PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3] · D–OR
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 11, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.10255 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.10255 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.10255 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.10255 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Penalties for Polluters Act would raise specified penalties under laws governing mineral leasing, oil and gas royalties, offshore operations, and oil pollution. People or organizations penalized under those provisions could face higher amounts. The bill would divide qualifying additional penalty revenue equally between governments harmed by violations and federal agencies carrying out enforcement. The supplied text does not establish whether these changes would reduce violations.
This Act may be cited as the Penalties for Polluters Act.
Section 41 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195) is amended—
(B) by striking $500,000 and inserting $2,700,000;
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended— (1) in section 109— (A) in subsection (a), by striking $500 and inserting $3,000;
Section 24 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1350) is amended—
Section 4303 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2716a) is amended by striking $25,000 and inserting $120,000.
(A) 50 percent to States, Indian Tribes, and local governments that the Secretary determines to have been harmed by a violation with respect to which excess revenue is collected by the Secretary. (B) 50 percent to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Bureau of Land Management for continued enforcement and compliance activities
The bill would replace $500,000 with $2.7 million in section 41(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act and $100,000 with $500,000 in section 41(c). The Interior Secretary would have to adjust the section 41(b) maximum annually for increases in the Consumer Price Index, a measure of consumer prices.
Section 41 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)—
(B) by striking $500,000 and inserting $2,700,000;
The Secretary of the Interior shall annually adjust the maximum penalty specified in paragraph (1) to reflect any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States city average) as prepared by the Department of Labor.
(2) in subsection (c), by striking $100,000 and inserting $500,000.
In section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, the bill would replace four penalty amounts: $500 with $3,000 in subsection (a), $5,000 with $30,000 in (b), $10,000 with $65,000 in (c), and $25,000 with $160,000 in (d). The underlying provisions defining when these amounts apply are not reproduced.
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended— (1) in section 109— (A) in subsection (a), by striking $500 and inserting $3,000; (B) in subsection (b), by striking $5,000 and inserting $30,000; (C) in subsection (c), by striking $10,000 and inserting $65,000; and (D) in subsection (d), by striking $25,000 and inserting $160,000;
The bill would replace $50,000 with $320,000 in section 110 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982. It would require annual adjustments to that section's maximum penalty for increases in the specified Consumer Price Index.
(2) in section 110— (A) by striking Any person and inserting the following: (a) In general Any person ; (B) by striking $50,000 and inserting $320,000;
The Secretary shall annually adjust the maximum penalty specified in this section to reflect any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States city average) as prepared by the Department of Labor.
The bill would rewrite the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act's civil-penalty provision. Failure to comply with the Act, its regulations or orders, or the terms of a lease, license, or permit issued under it would carry a penalty of up to $100,000 for each day the failure continues, subject to the hearing protection and higher threat-of-harm limit.
Section 24 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1350) is amended— (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
Any person who fails to comply with any provision of this Act, any regulation or order issued under this Act, or any term of a lease, license, or permit issued pursuant to this Act shall be liable, subject to paragraph (3), for a civil penalty of not more than $100,000, except as provided in paragraph (4), for each day of the continuance of such failure.
For those offshore civil penalties, the Secretary could assess, collect, and settle penalties. A person would have to receive an opportunity for a hearing before a penalty could be assessed.
(2) Assessment The Secretary may assess, collect, and compromise any such penalty. (3) Opportunity for a hearing The Secretary may not assess a penalty against a person described in paragraph (1) until such person has been given an opportunity for a hearing.
An offshore compliance failure that threatens or previously threatened harm could carry a civil penalty of up to $360,000 for each day it continues. The protected interests include life, including fish and other aquatic life; property; mineral deposits; and the marine, coastal, or human environment.
If a failure described in paragraph (1) constitutes or constituted a threat of harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), property, any mineral deposit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment, a civil penalty of not more than $360,000 may be assessed for each day of the continuance of such failure.
Separately, the bill would replace $100,000 with $1 million in section 24(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. It would require annual adjustments to that subsection's maximum penalty for increases in the specified Consumer Price Index.
(2) in subsection (c)— (A) by striking $100,000 and inserting $1,000,000; and (B) by inserting The Secretary shall annually adjust the maximum penalty specified in this subsection to reflect any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States city average) as prepared by the Department of Labor. after the period at the end.
The bill would replace the $25,000 amount in section 4303 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 with $120,000. It does not reproduce the underlying provision explaining which violations trigger that amount.
Section 4303 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2716a) is amended by striking $25,000 and inserting $120,000.
The bill would create a separate Treasury account called the Penalty Revenue Reinvestment Fund. The Interior Secretary would have to deposit collected amounts that qualify as “excess revenue” into it. Those funds would be available without further appropriation and without a fiscal-year limit.
There is established in the Treasury of the United States a separate account, to be known as the Penalty Revenue Reinvestment Fund (referred to in this subsection as the Fund).
Any amounts collected by the Secretary that are excess revenue shall be deposited into the Fund.
Amounts deposited into the Fund in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be available to the Secretary without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
“Excess revenue” would mean the portion of a penalty assessed on or after enactment under the listed mineral-leasing, royalty-management, or offshore provisions that exceeds the maximum civil penalty available for the same violation the day before enactment. This definition does not include the Oil Pollution Act provision amended elsewhere in the bill.
The term excess revenue means the portion of any penalty assessed for a violation under section 41 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195), section 109 or 110 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719; 30 U.S.C. 1720), or section 24 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1350) on or after the date of enactment of this Act that exceeds the maximum civil penalty amount that could have been assessed for the same violation under the applicable provision of law as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
Half of the fund would go to states, Indian Tribes, and local governments that the Interior Secretary determines were harmed by the violation producing the qualifying revenue. “State” would include the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Tribal eligibility would use the definition in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
(A) 50 percent to States, Indian Tribes, and local governments that the Secretary determines to have been harmed by a violation with respect to which excess revenue is collected by the Secretary.
The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States.
The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
The other half of the fund would go collectively to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and Bureau of Land Management. It would support continued enforcement and compliance under the three listed resource laws; the text does not specify each agency's share.
(B) 50 percent to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Bureau of Land Management for continued enforcement and compliance activities under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 11, 2026, records introduction in the House on September 3, 2026, and referral that day to the Natural Resources Committee and additionally to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-11T15:39:55Z.
2026-09-03: Introduced in House
2026-09-03: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials, or an amendment's attachment history.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No earmark was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. General program funding and statutory allocations do not alone establish earmark status. This conclusion is limited to that version; absent disclosures and accompanying materials prevent a broader conclusion about formal earmark status.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential exception was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. Ordinary program eligibility and routine administration alone do not warrant a finding. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 11, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI