WASHINGTON -- The $3.7-trillion budget approved by the Senate on Saturday contains a provision its sponsor hopes will ease the way for legislation to speed up revenue sharing of off-shore royalty payments for Louisiana and other producing states. The budget provision, added by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., calls for "investment of receipts from domestic energy production" for, among other...
WASHINGTON -- The $3.7-trillion budget approved by the Senate on Saturday contains a provision its sponsor hopes will ease the way for legislation to speed up revenue sharing of off-shore royalty payments for Louisiana and other producing states.
The budget provision, added by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., calls for "investment of receipts from domestic energy production" for, among other things, "preservation restoration or protection of the nation's public lands, oceans, coastal areas, or aquatic ecosystems."
Restoration of coastal areas and ecosystems is how Landrieu envisions spending the state proceeds of off-shore oil and gas royalty payments.
A Landrieu bill would speed up implementation of a law that requires Louisiana and other producing states to collect 37.5 percent of federal royalty payments for oil and gas collected off their shores, but not until 2017.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, left, and Sen. Mary Landrieu introduce legislation to speed up revenue sharing for off-shore oil and gas production.
Under the Landrieu legislation, she hopes will get a push from the budget, the 37.5 percent share would begin being calculated immediately upon enactment and distributed to the states the following year,
Landrieu's bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would also eventually phase out the $500 million cap in revenue sharing for producing states now part of the revenue sharing law.
These funds will be an important investment in Louisiana's 50-year, $50 billion Coastal Master Plan to restore the state's coast and protect our communities from storm surges, Landrieu said.
The budget provision is something of a symbolic victory for Landrieu. Its practical impact is limited because there's little likelihood the Senate and House will reach a compromise on what are two dramatically different spending bills for the 2014 fiscal year.
Moreover, all budget provisions are considered advisory and don't have the impact of law.