II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 884 

To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to require the 

Bureau of Land Management to provide a claimant of a small miner 

waiver from claim maintenance fees with a period of 60 days after 

written receipt of 1 or more defects is provided to the claimant by 

registered mail to cure the 1 or more defects or pay the claim maintenance fee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 

to require the Bureau of Land Management to provide 

a claimant of a small miner waiver from claim maintenance fees with a period of 60 days after written receipt 

of 1 or more defects is provided to the claimant by 

registered mail to cure the 1 or more defects or pay 

the claim maintenance fee, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 884 IS

1 SECTION 1. SMALL MINER WAIVERS TO CLAIM MAINTE2 NANCE FEES. 

3 (a) AMENDMENTS TO OMNIBUS BUDGET RECONCILI4 ATION ACT OF 1993.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10101(d) of the Om6 nibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 

7 28f(d)) is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

10 (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec11 tively, and indenting the clauses appro12 priately; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘(2) For purposes of’’ 

14 and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF RELATED PARTY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In’’; and 

17 (B) in the undesignated matter following 

18 subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (2) (as so 

19 redesignated), by striking ‘‘For purposes of’’ 

20 and all that follows through the end of the sec21 tion and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—For pur23 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘control’ 

24 includes— 

25 ‘‘(i) actual control; 

26 ‘‘(ii) legal control; and 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 884 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the power to exercise control 

2 through or by common directors, officers, 

3 stockholders, a voting trust, or a holding 

4 company or investment company, or any 

5 other means. 

6 ‘‘(3) DEFECTS IN APPLICATIONS.—If a small 

7 miner waiver application is determined to be defec8 tive for any reason (including the failure to timely 

9 file a small miner’s maintenance fee waiver applica10 tion or an affidavit of annual labor associated with 

11 the application and required application fees), the 

12 claimant shall have a period of 60 days after receipt 

13 of written notification of the 1 or more defects pro14 vided by the Bureau of Land Management by reg15 istered mail— 

16 ‘‘(A) to cure any such defect; or 

17 ‘‘(B) to pay the $100 claim maintenance 

18 fee due for that period.’’. 

19 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 10101 

20 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 

21 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1), in the second 

24 sentence, by striking ‘‘the Mining Law of 

25 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28 to 28e)’’ and inserting 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 884 IS

1 ‘‘sections 2319 through 2344 of the Re2 vised Statutes (commonly known as the 

3 ‘Mining Law of 1872’) (30 U.S.C. 22 et 

4 seq.)’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (I) in the first sentence, by strik7 ing ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

9 (II) in the second sentence, by 

10 striking ‘‘the Mining Law of 1872 (30 

11 U.S.C. 28 to 28e)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘sections 2319 through 2344 of the 

13 Revised Statutes (commonly known as 

14 the ‘Mining Law of 1872’) (30 U.S.C. 

15 22 et seq.)’’; 

16 (B) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, 

17 by striking ‘‘main tenance’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘maintenance’’; and 

19 (C) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by striking 

20 ‘‘the Mining Law of 1872 (30 U.S.C. 28–28e)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘sections 2319 through 2344 of 

22 the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the 

23 ‘Mining Law of 1872’) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.)’’. 

24 (b) TRANSITION RULES.— 

25 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 884 IS

1 (A) COVERED CLAIMHOLDER.—The term 

2 ‘‘covered claimholder’’ means— 

3 (i) the claimholder of the claims in the 

4 State numbered AA023149, AA023163, 

5 AA047913, AA047914, AA047915, 

6 AA047916, AA047917, AA047918, and 

7 AA047919 (as of December 29, 2004); 

8 (ii) the claimholder of the claim in the 

9 State numbered FF–0593215 (as of De10 cember 29, 2004); 

11 (iii) the claimholder of the claims in 

12 the State numbered FS–58607, FS– 

13 58608, FS–58609, FS–58610, FS–58611, 

14 FS–58613, FS–58615, FS–58616, FS– 

15 58617, and FS–58618 (as of December 

16 31, 2003); and 

17 (iv) the claimholder of the claims in 

18 the State numbered FF–53988, FF– 

19 53989, and FF–53990 (as of December 

20 31, 1987). 

21 (B) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

22 State of Alaska. 

23 (2) TREATMENT OF COVERED

24 CLAIMHOLDERS.—Each covered claimholder shall be 

25 considered to qualify for relief under section 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 884 IS

1 10101(d)(3) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 

2 Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f(d)(3)), and shall have 

3 the opportunity to cure under that section, for any 

4 prior period during which, as applicable— 

5 (A) 1 or more defects existed in the small 

6 miner’s maintenance fee waiver application; 

7 (B) an affidavit of annual labor associated 

8 with a small miner’s maintenance fee waiver ap9 plication was not properly filed; or 

10 (C) there existed a failure to pay claim 

11 maintenance fees. 

12 (c) AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND

13 MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976.—Section 314(c) of the Fed14 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

15 1744(c)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(c) The failure’’ and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) FAILURE TO FILE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), the failure’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the owner of the mining 

23 claim or mill or tunnel site fails to timely file an in24 strument required under subsection (a)— 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 884 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall provide to the 

2 owner by registered mail written notification of 

3 the failure to timely file; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the owner shall have a period of 60 

5 days after receipt of the notification described 

6 in subparagraph (A) to file such instrument.’’. 

Æ 


lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS