PUBLIC LAW 104-185—AUG. 13, 1996
110 STAT. 1703
"(1) it is likely that the State will provide adequate
resources to achieve the purposes of this Act;
"(2) the State has demonstrated that it will effectively
and faithfully administer the rules and regulations of the Secretary under this Act in accordance with the requirements
of subsections (c) and (d) of this section;
"(3) such delegation will not create an unreasonable burden
on any lessee;
"(4) the State agrees to adopt standardized reporting procedures prescribed by the Secretary for royalty and production
accounting purposes, unless the State and all affected parties
(including the Secretary) otherwise agree;
"(5) the State agrees to follow guid adhere to regulations
and guidelines issued by the Secretary pursuant to the mineral
leasing laws regarding valuation of production; and
"(6) where necessary for a State to have authority to carry
out and enforce a delegated activity, the State agrees to enact
such laws and promulgate such regulations as are consistent
with relevant Federal laws and regulations
with respect to the Federal lands within the State.
"(c) After notice and opportunity for hearing, the Secretary
shall issue a ruling as to the consistency of a State's proposal
with the provisions of this section and regulations under subsection
(d) within 90 days after submission of such proposal. In any unfavorable ruling, the Secretary shall set forth the reasons therefor and
state whether the Secretary will agree to delegate to the State
if the State meets the conditions set forth in such ruling.
"(d) After consultation with State authorities, the Secretary Regulations,
shall by rule promulgate, within 12 months gifter the date of enactment of this section, standards and regulations pertaining to the
authorities and responsibilities to be delegated under subsection
(a), including standards and regulations pertaining to—
"(1) audits to be performed;
"(2) records and accounts to be maintained;
"(3) reporting procedures to be required by States under
this section;
"(4) receipt and processing of production and financial
reports;
"(5) correction of erroneous report data;
"(6) performance of automated verification;
"(7) issuance of standards and guidelines in order to avoid
duplication of effort;
"(8) transmission of report data to the Secretary; and
"(9) issuance of demands, subpoenas, and orders to perform
restructured accounting, for royalty management enforcement
purposes.
Such standards and regulations shall be designed to provide reasonable assurance that a uniform and effective royalty management
system will prevail among the States. The records and accounts
under paragraph (2) shall be sufficient to allow the Secretary to
monitor the performance of any State under this section.
"(e) If, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary
finds that any State to which any authority or responsibility of
the Secretary has been delegated under this section is in violation
of any requirement of this section or any rule thereunder, or that
an affirmative finding by the Secretary under subsection (b) can
no longer be made, the Secretary may revoke such delegation.
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