Restoration of Natural Resources Laws on the Public Lands Act of 1996

Summary: Restoration of Natural Resources Laws on the Public Lands Act of 1996 - Amends Federal law to repeal the emergency salvage timber sale program. 
Provides for specified forest health-related studies.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Restoration of Natural Resources 
Laws on the Public Lands Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF EMERGENCY SALVAGE TIMBER SALE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definition of Secretary Concerned.--In this section, the term 
``Secretary concerned'' means--
            (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to an 
        activity involving land in the National Forest System; and
            (2) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to an 
        activity involving land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
        Land Management.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 2001 of Public Law 104-19 (109 Stat. 240; 16 
U.S.C. 1611 note) is repealed.
    (c) Suspension.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any outstanding judicial 
        order or administrative decision interpreting section 2001 of 
        Public Law 104-19 (109 Stat. 240; 16 U.S.C. 1611 note) (as in 
        existence prior to the date of enactment of this Act), the 
        Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
        shall suspend each activity that was being undertaken in whole 
        or in part under the authority provided in the section, unless 
        the Secretary concerned determines that the activity would have 
        been undertaken even in the absence of the subsection.
            (2) Resumption of an activity.--The Secretary concerned may 
        not resume an activity suspended under paragraph (1) until the 
        Secretary concerned determines that the activity (including any 
        modification after the date of enactment of this Act) complies 
        with environmental and natural resource laws.

SEC. 3. STUDIES.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to provide factual 
information useful to the President and Congress in setting funding and 
operational levels for the public forests in order to ensure that the 
public forests are operated so that the health of forest resources is 
secured with ecological and financial effectiveness.
    (b) Nature and Extent of the Situation.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, through the 
        research branch of the Forest Service, shall undertake a study 
        to report on the nature and extent of the forest health 
        situation in the National Forest System.
            (2) Nature.--The nature of forest health shall be 
        categorized into types of situations, including--
                    (A) overstocked stands of unmerchantable-size 
                trees;
                    (B) stands with excessive fuel loads;
                    (C) mixed conifer stands with an inappropriate mix 
                of tree species; and
                    (D) combinations of the situations described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (C).
            (3) Extent.--The extent of forest health shall include 
        acreage estimates of each situation type and shall distinguish 
        variations in severity.
            (4) Representative sample measurements.--If feasible, the 
        Secretary shall use representative sample measurements with a 
        specified degree of confidence in extending the measurements to 
        the whole population.
            (5) Presentation.--The report shall present data at the 
        national forest or a comparable level and shall be displayed 
        geographically and tabularly.
            (6) Review.--The report shall be properly reviewed by the 
        scientific community prior to transmission under paragraph (7).
            (7) Transmission.--The report shall be transmitted to 
        Congress not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
    (c) Ecological Efficacy of Activities.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter 
        into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences for the 
        purpose of conducting a study of the ecological and forest 
        health consequences of various activities intended, at least in 
        part, to improve forest health.
            (2) Activities examined.--The activities examined under 
        paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) site preparation for reforestation, artificial 
                reforestation, natural regeneration, stand release, 
                precommercial thinning, fertilization, other stand 
                improvement activities, salvage harvesting, and brush 
                disposal;
                    (B) historical as well as recent examples and a 
                variety of conditions in ecological regions; and
                    (C) a comparison of various activities within a 
                watershed, including activities conducted by other 
                Federal land management agencies.
            (3) Transmission.--The report shall be transmitted to the 
        Chief of the Forest Service and to Congress not later than 2 
        years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Economic Efficacy of Activities.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States, through the General Accounting Office, shall conduct a 
        study of the Federal, State, and local fiscal and other 
        economic consequences of activities intended, at least in part, 
        to improve forest health.
            (2) Coordination.--The study conducted under this 
        subsection shall be coordinated with the study conducted under 
        subsection (c)--
                    (A) to ensure that the same groups of activities in 
                the same geographic area are examined; and
                    (B) to develop historic as well as recent effects 
                that illustrate financial and economic trends.
            (3) Federal fiscal effects.--In assessing the Federal 
        fiscal effects, the Comptroller General shall distinguish the 
        net effects on the Treasury of the United States from changes 
        in the balances in the various special accounts and trust 
        funds, including appropriated funds used to conduct the 
        planning, execution, sale administration, support from other 
        programs, regeneration, site restoration, agency overhead, and 
        payments in lieu of taxes associated with timber cutting.
            (4) Transmission.--The study shall be transmitted to the 
        Chief of the Forest Service and to Congress not later than 2 
        years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (e) Improvement of Activities.--In response to the findings of the 
National Academy of Sciences and the Comptroller General under 
subsections (c) and (d), the Chief of the Forest Service shall assess 
opportunities for improvement of, and progress in improving, the 
ecological, economic, and fiscal consequences and efficacy for each 
national forest.
    (f) Forest Service Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Chief of the Forest Service shall 
        conduct a study of alternative systems for administering forest 
        health-related activities, including, modification of special 
        account and trust fund management and reporting, land 
        management service contracting, and government logging.
            (2) Similarities and differences.--The study shall compare 
        and contrast the various alternatives with systems in existence 
        on the date of the study, including--
                    (A) ecological effects;
                    (B) forest health changes;
                    (C) Federal, State, and local fiscal and other 
                economic consequences; and
                    (D) opportunities for the public to be involved in 
                decisionmaking before activities are undertaken.
            (3) Requirements of study.--To ensure the validity of the 
        study, in measuring the effect of the use of contracting, the 
        study shall specify the costs that contractors would bear for 
        health care, retirement, and other benefits afforded public 
        employees performing the same tasks.
            (4) Transmittal.--The report shall be transmitted to 
        Congress not later than 1 year after the studies conducted 
        under subsections (c) and (d) are transmitted to Congress.
    (g) Public Availability.--The reports conducted under this section 
shall be published in a form available to the public at the same time 
the reports are transmitted to Congress. Both a summary and a full 
report shall be published.