Forest Health and Biomass Energy Act of 2020
Latest action. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate 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 public landsLand owned by the federal government, about a quarter of the country, managed by agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Park Service.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-382.
Forest Health and Biomass Energy Act of 2020
This bill addresses biomass energy, particularly with respect to materials removed from high-hazard areas (e.g., areas that pose wildfire risks).
The bill directs the Department of Energy, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), to assess the potential to produce biomass energy from certain land under the administrative jurisdiction of Interior and USDA.
With respect to the removal of timber located within certain high-hazard areas, USDA shall not charge a stumpage rate or assign any value to (1) certain trees, (2) forest processing residues or byproducts of forest restoration, or (3) a large dead tree that is not suitable for higher-valued wood products because of decay.
The bill establishes the High Hazard Area Wood Biomass Fund, into which USDA may deposit a percentage of the revenue generated from base stumpage rates of timber sales that occur on National Forest System land to assist timber operators and biomass energy producers with the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of biomass material removed from high-hazard areas.
The President shall include in the annual budget submission an annual performance metric, which shall be established by USDA, for the harvest of wood biomass material in green tons made available for bioenergy markets.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 16, 2020. 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 November 18, 2020: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-382.
- 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?
Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced it on September 16, 2020. 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, 2020, 2185 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2122 days ago, on November 18, 2020.
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