II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1254

To provide a procedure for the submission to Congress of proposals for,

and permit upon subsequent enactment of law, assumption of management authority over certain Federal lands by States and nonprofit organizations; to encourage the development and application to Federal lands

of alternative management programs that may be more innovative, less

costly, and more reflective of the neighboring communities and public

concerns and needs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 3, 1997

Mr. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide a procedure for the submission to Congress of

proposals for, and permit upon subsequent enactment

of law, assumption of management authority over certain

Federal lands by States and nonprofit organizations; to

encourage the development and application to Federal

lands of alternative management programs that may be

more innovative, less costly, and more reflective of the

neighboring communities and public concerns and needs,

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Lands Man3 agement Adjustment Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this Act are to:

6 (1) encourage the development and application

7 to Federal lands administered by the Bureau of

8 Land Management and Forest Service of alternative

9 management programs that may be more innovative,

10 less costly, and more reflective of the neighboring

11 communities and public concerns and needs; and

12 (2) provide a procedure for the submission to

13 Congress of proposals for, and permit upon subse14 quent enactment of law, assumption of authority to

15 develop and implement such alternative management

16 programs on certain of those Federal lands by

17 States and nonprofit organizations.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 For purposes of this Act, the term—

20 (1) ‘‘Agencies’’ or ‘‘Agency’’ means the Bureau

21 of Land Management, Department of the Interior,

22 and/or the Forest Service, Department of Agri23 culture;

24 (2) ‘‘Committees of Congress’’ means the Com25 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources and the

26 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
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1 of the Senate and the Committee on Resources and

2 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep3 resentatives;

4 (3) ‘‘Federal lands’’ means—

5 (A) those lands managed by the Bureau of

6 Land Management and defined in section

7 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage8 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. § 1702(e)); and

9 (B) those lands in the National Forest

10 System, including units of the national grass11 lands, managed by the Forest Service and de12 fined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range13 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of

14 1974 (16 U.S.C. § 1609(a));

15 (4) ‘‘eligible Federal lands’’ shall mean any or

16 all Federal lands located within a State—

17 (A) including any Federal lands within

18 units of the National Wilderness Preservation

19 System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys20 tem, and National Trails System: Provided,

21 That such lands shall be managed in accord22 ance with section 7(b); and

23 (B) excepting—

24 (i) less than all Federal lands within

25 any district of the Bureau of Land Man-
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1 agement or any unit of the National For2 est System; and

3 (ii) Federal lands within the district

4 of the Bureau of Land Management or

5 unit of the National Forest System which

6 generated the most revenues of any district

7 or unit in the State in the fiscal year pre8 ceding the fiscal year in which the State

9 submits an application pursuant to section

10 5 if—

11 (I) the State has more than two

12 districts or more than two units, re13 spectively; and

14 (II) management authority is

15 transferred for less than all Federal

16 lands in the State which are described

17 in paragraph (3)(A) or paragraph

18 (3)(B), respectively; and

19 (5) ‘‘Secretaries’’ or ‘‘Secretary’’ means the

20 Secretary of the Interior with respect to the lands

21 described in paragraph (3)(A) and/or the Secretary

22 of Agriculture with respect to the lands described in

23 paragraph (3)(B).
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1 SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY TO

2 STATES.

3 Whenever, pursuant to section 5, a State applies for

4 transfer of authority to the State to manage eligible Fed5 eral lands and, pursuant to section 6, the Congress enacts

6 legislation authorizing and directing such transfer, the

7 Secretary with jurisdiction over such lands shall transfer

8 management responsibilities to such Sate for the period

9 established pursuant to section 10 and in accordance with

10 the procedures and requirements of sections 6 and 7.

11 SEC. 5. STATE APPLICATION.

12 (a) APPLICATION AUTHORITY.—(1) Either the Gov13 ernor of a State or the State entity which has authority

14 under State law to acquire and convey State lands, after

15 consultation with the Governor, may submit an application

16 or applications for authority to manage all or certain eligi17 ble Federal lands within the State to the Committees of

18 Congress, the Secretary or Secretaries with jurisdiction

19 over such lands, and any affected Indian tribes.

