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[House Report 109-129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

109th Congress                                            Rept. 109-129
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

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     FEDERAL LANDS RESTORATION, ENHANCEMENT, PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND 
                   INFORMATION RESOURCES ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

                 June 14, 2005.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 599]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 599) to provide a source of funds to carry out 
restoration activities on Federal lands under the jurisdiction 
of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend 
that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Lands 
Restoration, Enhancement, Public Education, and Information Resources 
Act of 2005''.
  (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
          (1) Violations of laws and regulations applicable to the use 
        of Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
        Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture often result in 
        damages to those lands that require expenditures for 
        restoration activities to mitigate the damages.
          (2) Increased public information and education regarding the 
        laws and regulations applicable to the use of these Federal 
        lands can help to reduce the frequency of unintentional 
        violations.
          (3) It is appropriate that fines and other monetary penalties 
        paid as a result of violations of laws and regulations 
        applicable to the use of these Federal lands be used to defray 
        the costs of such restoration activities and to provide such 
        public information and education.

SEC. 2. USE OF FINES FROM VIOLATIONS OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLICABLE 
                    TO PUBLIC LANDS FOR RESTORATION AND INFORMATIONAL 
                    ACTIVITIES.

  (a) Lands Under Jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management.--Section 
305 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1735), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(d) Use of Collected Fines.--
          ``(1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys received 
        by the United States as a result of a fine imposed under 
        section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, for a violation 
        of a regulation prescribed under section 303(a) shall be 
        available to the Secretary, without further appropriation and 
        until expended, for the following purposes:
                  ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                public lands rendered necessary by the action which led 
                to the fine or by similar actions.
                  ``(B) To increase public awareness of regulations and 
                other requirements regarding the use of the public 
                lands.
          ``(2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess to the 
        amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in such 
        paragraph shall be transferred to the Crime Victims Fund 
        established by section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 
        (42 U.S.C. 10601).''.
  (b) National Park System Lands.--Section 3 of the National Park 
Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 3), is amended--
          (1) by striking ``That the Secretary'' the first place it 
        appears and inserting ``(a) Regulations for Use and Management 
        of National Park System; Enforcement.--The Secretary'';
          (2) by striking ``He may also'' the first place it appears 
        and inserting the following:
  ``(b) Special Management Authorities.--The Secretary of the Interior 
may'';
          (3) by striking ``He may also'' the second place it appears 
        and inserting ``The Secretary may'';
          (4) by striking ``No natural,'' and inserting the following:
  ``(c) Lease and Permit Authorities.--No natural''; and
          (5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(d) Use of Collected Fines.--
          ``(1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys received 
        by the United States as a result of a fine imposed under 
        section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, for a violation 
        of a rule or regulation prescribed under this section shall be 
        available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further 
        appropriation and until expended, for the following purposes:
                  ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                National Park System lands rendered necessary by the 
                action which led to the fine or by similar actions.
                  ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of such lands.
          ``(2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess to the 
        amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in such 
        paragraph shall be transferred to the Crime Victims Fund 
        established by section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 
        (42 U.S.C. 10601).''.
  (c) National Wildlife Refuge System Lands.--Subsection (f) of section 
4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs:
          ``(3) Use of collected fines.--Any moneys received by the 
        United States as a result of a fine imposed under section 3571 
        of title 18, United States Code, for a violation of this Act or 
        a regulation issued thereunder shall be available to the 
        Secretary, without further appropriation and until expended, 
        for the following purposes:
                  ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                System lands rendered necessary by the action which led 
                to the fine or by similar actions.
                  ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of System lands.
          ``(4) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (3) that the Secretary determines are excess to the 
        amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in such 
        paragraph shall be transferred to the Crime Victims Fund 
        established by section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 
        (42 U.S.C. 10601).''.
  (d) National Forest System Lands.--The eleventh undesignated 
paragraph under the heading ``surveying the public lands'' of the Act 
of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 551), is amended----
          (1) by inserting before the first sentence the following:

``SEC. 551. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS; REGULATIONS.

  ``(a) Regulations for Use and Protection of National Forest System.--
'';
          (2) by striking ``destruction; and any violation'' and 
        inserting the following: ``destruction.
  ``(b) Violations; Penalties.--Any violation''; and
          (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(c) Use of Collected Fines.--
          ``(1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys received 
        by the United States as a result of a collateral payment in 
        lieu of appearance or a fine imposed under section 3571 of 
        title 18, United States Code, for a violation of a regulation 
        issued under subsection (a) shall be available to the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, without further appropriation and until 
        expended, for the following purposes:
                  ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on 
                National Forest System lands rendered necessary by the 
                action which led to the fine or payment.
                  ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of such lands.
          ``(2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary of Agriculture determines are 
        excess to the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes 
        specified in such paragraph shall be transferred to the Crime 
        Victims Fund established by section 1402 of the Victims of 
        Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 599 is to provide a source of funds to 
carry out restoration activities on federal lands under the 
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 
of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Currently, most fines or penalties received from violations 
of federal rules or regulations on public lands are transferred 
to the Crime Victims Fund. The Crime Victims Fund is used to 
reimburse persons who have criminal actions taken against them. 
However, on federal land, many times the fine or penalty issued 
is due to natural resource or federal structure damage. H.R. 
599 seeks to ensure monies collected from such violations 
return to the damaged area to rehabilitate and restore the 
land, as well as fund education about such damage (posting 
signs, etc.).
    H.R. 599 would make available any moneys received from 
fines, forfeitures, judgments, compromises, or settlements for 
violations of rules and regulations applicable to federal lands 
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the 
Secretary of Agriculture for restoration and public 
informational activities on such lands. Excess funds would be 
transferred to the Crime Victims Fund established under the 
Victims of Crime Act of 1984.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 599 was introduced on February 2, 2005, by Congressman 
Mark Udall (D-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources and additionally to the Committee on Agriculture. 
Within the Resources Committee, the bill was referred to the 
Subcommittees on Fisheries and Oceans, National Parks, and 
Forests and Forest Health. On March 16, 2005, the Subcommittee 
on Forests and Forest Health held a hearing on the bill. On May 
18, 2005, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittees were discharged from further 
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Congressman 
Mark Udall offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
to make technical changes as requested by the Department of the 
Interior and the Department of Agriculture. The amendment was 
adopted by unanimous consent and the bill as amended was 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 599--Federal Lands Restoration, Enhancement, Public Education, and 
        Information Resources Act of 2005

    H.R. 599 would authorize land-management agencies to spend 
without appropriation criminal fines and penalties collected 
from violators of laws that govern the protection of federal 
lands. Currently, such collections (recorded as revenues) are 
deposited into the Crime Victims Compensation Fund and later 
spent (as direct spending). The four agencies affected are the 
U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park 
Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 599 would have no impact 
on the federal budget because the fines and penalties to be 
made available to the four agencies under the bill are already 
available to be spent without appropriation from the Crime 
Victims Compensation Fund.
    H.R. 599 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

   SECTION 305 OF THE FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
                        DEPOSITS AND FOREITURES

  Sec. 305. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (d) Use of Collected Fines.--
          (1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys 
        received by the United States as a result of a fine 
        imposed under section 3571 of title 18, United States 
        Code, for a violation of a regulation prescribed under 
        section 303(a) shall be available to the Secretary, 
        without further appropriation and until expended, for 
        the following purposes:
                  (A) To cover the cost to the United States of 
                any improvement, protection, or rehabilitation 
                work on the public lands rendered necessary by 
                the action which led to the fine or by similar 
                actions.
                  (B) To increase public awareness of 
                regulations and other requirements regarding 
                the use of the public lands.
          (2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess 
        to the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes 
        specified in such paragraph shall be transferred to the 
        Crime Victims Fund established by section 1402 of the 
        Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
                              ----------                              

