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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10318 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10318
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to enhance the economic
security of Pacific territories adjacent to seabed mining through
revenue sharing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 8, 2026
Ms. King-Hinds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to enhance the economic
security of Pacific territories adjacent to seabed mining through
revenue sharing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pacific Minerals Economic Security
Act'' or ``PACMESA''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO OCSLA.
(a) Requirements for Certain Leases Issued Under Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act.--Section 8(k) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(43 U.S.C. 1337(k)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (6);
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) No royalty relief.--The Secretary may not reduce,
suspend, waive, eliminate, or otherwise exempt from payment any
cash bonus, rental, royalty, or other amount due for a lease
issued under paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer
Continental Shelf.
``(3) Security.--
``(A) Initial surety bond.--The Secretary may not
issue a lease under paragraph (1) for a covered area of
the outer Continental Shelf unless and until the
prospective lessee provides to the Secretary a surety
bond (or other form of security or financial assurance,
as the Secretary determines appropriate) of not less
than $100,000 to cover the lessee's obligations under
the lease.
``(B) Supplemental surety bond.--The Secretary may
not approve a plan authorizing production activities
pursuant to a lease issued under paragraph (1) for a
covered area of the outer Continental Shelf unless and
until the lessee provides to the Secretary a
supplemental surety bond (or other form of security or
financial assurance, as the Secretary determines
appropriate) of an amount determined by the Secretary
based on--
``(i) the financial health of the lessee;
``(ii) the financial ability of the lessee
to cover obligations of the lease;
``(iii) the estimated cost of
decommissioning; and
``(iv) the estimated cost of environmental
restoration of area subject to the lease.
``(C) Adjustment of supplemental surety bond.--
``(i) In general.--If the cumulative
potential obligations and liabilities of a
lease under paragraph (1) for a covered area
either increase or decrease, the Secretary may
adjust the amount of supplemental financial
assurance required.
``(ii) Responsibility.--An adjustment under
clause (i) may be made--
``(I) independently by the
Secretary; or
``(II) at the discretion of the
Secretary at the request of the lessee.
``(4) Study.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of the Pacific Minerals
Economic Security Act, the Secretary shall conduct a
study on potential environmental impact mitigation
methods for the different kinds of seabed mining being
considered in the waters adjacent to covered
territories.
``(B) Contents.--The study required under
subparagraph (A) shall include--
``(i) which potential activities could be
employed to mitigate the environmental impacts
of seabed mining; and
``(ii) the potential costs of each
different kind of mitigation activity
considered.
``(C) Consultation.--In conducting the study under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make reasonable
efforts to consult with Northern Marianas College, the
University of Guam, and American Samoa Community
College.
``(D) Submission.--The completed study under
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate.
``(5) Revenue sharing for certain leases.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 9 and
subsection (m) of this section, beginning in fiscal
year 2027 and for each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary shall deposit--
``(i) 50 percent of all covered leasing
revenues in the general fund of the Treasury;
and
``(ii) 50 percent of all covered leasing
revenues in a special account in the Treasury
from which the Secretary shall disburse such
covered leasing revenues to the covered
territories a point on the coastline of which
is located within 200 nautical miles of the
geographic center of the applicable leased
tract, to be allocated in amounts (based on a
formula established by the Secretary by
regulation) that are inversely proportional to
the respective distances between the point on
the coastline of each such covered territory
that is closest to the geographic center of the
applicable leased tract and the geographic
center of the applicable leased tract.
``(B) Minimum allocation.--For each applicable
leased tract, the amount allocated under subparagraph
(A)(ii) to each covered territory satisfying the
distance requirement under that subparagraph with
respect to that tract shall be at least 10 percent of
the covered leasing revenues attributable to such tract
that are available for allocation to covered
territories under that subparagraph.
``(C) Use of amounts.--Each covered territory shall
use all amounts received pursuant to subparagraph
(A)(ii) only for--
``(i) coastal restoration activities;
``(ii) the development and maintenance of
infrastructure, including energy
infrastructure;
``(iii) environmental mitigation
activities; or
``(iv) fiscal stabilization or debt
reduction.
``(D) Administration.--Amounts made available
pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) shall--
``(i) be made available, without further
appropriation, in accordance with this
paragraph;
``(ii) remain available until expended; and
``(iii) be in addition to any amounts
otherwise appropriated under any other
provision of law.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Covered area of the outer continental
shelf.--The term `covered area of the Outer Continental
Shelf' means an area on the Outer Continental Shelf
that is adjacent to a covered territory.
``(B) Covered leasing revenues.--The term `covered
leasing revenues'--
``(i) means all cash bonuses, rentals,
royalties, and other amounts paid to the
Secretary for or under a lease issued under
paragraph (1) for a covered area of the outer
Continental Shelf; and
``(ii) does not include any cash bonus,
rental, royalty, or other amount generated from
such a lease subject to section 8(g).
``(C) Covered territory.--The term `covered
territory' means--
``(i) Guam;
``(ii) American Samoa; and
``(iii) the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.''.
(b) Notice.--
(1) In general.--With respect to any prospecting, testing,
delineation, production plan, or permit application submitted
pursuant to this Act or an amendment made by this Act that
would require a consistency review under the Coastal Zone
Management Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall,
immediately upon submission of such plan, provide to the
Governor of each adjacent covered territory notice of the plan.
(2) Environmental review.--In the case of a plan described
in paragraph (1) requiring an environmental assessment, the
Secretary of the Interior shall invite the Governor of each
adjacent covered territory to review and provide comments
regarding the proposed activities and include a specified
period of time for the applicable Governor to provide such
comments.
(3) Adjacent covered territory defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``adjacent covered territory'' means a
covered territory (as defined in section 8(k) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended by this Act) that is
adjacent to an area of the Outer Continental Shelf to which a
plan described in paragraph (1) applies.
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