20 (2) A State may not submit any other application

21 pursuant to this subsection during the two-year period of

22 review of an application from such State provided for by

23 section 6(c). A State may submit another application pur24 suant to this subsection at any time after the conclusion

25 of the review period whether Congress enacts or fails to
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1 enact a law during the review period in accordance with

2 6(c).

3 (b) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each application of a

4 State pursuant to subsection (a) shall—

5 (1) describe the eligible Federal lands for which

6 management authority is sought;

7 (2) provide a summary and the text of State

8 law or laws accepting the responsibility, and provid9 ing the authority, for the management of such eligi10 ble Federal lands by the State, including any law or

11 laws concerning State trust lands which may be ap12 plicable to such eligible Federal lands; and

13 (3) describe the administrative and technical

14 personnel who will be assigned, and the funding that

15 will be provided, to the management of such eligible

16 Federal lands, including what procedures the State

17 will use to identify and employ personnel from the

18 Agencies who have knowledge of or expertise con19 cerning such eligible Federal lands and seek such

20 employment.

21 SEC. 6. PROCEDURES FOR GRANTING STATE MANAGEMENT

22 AUTHORITY.

23 (a) NOTICE OF APPLICATION.—(1) Within 10 days

24 of receipt of an application from a State to manage eligible

25 Federal lands pursuant to section 5, the Secretary or Sec-
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1 retaries shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of

2 availability of the application.

3 (2) A notice of availability of an application published

4 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include a description of

5 the eligible FFederal lands for which management author6 ity is sought and the addresses at which a copy of the

7 application is available for public review. Such addresses

8 shall include the principal office or offices of the relevant

9 Agency or Agencies within the State which submitted the

10 application and in Washington, DC.

11 (b) REPORT OF SECRETARY.—Within 90 days of re12 ceipt of an application from a State to manage eligible

13 Federal lands pursuant to section 5, the Secretary or each

14 Secretary shall submit to the Committees of Congress and

15 any affected Indian tribe an advisory report on the appli16 cation, which shall:

17 (1) assess—

18 (A) the adequacy of the State law to man19 age such lands;

20 (B) the qualifications of the personnel to

21 be assigned to the management of such lands;

22 (C) the adequacy of the funding for the

23 management of such lands; and

24 (D) the effect, if any, on any Indian tribe

25 of management of such lands by the State; and
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1 (2) provide any recommendations the Secretary

2 may wish to make concerning the application.

3 (c) REPORT OF AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBE.—Within

4 60 days of the date of submission to the Committees of

5 Congress of an advisory report on an application for a

6 State to manage eligible Federal lands pursuant to section

7 5, any Indian tribe to which the application was submitted

8 pursuant to section 5, or which was identified pursuant

9 to subsection (b)(1)(D), may submit a report on the appli10 cation to the Committees.

11 (d) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION.—A State may assume

12 management authority for eligible Federal lands subject

13 to an application pursuant to section 5 only if Congress

14 enacts a law authorizing such assumption of authority. If

15 Congress does not enact a law authorizing the assumption

16 of management authority by a State within two years from

17 the date of receipt of the application of the State by the

18 Committees of Congress, the application shall be deemed

19 to be denied.

20 SEC. 7. STATE MANAGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE FEDERAL

21 LANDS.

22 (a) APPLICABLE LAW.—Except as provided otherwise

23 in this section, upon enactment of a law pursuant to sec24 tion 6(c) which authorizes a State to assume the authority

25 to manage eligible Federal lands, the State shall manage
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1 such lands subject to valid existing rights and in accord2 ance with applicable State law, such authorizing law, and

3 other Federal law applicable to State lands.

4 (b) FEDERAL CONSERVATION SYSTEM LANDS.—Any

5 eligible Federal lands for which a State has assumed man6 agement authority pursuant to this title which are within

7 units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, Na8 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or the National

9 Trails System shall be managed by the State in accord10 ance with the Acts establishing such systems.

11 (c) EXISTING LEASES, PERMITS, AND OTHER AU12 THORIZATIONS.—(1) Upon enactment of a law pursuant

13 to section 6(c) which authorizes a State to assume the au14 thority to manage eligible Federal lands, the State shall

15 assume all rights and responsibilities of the United States

16 under and for each Federal grazing permit, mineral lease,

17 contract for sale of forest products, or other use authoriza18 tion for such lands.

19 (2) During the remainder of the term of any use au20 thorization described in paragraph (1), the use authoriza21 tion and all rights, terms, agreements, and responsibilities

22 under such authorization (including authorizations for

23 easements, facilities, operations, or other appurtenances

24 on the lands to which the use authorization applies) shall

25 be honored and enforced by the State under the existing
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1 terms of the use authorization and applicable Federal law

2 and regulations, except that all rents, royalties, fees, and

3 other payments formerly due to the United States under

4 such authorization shall be payable by the holder to the

5 State in accordance with subsection (e).

6 (3) Any use authorization described in paragraph (1)

7 shall terminate at the end of the term thereof and shall

8 not be renewed or extended. Upon the termination of a

9 use authorization described in paragraph (1) through no

10 fault of the holder of such authorization, the holder shall

11 be entitled to a right-of-first-refusal for the issuance of

12 an authorization for the same use by the State pursuant

13 to State law.

14 (d) HARDROCK MINERAL RIGHTS.—(1) Upon enact15 ment of a law pursuant to section 6(c) which authorizes

16 a State to assume the authority to manage eligible Federal

17 lands—

18 (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B),

19 any valid existing mining claim or site established

20 under the general mining laws on such lands, and all

21 rights associated with such mining claim or site,

22 shall continue to be administered by the Secretary of

23 the Interior, until the mining claim or site is pat24 ented, abandoned, declared invalid, or, at the elec25 tion of the owner of the mining claim or site, con-
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1 verted to a State lease or other disposition under

2 State law; and

3 (B) until a mining claim or site identified in

4 subparagraph (A) is patented, abandoned, declared

5 invalid, or, at the election of the owner of the mining

6 claim or site, converted to a State lease or other dis7 position under State law—

8 (i) the Secretary shall consult with the

9 State on minerals management decisions re10 garding approval of plans of operation, regula11 tion of surface use, and potential environmental

12 impacts; and

13 (ii) the State shall have authority to man14 age the surface estates and to make disposition

15 of other minerals and rights and be entitled, in

16 accordance with subsection (e), to such reve17 nues derived therefrom, so long as such State

18 action does not violate the rights associated

19 with valid existing mining claims or sites under

20 the general mining laws.

21 (2) When used in this subsection, the term—

22 (A) ‘‘general mining laws’’ means those Acts

23 which generally comprise chapters 2, 11, 12, 12A,

24 15, and 16, and sections 161 and 162, of Title 30

25 of the United States Code, all Acts which are
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1 amendatory of or supplementary to any of the fore2 going Acts, and the judicial and administrative deci3 sions interpreting such Acts; and

4 (B) ‘‘mining claim or site’’ means a lode mining

5 claim, placer mining claim, mill site, or tunnel site.

6 (e) REVENUES.—(1) Upon enactment of a law pursu7 ant to section 6(c) which authorizes a State to assume

8 the authority to manage eligible Federal lands, the State

9 shall receive all rents, royalties, fees, and other receipts

10 derived from the eligible Federal lands which become due

11 and payable beginning on the first day of the first full

12 month following the effective date of such law. Within

13 thirty days of receipt of any such receipts, the State shall

14 pay into the Treasury of the United States that portion

15 of the receipts which is derived from activities on such

16 lands that occurred prior to the effective date or which

17 is otherwise allocated to a period preceding the effective

18 date. Within thirty days of the effective date, the Sec19 retary of the Treasury shall pay to the State that portion

20 of any receipts paid in advance for a period that extends

21 beyond the effective date which is allocated to the remain22 der of the period beginning on the effective date.

23 (2) Except as provided in subsection (c), all revenues

24 and fees from eligible Federal lands for which the State

25 assumes management authority pursuant to section 6(c)
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1 shall be imposed and collected in accordance with applica2 ble State law.

3 (3) Except as provided in paragraph (1), a State

4 which assumes management authority over eligible Fed5 eral lands pursuant to section 6(c) shall distribute the rev6 enues and fees received from such lands in accordance

7 with applicable State law.

8 (f) SUBSISTENCE USE AND TREATY RIGHTS.—(1)

9 The provisions of title VIII of the Alaska National Interest

10 Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3111–3126) con11 cerning subsistence management and use of Federal lands

12 shall apply to any eligible Federal lands in Alaska for

13 which the State of Alaska assumes management authority

14 under a law enacted pursuant to section 6(c).

