S. 490: Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-02-12 · Energy · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-02-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015

Plain summary

Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015 This bill permits a state that has an established leasing, permitting, and regulatory program to: (1) declare to the Secretaries of the Interior, of Agriculture, and of Energy that it has either established or amended the program; and (2) seek to transfer to itself, and to implement, existing federal responsibilities for leasing, permitting, and regulating oil, natural gas, and other forms of energy development. Any state action to lease, permit, or regulate oil and gas exploration and development shall not be subject to, or considered, a federal action, a federal permit, or a federal license with respect to specified administrative and environmental laws and is therefore exempt from them. State-issued leases or permits must provide for: (1) the collection of royalties or other revenues in an amount equal to what would have been collected if the lease or permit had been federally issued, and (2) their deposit into the same federal account in which they would have been deposited if the lease or permit had been federally issued. A state may collect and retain lease or permit application processing fees.

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

Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015

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. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK] · 10 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), James E. Risch (R-ID)

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)

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).
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s490.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s490 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114