H.R. 1505 · 117th Congress

Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2021

Introduced on Mar 2, 2021 by Alan S. Lowenthal (D-CA-47). 15 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Dec 14, 2022): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 453.

Stage
Reported by committee
Introduced
Mar 2, 2021
Cosponsors
15
0 from the other party
Policy area
Energy
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the regulation of surface-disturbing activities and to protect taxpayers from unduly bearing the reclamation costs of oil and gas development, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of the Interior
  • Ecology
  • Environmental health
  • Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
  • Hydrology and hydrography
  • Land use and conservation
  • Licensing and registrations
  • Mining
  • Oil and gas
  • Pollution liability
  • Securities
  • User charges and fees
  • Water quality
  • Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to House, Dec 14, 2022). Public domain.

Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2021

This bill revises bonding requirements for oil and gas development on public land leased from the federal government. Such bonds are required to ensure oil and gas developers have adequate financial resources for implementing reclamation plans to restore public land after oil and gas development (e.g., drilling operations) ceases.

Specifically, the bill increases the bond amounts that oil and gas developers must provide prior to conducting surface-disturbing activities and requires such amounts to adjust at least once every three years for inflation. In addition, the bill sets fees to cover the cost for inspection and enforcement with respect to such leases.

The bill also requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to establish uniform standards for all interim and final reclamation plans. BLM and USFS may not release any bond amounts until the standards have been met by oil and gas developers and the inspection fees have been paid.

Finally, the bill gives the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to obtain and retain adequate financial assurances (e.g., bonds) from nonfederal entities to repair potential damages to resources of the National Wildlife Refuge System prior to the commencement of activities related to mineral development, such as oil and gas operations.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Alan S. LowenthalD-CA-47Sponsor

Democrats · 15

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 2, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 2, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 2, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
  4. Mar 8, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
  5. Mar 9, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held.
  6. May 5, 2021 · HouseSubcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.
  7. May 5, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  8. May 5, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 23 - 15.
  9. Dec 14, 2022Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 117-629.
  10. Dec 14, 2022 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 117-629.
  11. Dec 14, 2022 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 453.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 11, 2026 · loaded Oct 11, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 11, 2026 · loaded Oct 11, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.