S.Amdt. 4615

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Hickenlooper, aims to add a section to bill S. 1383 focused on expediting the permitting process for affordable electricity projects.

The purpose of the amendment is to ensure parity among "covered projects," which are energy projects on Federal land or those requiring Federal approval. It seeks to change the process by requiring that no specific type of covered project faces more burdensome or restrictive procedural requirements than others.

Specifically, the amendment aims to:

• Prevent the use of technology as a basis for denying or delaying authorizations, such as notices to proceed or testing permits, once approval criteria are met.
• Stop the withholding or reversing of decisions made by regional, State, or local entities for one type of project if those reasons are not applied to all other project types.
• Stop requirements for discretionary or elevated reviews by "covered officials" (which include the Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, political appointees, and career employees of the Department of the Interior and Department of Defense) from being applied unfairly.

The amendment also requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Defense to review all relevant regulations, directives, and manuals within 15 days of enactment to find non-compliant provisions. Any identified provisions not required by statute must be amended or rescinded within 20 days.