H.R. 7831 · Where this bill is now
Passed both chambers
House: Passed Jun 2, 2026, by voice vote; Senate: Passed Sep 30, 2026, by unanimous consent
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryExtends oil and gas permit fee authority
The Bureau of Land Management collects fees when companies apply for permits to drill for oil and gas on public lands. This bill extends the agency's authority to keep collecting these fees through 2037, rather than letting that authority expire in 2026. The fees go into a special fund to help the BLM process permit applications more efficiently.
How it affects you
This mainly affects oil and gas companies that drill on federal lands, since they're the ones paying the permit fees. For the general public, it means the BLM will have ongoing funding to review and process these drilling permits.
Read the official summary (Reported to House, May 20, 2026)
License to Drill Act
This bill extends through FY2037 the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) authority to collect oil and gas permit processing fees. For each new permit application, BLM collects a fee that is transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund. (Under current law, the fees are authorized through FY2026.)
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionH. R. 7831
AN ACT
License to Drill Act
Sponsor: Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-UT-3) · Introduced Mar 5, 2026 · Energy · 6 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Sep 30, 2026: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5226-5231)”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 6 official versions.