WEST Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Western Economic Security Today Act or the WEST Act - Title I: Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act - Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to direct (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the Interior to require a lessee operating under an approved exploration plan to obtain: (1) a permit before drilling any well in accordance with the plan, and (2) a new permit before drilling any well of a design that is significantly different than the design for which the existing permit was issued.
Prohibits the Secretary from issuing a drilling permit without ensuring that the proposed drilling operations meet all: (1) critical safety system requirements, including blowout prevention; and (2) oil spill response and containment requirements.
Deems an application to drill to be approved if the Secretary does not make a decision within 60 days after receipt of the application.
Confers exclusive jurisdiction for a covered civil action upon a judicial district in the Fifth Circuit unless there is no district in that circuit in which the action may be brought.
Bars a covered civil action unless it is filed within 60 days after the date of the final federal agency action.
Restricts the court, in a covered civil action, from granting or approving prospective relief unless the court finds that the relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct that violation.
Prohibits a party to a covered civil action from receiving payment from the federal government for attorneys' fees and court costs.
Title II: Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now - Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act - Directs the Secretary to conduct, within 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, Lease Sale 216 and Lease Sale 222 in the Central Gulf of Mexico.
The summary continues for 38 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 "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 25, 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 April 25, 2012: 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 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?
ORRIN HATCH (R-UT) introduced it on April 25, 2012, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 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 April 25, 2012, 5251 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5251 days ago, on April 25, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers