ONSHORE Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act or the ONSHORE Act
This bill addresses onshore oil and gas resources on federal land and non-federal surface estates.
The bill allows the Department of the Interior to delegate to states the authority to manage certain federal permitting and regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas development on federal lands within their borders.
The bill provides a mechanism for states to receive an increased percentage of sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state by collecting royalties directly without paying the existing administrative fees to Interior.
Certain oil and gas activities conducted on non-federal surface estates do not require a permit and are exempt from certain environmental review requirements.
Interior must defer to state regulations, guidance, and permit requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.
Interior must conduct a review of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to determine what land in the reserve should be made available for oil and gas leasing.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 24, 2019. 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 January 24, 2019: 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 Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced it on January 24, 2019, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 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 January 24, 2019, 2786 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2786 days ago, on January 24, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers