Bill · S. 5048· Senate(119-S-5048)
Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act
- Introduced
- 7/21/2026
- Last activity
- 9/16/2026 — Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
- Sponsored by
- Steve Daines
- Cosponsors
- - 4 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, titled the "Hydropower Licensing Affordability Act," seeks to amend the Federal Power Act. The primary goal is to modernize the hydropower licensing process. It proposes changes to how federal reservation license conditions are determined. Additionally, it aims to adjust the scope of prescribed fishways. These amendments target specific sections of the Federal Power Act to refine project mitigation requirements.
Yes· 3 of 4
Would business owners be better off under this?+4
The bill aims to reduce the burden of licensing conditions, which may lower costs for energy companies.
Does this put more money into wind, solar and other renewable power?+3
By modernizing and potentially lowering the cost of hydropower licensing, it may facilitate renewable energy deployment.
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+2
The bill ensures license conditions are limited to mitigating direct adverse effects on reservations.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Reasonable mitigation of adverse effects on reservations: By inserting language that requires conditions to "reasonably mitigate the direct adverse effect" of a project, the bill aims to limit the scope of required mitigations (Section 2).
-
Reasonable mitigation for fish populations: The bill updates the requirement for fishways to focus on "reasonably" mitigating the direct adverse effects on fish species in a river system (Section 3).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Limiting scope of project conditions: The addition of the word "reasonably" to the requirements for mitigating adverse effects on federal reservations could change how projects are required to address those impacts (Section 2).
-
Limiting scope of fishway requirements: Changing the language regarding fishways to focus on "reasonably" mitigating adverse effects on fish populations could impact how species are protected in river systems (Section 3).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Business Owners+4Good For Native Americans+2
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Increases Renewable Energy Investment+3Improves Environmental Protections+2
- 9/16/2026
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
- 8/7/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 8/3/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 7/21/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Mike CrapoRepublican · Idaho
Lisa MurkowskiRepublican · Alaska
James RischRepublican · Idaho
Dan SullivanRepublican · Alaska