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Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996

Public Law 104-185 · H.R. 1975 · 104th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Aug 13, 1996 · Energy

Sponsor: Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA-43)

Cosponsors (13): Rep. William Brewster,

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to revise and expand the guidelines under which the authorities of the Secretary of the Interior for collection of oil and gas receipts and related activities may be delegated to a State upon its request. Provides for judicial review of any Secretarial action to approve or disapprove a State proposal.

Sets a seven-year statute of limitations for any judicial proceeding or demand arising from a royalty obligation. Prescribes procedural guidelines for Secretarial and delegated States' actions and limitation periods, including royalty adjustments and refunds.

Sets forth royalty terms, interest on royalty overpayments (except deliberate, excessive overpayments whose sole purpose is to receive such interest), penalties, and assessments.

Prescribes procedural guidelines under which the Secretary and the State concerned shall jointly determine on a case by case basis the amount of production from marginal properties that shall be subject to prepayment or regulatory relief. Permits the Secretary's sole determination if the royalty payments are not shared with any State.

Renders inapplicable except to Indian leases: (1) the current statute of limitations governing the recovery of penalties; and (2) the Secretary's authority to enter into cooperative agreements with any State (or Indian tribe) with respect to oil or gas royalty activities.

Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to repeal the guidelines governing refunds or credit granted to a lessee for excess payments.

Excludes Indian lands and privately owned minerals from the purview of this Act.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 15 actions.

  1. Aug 13, 1996Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 104-185.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Aug 7, 1996PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Aug 2, 1996FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Jul 16, 1996FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  6. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
  7. FloorFloor · Mr. Calvert moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  8. Jul 11, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
  9. Mar 28, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
  10. Feb 28, 1996CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  11. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  12. Jul 18, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  13. Jul 7, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
  14. Jun 30, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
  15. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.