15 (2) Any Indian treaty right to sue eligible Federal

16 lands shall be respected by the State which assumes man17 agement authority over such lands under a law enacted

18 pursuant to section 6(c).

19 (g) ACCESS.—Access to any non-Federal lands over,

20 upon, under or through eligible Federal lands for which

21 a State assumes management authority under a law en22 acted pursuant to section 6(c) shall be granted by the

23 State in accordance with the provisions of section 1323

24 of the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act

25 (16 U.S.C. § 3210).
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1 (h) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—Payments by

2 the United States in lieu of taxes pursuant to the provi3 sions of Chapter 69, Payment for Entitlement Land, of

4 title 31 of the United States Code or any other payments

5 by the United States in lieu of or to offset declining reve6 nues from Federal lands shall cease as to any eligible Fed7 eral lands which are the subject of a law enacted pursuant

8 to section 6(c) at the end of the month in which the law

9 is enacted.

10 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION FOR TRANSITION APPROPRIA11 TIONS.

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Unless otherwise provided in

13 a law authorizing a State to assume the authority to man14 age eligible Federal lands enacted pursuant to section

15 6(c), there are authorized to be appropriated for use by

16 such State in managing such lands in the first, second,

17 and third full fiscal years after the date of enactment of

18 such law amounts of funds equal to 75 percentum, 50

19 percentum, and 25 percentum, respectively, of the appro20 priated funds expended for the management of such lands

21 in the full fiscal year immediately prior to such date.

22 (b) REIMBURSEMENT.—Any State that elects to re23 ceive appropriated funds pursuant to subsection (a) shall

24 reimburse the Treasury of the United States for each
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1 amount received and interest therein within seven years

2 of the date of receipt thereof.

3 SEC. 9. TRANSITION.

4 Whenever a law authorizing a State to assume the

5 authority to manage eligible Federal lands is enacted pur6 suant to section 6(c)—

7 (1) the Federal records and personal property

8 which were used for or pertain to the management

9 of such lands, and so much of the unexpended bal10 ances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds

11 as were available on the date of enactment of such

12 law for the management of such lands for the re13 mainder of the fiscal year, shall be transferred or

14 provided on such date, or as soon thereafter as is

15 possible, to the State, except that no such unex16 pended balance transferred shall be used for pur17 poses other than those for which the appropriation

18 was originally made; and

19 (2) upon the request of the State, the Secretary

20 or Secretaries with jurisdiction over such lands on

21 the day before the date of enactment of such law

22 may detail to the State for temporary service of not

23 more than one year Federal personnel who had re24 sponsibilities for or were engaged in activities con-
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1 cerning the management of such lands on or before

2 such day.

3 SEC. 10. TERM OF STATE MANAGEMENT.

4 (a) TERM.—Unless provided otherwise in the applica5 ble law enacted pursuant to section 6(c) or a law repealing

6 or otherwise modifying such law, the term for which a

7 State shall be granted authority to manage eligible Fed8 eral lands shall be ten years.

9 (b) CONTINUED STATE ROLE.—(1) If the State wish10 es to continue management of the eligible Federal lands

11 referred to in subsection (a) for another ten-year term,

12 the State shall submit an application therefor pursuant

13 to section 5(a) not later than two years prior to the date

14 of expiration of the current term. The application shall

15 meet the requirements of section 5(b), include a detailed

16 report on the management of such lands during the cur17 rent term, and be processed in accordance with the proce18 dures of section 6.

19 (2) Alternatively, if the State wishes to obtain owner20 ship of all or any portion of the eligible Federal lands re21 ferred to in subsection (a), the State may submit an appli22 cation therefor pursuant to section 5(a) not later than two

23 years prior to the date of expiration of the current term

24 of State management. The application shall meet the re25 quirements of section 5(b) and include a detailed report
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1 on the management of such lands during the current term.

2 Any consideration given by the Congress to an application

3 under this paragraph shall not be governed by the provi4 sions of this Act.

