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SCR 20

Urge Congress accelerate deployment of new energy infrastructure

136th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Shane Wilkin

Ohio urges Congress to reform federal permitting and environmental review to accelerate energy infrastructure projects while protecting environmental and public health goals.

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Bill Summary · SCR 20

Summary of SCR 20 (Ohio 136th General Assembly, 2025-2026)

A concurrent resolution urging Congress to reform federal permitting and environmental review processes to accelerate the deployment of new energy infrastructure.

1. Purpose and Intent

  • The bill expresses Ohio’s position that federal permitting and environmental review processes are excessively complex and cause significant delays to constructing energy infrastructure.
  • It argues reforms are needed to accelerate deployment of energy infrastructure while still safeguarding environmental and public health goals.
  • The resolution asks Congress to act with urgency to reform permitting and environmental review, with a focus on faster, more predictable timelines and reduced procedural bottlenecks.

2. Key Provisions and Changes Advocated

As a concurrent resolution, SCR 20 does not itself enact policy into law in Ohio; instead, it:
- Urges federal lawmakers to reform:
- Federal permitting processes (including those under NEPA, ESA, NHPA, CWA, and related requirements).
- Environmental review procedures to promote faster, lower-cost construction of modern energy infrastructure.
- Recommends reforms to enable faster and lower-cost construction of energy infrastructure of all kinds, including:
- Pipelines, transmission lines, and energy generation facilities.
- Regional and interregional electricity transmission infrastructure to support a reliable grid.
- Domestic build-out of a full array of energy technologies and resources.
- Calls for measures to limit excessive judicial use and overlitigation that slow projects, and to prevent inappropriate use of the Clean Water Act and other laws to unduly impede lawfully planned infrastructure.
- Supports reforms to plan, permit, and pay for necessary build-out of transmission infrastructure.
- Emphasizes accountability for federal agencies, with:
- Better data and more aggressive timelines for NEPA processes (EIS, EA, or Categorical Exclusion analyses).
- Advocates parallel efforts to streamline federal regulations to support efficient energy infrastructure development.
- Highlights the need to reduce American dependence on foreign minerals and to accelerate domestic processing and mining where appropriate, aligning with energy supply resilience.
- Affirms that reform should protect environmental goals while promoting economic efficiency and energy reliability.

3. Who and What Is Affected

  • Federal energy projects: pipelines, transmission lines, energy generation facilities, and other major energy infrastructure projects that require federal permitting and environmental reviews.
  • Federal agencies: those responsible for NEPA, ESA, NHPA, CWA, and related processes.
  • States, energy developers, utilities, financiers, and other stakeholders involved in siting, permitting, and building energy infrastructure.
  • General public and consumers: potential impacts include faster construction timelines, potentially lower project costs, and more reliable energy supply.

4. Procedural and Timeline Considerations

  • Status: Introduced and referred to committee (as of 2026-04-15; offered on 2026-04-09).
  • Nature of action: A non-binding expression of the Ohio Senate (concurred by the House) urging Congress to pursue federal permitting reform.
  • No specific bills or amendments are attached to SCR 20; it serves to call attention to the issue and signal State of Ohio’s policy preference.
  • If adopted, the resolution would be transmitted to federal leaders (President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, Speaker of the U.S. House, and Ohio’s congressional delegation).

5. Notable Details

  • Co-sponsor: Senator Shane Wilkin.
  • The resolution frames current delays as detrimental to jobs, energy reliability, consumer costs, and environmental protection by slowing modernization efforts.
  • It positions reform as兼necessary to maintain energy independence, national security, and economic competitiveness while advancing environmental stewardship.

If you’d like, I can compare SCR 20 to existing federal permitting reform proposals or provide a side-by-side with current NEPA/CWA/EPA processes to illustrate where reform ideas may fit.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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