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S. 485: Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act

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S. 485: Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-02-12 · Energy · Latest: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2015-02-12 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act

Plain summary

Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act or the APPROVAL Act This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to prohibit the Secretary of Energy and the Administrators of the Western Area Power Administration and of the Southwestern Power Administration from using the power of eminent domain to implement modernization of electricity transmission infrastructure, unless they have received explicit permission to do so by: (1) the state governor and the head of each applicable public utility commission or public service commission of the affected state, and (2) the head of the governing body of each Indian tribe whose land would be affected. An electricity transmission infrastructure project, to the greatest extent practicable, must be sited upon either an existing federal right-of-way or upon federal land managed by either: (1) the Bureau of Land Management, (2) the Forest Service, (3) the Bureau of Reclamation, or (4) the Corps of Engineers.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Tom Cotton (R-AR)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] reported raising $579,216 (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 (1)
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

Record fed-us-cong114-s485 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114