5 SEC. 11. RETURN TO FEDERAL MANAGEMENT.

6 (a) RESUMPTION OF FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—When7 ever the term of State management of eligible Federal

8 lands under a law enacted pursuant to section 6(c) expires

9 without authorization for continued management of such

10 lands by the State, or without transfer of title to such

11 lands to the State, pursuant to section 10(b), the Sec12 retary or Secretaries with jurisdiction over such lands

13 shall on the day following the final date of the term—

14 (1) assume authority to manage such lands in

15 accordance with all applicable Federal law, except as

16 provided in paragraph (2) and subsection (b); and

17 (2) assume all rights and responsibilities of the

18 State under any authorization issued by the State

19 for use of such lands in accordance with section 7(c)

20 or State law.

21 (b) STATE USE AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) During the

22 remainder of the term of any use authorization described

23 in subsection (a)(2), the use authorization and all rights,

24 terms, agreements, and responsibilities under such author25 ization (including authorizations for easements, facilities,
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1 operations, or other appurtenances on the lands to which

2 the use authorization applies) shall be honored and en3 forced by the Secretary concerned under the existing

4 terms of the use authorization and applicable State law,

5 except that all rents, royalties, fees, and other payments

6 formerly due to the States under such authorization shall

7 be payable by the holder to the Treasury of the United

8 States in accordance with subsection (c).

9 (2) Any use authorization described in subsection

10 (a)(2) shall terminate at the end of the term thereof and

11 shall not be renewed or extended. Upon the termination

12 of a use authorization described in subsection (a)(2)

13 through no fault of the holder of such authorization, the

14 holder shall be entitled to a right-of-first-refusal for the

15 issuance of an authorization for the same use by the Sec16 retary pursuant to applicable Federal law which is not

17 contrary to this paragraph.

18 (c) REVENUES.—Upon expiration of the term of

19 State management of eligible Federal lands described in

20 subsection (a), the Treasury of the United States shall re21 ceive all rents, royalties, fees and other receipts derived

22 from the eligible Federal lands which become due and pay23 able beginning on the first day of the first full month fol24 lowing the final date of the term of State management.

25 Within thirty days of receipt of any such receipts, the Sec-
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1 retary of the Treasury shall pay to the State that portion

2 of the receipts which is derived from activities on such

3 lands that occurred during, or which is otherwise allocated

4 to a period within, the term of State management. Within

5 thirty days of the final date of the term of Statement man6 agement, the State shall pay to the Treasury of the United

7 States that portion of any receipts paid in advance for a

8 period that extends beyond the final date of the term

9 which is allocated to the remainder of the period beginning

10 on the day following such date.

11 (d) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—Upon expiration

12 of the term of State management of eligible Federal lands

13 described in subsection (a), payments by the United States

14 in lieu of taxes pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 69,

15 Payment for Entitlement Land, of title 31 of the United

16 States Code for such lands shall resume on the first day

17 of the first full month after the final date of the term.

18 (e) TRANSITION.—Upon expiration of the term of

19 State management of eligible Federal lands described in

20 subsection (a), the State records and personal property

21 which were used for or pertain to the management of such

22 lands shall be transferred or provided to the Secretary or

23 Secretaries with jurisdiction over such lands on the day

24 following the final date of the term, or as soon thereafter

25 as possible.
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1 SEC. 12. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY TO NON2 PROFITS.

3 (a) APPLICATION.—(1) Any nonprofit organization

4 which qualifies under paragraph (2) may submit an appli5 cation pursuant to this subsection for authority to manage

6 Federal lands comprising—

7 (A) not less than all Federal lands within any

8 district of the Bureau of Land Management or any

9 unit of the National Forest System; and

10 (B) not more than three units of the National

11 Forest System or three districts of the Bureau of

12 Land Management, or a combination thereof, in the

13 same general area.

14 (2) A nonprofit organization eligible to submit an ap15 plication for authority to manage Federal lands pursuant

16 to this subsection shall be a corporation or other entity

17 that is organized under the laws of the State in which

18 is situated all or a majority of such lands and for the ex19 press purpose of managing such lands, and is described

20 in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

21 as amended.

22 (3) Each application of a nonprofit organization pur23 suant to paragraph (1) shall—

24 (A) describe the Federal lands for which man25 agement authority is sought;
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1 (B) document the eligibility of the organization

2 to submit the application as set forth in paragraph

3 (2) and describe the qualifications of the organiza4 tion to assume management authority over such

5 lands;

6 (C) identify any exception or exemption from

7 Federal law applicable to such lands that the organi8 zation deems necessary or appropriate for the exer9 cise of management authority by it; and

10 (D) describe the relationship the organization

11 intends to establish with the personnel of the Agency

12 or Agencies with jurisdiction over such lands who,

13 on the date of submission of the application, have

14 the authority to make and implement management

15 decisions specific to such lands, and identify any

16 changes in such personnel which the organization ex17 pects to make within the first year of the assump18 tion of management authority by the organization.

