I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1668 

To establish the Bureau of Land Management Foundation as a charitable 

and nonprofit corporation to encourage, accept, obtain, administer, and 

use private gifts, devises, and bequests for the benefit of activities and 

services of the Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2017 

Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia (for himself and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Bureau of Land Management Foundation 

as a charitable and nonprofit corporation to encourage, 

accept, obtain, administer, and use private gifts, devises, 

and bequests for the benefit of activities and services 

of the Bureau of Land Management, 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 ‘‘Bureau of Land Man5 agement Foundation Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

4 Board of Directors of the Foundation. 

5 (2) BLM.—The term ‘‘BLM’’ means the Bu6 reau of Land Management. 

7 (3) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 

8 the Chairman of the Board. 

9 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

10 an individual member of the Board. 

11 (5) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

12 means the Bureau of Land Management Foundation 

13 established by this Act. 

14 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 (7) NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS.—The 

17 term ‘‘National Conservation Lands’’ means the sys18 tem of lands established by section 2002 of the Om19 nibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (16 

20 U.S.C. 7202). 

21 (8) WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BUR22 ROS.—The term ‘‘wild free-roaming horses and bur23 ros’’ has the same meaning that term has under sec24 tion 2(b) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and 

25 Burros Act of 1971 (16 U.S.C. 1332(b)). 


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1 (9) ORPHANED OIL AND GAS WELL SITES.— 

2 The term ‘‘orphaned oil and gas well sites’’ means 

3 all onshore oil and gas wells in the United States 

4 that have no responsible or liable parties and that— 

5 (A) are located on federally managed 

6 lands; 

7 (B) are located on lands or minerals that 

8 were federally managed at the time oil and gas 

9 operations were initiated; or 

10 (C) adversely impact the health or produc11 tivity of Federal lands. 

12 (10) ABANDONED MINE LANDS.—The term 

13 ‘‘abandoned mine lands’’ means all hard rock mines 

14 in the United States that were abandoned before 

15 January 1, 1981, and all coal mines in the United 

16 States that were abandoned before August 3, 1977, 

17 and that— 

18 (A) are located on federally managed 

19 lands; 

20 (B) are located on lands or minerals that 

21 were federally managed at the time mining op22 erations were initiated; or 

23 (C) adversely impact the health or produc24 tivity of Federal lands. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES OF THE BUREAU 

2 OF LAND MANAGEMENT FOUNDATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bu4 reau of Land Management Foundation as a charitable and 

5 nonprofit corporation that shall not be considered an agen6 cy or establishment of the United States. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of the Foun9 dation are to— 

10 (A) encourage, accept, obtain, administer, 

11 and use private gifts of money, devises, and be12 quests of real and personal property for the 

13 benefit of, or in connection with, the activities 

14 and services of the BLM described in subpara15 graph (B); 

16 (B) undertake, conduct, and encourage 

17 programs and activities, including by awarding 

18 grants, that support— 

19 (i) educational, technical, scientific, 

20 and other assistance or activities that sup21 port the management of BLM lands in re22 gard to— 

23 (I) wild free-roaming horses and 

24 burros; 

25 (II) fish and wildlife and their 

26 habitats; 


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1 (III) National Conservation 

2 Lands; 

3 (IV) recreation resources; and 

4 (V) cultural and historic re5 sources; and 

6 (ii) activities that support the rec7 lamation and remediation of— 

8 (I) abandoned mine lands; 

9 (II) orphaned oil and gas well 

10 sites; or 

11 (III) public lands impacted by 

12 development connected to mineral ex13 ploration and development activities. 

14 (2) INCLUDED RECLAMATION ACTIVITIES.— 

15 Reclamation activities under paragraph (1)(B) 

16 should include, but not be limited to, the remedi17 ation of soil and water contamination, the restora18 tion of wildlife habitat in order to restore the nat19 ural, scenic, historic, cultural, and ecological values 

20 of such areas, or the promotion of the economic po21 tential of such areas. 

