Offshore Parity Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8542 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8542 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide for the delegation of authority to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to manage certain expanded submerged lands, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 28, 2026 Mr. Ezell (for himself, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, and Mr. Figures) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide for the delegation of authority to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to manage certain expanded submerged lands, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Offshore Parity Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. PURPOSES. The purposes of this Act are-- (1) to provide equity to the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with respect to the seaward boundaries of the States in the Gulf of America by delegating management of the submerged lands from 3 geographical miles to 3 marine leagues if the States meet certain conditions not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act; (2) in delegating the authority to administer any leases, easements, rights-of-use, and rights-of-way, the States shall ensure that the rights of lessees, operators, and holders of leases, easements, rights-of-use, and rights-of-way on the submerged land are protected; and (3) to improve the management of fisheries by allowing the States of