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51 records in US in 2017
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Increasing and Mobilizing Partnerships to Achieve Commercialization of Technologies for Energy Act or the IMPACT for Energy Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a nonprofit corporation named the IMPACT for Energy Foundation that provides a mechanism to channel private sector investment into commercial innovative technologies in energy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Increasing and Mobilizing Partnerships to Achieve Commercialization of Technologies for Energy Act or the IMPACT for Energy Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a nonprofit corporation named the IMPACT for Energy Foundation that provides a mechanism to channel private sector investment into commercial innovative technologies in energy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Promoting Hydropower Development at Existing Nonpowered Dams Act This bill amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish an expedited process for issuing and amending licenses and preliminary permits for new hydropower facilities at existing nonpowered dams. Before licensing the hydropower facility, FERC must assess the safety of existing nonfederal dams and other nonfederal structures. Licensees of hydropower facility are not required to pay an annual charge for administrative expenses until construction commences.
United States · United States Senate · 19 December 2017
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2017
Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Energy to carry out a research program on low-dose radiation to enhance the scientific understanding of the effects of exposure and to improve risk-assessment and risk-management methods. "Low-dose radiation" is defined as a dose less than 100 millisieverts. (The Nuclear Regulatory Commission limits an adult's annual occupational radiation dose to 50 millisieverts.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Recovering America's Wildlife Act This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2018, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The bill revises the requirements governing how the funds from the subaccount may be used, including by requiring funds to be used to develop, revise, and implement state wildlife conservation strategies. The bill expands the allowable uses of the subaccount, including by allowing funds to be used for managing invasive and nuisance species and for law enforcement activities that are directly related to the conservation of species of the greatest conservation need. Funds apportioned from the subaccount may not be conditioned upon the provision of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. The bill specifies what types of funds and donations states may use to meet matching fund requirements. The bill revises the formula used to determine how funds are distributed to states.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Next Generation Grid Resources and Infrastructure Development Act or the Next Generation GRID Act This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to (1) establish a right of interconnection for distributed energy resources, (2) require each electric utility to develop an electricity distribution resource plan, (3) require each state to consider non-wire alternatives for allowing an electric utility to recover costs associated with an electricity transmission and distribution project, (4) require the Department of Energy to establish a pilot program for a distribution system operator, and (5) require each state to consider the use of performance-based incentive mechanisms to achieve its public interest goals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) energy storage technologies, and (2) battery storage technology. The bill expands the tax credit for investments in energy property to include equipment that: (1) receives, stores, and delivers energy using batteries, compressed air, pumped hydropower, hydrogen storage (including hydrolysis), thermal energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnets, or other technologies identified by the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) has a capacity of at least five kilowatt hours. The bill also expands the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to include expenditures for battery storage technology that: (1) is installed on or in connection with a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer, and (2) has a capacity of at least three kilowatt hours.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 13 December 2017
United States · United States House of Representatives · 13 December 2017
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Prioritizing Energy-Efficient Renewables Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credits for producing electricity from wind, geothermal energy, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities; (2) repeal the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (3) repeal the tax deduction for income attributable to the production, refining, transportation, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; and (4) repeal the percentage depletion allowance for oil and gas wells.