           SECTION 3 OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ORGANIC ACT

  Sec. 3. [That the Secretary](a) Regulations for Use and 
Management of National Park System; Enforcement.--The Secretary 
of the Interior shall make and publish such rules and 
regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the use and 
management of the parks, monuments, and reservations under the 
jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and any violation of 
any of the rules and regulations authorized by this Act shall 
be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for 
not exceeding six months, or both, and be adjudged to pay all 
cost of the proceedings. [He may also]
  (b) Special Management Authorities.--The Secretary of the 
Interior may, upon terms and conditions to be fixed by him, 
sell or dispose of timber in those cases where in his judgment 
the cutting of such timber is required in order to control the 
attacks of insects or diseases or otherwise conserve the 
scenery or the natural or historic objects in any such park, 
monument, or reservation. [He may also] The Secretary may 
provide in his discretion for the destruction of such animals 
and of such plant life as may be detrimental to the use of any 
of said parks, monuments, or reservations. [No natural,]
  (c) Lease and Permit Authorities.--No natural curiosities, 
wonders, or objects of interest shall be leased, rented, or 
granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere with free 
access to them by the public: Provided, however, That the 
Secretary of the Interior may, under such rules and regulations 
and on such terms as he may prescribe, grant the privilege to 
graze live stock within any national park, monument, or 
reservation herein referred to when in his judgment such use is 
not detrimental to the primary purpose for which such park, 
monument, or reservation was created, except that this 
provision shall not apply to the Yellowstone National Park: And 
provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior may grant 
said privileges, leases, and permits and enter into contracts 
relating to the same with responsible persons, firms, or 
corporations without advertising and without securing 
competitive bids: And provided further, That no contract, 
lease, permit, or privilege granted shall be assigned or 
transferred by such grantees, permittees, or licensees, without 
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior first obtained in 
writing.
  (d) Use of Collected Fines.--
          (1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys 
        received by the United States as a result of a fine 
        imposed under section 3571 of title 18, United States 
        Code, for a violation of a rule or regulation 
        prescribed under this section shall be available to the 
        Secretary of the Interior, without further 
        appropriation and until expended, for the following 
        purposes:
                  (A) To cover the cost to the United States of 
                any improvement, protection, or rehabilitation 
                work on the National Park System lands rendered 
                necessary by the action which led to the fine 
                or by similar actions.
                  (B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding 
                the use of such lands.
          (2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess 
        to the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes 
        specified in such paragraph shall be transferred to the 
        Crime Victims Fund established by section 1402 of the 
        Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
                              ----------                              

SECTION 4 OF THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION ACT OF 
                                  1966

  Sec. 4. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (f) Penalties.--
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (3) Use of collected fines.--Any moneys received by 
        the United States as a result of a fine imposed under 
        section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, for a 
        violation of this Act or a regulation issued thereunder 
        shall be available to the Secretary, without further 
        appropriation and until expended, for the following 
        purposes:
                  (A) To cover the cost to the United States of 
                any improvement, protection, or rehabilitation 
                work on the System lands rendered necessary by 
                the action which led to the fine or by similar 
                actions.
                  (B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding 
                the use of System lands.
          (4) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (3) that the Secretary determines are excess 
        to the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes 
        specified in such paragraph shall be transferred to the 
        Crime Victims Fund established by section 1402 of the 
        Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                              ----------                              

                          ACT OF JUNE 4, 1897

CHAP. 2.--AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the 
 Government of the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
               and ninety-eight, and for other purposes.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SURVEYING THE PUBLIC LANDS.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 551. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS; REGULATIONS.