19 (4) Each application of a nonprofit organization pur20 suant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Commit21 tees of Congress, the Secretary or Secretaries with juris22 diction over the Federal lands to which the application ap23 plies, the Governor of each State in which such Federal

24 lands are located, any affected Indian tribe, and any af25 fected local government.
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1 (b) PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING MANAGEMENT AU2 THORITY.—(1)(A) Within ten days of receipt of an appli3 cation from a nonprofit organization pursuant to sub4 section (a), the Secretary or Secretaries shall publish in

5 the Federal Register a notice of availability of the applica6 tion.

7 (B) A notice of availability of an application pursuant

8 to subparagraph (A) shall include a description of the

9 Federal lands for which management authority is sought

10 and the nonprofit organization seeking such authority, and

11 the addresses at which a copy of the application is avail12 able for public review. Such addresses shall include the

13 district manager’s office for each district of the Bureau

14 of Land Management, and the forest supervisor’s office

15 for each unit of the National Forest System, within the

16 Federal lands for which management authority is sought.

17 (2) Any Secretary concerned, any State in which are

18 located the Federal lands for which management authority

19 is sought, any affected Indian tribe, and any affected local

20 government may provide comments to the Committees of

21 Congress on the application submitted pursuant to sub22 section (a) within sixty days of the date of the publication

23 of the notice of the application pursuant to paragraph (1).

24 (3) A nonprofit organization may assume manage25 ment authority for Federal lands subject to an application
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1 pursuant to subsection (a) only if Congress enacts a law

2 authorizing such assumption of authority. If Congress

3 does not enact a law authorizing the assumption of man4 agement authority by a State within two years from the

5 date of receipt of the application by the Committees of

6 Congress, the application shall be deemed denied.

7 (c) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Upon enactment of a law

8 pursuant to subsection (b)(3) which authorizes a nonprofit

9 organization to assume the authority to manage Federal

10 lands, the organization shall manage such lands in accord11 ance with all applicable Federal laws: Provided, That the

12 organization shall not be required to comply with—

13 (1) any provision of Federal law for which the

14 organization requested in its application submitted

15 pursuant to subsection (a), and Congress explicitly

16 granted in the law enacted pursuant to subsection

17 (b)(3), an exemption or exception; and

18 (2) any regulations, policies established without

19 regulations, or Agency guidance applicable to such

20 lands, if such organization otherwise complies with

21 the applicable Federal laws.

22 (d) TRANSITION APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) Unless oth23 erwise provided in the law enacted pursuant to subsection

24 (b)(3) authorizing a nonprofit organization to assume the

25 authority to manage Federal lands, or the applicable ap-
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1 propriations acts, the Secretary or Secretaries concerned

2 shall provide the nonprofit organization in the first, sec3 ond, and third full fiscal years after the date of enactment

4 of such law amounts of appropriated funds equal to 75

5 percentum, 50 percentum, and 25 percentum, respectively,

6 of the appropriated funds expended for the management

7 of such lands in the full fiscal year immediately prior to

8 such date.

9 (2) Any nonprofit organization that receives funds

10 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall reimburse the Treasury

11 of the United States for each amount received and interest

12 thereon within seven years of receipt thereof.

13 (e) REVENUES.—Upon enactment of a law pursuant

14 to subsection (b)(3), the Federal share of all rents, royal15 ties, fees, and other receipts, including any revenues from

16 the sale or lease of Federal coal, oil, gas, or other min17 erals, that is derived from each unit of the Federal lands

18 to which the law applies and is received after the date of

19 enactment of the law shall be returned to such unit to

20 be available without fiscal year limitation or further appro21 priation.

