HR 3794 · 116th Congress 2019–2021, ended

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019

Introduced Jul 17, 2019 Originated House Sponsor Paul A. Gosar R-AZ

Latest action · Dec 18, 2020 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 561.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJul 17, 2019
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019

This bill sets forth provisions regarding development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy on public lands.

The bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish priority areas on covered land (i.e., public land administered by Interior and not excluded under law from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy) for geothermal, solar, or wind energy projects. Other areas shall also be considered for the development of renewable energy projects under this bill, consistent with the principles of multiple use.

Interior shall establish a program to improve federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects carried out on covered land.

Interior and the Department of Agriculture shall seek to issue permits that in total authorize the production of at least 25 gigawatts of electricity from geothermal, solar, or wind energy projects by the end of 2025.

The bill provides for the disposition of revenues from the development of wind or solar energy on covered land. The bill establishes the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to make funds available to federal, state, and tribal agencies for distribution in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on federal land for (1) restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat and corridors for affected species and water resources in areas affected by geothermal, solar, or wind energy development; and (2) preserving and improving recreational access to federal land and water in an affected region.

Cosponsors 70

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 17, 2019 to Dec 2, 2020; 24 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-CA	Alan S. Lowenthal	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-AZ	Andy Biggs	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-NM	Ben Ray Luján	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-UT	Chris Stewart	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-WA	Dan Newhouse	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-AZ	David Schweikert	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-MI	Debbie Dingell	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-NM	Debra A. Haaland	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-AK	Don Young	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-VA	Donald S. Beyer, Jr.	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-CA	Doug LaMalfa	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-MT	Greg Gianforte	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-CA	Jared Huffman	Original	Jul 17, 2019
R-NV	Mark E. Amodei	Original	Jul 17, 2019
D-PA	Matt Cartwright	Original	Jul 17, 2019

Show all 70 cosponsors

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Natural Resources Committee	Referred Jul 17, 2019Markup Nov 20, 2019Reported Dec 18, 2020
	Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee	Referred Jul 17, 2019Hearings Jul 25, 2019Discharged Nov 20, 2019
House	Agriculture Committee	Referred Jul 17, 2019Discharged Dec 18, 2020
	Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee	Referred Aug 9, 2019

Actions 11

Everything that happened, newest first.

Dec 18, 2020Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 116-677, Part I.
Dec 18, 2020Committee on Agriculture discharged.
Dec 18, 2020Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 561.
Nov 20, 2019Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.
Nov 20, 2019Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Show all 11 actions

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

Where	In the Record	Members	Date
House	Debate and remarks H7822	Mike Levin D-CA	Sep 19, 2019

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Committee report

H. Rept. 116-677

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

Mar 5, 2020H.R. 3794, Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on November 20, 2019

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2. (The Property Clause.) The Property Clause gives Congress the power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and states that nothing in the constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. The U.S. constitution specifically addresses the relationship of the federal government to land. The Property Clause gives Congress plenary power and full- authority over federal property. The U.S. Supreme Court has described Congress's power to legislate under this Clause as ``without limitation.'' This Act falls squarely within the express constitutional power set forth in the Property Clause as this bill pertains to certain activities that occur on federal lands.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 120, July 17, 2019, page H6000.

Printed hearings 2

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
Serial No. 116-31	LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 5435, TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR AND THE CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE TO MEET CERTAIN TARGETS FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE EMISSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, "AMERICAN PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS CLIMATE SOLUTION ACT OF 2019," AND H.R. 5859, TO ESTABLISH FOREST MANAGEMENT, REFORESTATION, AND UTILIZATION PRACTICES WHICH LEAD TO THE SEQUESTRATION OF GREENHOUSE GASES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, "TRILLION TREES ACT"73 pages	Natural Resources Committee	Feb 26, 2020
Serial No. 116-14	MEMBER DAY97 pages	Select Committee on the Climate Crisis	Nov 14, 2019

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 2	Moving Forward Act	Related bill	Jul 20, 2020
S 2666	Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019	Related bill	Nov 7, 2019

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced: Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019
Short Title(s) as Reported to House: Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2019

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Dec 18, 2020Reported in House
Jul 17, 2019Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.