  (a) Regulations for Use and Protection of National Forest 
System.--The Secretary of the Interior shall make provisions 
for the protection against destruction by fire and depredations 
upon the public forests and forest reservations which may have 
been set aside or which may be hereafter set aside under the 
said Act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and 
which may be continued; and he may make such rules and 
regulations and establish such service as will insure the 
objects of such reservations, namely, to regulate their 
occupancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon from 
[destruction; and any violation] destruction.
  (b) Violations; Penalties.--Any violation of the provisions 
of this Act or such rules and regulations shall be punished by 
a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than 
six months, or both. Any person charged with the violation of 
such rules and regulations may be tried and sentenced by any 
United States commissioner specially designated for that 
purpose by the court by which he was appointed, in the same 
manner and subject to the same conditions as provided for in 
title 18, United States Code, section 3401, subsections (b), 
(c), (d), and (e), as amended.
  (c) Use of Collected Fines.--
          (1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys 
        received by the United States as a result of a 
        collateral payment in lieu of appearance or a fine 
        imposed under section 3571 of title 18, United States 
        Code, for a violation of a regulation issued under 
        subsection (a) shall be available to the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, without further appropriation and until 
        expended, for the following purposes:
                  (A) To cover the cost to the United States of 
                any improvement, protection, or rehabilitation 
                work on National Forest System lands rendered 
                necessary by the action which led to the fine 
                or payment.
                  (B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding 
                the use of such lands.
          (2) Treatment of excess funds.--Moneys referred to in 
        paragraph (1) that the Secretary of Agriculture 
        determines are excess to the amounts necessary to carry 
        out the purposes specified in such paragraph shall be 
        transferred to the Crime Victims Fund established by 
        section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 
        U.S.C. 10601).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                        Committee Correspondence

                     U.S. House of Representatives,
                                    Committee on Resources,
                                      Washington, DC, June 9, 2005.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: I ask your cooperation to help schedule 
early consideration by the House of Representatives of H.R. 
599, to provide a source of funds to carry out restoration 
activities on federal lands under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, and 
for other purposes. H.R. 599 was referred primarily to the 
Committee on Resources and additionally to your Committee. The 
Committee on Resources ordered the bill favorably reported by 
unanimous consent on May 18, 2005, and I have transmitted a 
copy of the draft bill report to your staff for review.
    I ask that you allow the Committee on Agriculture to be 
discharged from further consideration of this bill to expedite 
Floor scheduling. Of course, this action would not be 
considered as precedent for any future referrals of similar 
measures. Moreover, if the bill is conferenced with the Senate, 
I would support naming Agriculture Committee members to the 
conference committee. I would also be pleased to include this 
letter and your response in the report on the bill.
    Mr. Chairman, I have been very pleased with the tremendous 
degree of cooperation between our two Committees these past two 
Congresses on the many bills which affect our national forests. 
Your staff has been responsive and thoughtful, and my staff 
very much appreciates their support and teamwork. I hope that 
you will give my request serious consideration and I look 
forward to your response.
            Sincerely,
                                          Richard W. Pombo,
                                                          Chairman.
                                ------                                

                     U.S. House of Representatives,
                                  Committee on Agriculture,
                                     Washington, DC, June 10, 2005.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, House Committee on Resources,
Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for forwarding a draft copy of 
the Committee on Resources reports to accompany H.R. 599 and 
H.R. 975, as ordered reported by your Committee on May 18, 
2005. As you are aware, the Committee on Agriculture was 
granted an additional referral of these pieces of legislation 
on those provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of this 
Committee.
    Knowing of your interest in expediting both pieces of 
legislation and in maintaining the continued consultation 
between our Committees on these matters, I agree to discharge 
both H.R. 599 and H.R. 975 from further consideration by the 
Committee on Agriculture. I do so with the understanding that 
by discharging the bill, the Committee on Agriculture does not 
waive any future jurisdictional claim over these or similar 
measures. In addition, in the event a conference with Senate is 
requested on this matter, the Committee on Agriculture reserves 
the right to seek appointment of conferees, if it should become 
necessary.
    Once again, I am grateful for the cooperative spirit in 
which you have worked regarding this matter and others between 
our respective committees.
            Sincerely,
                                             Bob Goodlatte,
                                                          Chairman.

                                  
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