FERC must now publish why your hydropower license is stuck

What it does

This bill requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to publish an annual public report on the status of all pending hydropower license applications—including new licenses, license renewals, and original licenses—that have been in the queue for at least 3 years. The report must include application dates, docket numbers, filing status, anticipated issuance dates, upcoming meetings, and actions required by all parties. Citizens, states, tribes, and companies seeking hydropower licenses will gain visibility into why their applications are delayed and where they stand in the process.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is a mandatory annual reporting requirement on hydropower licensing status. It does not change licensing standards, timelines, or approval criteria—only mandates public disclosure of existing process data.

What the text implies

• Transparency may accelerate licensing by exposing bottlenecks and creating political pressure on FERC to resolve stalled applications, potentially benefiting hydropower developers seeking faster approvals.
• States and tribes gain a public record of licensing delays, which could strengthen their negotiating position in relicensing disputes or environmental reviews.
• The 3-year threshold means only long-stalled applications are tracked; applications in earlier stages remain invisible, limiting the transparency benefit for newer projects.
• FERC must now allocate staff resources to compile and publish detailed annual reports, which may divert capacity from actual licensing work unless appropriations increase.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens and public entities (states, tribes, municipalities) gain transparency into a previously opaque licensing process, enabling them to track delays, identify bottlenecks, and hold regulators accountable. The bill imposes no new restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies; it only mandates disclosure of information FERC already holds.

Who stands to gain

• hydropower developers and utilities with pending license applications
• renewable energy companies seeking faster licensing pathways

Named in the bill

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Congress, hydropower utilities and developers, states, Indian tribes, municipalities, fish and wildlife agencies, Federal Power Act

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Dec 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Dec 16, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Mar 17, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held”
• Jun 10, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $290,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 14 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Catherine Cortez Masto, the sponsor, reported $298,634 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Hydropower Association — $220,000 on 2 filings
• Siff & Associates, Pllc (obo the Mechanical Contractors Association of America) — $40,000 on 1 filing
• Woodwell Climate Research Center — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.