22 (c) ACTIVITIES OF THE FOUNDATION AND THE BU23 REAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.—The activities of the 

24 Foundation authorized under this Act shall be suppleVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Mar 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1668.IH H1668

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1 mental to and shall not preempt any authority or responsi2 bility of the BLM under any other provision of law. 

3 (d) RANGE OF FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES.—The ac4 tivities and grants made by the Foundation under sub5 section (b)(1)(B) that are not subject to limitations under 

6 section 4(d)(4) shall be undertaken in equal proportion 

7 under clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (b)(1)(B). 

8 SEC. 4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall have a 

11 governing Board of Directors, which shall consist of 

12 no more than 9 members, each of whom shall be a 

13 United States citizen. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS OF MEMBERS.—Of the ap15 pointed members of the Board— 

16 (A) at least 3 shall have education or expe17 rience in natural, cultural, conservation, or 

18 other resource management, law, research, or 

19 advocacy; 

20 (B) at least 3 shall have education or expe21 rience in energy and minerals development, rec22 lamation, or remediation; and 

23 (C) up to 3 shall be appointed as at-large 

24 members. 


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1 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBER.—The Director of the 

2 Bureau of Land Management, or a designee of the 

3 Director of the Bureau of Land Management, shall 

4 be an ex officio nonvoting member of the Board. 

5 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 

6 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 1 

7 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary shall appoint the members of the Board in 

9 accordance with paragraph (6) who, except as other10 wise provided in paragraph (2), shall be appointed 

11 for terms of 6 years. 

12 (2) STAGGERED APPOINTMENTS.—In appoint13 ing the initial members of the Board, the Secretary 

14 shall appoint, as determined to be appropriate by the 

15 Secretary— 

16 (A) one-third of the members to serve an 

17 initial term of 2 years; 

18 (B) one-third of the members to serve an 

19 initial term of 4 years; and 

20 (C) one-third of the members to serve an 

21 initial term of 6 years. 

22 (3) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Board shall 

23 be— 


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1 (A) filled not later than 60 days after the 

2 vacancy occurs, in the manner of which the 

3 original appointment was made; and 

4 (B) for the balance of the term of the indi5 vidual who was replaced. 

6 (4) REMOVAL.—A Director may be removed 

7 from the Board by a majority vote of the Board if 

8 the individual misses 3 consecutive regularly sched9 uled meetings. 

10 (5) TERM LIMIT.—In no case may an individual 

11 serve more than 12 consecutive years on the Board. 

12 (6) NOMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall pub13 lish a solicitation in the Federal Register seeking 

14 nominations from the public of individuals for ap15 pointment to the Board. Such solicitation shall be 

16 open for a period of 30 days. Nominations submitted 

17 shall not be binding, but the Secretary shall give 

18 consideration to the names received. Within 30 days 

19 after the end of such period, the Secretary shall ap20 point members who comply with the requirements of 

21 subsection (a)(2), and publish the names and back22 grounds of those appointed in the Federal Register. 

23 (7) REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE AREAS OF

24 EXPERTISE.—In appointing the members of the 

25 Board the Secretary shall seek to appoint, and may 


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1 give preference to, individuals who have experience 

2 with State or local government partnerships and rep3 resent diverse areas of expertise. 

4 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman— 

5 (1) shall be elected by the Board from its mem6 bers for a 2-year term; and 

7 (2) may be reelected as Chairman while serving 

8 as a Director. 

9 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the current voting 

10 membership of the Board shall constitute a quorum for 

11 the transaction of business. 

12 (e) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of 

13 the Chairman at least once a year. 

