Offshore Fairness Act of 2005

The Offshore Fairness Act of 2005 (S. 735) proposed to transfer ownership of certain underwater lands from the federal government to the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Under this bill, these states would have gained control over submerged lands extending further into the Gulf of Mexico, provided they adopted environmental and safety regulations equivalent to existing federal standards.

For citizens, the primary impact of this legislation would have been a shift in how offshore oil, gas, and mineral resources are managed and taxed. By moving the seaward boundaries, the bill would have allowed these three states to collect royalties and revenues from offshore energy production that currently go to the federal government. While the bill was introduced in 2005, it did not advance past the committee stage and never became law.