{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/tipton-gardner-state-mineral-royalties-payments-should-be-protected-federal", "Tipton, Gardner: State Mineral Royalties Payments Should be Protected from Federal Interference", "2013-08-27", "2013", "2013-08", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Scott Tipton", "T000470", "tipton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "PUEBLO, CO\u2013 While relieved that the Department of Interior (DOI) announced it would pay back mineral royalties taken from states under sequestration in 2013, Reps. Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) stressed today that a legislative fix is needed to ensure that state mineral royalty payments are not held up by the federal government in the future.\nIn March, the Administration announced there would be $110 million in deductions to federal mineral royalties paid to states because of sequestration. By the end of July, Colorado had already lost $5.7 million due to the misguided decision. In response to a letter sent to the DOI by Tipton, Gardner and other\u00a0 in May, this week the DOI announced that the agency would \u201cwork expeditiously to disburse the sequestered FY 2013 Payments in FY 2014.\u201d\nTipton and Gardner are pushing for a permanent solution and joined their Western Caucus colleagues in introducing legislation this year that would amend the State Mineral Revenue Protection Act. H.R. 1972 would streamline how mineral royalty payments are distributed to the state and federal government.\nUnder the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), the federal government is required to give 50% of royalties collected to the state. The State Mineral Revenue Protection Act amends the MLA to grant states the option to collect their\u00a0share of the mineral royalties directly from the producer, and grants those states full property interest in their share. Such changes would bar the federal government from inappropriately withholding state\u2019s funds under the pretext of administrative costs or the more recent example of sequestration.\n \n\t\u201cCommunities in my district use mineral royalties to help fund education, infrastructure, and emergency services. These funds are vital to the wellbeing of these areas, and states should be able to count on the fact that they will have access to them with reasonable certainty. When the Administration announced this year that it would take these funds, it was of no small consequence to the people of my district,\u201d said Tipton. \u00a0\u201cFederal whim shouldn\u2019t determine if states will receive the royalty payments to which they are entitled.\u00a0 Our common sense legislation will prevent this from ever happening again by empowering states with the ability to gain legal interest of the full amount they are owed.\u201d\n \n \n\t\u201cStates like Colorado count on revenue from mineral royalty payments,\u201d Gardner said. \u201cThese revenues, which fund vital services, should not be held up by dysfunction at the federal level. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues from across the West to offer a solution that strengthens states\u2019 mineral rights in the face of federal uncertainty.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/tipton-gardner-state-mineral-royalties-payments-should-be-protected-federal"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0588178411126137, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}