H.R. 1992 would require the Department of the Interior to charge a 2 percent royalty on the value of soda ash and related sodium compounds produced on federal lands for a five-year period following enactment of the bill. Under current law, CBO expects the average royalty rate to be about 6 percent, beginning in 2016. About half of the royalties collected by the federal government are paid to the states where the minerals are produced. Thus, enacting the bill would reduce both offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) and the subsequent payments to states stemming from those royalties.
As a result, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1992 would increase net direct spending by $80 million over the 2016-2020 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting H.R. 1992 would not affect revenues.
H.R. 1992 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