United States · United States Senate · 12 December 2017
United States · United States Senate · 12 December 2017
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to state that an application under the Natural Gas Act for the importation or exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 0.14 billion cubic feet per day shall be granted without modification or delay.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the exclusive authority to approve or deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a facility to export natural gas from the United States to a foreign country or import natural gas from a foreign country, including a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. The bill states that nothing in the Natural Gas Act limits the authority of the President under any provision of law that imposes sanctions on a foreign person or government, including a foreign government that is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, to prohibit imports or exports.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Cooperative Research and Development Fund Authorization Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to make funds available to DOE national laboratories for the federal cost share of cooperative research and development agreements that support the maturing of laboratory technology and the transferring of it to the private sector. DOE shall: (1) determine the apportionment of such funds to each DOE national laboratory, (2) ensure that special consideration is given to small business firms and consortia involving such firms in the selection of which agreements will receive such funds, and (3) ensure that certain performance evaluation metrics are used.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Geoengineering Research Evaluation Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Energy to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study and develop: (1) a Phase I report recommending a research agenda for advancing understanding of albedo modification strategies that involve atmospheric interventions, such as cloud modification; and (2) a Phase II report that provides specific guidance on governance mechanisms for the proposed research agenda developed in Phase I. Generally, albedo modifications are geoengineering strategies that are designed to manipulate the climate and reduce the amount of radiation that is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere by reflecting light. After the completion of the Phase II report, the Office of Science and Technology Policy must report to Congress on an implementation plan for geoengineering research and research governance.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act This bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to allow the Department of the Interior to award noncompetitive leases on up to 640 acres of certain federal land for geothermal development. Interior must lease the land at fair market value, publish a notice of any lease requests, and provide review of the final determination of fair market value. Lessees must make annual rental payments equal to those required for lands that are leased competitively. The bill exempts geothermal exploration test projects from complying with environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Interior must designate portions of certain federal land as geothermal leasing priority areas. The bill sets forth requirements for environmental review under NEPA with respect to the priority areas.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
Green Banking Act This bill amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to allow bank holding companies to own up to 20% of companies engaged solely in producing or storing renewable energy power, such as wind and solar power. This allowance terminates 30 years after enactment of this bill unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval. This bill amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to require both the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to develop underwriting guidelines for financing residential solar energy systems to facilitate the secondary market for mortgages on housing with such systems for low- and moderate-income households. The Federal Housing Finance Agency must identify ways to increase the financing for residential solar energy system property improvements in underserved markets.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Jobs for Tribes Act Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to establish duties for the Office of Native American Business Development. This bill amends the Buy Indian Act, including to require the Department of Health and Human Services to use Native American labor and purchase Native American industry products. This bill amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to permit the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide financial assistance to certain Native American community development financial institutions. Native American Business Incubators Program Act The Department of the Interior must establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that: (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to startups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Indigenous Peoples Exchange and Economic Cooperation Act The President must submit to Congress a strategy to promote and facilitate: (1) cross-investments between tribes and indigenous peoples in tribal businesses and commercial enterprises that involve indigenous peoples, and (2) the development of supply chains for U.S. entities that include products produced by tribes and indigenous peoples. The Department of State must provide assistance to countries in the Western Hemisphere in a manner that promotes and facilitates entrepreneurship among indigenous peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2017
PURPA Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to address the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) one-mile rule and the mandatory purchase obligation for electric utility companies to purchase energy from certain facilities. The bill directs FERC to publish a final rule that allows any person or entity to provide a rebuttable presumption to the one-mile rule. Under the one-mile rule, facilities are considered to be located at the same site as the facility for which qualification is sought if they are located within one mile of such facility. Specified factors must be taken into consideration by FERC when it determines whether two facilities are located at the same site. The bill authorizes an electric utility company to waive the mandatory purchase obligation if additional power is not required to meet customers' electricity needs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2017 This bill provides for additional disaster-recovery assistance and other assistance to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with respect to infrastructure, health care, agriculture, education, economic development, and environmental