Congress cuts federal mineral revenue to boost state and industry payouts
S. 451 — Restoring State Mineral Revenues Act · Filed by Steve Daines (R-MT) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 6, 2025 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to eliminate an administrative fee that the federal government collects from mineral lease revenues before distributing them to states. The bill strikes the subsection of the Mineral Leasing Act that authorized this fee, allowing states to receive a larger share of revenues from oil, gas, and mineral leases on federal lands.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative effect is to eliminate a federal fee on mineral lease revenues, increasing the share flowing to states and mineral lessees. This is a revenue transfer from the federal government to state and private beneficiaries, functionally a subsidy to the mineral extraction sector.
What the text implies
- Reduces federal revenue available for public lands management, conservation, and restoration on the same lands from which minerals are extracted.
- Increases state revenues, but does not mandate how states use those funds — they may not dedicate them to public benefit or conservation.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
state governments (increased mineral lease revenues); oil and gas extraction companies (lower effective lease costs); mineral extraction industry broadly