14 (f) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—Serving as a 

15 Director shall not constitute employment by the United 

16 States Government for any purpose. Members of the 

17 Board shall serve without pay other than reimbursement 

18 for the actual and necessary traveling and subsistence ex19 penses incurred in the performance of their duties for the 

20 Foundation in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (g) GENERAL POWERS.—The Board may complete 

23 the organization of the Foundation by appointing officers 

24 and employees, adopting a constitution and bylaws con25 sistent with the purposes of the Foundation and this Act, 


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1 and undertaking other such acts as may be necessary to 

2 function and to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

3 (h) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—Officers and em4 ployees of the Foundation may not be appointed until the 

5 Foundation has sufficient funds to pay them for their 

6 service. Appointment as an officer or employee of the 

7 Foundation shall not constitute employment by the United 

8 States. 

9 (i) LIMITATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

10 (1) PROHIBITION ON POLITICAL CAMPAIGN AC11 TIVITY.—The Foundation shall not participate or in12 tervene in a political campaign on behalf of any can13 didate for public office. 

14 (2) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No Director, of15 ficer, or employee of the Foundation shall partici16 pate, directly or indirectly, in the consideration or 

17 determination of any particular matter before the 

18 Foundation affecting— 

19 (A) the financial interests of that Director, 

20 officer, employee, or an immediate family mem21 ber of such Director, officer, or employee; or 

22 (B) the interests of any corporation, part23 nership, entity, or organization in which such 

24 Director, officer, employee, or an immediate 


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1 family member of such Director, officer, or em2 ployee— 

3 (i) is an officer, director, or trustee; 

4 or 

5 (ii) has any direct financial interest. 

6 (3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDI7 TURE.—Starting in the fifth fiscal year beginning 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, of the 

9 amounts available to the Foundation for expenditure 

10 each fiscal year, not more than 15 percent may be 

11 used for administrative expenses. 

12 SEC. 5. POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation— 

14 (1) shall have perpetual succession; and 

15 (2) may conduct business throughout the sev16 eral States, territories, and possessions of the 

17 United States. 

18 (b) NOTICE AND SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The Foun19 dation shall at all times maintain a designated agent in 

20 the District of Columbia authorized to accept service of 

21 process for the Foundation. The serving of notice to, or 

22 service of process upon, the agent required under this sub23 section, or mailed to the business address of such agent, 

24 shall be treated as service upon or notice to the Founda25 tion. 


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1 (c) SEAL.—The Foundation shall have an official seal 

2 selected by the Board, which shall be judicially noticed. 

3 (d) POWERS.—In addition to powers otherwise au4 thorized under this Act, to carry out its purposes the 

5 Foundation shall have the usual powers of a not-for-profit 

6 corporation in the District of Columbia, including the 

7 power to— 

8 (1) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and 

9 use any gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely or 

10 in trust, of real or personal property or any income 

11 therefrom or other interest therein; 

12 (2) acquire by donation, gift, devise, purchase, 

13 or exchange, and dispose of, any real or personal 

14 property or interest therein; 

15 (3) sell, donate, lease, invest, reinvest, retain, or 

16 otherwise dispose of any property or income there17 from unless limited by the instrument of transfer; 

18 (4) accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and 

19 use any gift, devise, or bequest, at the request of the 

20 donor thereof, strictly and exclusively for any pur21 pose set forth in section 2(b), including for reason22 able administrative expenses related to actions to 

23 carry out the bequest; 

24 (5) borrow money and issue bonds, debentures, 

25 or other debt instruments; 


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1 (6) sue and be sued, and complain and defend 

2 itself in any court of competent jurisdiction, except 

3 that the Directors of the Board shall not be person4 ally liable, except for gross negligence; 

5 (7) enter into contracts or other arrangements 

6 with public agencies, private organizations, and per7 sons and to make such payments as may be nec8 essary to carry out the purposes thereof; and 

9 (8) do any and all acts necessary and proper to 

10 carry out the purposes of the Foundation. 

11 (e) PROPERTY.— 

12 (1) ACCEPTANCE OF PROPERTY.—A gift, de13 vise, or bequest of real property may be accepted by 

14 the Foundation even though it is encumbered, re15 stricted, or subject to beneficial interests of private 

16 persons if any current or future interest therein is 

17 for the benefit of the Foundation. 

18 (2) REFUSAL OF PROPERTY.—The Foundation 

19 may, in its discretion, decline any gift, devise, or be20 quest of real or personal property. 

21 (3) TITLE AND INTEREST IN REAL PROP22 ERTY.—For the purposes of this Act, an interest in 

23 real property shall be treated as including mineral 

24 and water rights, rights-of-way, and easements, ap25 purtenant or in gross. 


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1 (4) CONDEMNATION OF REAL PROPERTY PRO2 HIBITED.—No lands or waters, or interests therein, 

3 that are owned by the Foundation shall be subject 

4 to condemnation by any State or political subdivi5 sion, or any agent of instrumentality thereof. 

6 (5) LIMITATION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

7 PROPERTY.—The Foundation may not use any funds 

8 to purchase real property, unless such property is to 

9 be used by the Foundation for administrative or 

10 other support purposes or is an easement for right11 of-way access necessary to utilize, manage, or other12 wise dispose of any bequest or gift of real property 

13 to the Foundation. 

14 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT SUPPORT.—For fiscal years 

16 2017 through 2019, the Foundation may accept Federal 

17 funds from a Federal agency under any other Federal law 

18 for use by the Foundation for the purposes of assisting 

19 the Foundation in establishing an office and meeting ini20 tial administrative, project, and other expenses in compli21 ance with this Act. 

22 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.—The Secretary may 

23 provide personnel, facilities, equipment, and other admin24 istrative services to the Foundation with such limitations 

25 and on such terms and conditions as the Secretary shall 


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1 establish. The Foundation may reimburse the Secretary 

2 for any support provided under this subsection, in whole 

3 or in part, and any reimbursement received by the Sec4 retary under this subsection shall be deposited into the 

5 Treasury to the credit of the appropriations then current 

6 and chargeable for the cost of providing the services. 

7 SEC. 7. VOLUNTEERS. 

8 The Secretary may accept, without regard to the civil 

9 service classification laws, rules, and regulations, the serv10 ices of the Foundation, the Board, and the offices, employ11 ees, or agents of the Foundation, without compensation 

12 from the Department of the Interior, as volunteers for the 

13 performance of the functions under section 307(d) of the 

14 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

15 U.S.C. 1737(d)). 

16 SEC. 8. AUDITS AND REPORTS REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) AUDITS.—For purposes of section 10101 of title 

18 36, United States Code, the Foundation shall be treated 

19 as a corporation in part B of subtitle II of such title. 

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Foundation shall trans21 mit at the end of each fiscal year a report to Congress 

22 of its proceedings and activities during that fiscal year, 

23 including— 

24 (1) a full and complete statement of its re25 ceipts, expenditures, and investments; 


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1 (2) a description of all acquisition and disposal 

2 of real property by the Foundation; 

3 (3) a detailed statement of the recipient, 

4 amount, and purpose of each grant made by the 

5 Foundation; and 

6 (4) a copy of any audit prepared for the Foun7 dation in the previous fiscal year. 

8 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES RELEASE FROM LIABILITY. 

9 The United States shall not be liable for any debts, 

10 defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation, nor shall 

11 the full faith and credit of the United States extend to 

12 any obligations of the Foundation. 

13 SEC. 10. RELIEF WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FOUNDATION 

14 ACTS OR FAILURE TO ACT. 

15 The Attorney General may petition in the United 

16 States District Court for the District of Columbia for such 

17 equitable relief as may be necessary or appropriate if the 

18 Foundation engages in any act, practice, or policy that 

19 is inconsistent with this Act or the bylaws of the Founda20 tion. 

21 SEC. 11. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY. 

22 Nothing in this Act authorizes the Foundation to per23 form any function the authority for which is exclusively 

24 provided to the BLM under any other provision of law. 


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1 SEC. 12. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS. 

2 Amounts available to, or provided by, the Foundation 

3 shall not be used for— 

4 (1) any activity the purpose of which is to influ5 ence legislation pending before Congress; or 

6 (2) any activity inconsistent with this Act. 

7 SEC. 13. CLARIFICATION ON FUNDING. 

8 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

9 requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be car10 ried out using amounts otherwise authorized. 

Æ 


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