remediation, among other sectors. Specifically, regarding both territories, the bill: provides for the use of certain emergency assistance to rebuild electric grids; establishes several grant programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy; subject to specified oversight requirements, increases funding for transportation infrastructure, telecommunications systems, housing, and community development; increases funding for the Medicaid and Medicare programs; temporarily increases social-services block-grant allotments; increases funding for, and otherwise revises, rural and agricultural programs; increases funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs; provides for aid to the Head Start program, elementary and secondary education programs, and higher education programs; increases funding for training and employment services; modifies provisions concerning the earned-income tax credit, the child tax credit, and unemployment assistance; increases funding for economic and community development programs; increases funding for environmental remediation; and otherwise modifies provisions related to emergency funding and disaster-recovery assistance. In addition, the bill: extends Medicaid waiver authority to all territories, provides for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital allotments to the territories, and otherwise revises the Medicaid and Medicare programs with respect to the territories; extends participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to all territories; modifies provisions concerning the application of certain workers' protections in Puerto Rico; and requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit to Congress a long-term disaster-relief plan with respect to Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. With respect to individuals, the bill: replaces the existing tax brackets (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%) with new tax brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 38.5%); increases the standard deduction; suspends the deduction for personal exemptions; allows a deduction for business income of pass-through entities (i.e., partnerships, S corporations, limited liability companies, sole proprietorships); increases the child tax credit and allows a credit for dependents who are not children; suspends the deduction for state and local taxes not incurred in carrying on a trade or business or an activity for the production of income; suspends the deduction for home equity loan interest; repeals the penalty for individuals who fail to maintain minimum essential health coverage as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the individual mandate); suspends the overall limitation on certain itemized deductions; suspends the alternative minimum tax for individuals; and doubles the basic exemption amount for the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Many of the provisions in the bill that affect individual taxpayers expire after 2025. For businesses, the bill: permanently reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 20% rate, permanently repeals the alternative minimum tax for corporations, allows increased expensing of the costs of certain property, repeals the deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities, modifies the net operating loss deduction, limits the deductibility of net interest expenses to 30% percent of the business's adjusted taxable income, and modifies the taxation of foreign income. The bill also: (1) repeals or modifies several additional credits and deductions for individuals and businesses, (2) directs the Department of the Interior to implement an oil and gas leasing program for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, and (3) directs the Department of Energy to draw down and sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2017
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2017
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2017
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Sustainable Energy Development Reform Act This bill addresses sustainable energy development, including to (1) increase royalty rates and penalties for oil and gas leasing; (2) increase the amount of renewable energy on public land and waters; (3) prepare and manage for the impacts of climate change; (4) revise the onshore and offshore fossil fuel leasing, exploration, and development program; and (5) include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System and reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Having Open Access to Relevant Data Act or the Hoard Act The bill requires the Department of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on the number and age of unused approved oil and gas drilling permits and the average cost to the Bureau of Land Management of approving such permits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Removing Nuclear Waste from our Communities Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into new contracts (or modify existing contracts) with the licensee of an interim consolidated storage facility in order to take title to and store in it either high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel of domestic origin. The bill defines: "interim consolidated storage facility" as a facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel received from DOE or from two or more persons that generate or hold title to such fuel generated at a civilian nuclear power reactor, and "high-level radioactive waste" as including Greater than Class C waste. The bill assigns priority to storage of such waste and spent fuel located on sites without an operating nuclear reactor and with over 15 million residents within a 50-mile radius. The bill makes appropriations targeted for the Nuclear Waste Fund available to pay for costs in connection with storage in an interim consolidated storage facility. Beginning in FY2020 DOE shall not expend, on fees for dry modes of storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, any amounts exceeding the cumulative amount of interest generated by the fund each fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Safe and Secure Decommissioning Act of 2017 This bill amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prohibit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from approving the request of a licensee for a waiver of, or exemption from, a covered regulation applicable to a civilian nuclear power reactor that has permanently ceased to operate. A covered regulation includes: (1) an emergency preparedness or response regulation or requirement, or (2) a security regulation or requirement applicable to spent nuclear fuel. This prohibition shall not apply to a civilian nuclear power reactor at which all spent nuclear fuel has been transferred to spent nuclear fuel dry casks.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Redistribution of Fines to Our Communities Act This bill requires the Department of Energy to retain and redistribute amounts collected for safety-related fines to local governments to mitigate any economic impacts in connection with the closure of a nuclear facility.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
