Sponsors (7)
The bill expands the federal spill-response excise tax to more fuels—raising revenue and aligning tax coverage with spill-risk definitions—at the cost of higher taxes and likely higher fuel prices for consumers and added compliance uncertainty for industry.
Taxpayers and federal programs: broadening the excise tax base to include bitumen, oil-shale derivatives, and condensates will likely raise federal revenues that can fund spill response or related programs.
Energy companies and refiners: the amendment clarifies which fuels are covered by the section 4611 excise tax, reducing legal uncertainty about tax applicability.
Producers, refiners and the public: including additional fuel types that pose spill risks aligns tax coverage with Oil Pollution Act definitions, improving accountability for products that can cause major spills.
Low- and middle-income households: expanding the taxable fuel base could raise fuel prices, increasing transportation and heating costs for low- and middle-income families.
Producers and importers: owners of condensates, bitumen-derived fuels, and oil-shale products may face higher excise tax bills, which could raise operating costs and be passed through to consumers.
Manufacturers, refiners and importers: Treasury's broad authority to designate additional feedstocks or finished fuels could create ongoing compliance costs and regulatory uncertainty until implementing rules are finalized.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands the definition of "crude oil" for the section 4611 excise tax to include condensates, bitumen/tar sands, oil shale derivatives, and lets Treasury tax other fuels that meet OPA 1990 and spill-risk/commercial-volume tests.
Introduced March 13, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress March 13, 2025
Changes the tax code definition of “crude oil” for the section 4611 excise tax to explicitly include condensates, natural gasoline, bitumen/tar sands, oil from bitumen, and oil from kerogen-bearing sources (oil shale). It also gives the Treasury Secretary authority to designate other fuel feedstocks or finished fuel products as taxable under section 4611 by regulation if they match the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 definition of oil and are produced in commercial quantities that create a significant spill risk. A small technical edit removes the phrase “from a well located.” These changes take effect on enactment.