S. 55: Offshore Fairness Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-01-07 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · 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 2015-01-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · 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

Offshore Fairness Act

Plain summary

Offshore Fairness Act This bill amends the Submerged Lands Act to change the seaward boundaries of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia from a distance of three geographic miles from the coast line to a distance of three marine leagues. This change expands the offshore jurisdictions of those states. The Department of the Interior must convey the submerged land in the Outer Continental Shelf that is within this expanded area to a state upon request. After a conveyance, states are prohibited from imposing on that land: (1) burdens or requirements on an interest owner that would be stricter than federal burdens or requirements, or (2) administrative or judicial penalties or sanctions on an interest owner that are more severe than the federal penalties or sanctions. The submerged land within the seaward boundaries of those states are subject to federal oil and gas mineral rights and are considered to be part of the federal Outer Continental Shelf for purposes of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, and other laws applicable to the leasing of the oil and gas resources. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas are given exclusive fishery management authority to manage and conserve the Gulf of Mexico red snapper in adjacent coastal waters of the applicable state and through the exclusive economic zone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must provide financial assistance to those states for stock assessments and data collection relating to the Gulf of Mexico red snapper.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Offshore Fairness Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

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).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

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-114s55.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s55 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114