H.R. 1820: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other purposes.
Before you vote › Federal bills
H.R. 1820: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other purposes.
114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-15 · Energy · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 341.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-15 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 341. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other purposes.
Plain summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of that version is repeated here.) (Sec. 1) This bill authorizes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to provide bidding credits for a coal preference right lease applicant to acquire federal mineral rights if such applicant agrees to relinquish its rights to an existing coal lease on federal land. Bidding credits, which are fully transferable, are assigned a dollar value and can be used in lieu of cash to make certain payments to the federal government. The dollar value should be equal to the estimated fair market value of the existing lease being relinquished. The BLM is required to provide payments, equal to 50% value of any bidding credit, to any state where federal mineral rights are being acquired through the use of bidding credits. Such payments are required to be derived from revenues obtained under federal mineral leases. A bidding credit terminates five years from its date of issue, not counting any period in which exercise of the bidding credit is precluded by law or suspension of the federal coal leasing program.
Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, and for other purposes.
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House without amendment)
AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text
No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.
Limited to a few requests an hour per person.
The strongest published arguments
Arguments for (supporters)
Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
Arguments against (opponents)
Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
Alternatives
Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] · 1 cosponsors
Cosponsors on this site
Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY)
Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] reported raising $6.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House without amendment)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr1820.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>
Record fed-us-cong114-hr1820 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114