Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on Rep. Ryan Zinke’s (R-MT) “Certainty for States and Tribes Act” (H.R. 5259), legislation to reestablish the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Royalty Policy Committee (RPC) and create a more transparent and cooperative process in royalty management issues.  

“It’s about a process where we look at the different factors and together in a collaborative effort to make this country better. It is not about global warming or coal, it is about a process that allows our communities a say. When the federal government becomes so overbearing that a state and a small community have no say, that’s exactly the problem we face today,” Rep. Zinke said.

States with large swaths of federal lands rely heavily on revenues provided by activities such as energy development to fund public education, infrastructure projects and other essential government services.

This bill comes on the heels of the Obama Administration’s controversial and unilateral moratorium on all new federal coal leases, which poses grave economic impacts for states such as Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado.

“Given the fact that most federal land is located in a handful of Western states, these states and tribes are disproportionately impacted when federal land management decisions are made,” Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said. “In carrying out most basic government services, these states rely on revenue streams that could be cut off at any moment by policies enacted by unelected bureaucrats thousands of miles away.”

Wyoming State Superintended of Public Instruction Jillian Balow explained that approximately twenty five percent of their school operational budgets rely directly on federal mineral royalties and that coal lease bonus payments pay for school construction.

“This production generates billions of dollars in tax revenue for our State and supports nearly every other sector of our economy,” Balow stated.  “H.R. 5259 fosters the cooperation that really is about doing the right thing for the right reason bringing people from the state alongside people from the tribes and people from the federal government to really bring the best solutions to the table.”

Mike Johnson, a Montana union member, discussed how the moratorium has already impacted employment opportunities and the quality of life for local communities and tribes.

“I have personally seen the results of job closures and they are not pretty. I lost five friends to suicide since the [Smurfit-Stone paper] mill closed. Others who had to relocate were ripped away from their family and friends,” Johnson said.

H.R. 5259 will ensure that the taxpayer receives fair return on revenues from federal land and that states and tribes that rely on federal revenues to fund essential government services have a meaningful voice in royalty decisions.