,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ebag  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #h1  
#bjbb,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,reed7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,energy and        
,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
promote the diligent development of     
,federal oil and gas leases1 and for    
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,use it or     
,lose it ,act of #bjbb4  #b4            
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7        
,covered lease ,the term covered lease  
means a lease that authorizes the       
exploration for1 or production of1 oil  
or natural gas under-- 7,a7 section #ag 
of the ,mineral ,leasing ,act 7#cj      
,u4,s4,c4 #bbf72 or  7,b7 the ,outer    
,continental ,shelf ,lands ,act 7#dc    
,u4,s4,c4 #acca et seq474  7#b7         
,secretary ,the term ,secretary means   
the ,secretary of the ,interior4  #c4   
,diligent development of ,federal oil   

and gas leases  7a7 ,clarification of   
existing law ,each covered lease shall  
be diligently developed by the person   
holding the covered lease to ensure     
timely production from the covered      
lease4  7b7 ,regulations ,not later than
 #ahj days after the date of enactment  
of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall      
promulgate regulations with respect to  
covered leases that-- 7#a7 establish    
requirements and benchmarks for oil and 
gas development that will ensure that   
leaseholders-- 7,a7 diligently develop  
each covered lease2 and  7,b7 to the    
maximum extent practicable1 produce oil 
and gas from each covered lease during  
the primary term of the covered lease2  
7#b7 require each leaseholder to submit 
to the ,secretary a diligent development
 plan describing how the lessee will    
meet the benchmarks established under   
paragraph 7#a72 and  7#c7 in            
establishing requirements under         
paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 take into     
account the differences in development  

conditions and circumstances in the     
areas to be developed4  #d4             
,nonproducing lease fee  7a7 ,definition
 of nonproducing lease ,in this section1
 the term nonproducing lease means a    
covered lease under which no oil or     
natural gas has been extracted during   
the applicable year1 as determined by   
the ,secretary4  7b7 ,authorization of  
nonproducing lease fee ,the ,secretary  
shall charge to each person who holds a 
nonproducing lease an annual1           
nonrefundable fee1 in an amount         
determined by the ,secretary under      
subsection 7c71 for each nonproducing   
lease held by the person4  7c7 ,amount  
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj   
days after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary shall establish   
the fee authorized under subsection 7b7 
in an amount determined by the          
,secretary to be sufficient to          
adequately incentivize the use of       
covered leases1 but not less than #aj   
per acre per year for each nonproducing 

lease4  7#b7 ,increase ,the ,secretary  
shall by regulation1 at least once every
 #e years1 adjust the amount of the fee 
established under paragraph 7#a7 to     
reflect any increase in inflation4  7d7 
,deposit ,amounts collected as fees     
authorized under subsection 7b7 shall be
 deposited in the general fund of the   
,treasury4