# Federal Land Freedom Act: Plain Language Summary

This bill would let individual states take over control of energy development on federal lands within their borders, rather than having the federal government manage it. Right now, if an oil company, natural gas company, or other energy producer wants to drill or develop resources on federal land—which the government owns on behalf of all Americans—they have to get permits and follow rules set by federal agencies like the Department of Interior. This bill would allow any state with its own energy permitting program to essentially take that responsibility away from the federal government and handle it themselves instead.

The catch is that this only applies to certain federal lands. It doesn't include national parks, national wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, or lands held in trust for Native American tribes. So states could potentially take over management of federal forests and other public lands, but not the most protected areas. When a state takes over, it would follow its own state laws and regulations instead of federal ones. Importantly, the bill says that state decisions wouldn't have to go through federal environmental reviews or follow federal environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act—laws that currently require companies to study environmental impacts before proceeding.

The bill does include one safeguard: states would still have to collect the same amount of money in royalties (payments from energy companies) that the federal government would have collected, and that money would go into the same federal accounts. However, states could keep fees they charge to process applications. This means the federal government wouldn't lose revenue, but states would gain the power to decide how energy development happens on these public lands and could potentially streamline the approval process compared to current federal procedures.

Federal Land Freedom Act

Biggs, Andy

Federal Land Freedom Act This bill sets forth a process that allows a state (including the District of Columbia) to seek to transfer the responsibility of energy development on available federal land within its boundaries from the federal government to the state. Available federal land does not include land that, as of May 31, 2013, is (1) held for the benefit of an Indian tribe, (2) in the National Park System, (3) in the National Wildlife Refuge System, or (4) in a congressionally designated wilderness area. To qualify for such a transfer of responsibility, a state must have a program that regulates the exploration and development of oil, natural gas, and other forms of energy on its land. The federal responsibility transfers to the state once the state submits to the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Energy a declaration that it has such a program and that it seeks to transfer the responsibility. Any action taken by a state to lease, permit, or regulate the exploration and development of energy on federal land in lieu of the federal government is not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.