License to Drill Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The License to Drill Act amends section 35(d) of the Mineral Leasing Act, the BLM oil and gas permit processing fee provision. It extends date references from 2026 to 2037.
The bill also changes how collected fees are transferred. For each fiscal year 2027 through 2037, all fees collected under the subsection must be transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund. That fund supports permit processing capacity. The bill is narrow: it does not itself approve drilling permits or change lease terms, but it preserves and directs fee funding for BLM permit processing for another decade.
Who Benefits and How
BLM oil and gas permit offices benefit because processing fees continue through 2037 and are directed to the Permit Processing Improvement Fund. Oil and gas permit applicants benefit if dedicated fee funding improves application processing capacity. Federal lands energy developers benefit from a more stable funding stream for permit administration. States with federal oil and gas leasing benefit if BLM processing capacity supports lease development. Federal taxpayers benefit if permit applicants continue funding processing costs through fees.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Oil and gas operators paying permit processing fees continue to bear those fees through 2037. BLM budget staff must transfer all collected fees to the Permit Processing Improvement Fund for fiscal years 2027 through 2037. BLM permitting staff must administer the fee-supported processing system. Environmental review participants may see more permit-processing activity if dedicated funding increases throughput. Operators that expected fee authority to sunset in 2026 lose that timing benefit.
Key Provisions
- Extends BLM oil and gas permit processing fee authority from 2026 to 2037.
- Directs all fees collected for fiscal years 2027 through 2037 to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.
- Supports continued fee-funded BLM oil and gas permit processing.
- Preserves applicant-funded processing costs for another decade.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends Bureau of Land Management oil and gas permit processing fee authority through 2037 and directs all fees collected for fiscal years 2027 through 2037 to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.
Key Policy Areas
Oil and Gas, Federal Lands, Permitting
Primary Purpose
Extends Bureau of Land Management oil and gas permit processing fee authority through 2037 and directs all fees collected for fiscal years 2027 through 2037 to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.
Policy Domains
Bill provisions
Identified Gains
- BLM oil and gas permit offices
- Oil and gas permit applicants
- Federal lands energy developers
- States with federal oil and gas leasing
- Federal taxpayers
Identified Costs
- Oil and gas operators paying permit fees
- BLM budget staff
- BLM permitting staff
- Environmental review participants
- Operators expecting fee sunset
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Additional sponsors: Ms. Maloy, Ms. Hageman, and Mrs. Bice
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 579.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
BLM budget staff, BLM oil and gas permit offices
Positive-direction: BLM oil and gas permit offices
Negative-direction: BLM budget staff
Oil and gas operators paying permit fees, Oil and gas permit applicants
Positive-direction: Oil and gas permit applicants
Negative-direction: Oil and gas operators paying permit fees
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "blm"
- → Bureau of Land Management
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology