License to Drill Act
Latest action · Oct 20, 2026 Became Public Law No: 119-134.
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.
- IntroducedMar 5, 2026
- Passed HouseJun 2, 2026
- Passed SenateSep 30, 2026
- To the PresidentOct 15, 2026
- Became lawOct 20, 2026Public Law 119-134
Summary
License to Drill Act
This act extends through FY2037 the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) authority to collect oil and gas permit processing fees. For each new permit application, BLM collects a fee that is transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund. (Under current law, the fees are authorized through FY2026.)
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 24, 2026 to Apr 23, 2026.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-UT | Celeste Maloy | Mar 24, 2026 | |
| R-WY | Harriet M. Hageman | Mar 27, 2026 | |
| R-OK | Stephanie I. Bice | Apr 23, 2026 |
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 Mar 5, 2026Markup May 14, 2026Reported May 20, 2026 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Mar 18, 2026Hearings Mar 25, 2026Discharged May 14, 2026 | |
| Senate | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jun 3, 2026Markup Jul 29, 2026Reported Sep 17, 2026 |
| Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee | Hearings Jul 15, 2026 |
Actions 24
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 20, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-134.
- Oct 20, 2026Signed by President.
- Oct 15, 2026Presented to President.
- Oct 14, 2026Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 30, 2026Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5226-5231)
- Sep 17, 2026Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee without amendment. Without written report.
- Sep 17, 2026Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 665.
- Jul 29, 2026Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jul 15, 2026Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
- Jun 3, 2026Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Jun 2, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3757)
- Jun 2, 2026Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Jun 2, 2026Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3757-3578)
- Jun 2, 2026DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7831.
- Jun 2, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- May 20, 2026Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-665.
- May 20, 2026Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 579.
- May 14, 2026Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged
- May 14, 2026Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- May 14, 2026Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
- Mar 25, 2026Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Mar 18, 2026Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Mar 5, 2026Introduced in House
- Mar 5, 2026Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In the Congressional Record 2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5226 | Mike Lee R-UT | Sep 30, 2026 |
| House | Debate and remarks H3757, H3758Text printed H3757 | Bruce Westerman R-AR, Melanie A. Stansbury D-NM, Mike Kennedy R-UT, Pete Stauber R-MN | Jun 2, 2026 |
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
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 172, no. 42, March 5, 2026, page H2473.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R48064 | Considerations for Federal Leasing of Onshore Energy: Oil and Gas and Geothermal Power | Report | Sep 14, 2026 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 5039 | License to Drill Act | Related bill | Sep 17, 2026 |
Titles 8
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- License to Drill Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- License to Drill Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- License to Drill Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- License to Drill Act
- Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text
- License to Drill Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- License to Drill Act
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill, and for other purposes.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
Text 6
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Sep 17, 2026Reported to Senate
- Jun 3, 2026Referred in Senate
- Jun 2, 2026Engrossed in House
- May 20, 2026Reported in House
- Mar 5, 2026Introduced in House
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.
