Summary
On August 26, 2013, the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) sent letters to the treasurers of 26 states informing them that the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA, 30 U.S.C. 191) payments that were sequestered in federal fiscal year (FY) 2013 would be returned to the states after the beginning of FY 2014 (October 1, 2013). This is in line with provisions for special or trust funds under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25). While other programs may fall under this same provision, there has yet to be any indication from federal agencies whether other sequestered special or trust fund payments will be returned to states. This Issue Brief provides estimates of the MLA payments to be returned to states and information on those programs that appear to fall under the same BCA provision.