Sponsors (2)
The bill increases transparency and planning information for hydropower licensing—helping applicants and policymakers diagnose delays—at the cost of added administrative burden, potential exposure of sensitive project information, and limited benefit if reporting does not come with remedies to shorten delays.
Prospective applicants — including States, Tribes, and municipalities — will get clearer, more reliable information to plan investments and projects when original hydropower licenses are delayed.
Utilities, state and local governments, and the public will have a public timeline and status for pending hydropower license applications, improving transparency and oversight of the licensing process.
Policymakers and oversight bodies will receive disaggregated reporting by license type, helping identify where systemic delays occur (new/subsequent vs. original licenses) and target reforms.
Taxpayers and utilities may face higher administrative costs because the Commission must compile and publish the new reports and tracking, potentially requiring additional staffing or appropriations.
Utilities and other applicants could have commercially sensitive scheduling or project strategies exposed by public disclosure of detailed licensing steps.
Prospective applicants and local governments may still face prolonged uncertainty if the reports document delays but do not create remedies or accelerate resolution.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Federal Power Commission to deliver an initial (180-day) and annual detailed report to Congress on specified pending hydropower licensing matters, including docket, status, timelines, and required actions.
Introduced December 16, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress December 16, 2025
Requires the Federal Power Commission to deliver an initial report within 180 days and then annual reports to Congress detailing the status of certain hydropower licensing processes. Reports must list pending new and subsequent licenses (where specific waivers and notices applied) and original licenses under the public-lands provision for which a prospective applicant provided notice at least three years earlier, and must include docket numbers, notice dates, application status and anticipated issuance dates, upcoming proceedings, and actions required by parties. The reporting must disaggregate entries by license type (new/subsequent under sections 14/15 vs. original under section 4(e)) and include specified fields for each listed license to increase transparency about multi-year licensing delays and next steps.