The Domestic Offshore Energy Reinvestment Act of 2018 was previously introduced by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) and approved by the House Natural Resources Committee during a markup session on several pending bills last week.
The Graves’ bill –cosponsored by Bradley Byrne would amend the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) to increase the percentage of federal oil and gas revenues made available to the Gulf states and the political subdivisions along their respective shorelines.
This House proposal would increase to 50 percent the share of revenue paid to the Gulf Coast states and would remove the $500 million a year revenue-sharing cap in the original GOMESA legislation.
Currently, 50 percent of GOMESA revenues go to the federal government and 37.5 percent is shared among Gulf States, the Graves bill would swap those percentages, while continuing to set aside the remaining 12.5 percent for a Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Alabama collected $21 million through GOMESA in 2018 alone, while Baldwin County saw $2.4 million and Mobile County received $2.8 million. The original legislation dictates the lion’s share of the local funding — around 80 percent — goes directly to the state government.
To Learn More: GOMESA
Photo courtesy of AL.com
