The House of Representatives has passed the License to Drill Act, a piece of legislation introduced by Representative Mike Kennedy of Utah. The bill, which has moved through the legislative process following reports from the Committee on Natural Resources, aims to extend the Bureau of Land Management's authority to collect fees for processing oil and gas permit applications.
Under current law, these permit processing fees are authorized only through fiscal year 2026. H.R.7831 proposes extending this authority through fiscal year 2037.
The legislation provides for the Bureau of Land Management to collect a fee for every new permit application. These collected fees are transferred into the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.
The bill was reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on May 20, 2026. It subsequently passed the House on June 2, 2026, via a voice vote following a motion to suspend the rules.
Recent legislative activity includes hearings held by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining on July 15, 2026. The bill's policy area is classified under energy.
