Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 2.djvu/910

 110 STAT. 1702 PUBLIC LAW 104-185—AUG. 13, 1996 designee (with notice to the lessee who designated the designee) which— "(A) asserts a specific, definite, and quantified obligation claimed to be due, and "(B) specifically identifies the obligation by lease, production month and monetary amount of such obligation claimed to be due and ordered to be paid, as well as the reason or reasons such obligation is claimed to be due, but such term does not include any other communication or action by or on behalf of the Secretary or a delegated State; "(27) 'overpayment' means any payment by a lessee or its designee in excess of an amount legally required to be paid on an obligation and includes the portion of any estimated payment for a production month that is in excess of the royalties due for that month; "(28) 'payment' means satisfaction, in whole or in part, of an obligation; "(29) 'penalty* means a statutorily authorized civil fine levied or imposed for a violation of this Act, any mineral leasing law, or a term or provision of a lease administered by the Secretary; "(30) 'refund' means the return of an overpayment; "(31) 'State concerned' means, with respect to a lease, a State which receives a portion of royalties or other payments under the mineral leasing laws from such lease; "(32) 'underpayment' means any payment or nonpayment by a lessee or its designee that is less than the amount legally required to be paid on an obligation; and "(33) 'United States' means the United States Government and any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, the several States, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States.". SEC. 3. DELEGATION OF ROYALTY COLLECTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES. (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— Section 205 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1735) is amended to read as follows: 30 USC 1735. «SEC. 205. DELEGATION OF ROYALTY COLLECTIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES. "(a) Upon written request of any State, the Secretary is authorized to delegate, in accordance with the provisions of this section, all or part of the authorities and responsibilities of the Secretary under this Act to: "(1) conduct inspections, audits, and investigations; "(2) receive and process production and financial reports; "(3) correct erroneous report data; "(4) perform automated verification; and "(5) issue demands, subpoenas, and orders to perform restructured accounting, for royalty management enforcement purposes, to any State with respect to all Federal land within the State. "(b) After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary is authorized to delegate such authorities and responsibilities granted under this section as the State has requested, if the Secretary finds that—

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