This bill states that a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) drilling permit shall not be required under either the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 or the Code of Federal Regulations for an action occurring within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit, if: (1) less than 50% of the minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit are federally owned, and (2) the federal government neither owns nor leases the surface estate within the unit's boundaries. The bill retains the right of the federal government to receive royalties from the production of federal minerals within the unit.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
CHP Support Act This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to redesignate the Department of Energy's Clean Energy Application Centers as the CHP Technical Assistance Partnership Program. The program must encourage deployment of combined heat and power technologies and provide project specific support to building and industrial professionals through economic and engineering assessments and advisory activities. This bill reauthorizes the program through FY2022.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Farm to Table Safety Act This bill amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to modify the food safety education program authorized in the Act. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to: (1) include farm workers in the program; and (2) expand the scope of the program to include practices that prevent bacterial contamination of food, methods of identifying sources of food contamination, and other means of decreasing food contamination.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Nuclear Energy Research Infrastructure Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a versatile reactor-based fast neutron source, which shall operate as a national user facility. DOE must consult with the private sector, universities, national laboratories, and relevant federal agencies to ensure that the versatile neutron source is capable of meeting federal research needs for neutron irradiation services. DOE must ensure the national user facility will provide fast neutron spectrum irradiation capability and capacity for upgrades to accommodate new or expanded research needs. DOE must also ensure that full operation of the facility occurs before December 31, 2025.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Accelerating American Leadership in Science Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to: (1) provide for an upgrade to the Advanced Light Source, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations occurs by December 31, 2025. DOE shall: (1) provide for a Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility to facilitate the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations occurs by December 31, 2026. DOE shall: (1) provide for a proton power upgrade to the Spallation Neutron Source, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations occurs by December 31, 2025. DOE shall: (1) provide for a second target station for the Spallation Neutron Source, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations occurs by December 31, 2030.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Department of Energy Research Infrastructure Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to: (1) provide for the upgrade to the Advanced Light Source described in the publication titled "Report on Facility Upgrades" approved by the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee on June 9, 2016, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations for such upgrade occurs by December 31, 2026. DOE shall: (1) provide for the upgrade to the Linac Coherent Light Source II facility described in such publication, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations for such upgrade occurs by December 31, 2025. DOE shall: (1) provide for a Facility for Rare Isotope Beams to advance the understanding of rare nuclear isotopes and the evolution of the cosmos, and (2) ensure that the start of full operations for such facility occurs by June 30, 2022.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Natural Gas Pipeline Public Health Protection Act of 2017 This bill suspends construction of natural gas facilities that have been issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission until violations relating to air quality are remediated. It applies to a holder of a certificate that has not commenced construction of a facility for which such certificate was issued within the previous two years.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Expresses support for the designation of Utility Scam Awareness Day. Encourages the people of the United States to observe Utility Scam Awareness Day. Encourages utilities to use this day to raise awareness and knowledge among themselves and the general public regarding the threat posed by scams against utility customers, and the techniques and tools used to identify and avoid them.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2874) to achieve reforms to improve the financial stability of the National Flood Insurance Program, to enhance the development of more accurate estimates of flood risk through new technology and better maps, to increase the role of private markets in the management of flood insurance risks, and to provide for alternative methods to insure against flood peril, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2810) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2017 This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to state that an application under the Natural Gas Act for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.1 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest and granted without modification or delay.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Mahoney Lake Hydroelectric Project Licensing Act This bill requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), upon request, to issue a stay of the statutory deadline by which construction must commence on the Mahoney Lake Hydroelectric Project located in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. (The City of Saxman, Alaska, was granted a construction license for the Mahoney Lake Hydroelectric Project on January 22, 1998.) Additionally, upon request, FERC must reinstate the construction license and make it effective as of the date the stay is lifted. FERC may reinstate the construction license if it is expired. Subject to certain conditions, FERC may extend for up to six years the statutory deadline by which construction must commence on the project.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 7 November 2017
