II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1341 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program as the program 

applies to units of the National Forest System derived from the public 

domain by implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure 

for determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2013 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

CRAPO, Mr. ENZI, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program 

as the program applies to units of the National Forest 

System derived from the public domain by implementing 

a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user fees, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cabin Fee Act of 

5 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CABIN USER FEES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re3 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish 

4 a fee in accordance with this section for the issuance of 

5 a special use permit for the use and occupancy of National 

6 Forest System land for recreational residence purposes. 

7 (b) COMPLETION OF CURRENT APPRAISAL CYCLE.— 

8 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, the Secretary shall complete the current appraisal 

10 cycle for recreational residences on National Forest Sys11 tem land in accordance with the Cabin User Fees Fairness 

12 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) (referred to in this 

13 Act as the ‘‘current appraisal cycle’’). 

14 (c) INTERIM FEE.—Until the date on which the cur15 rent appraisal cycle is completed under subsection (b), the 

16 Secretary shall assess an interim annual fee for rec17 reational residences on National Forest System land that 

18 is an amount equal to the lesser of— 

19 (1) the fee determined under the Cabin User 

20 Fees Fairness Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), subject 

21 to the requirement that any increase over the fee as22 sessed during the previous year shall be limited to 

23 not more than 25 percent; or 

24 (2) $5,500. 

25 (d) ADJUSTMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date of completion of 

2 the current appraisal cycle, and before assessing a 

3 fee under this Act, the Secretary shall make a 1- 

4 time adjustment to the value of each appraised lot 

5 on which a recreational residence is located to reflect 

6 any change in value occurring after the date of the 

7 most recent appraisal for the lot, in accordance with 

8 the 4th quarter of 2012 National Association of 

9 Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity 

10 Index. 

11 (2) SECOND APPRAISAL.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para13 graph (1), a permittee may arrange for a sec14 ond appraisal of a recreational residence lot. 

15 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Any appraisal con16 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall be con17 ducted in accordance with applicable Federal 

18 appraisal standards. 

19 (C) VALUE.—If an appraisal conducted 

20 under subparagraph (A) is approved by the 

21 Secretary, the value established by the appraisal 

22 shall be the value assigned to the lot. 

23 (e) ANNUAL FEE.— 

24 (1) AMOUNT.—After the date on which ap25 praised lot values have been adjusted in accordance 


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1 with subsection (d), the annual fee assessed by the 

2 Secretary for recreational residences on National 

3 Forest System land shall be as follows: 

Fee Tier 

Approximate 

Percent of Permits 

Nationally 

Fee 

Amount 

Tier 1 ................................... Not to exceed 6 percent ................... $500

Tier 2 ................................... Not to exceed 16 percent ................. $1,000

Tier 3 ................................... Not to exceed 26 percent ................. $1,500

Tier 4 ................................... Not to exceed 22 percent ................. $2,000

Tier 5 ................................... At least 10 percent .......................... $2,500

Tier 6 ................................... Not to exceed 5 percent ................... $3,000

Tier 7 ................................... Not to exceed 5 percent ................... $3,500

Tier 8 ................................... Not to exceed 3 percent ................... $4,000

Tier 9 ................................... Not to exceed 3 percent ................... $4,500

Tier 10 ................................. Not to exceed 3 percent ................... $5,000

Tier 11 ................................. Not to exceed 1 percent ................... $5,500. 

4 (2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall in5 crease or decrease the annual fees set forth in the 

6 table under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 

7 Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Prod8 uct published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 

9 of the Department of Commerce, applied on a 5-year 

10 rolling average. 

11 (3) ACCESS AND OCCUPANCY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may sus13 pend or reduce the applicable fee under para14 graph (1) if access to, or the occupancy of, the 

15 recreational residence is significantly restricted. 

16 (B) APPEAL.—A decision of the Secretary 

17 to suspend or reduce the annual fee under sub18 paragraph (A) may be appealed. 


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1 (f) PERIODIC REVIEW.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 

3 is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

4 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En5 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

6 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

7 Representatives a report that— 

8 (A) analyzes the annual fees set forth in 

9 the table under subsection (e) to ensure that 

10 the fees reflect fair value for the use of the land 

11 for recreational residence purposes, taking into 

12 account all use limitations and restrictions (in13 cluding any limitations and restrictions imposed 

14 by the Secretary); and 

15 (B) includes any recommendations of the 

16 Secretary with respect to modifying the fee sys17 tem. 

18 (2) LIMITATION.—The use of appraisals shall 

19 not be required for any modifications to the fee sys20 tem based on the recommendations under paragraph 

21 (1)(B). 

22 SEC. 3. CABIN TRANSFER FEES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a fee 

24 in the amount of $1,200 for the issuance of a new recVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:36 Jul 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1341.IS S1341

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1 reational residence permit due to a change of ownership 

2 of the recreational residence. 

3 (b) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall annually in4 crease or decrease the transfer fee established under sub5 section (a) to reflect changes in the Implicit Price Deflator 

6 for the Gross Domestic Product published by the Bureau 

7 of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, 

8 applied on a 5-year rolling average. 

9 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act limits or re11 stricts any right, title, or interest of the United States in 

12 or to any land or resource in the National Forest System. 

13 (b) ALASKA.—The Secretary shall not establish or 

14 impose a fee or condition under this Act for permits in 

15 the State of Alaska that is inconsistent with section 

16 1303(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conserva17 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 3193(d)). 

18 SEC. 5. RETENTION OF FEES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on October 1, 2023, 

20 the Secretary may retain, and expend, for the purposes 

21 described in subsection (b), any fees collected under this 

22 Act without further appropriation. 

23 (b) USE.—Amounts made available under subsection 

24 (a) shall be used to administer the recreational residence 


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1 program and other recreation programs carried out on Na2 tional Forest System land. 

3 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF CABIN USER FEES FAIRNESS ACT OF 

4 2000. 

5 Effective on the date of the assessment of annual per6 mit fees in accordance with section 2(e) (as certified to 

7 Congress by the Secretary), the Cabin User Fees Fairness 

8 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is repealed. 

Æ 


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