HR7882-119

Reported

To provide for the leasing of certain deposits of minerals located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

119th Congress Introduced Mar 9, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a narrow exception to federal mineral-leasing restrictions for deposits located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Current Mineral Leasing Act provisions exclude incorporated cities, towns, and villages from certain leasing authorities. The bill allows the Secretary of the Interior to lease covered mineral deposits on federal or acquired land inside Carlsbad if the City of Carlsbad provides written consent.

The leases would still have to follow the Mineral Leasing Act, the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, and other applicable federal mineral-leasing laws. The bill defines covered land as United States-owned land or acquired land located within Carlsbad.

Who Benefits and How

Mineral lessees and mining companies benefit because the bill opens a potential leasing path for deposits that would otherwise be excluded because they are inside an incorporated city. The City of Carlsbad benefits because no lease can proceed without its written consent, preserving local approval authority. The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior gain clear authority to process covered leases if Carlsbad consents.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Secretary of the Interior and federal mineral-leasing staff must determine whether land is covered, obtain or verify the City's written consent, and administer any leases under federal mineral-leasing law. The City of Carlsbad must evaluate whether to consent to leasing within city boundaries. Carlsbad residents and local land users may face additional mineral-development activity if the city consents and leases are issued.

Key Provisions

  • Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease mineral deposits located on covered land inside Carlsbad, New Mexico, despite Mineral Leasing Act exclusions for incorporated cities.
  • Requires written consent from the City of Carlsbad before the Secretary may lease the covered deposits.
  • Provides that covered leases remain subject to the Mineral Leasing Act, the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, and other applicable federal mineral-leasing law.
  • Establishes covered land as United States-owned or acquired land located within the City of Carlsbad.

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

The bill lets the Secretary of the Interior lease federal or acquired mineral deposits located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, notwithstanding Mineral Leasing Act exclusions for incorporated cities, if the City of Carlsbad gives written consent.

Key Policy Areas

Mining, Public Lands, Local Government

Primary Purpose

The bill lets the Secretary of the Interior lease federal or acquired mineral deposits located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico, notwithstanding Mineral Leasing Act exclusions for incorporated cities, if the City of Carlsbad gives written consent.

Policy Domains

Mining Public Lands Local Government

Section 1 - Carlsbad mineral leasing authority

Identified Gains
  • Mineral lessees and mining companies
  • City of Carlsbad government
  • Bureau of Land Management mineral-leasing staff
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
City of Carlsbad government:
Mineral lessees and mining companies:
Bureau of Land Management mineral-leasing staff:
Identified Costs
  • Secretary of the Interior and mineral-leasing staff
  • City of Carlsbad officials
  • Carlsbad residents and local land users
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
City of Carlsbad officials:
Carlsbad residents and local land users:
Secretary of the Interior and mineral-leasing staff:

Legislative Progress

Reported
Introduced Committee Passed
Jun 10, 2026

Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute …

Jun 10, 2026

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

Jun 10, 2026

Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged

Mar 25, 2026

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Mar 18, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

Mar 9, 2026

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Mar 9, 2026

Introduced in House

Mar 9, 2026

Mr. Stauber introduced the following bill; which was referred to …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
2 mentions across 1 clause
+1 positive -1 negative

Bureau of Land Management mineral-leasing staff, City of Carlsbad government

Positive-direction: City of Carlsbad government

Negative-direction: Bureau of Land Management mineral-leasing staff

Oil & Gas
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Mineral lessees and mining companies

1/1
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Mining Public Lands Local Government
Actor Mappings
"City"
→ City of Carlsbad, New Mexico
"Secretary"
→ Secretary of the Interior

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

2 terms
"covered land" §1-covered-land

Federal or acquired land located within the City of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

"acquired land" §1-acquired-land

Acquired lands as defined in the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands.

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