22 (f) PERSONNEL.—Upon the date of enactment of a

23 law pursuant to subsection (b)(3), the nonprofit organiza24 tion to which the law applies shall make all decisions relat25 ed to the employment and compensation of the personnel
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1 of the Agency or Agencies concerned who are responsible

2 for implementing management decisions specific to the

3 Federal lands to which the law applies. Personnel from

4 the Agency or Agencies concerned who are responsible for

5 managing the Federal lands to which the law applies upon

6 the date of enactment of the law, and any additional per7 sonnel from either Agency employed by the nonprofit orga8 nization after the date of enactment of the law, shall re9 main Federal employees. Additional personnel employed

10 from outside of either Agency by the nonprofit organiza11 tion after the date of enactment of the law shall be em12 ployees of the nonprofit organization. Employment and

13 compensation of all personnel who are Federal employees

14 shall be governed by applicable Federal law.

15 (g) TERM OF MANAGEMENT; RENEWAL.—(1) Unless

16 otherwise provided in the applicable law enacted pursuant

17 to subsection (b)(3), or a law repealing or otherwise modi18 fying such law, the term for which a nonprofit organiza19 tion shall be granted authority to manage Federal lands

20 shall be ten years.

21 (2) If the nonprofit organization wishes to continue

22 management of the Federal lands referred to in paragraph

23 (1) for another 10-year term, the nonprofit organization

24 shall submit an application therefor pursuant to sub25 section (a)(2) not later than two years prior to the date
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1 of expiration of the current term. The application shall

2 meet the requirements of subsection (a), include a detailed

3 report on the management of such lands during the cur4 rent term, and be processed in accordance with subsection

5 (b).

6 (h) RETURN TO FEDERAL MANAGEMENT.—(1) With7 in thirty days of the expiration of a term of management

8 of Federal lands by a nonprofit organization under a law

9 enacted pursuant to subsection (b)(3) without authoriza10 tion for continued management of such lands by the non11 profit organization pursuant to subsection (g)(2), the non12 profit organization shall pay into the Treasury of the

13 United States all revenues received pursuant to subsection

14 (e), together with any interest earned thereon, that have

15 not been expended in managing the Federal lands.

16 (2) Upon the expiration of the term of management

17 of Federal lands by a nonprofit organization described in

18 paragraph (1), all rents, royalties, fees and other receipts

19 which become due and payable beginning on the first day

20 of the first full month following the final date of the term

21 of management by the organization shall be distributed

22 in accordance with applicable Federal law, notwithstand23 ing subsection (e) of this section.
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1 SEC. 13. VENUES.

2 (a) STATE COURTS.—Any litigation concerning any

3 action, other than an action pursuant to section 7(d)(1),

4 on any eligible Federal lands for which a State has as5 sumed management authority under a law enacted pursu6 ant to section 6(c) shall be brought in the appropriate

7 State court.

8 (b) FEDERAL COURTS.—(1) This Act and any law

9 enacted pursuant to section 6(c) or section 12(b)(3) shall

10 be subject to judicial review only as provided by this sub11 section.

12 (2) Any litigation alleging that this Act or any law

13 enacted pursuant to section 6(c) or section 12(b)(3) is in14 valid, or an action under this Act or such law denies rights

15 under the Constitution of the United States or is beyond

16 the scope of authority conferred by this Act or such law,

17 may be brought within sixty days of the date of enactment

18 of this Act or such law, as the case may be. A claim shall

19 be barred unless a complaint is filed within the time speci20 fied in this paragraph.

21 (3) Any litigation described in paragraph (2) concern22 ing this Act may be brought in the United States District

23 Court for the District of Columbia and any litigation de24 scribed in paragraph (2) concerning any law enacted pur25 suant to section 6(c) or section 12(b)(3) may be brought

26 in the United States District Court for the district in
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1 which is situated all or a majority of the lands to which

2 such law applies. No other court of the United States, of

3 any State, territory, or possession of the United States,

4 or of the District of Columbia, shall have jurisdiction over

5 any such claim.

6 SEC. 14. EFFECT ON OTHER FEDERAL LAWS.

7 Any transfer of management authority over Federal

8 lands pursuant to section 6(c) or section 12(b)(3) shall

9 not require or permit any administrative action, including

10 revisions, amendments, supplementation, or other action

11 of, to, or pertaining to resource management plans, stand12 ards, guidelines, policies, or guidance concerning individ13 ual or multiple units of Federal lands because of imple14 mentation, or site-specific or cumulative impacts of imple15 mentation, of such management authority.

Æ