HR 3657

Passed House

Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act

Introduced May 29, 2025

Latest action (Jun 10, 2026) Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Referred to

Energy and Natural Resources Committee Energy and Commerce Committee

Policy area

Energy

Legislative subjects (3)

Alternative and renewable resources Electric power generation and transmission Licensing and registrations

Summary

Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to submit annual reports to Congress on the status of hydropower licensing applications for new licenses, subsequent licenses, and original licenses where applicants notified FERC at least 3 years prior of their intent to apply.
Mandates that reports include the date notice of intent was provided, assigned docket numbers, whether applications have been filed, and FERC's anticipated issuance dates for licenses.
Requires reports to identify upcoming proceedings and meetings related to hydropower licensing and describe actions required of licensees, applicants, FERC, fish and wildlife agencies, and other agencies.
Directs reports to disaggregate information by license type, distinguishing between new licenses, subsequent licenses issued under section 15, and original licenses issued under section 4(e).
Establishes that the first annual report must be submitted within 180 days of enactment, with subsequent reports submitted annually thereafter.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Rep. Schrier, Kim [D-WA-8] (D-WA)

3 cosponsors

Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1] (R-ID)
Rep. Gray, Adam [D-CA-13] (D-CA)
Rep. Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] (R-NY)

Actions (17)

Jun 10, 2026 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. · senate
Jul 15, 2025 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
Jul 14, 2025 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. · house
Jul 14, 2025 On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3221-3222) · house
Jul 14, 2025 Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
Jul 14, 2025 DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3657. · house
Jul 14, 2025 Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3221-3223) · house
Jul 14, 2025 Mr. Latta moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. · house
Jul 10, 2025 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 157. · house
Jul 10, 2025 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-193. · house
Jun 25, 2025 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 47 - 0. · house
Jun 25, 2025 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
Jun 5, 2025 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote. · house
Jun 5, 2025 Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
Jun 3, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy. · house
May 29, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. · house
May 29, 2025 Introduced in House

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Text versions (4)

Referred in Senate · Jul 15, 2025
Engrossed in House · Jul 14, 2025
Reported in House · Jul 10, 2025
Introduced in House · May 29, 2025

FromTo

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Business meeting to consider S.140, to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.365 and H.R.1729, bills to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.789, to require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining, refining, separation, and processing technologies, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1088 and H.R.2290, bills to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1288, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to designate as a component of the National Heritage Area System the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area in the State of New York, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1349, to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System land in Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the mineral leasing laws, S.1413, to authorize additional funding for the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1547, to amend title 54, United States Code, to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.2437 and H.R.3857, bills to amend the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act, S.2753, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for urban canals of concern, S.3500 and H.R.3657, bills to amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications, S.3518, to amend the Federal Power Act to address certain alterations in, and the maintenance and repair of, project works, to provide for the licensing of micro hydrokinetic energy projects, S.3526, to provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, S.3693, to extend the authorization for a large-scale water recycling and reuse grant program, S.3723, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water from the Missouri River to the Western Dakota Regional Water System, S.3732, to amend the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act to authorize assistance under the storage program, S.3736, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to supply municipal, rural, and industrial water to the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System service area in the States of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, S.3743, to direct the Secretary ofEnergy and Natural Resources CommitteeJun 10, 2026Business meeting

Full text

AN ACT

To amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications.

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 “Hydropower Licensing Transparency Act”.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL LICENSING STATUS REPORT.

The Federal Power Act is amended by inserting after section 36 (16 U.S.C. 823g) the following:

“SEC. 37. ANNUAL LICENSING STATUS REPORT.

“(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the status of—

“(1) the licensing process for each new license, and for each subsequent license for which sections 14 and 15 have been waived, for which the existing licensee has notified the Commission under section 15(b)(1) at least 3 years prior to submission of the report that such existing licensee intends to file an application for such new license or subsequent license, but such new license or subsequent license has not yet been issued under section 15; and

“(2) the licensing process for each original license under section 4(e) for which a citizen, association, corporation, State, Indian Tribe, or municipality has notified the Commission, pursuant to applicable regulations, at least 3 years prior to submission of the report that such citizen, association, corporation, State, Indian Tribe, or municipality intends to file an application for such original license, but such original license has not yet been issued under section 4(e).

“(b) Inclusions.—Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the licensing process for each new license and subsequent license described in such subsection and the licensing process for each original license described in such subsection—

“(1) the date the notice of intent described in such subsection was provided to the Commission;

“(2) any docket number assigned with respect to such licensing process;

“(3) whether any application for such new license, such subsequent license, or such original license has been filed;

“(4) information regarding the status of any such application, including the date the Commission anticipates it will issue such original license, such subsequent license, or such new license;

“(5) the date of any upcoming proceeding or other meeting related to such original license, such subsequent license, or such new license; and

“(6) a description of any ongoing or completed actions required of the existing licensee, citizen, association, corporation, State, Indian Tribe, municipality, the Commission, the fish and wildlife agencies referred to in section 15(b), and any other agencies.

“(c) Disaggregation of Information by License Type.—The information included in each report submitted under subsection (a) shall be disaggregated by whether the information relates to a new license, or a subsequent license, issued under section 15 or an original license issued under section 4(e).”.

Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2025.

Attest:

Clerk. 119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3657

AN ACT

To amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to annually submit to Congress a report on the status of ongoing hydropower relicensing applications.

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