S.Amdt. 3243

SA 3243. Mr. TESTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to
provide for the modernization of the energy policy of the United
States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title III, add the following:

SEC. 34___. FEDERAL COAL LEASING PROGRAM.

(a) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the Federal coal leasing program should be reviewed--
(A) to ensure that taxpayers receive a fair rate of return
for Federal minerals;
(B) to provide appropriate transparency; and
(C) to ensure that management of Federal land and minerals
is in the public interest;
(2) the responsible development of coal resources on
Federal land provides an important source of jobs and revenue
for States and local economies; and
(3) the review under paragraph (1) should be completed as
soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Royalty Policy Committee.--
(1) In general.--To ensure consultation with key State,
tribal, environmental, energy and Federal stakeholders, not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the Interior shall reestablish the Royalty
Policy Committee (referred to in this subsection as the
``Committee'') in accordance with the charter of the
Secretary of the Interior, dated March 26, 2010, as modified
by this subsection.
(2) Duties.--The Committee shall--
(A) provide advice to the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Director of the Office of Natural Resource
Revenue, on the management of Federal and Indian mineral
leases and revenues under the law governing the Department of
the Interior;
(B) review and comment on revenue management and other
mineral and energy-related policies; and
(C) provide a forum to convey views representative of
mineral lessees, operators, revenue payers, revenue
recipients, governmental agencies, and public interest
groups.
(3) Advisory.--The duties of the Committee shall be solely
advisory.
(4) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at least once a
year at the request of the Secretary of the Interior.
(5) Duration.--The charter of the Committee may be renewed
in 2-year increments by the Secretary of the Interior.
(6) Membership.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary
of the Interior shall appoint non-Federal members and
alternates to the Committee for a term of up to 3 years.
(B) Terms.--
(i) In general.--The terms of non-Federal Committee members
and alternates shall be staggered to preserve the integrity
of the Committee.
(ii) Terms.--Except as provided in clause (iii), the terms
of new or reappointed non-Federal members of the Committee
shall be 3 years.
(iii) Shorter terms.--If a term of 3 years would result in
more than \1/3\ of the terms of the non-Federal members
expiring in any year, appointments of non-Federal members may
be extended for 1-year or 2-terms to provide continuity of
the Committee.
(iv) Maximum number of years.--

(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), non-Federal
members may not serve more than 6 consecutive years as a
member of the Committee.
(II) Reappointment.--After a 2-year break in service, any
non-Federal member who have served 6 consecutive years shall
be eligible for reappointment to the Committee.

(C) Meetings.--The Secretary of the Interior may revoke the
appointment of a member of the Committee and the alternate if
the appointed member or alternate fails to attend 2 or more
consecutive meetings of the Committee.
(D) Balanced representation.--Committee members shall be
comprised of non-Federal and Federal members in order to
ensure fair and balanced representation with consideration
for the efficiency and fiscal economy of the Committee.
(E) Discretionary service.--All members of the Committee
shall serve at the discretion of the Secretary of the
Interior.
(F) Non-federal members.--In appointing non-Federal members
of the Committee, the Secretary of the Interior shall appoint
up to--
(i) 5 members who represent States that receive over
$10,000,000 annually in royalty revenues from Federal leases;
(ii) 5 members who represent Indian tribes;
(iii) 5 members who represent various mineral or energy
interests; and
(iv) 5 members who represent public interest groups.
(G) Federal members.--The following officials, or their
designees, shall be nonvoting, ex-officio members of the
Committee:
(i) The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs
(ii) The Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(iii) The Director of the Office of Natural Resources
Revenue.
(7) Subcommittees.--
(A) In general.--Subject to the approval of the Secretary
of the Interior and subparagraph (B), subcommittees or
workgroups of the Committee may be formed for the purposes of
compiling information or conducting research.
(B) Administration.--Subcommittees or workgroups of the
Committee shall--
(i) act only under the direction of the Committee; and
(ii) report their recommendations to the full Committee for
consideration.
(C) Appointment.--The Committee Chair, with the approval of
the Secretary of the Interior, shall appoint subcommittee or
workgroup members.
(D) Meetings.--Subcommittees and workgroups of the
Committee shall meet as necessary to accomplish assignments,
subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and
the availability of resources.
(c) Emergency Leasing.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall
amend section 3425.1-4 of title 43, Code of Federal
Regulations and Secretarial Order 3338, dated January 15,
2016, to authorize earlier emergency leasing than is
authorized under section 3425.1-4 of title 43, Code of
Federal Regulations (as of the date of enactment of this
Act).
(2) Administration.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall substitute ``4 years'' for ``3 years'' each
place it appears in section 3425.1-4 of title 43, Code of
Federal Regulations for the duration of the programmatic
review of the Federal coal program and the limitations on the
issuance of Federal coal leases described in Secretarial
Order 3338.
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