North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015
TITLE I--MODERNIZING AND PROTECTING INFRASTRUCTURE
Subtitle A--Energy Delivery, Reliability, and Security
(Sec. 1101) This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to revise procedures for consideration by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of applications for federal authorization of the exportation or importation of natural gas, including a deadline for a final decision on a federal authorization within 90 days after FERC issues its final environmental document.
The bill repeals an applicant's option to pursue certain remedies if a federal or state administrative agency fails to complete a mandatory approval proceeding in accordance with FERC's schedule.
The bill prescribes requirements for: (1) concurrent federal and state application reviews, (2) issue identification and resolution, (3) failure to meet schedule, (4) remote environmental surveys, and (5) application processing that allows an applicant to fund third-party contractor to assist in reviewing the application. When an application requires multiple federal authorizations, FERC must track and publicize on its website the actions required to complete permitting, reviews, and other requisite actions.
(Sec. 1102) The Federal Power Act (FPA) is amended to require FERC, in resolving environmental and grid reliability conflicts, to ensure that any emergency order which may result in conflict with federal, state, or local environmental law or regulations:
requires electric energy generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission only during hours necessary to meet the emergency;
is consistent with environmental law or regulation; and
minimizes adverse environmental impacts.
An order that does conflict with federal, state, or local environmental law must expire within 90 days after issuance, although FERC may renew it for subsequent 90-day periods.
(Sec. 1103) The Department of Energy (DOE) shall:
adopt procedures, among other things, to improve communication and coordination between DOE's energy response team, federal partners, and the oil and natural gas industry regarding enhanced emergency preparedness for natural disasters; and
order 15-day (renewable) emergency measures to protect the reliability of either critical electric infrastructure or the defense critical electric infrastructure in the event of an imminent grid security emergency.
The summary continues for 195 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on December 3, 2015. 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 December 7, 2015: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
FRED UPTON (R-MI) introduced it on September 16, 2015. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 September 16, 2015, 4012 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3930 days ago, on December 7, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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