Federal Land Freedom Act of 2021

The Federal Land Freedom Act of 2021 proposes to shift the authority for managing energy development on federal lands from the national government to individual states. Under this bill, any state with an established leasing program could take over the responsibility for permitting and regulating the exploration of oil, gas, and other energy resources within its borders.

If enacted, the bill would exempt these state-led energy projects from several major federal requirements, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act. For citizens, this would likely result in a faster approval process for energy projects on federal land and a transfer of environmental oversight from federal agencies to state-level regulators.