A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced legislation today to send 80 percent of the Deepwater Horizon spill fines to Gulf states.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), is similar to its companion in the Senate, which was introduced by a bipartisan coalition of Gulf Coast senators, cleared committee last month, and now awaits a floor vote (Greenwire, Sept. 21).

Total fines from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are expected to range from $5.4 billion to $21.1 billion. The final dollar figure will likely be negotiated between companies deemed responsible for the spill and the Justice Department.

The measure would divide 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by the companies among the five Gulf states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to pay for economic and environmental restoration. Under current law, 100 percent of the fines would flow into the Treasury.

That 80 percent would be further subdivided: 35 percent of it would be divided equally among the states to pay for economic and environmental restoration projects, as defined in the bill; 30 percent would be used to develop and implement a comprehensive restoration plan, created by a federal-state Gulf Coast Restoration Council that includes representatives from all five states; and 30 percent would be further disbursed according to an impact-driven formula.

The remaining 5 percent would fund a long-term science and fisheries endowment and create Gulf Coast Centers of Excellence to advance research, science and technology around Gulf Coast issues.

Gulf advocates said the money captured by the House and Senate bills could prove important in funding elements of the sweeping Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration strategy unveiled this morning by the state-federal task force established by President Obama one year ago in the aftermath of the spill (Greenwire, Oct. 5).

Scalise said the bill was the product of months of negotiations among Gulf Coast lawmakers in the House, who formed a Gulf Coast Caucus in June for the purpose of pressing this issue in the chamber (E&E Daily, June 3).

"This is an important first step that we're taking in the House to put in place a fair process that allows us to restore the Gulf Coast region that was directly impacted by the disaster," Scalise said in a statement. "It is only proper that the Gulf Coast, which dealt directly with the effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster for months, should receive the lion's share of the fines the responsible parties will have to pay as a result."

Original co-sponsors of the House bill include representatives from each of the states, including two from Florida: Reps. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), Pete Olson (R-Texas), Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) and Steve Southerland (R-Fla.)

The legislation attempts to combine elements of several bills introduced in the House earlier this year.

"The House bill provides the necessary flexibility to allow states to meet their needs in responding to the oil spill's catastrophic effects," Miller said in a statement.

Scalise's office put out a one-page summary and a section-by-section analysis of the bill.

So far, 23 House members have signed on, including a handful of Democrats, according to Scalise spokesman Stephen Bell.