Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.
Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2012 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require amounts received through FY2020 (currently, through FY2010) from leases under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to be available to the Secretary of the Interior to spend in such amounts as are provided in advance appropriations acts for implementing such Acts.
Requires the Secretary of Interior to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program under which lease sales are conducted on covered public lands administered by the Secretary to carry out wind and solar energy projects. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to jointly determine as to whether to expand the pilot program to apply to all covered public lands. Defines "covered land" to mean land that is: (1) public land administered by the Secretary of the Interior, or National Forest System land administered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) not excluded from development of solar or wind energy under a final land use plan established under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, a final land and resource management plan established under the National Forest Management Act of 1976, or federal law. Establishes in the Treasury the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior for mitigating the impacts of renewable energy on federal land and carrying out any activity authorized under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, with the exception of the acquisition of land, water, or interests therein within that state.
Requires the Secretaries to determine the feasibility of carrying out a mitigation banking program on federal lands administered by the Secretaries to offset the impacts of wind or solar energy on such lands.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 19, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 13, 2012: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Paul Gosar (R-AZ) introduced it on July 19, 2012, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 19, 2012, 5213 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5188 days ago, on August 13, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers