Western Governors urge Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to engage with states about current proposals to suspend or reduce onshore oil and gas royalties to support essential critical infrastructure negatively affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.
“Western Governors are aware of proposals to suspend or reduce onshore oil and gas royalties to support essential critical infrastructure negatively affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic,” notes the letter of April 3, 2020 to Secretary Bernhardt. "These oil and gas royalties are an integral component of many western states’ budgets, and suspending their collection would have a direct negative effect on states."
WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury instead urges the involvement of Governors in any decision-making and, to illustrate, shares language from the WGA Policy Resolution, States’ Share of Royalties and Leasing Revenues from Federal Lands and Minerals.
The resolution articulates the Western Governors’ policy on the issue, specifically noting “Governors support early, meaningful, substantive, and ongoing state engagement in the development... of federal budget processes and strategic planning ... (including) when considering changes to federal resources and royalty policy, especially during regulatory processes that may affect royalty payments to states."
