
(2) by inserting ``or transmitting energy'' after
``transporting such resources''; and
(3) in the proviso, by inserting ``and other energy'' after
``That mineral''.
SEC. 4. PARITY IN OFFSHORE WIND REVENUE SHARING.
Section 8(p)(2) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1337(p)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``(A) The Secretary''
and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and
(C), the Secretary'';
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``(B) The Secretary''
and inserting the following:
``(B) Disposition of revenues for projects located
within 3 nautical miles seaward of state submerged
land.--The Secretary''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Disposition of revenues for offshore wind
projects in certain areas.--
``(i) Definitions.--In this subparagraph:
``(I) Covered offshore wind
project.--The term `covered offshore
wind project' means a wind-powered
electric generation project in a wind
energy area on the outer Continental
Shelf that is not wholly or partially
located within an area subject to
subparagraph (B).
``(II) Eligible state.--The term
`eligible State' means a State a point
on the coastline of which is located
within 75 miles of the geographic
center of the covered offshore wind
project.
``(ii) Requirement.--
``(I) In general.--Of the operating
fees, rentals, bonuses, royalties, and
other payments that are paid to the
Secretary under subparagraph (A) from
covered offshore wind projects--
``(aa) 50 percent shall be
deposited in the Treasury and
credited to miscellaneous
receipts;
``(bb) 12.5 percent shall
be deposited in the National
Oceans and Coastal Security
Fund established under section
904(a) of the National Oceans
and Coastal Security Act (16
U.S.C. 7503(a)); and
``(cc) 37.5 percent shall
be deposited in a special
account in the Treasury, from
which the Secretary, subject to
subclause (II), shall disburse
to each eligible State an
amount (based on a formula
established by the Secretary of
the Interior by rulemaking not
later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the
OFFSHORE Act of 2020) that is
inversely proportional to the
respective distances between--
``(AA) the point on
the coastline of each
eligible State that is
closest to the
geographic center of
the applicable leased
tract; and
``(BB) the
geographic center of
the leased tract.
``(II) Minimum allocation.--The
amount allocated to an eligible State
each fiscal year under item (cc) of
subclause (I) shall be at least 10
percent of the amounts available under
that item.
``(iii) Timing.--The amounts required to be
deposited under item (cc) of clause (ii)(I) for
the applicable fiscal year shall be made
available in accordance with that item during
the fiscal year immediately following the
applicable fiscal year.
``(iv) Authorized uses.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subclause (II), each State shall use
all amounts received under clause
(ii)(I)(cc) in accordance with all
applicable Federal and State laws, only
for one or more of the following
purposes:
``(aa) Projects and
activities for the purposes of
coastal protection, including
conservation, coastal
restoration, hurricane
protection, and infrastructure
directly affected by coastal
wetland losses.
``(bb) Mitigation of damage
to fish, wildlife, or natural
resources.
``(cc) Implementation of a
federally approved marine,
coastal, or comprehensive
conservation management plan.
``(dd) Mitigation of the
impact of outer Continental
Shelf activities through the
funding of onshore
infrastructure projects.
``(ee) Planning assistance
and the administrative costs of
complying with this section.
``(II) Limitation.--Of the amounts
received by a State under clause
(ii)(I)(cc), not more than 3 percent
shall be used for the purposes
described in subclause (I)(ee).
``(v) Administration.--Subject to clause
(vi)(III), amounts made available under clause
(ii)(I) shall--
``(I) be made available, without
further appropriation, in accordance
with this paragraph;
``(II) remain available until
expended; and
``(III) be in addition to any
amount appropriated under any other
Act.
``(vi) Reporting requirement.--
``(I) In general.--Not later than
180 days after the end of each fiscal
year, the Governor of each eligible
State that receives amounts under
clause (ii)(I)(cc) for the applicable
fiscal year shall submit to the
Secretary a report that describes the
use of the amounts by the eligible
State during the period covered by the
report.
``(II) Public availability.--On
receipt of a report under subclause
(I), the Secretary shall make the
report available to the public on the
website of the Department of the
Interior.
``(III) Limitation.--If the
Governor of an eligible State that
receives amounts under clause
(ii)(I)(cc) for the applicable fiscal
year fails to submit the report
required under subclause (I) by the
deadline specified in that subclause,
any amounts that would otherwise be
provided to the eligible State under
clause (ii)(I)(cc) for the succeeding
fiscal year shall be deposited in the
National Oceans and Coastal Security
Fund established under section 904(a)
of the National Oceans and Coastal
Security Act (16 U.S.C. 7503(a)).''.
SEC. 5. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS FROM SEQUESTRATION.
(a) In General.--Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is
amended by inserting after ``Payments to Social Security Trust Funds
(28-0404-0-1-651).'' the following:
``Payments to States pursuant to subparagraph
(C)(ii)(I)(cc) of section 8(p)(2) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)).''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to any sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) on or
after the date of enactment of this Act.
<all>