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand American Energy Act or the SECURE American Energy Act Accessing Strategic Resources Offshore Act or the ASTRO Act This bill addresses offshore and onshore oil and gas resources on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and other federal lands. The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to establish a revenue sharing framework to distribute revenues collected from oil and gas leasing on the OCS to certain states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alaska). The bill also increases, for FY2029-FY2059, the amount of qualified OCS revenues available for distribution to Gulf producing states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). The bill limits the President's authority to prohibit oil and gas leasing on the OCS. Under the bill, the Department of the Interior must conduct wind lease sales on the OCS off the coast of California and Hawaii. Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act or the ONSHORE Act The bill allows states with an established permitting and regulatory programs to manage certain federal permitting and regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas development on federal lands within their borders. The bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to provide a mechanism for states to receive their entitled percentage of sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state. Interior must defer to state regulations, guidance, and permit requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Rebuilding Resilient Energy Systems Act of 2017 This bill permits amounts awarded under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act for essential assistance, hazard mitigation, repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities, federal assistance to individuals and households, and public assistance program alternative procedures to be used to build, repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace an energy system or building as a result of a major disaster or emergency designated by the President during calendar year 2017 in a manner that: is more resilient and more efficient; provides continuous flow of power to facilities critical to public health, safety, and welfare; maximizes the use of clean energy resources and energy storage technologies; and promotes lower energy bills. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): (1) shall designate a representative to coordinate with private entities interested in donating energy system technologies and services for such purposes following a major disaster or emergency, (2) is encouraged to coordinate with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Homeland Security in designating such representative, and (3) is encouraged to consult with the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding DOD's experience in building resilient power systems. Each National Laboratory, in coordination with DOE programs that provide assistance to states and industry, must make technical assistance available to federal, state, and local agencies and private entities interested in: (1) developing plans or providing guidance on the design of a resilient and efficient energy system or building; and (2) building, repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing an energy system or building following a major disaster or emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to allow the Department of the Interior to award noncompetitive leases on up to 640 acres of federal land for geothermal development if: (1) the land is available for leasing and not already leased or nominated to be leased, (2) the lessee has a legal right to develop geothermal resources on land adjacent to the federal land that will be leased, (3) sufficient data was submitted to Interior to show there is a valid discovery of geothermal resources on the adjacent land and that the thermal feature extends into the adjoining federal land, and (4) the lessee has not previously received a noncompetitive lease for the discovery. Interior must lease the land at fair market value, publish a notice of any lease requests, and provide review of the final determination of fair market value. Lessees must make annual rental payments equal to those required for lands that are leased competitively.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
No Drilling in Our Backyards Act This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior from issuing a permit for any oil and gas drilling operation that is located within 1,500 feet from a home, business, school, or other building that requires special protection.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 2 November 2017
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Biennial Commission on Energy Policy Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish the Biennial Commission on Energy Policy. The commission must be composed of 15 members from a diverse group of industries and political party affiliations with no federal, state, or local officers or employees. The commission must: carry out specific analytical and research tasks related to a broad range of energy issues; and report to Congress on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative and administrative actions to create an integrated and comprehensive national energy policy for the United States. This bill replaces provisions requiring the President to submit a biennial National Energy Policy Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. With respect to individuals, the bill: replaces the seven existing tax brackets (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%) with four brackets (12%, 25%, 35%, and 39.6%), increases the standard deduction, repeals the deduction for personal exemptions, establishes a 25% maximum rate on the business income of individuals, increases the child tax credit and establishes a new family tax credit, repeals the overall limitation on certain itemized deductions, limits the mortgage interest deduction for debt incurred after November 2, 2017, to mortgages of up to $500,000 (currently $1 million), repeals the deduction for state and local income or sales taxes not paid or accrued in a trade or business, repeals the deduction for medical expenses, consolidates and repeals several education-related deductions and credits, repeals the alternative minimum tax, and repeals the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes in six years. For businesses, the bill: reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 20% rate (25% for personal services corporations), allows increased expensing of the costs of certain property, limits the deductibility of net interest expenses to 30% of the business's adjusted taxable income, repeals the work opportunity tax credit, terminates the exclusion for interest on private activity bonds, modifies or repeals various energy-related deductions and credits, modifies the taxation of foreign income, and imposes an excise tax on certain payments from domestic corporations to related foreign corporations. The bill also repeals or modifies several additional credits and deductions for individuals and businesses.
United States · United States Senate · 1 November 2017