I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2106 

To amend section 100905 of title 54, United States Code, to direct the 

Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to require 

annual permits and assess annual fees for commercial filming activities 

on Federal land for film crews of 5 persons or fewer, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. COLE, Mr. RYAN, and Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of 

Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend section 100905 of title 54, United States Code, 

to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to require annual permits and assess annual fees for commercial filming activities on Federal 

land for film crews of 5 persons or fewer, 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. ANNUAL PERMIT AND FEE FOR FILM CREWS OF 

2 5 PERSONS OR FEWER. 

3 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the amendments 

4 made by subsection (b) is to provide commercial film crews 

5 of 5 persons or fewer access to film in areas designated 

6 for public use during public hours on Federal land and 

7 waterways. 

8 (b) ACCESS FOR FILM CREWS OF 5 PERSONS OR

9 FEWER.—Section 100905 of title 54, United States Code, 

10 is amended as follows: 

11 (1) In subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘provide 

13 a fair return to the United States’’ and insert 

14 ‘‘be sufficient to cover the cost of a film permit 

15 and other administrative and personnel costs’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) FILM CREWS OF 5 PERSONS OR FEWER.— 

19 For film crews of 5 persons or fewer, the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) assess an annual fee of not more than 

22 $200 for commercial filming activities or simi23 lar projects on Federal land administered by 

24 the Secretary; and 

25 ‘‘(B) require a permit which shall be valid 

26 for commercial filming activities or similar 


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1 projects that occur in areas designated for pub2 lic use during public hours on all Federal land 

3 and waterways administered by the Secretary 

4 for a 1-year period beginning on the date of 

5 issuance of the permit.’’. 

6 (2) In subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end 

7 the following: ‘‘The fee under this paragraph for still 

8 photography crews of 5 persons or fewer shall be not 

9 more than $200.’’. 

10 (3) In subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

11 following: ‘‘The Secretary shall not consider subject 

12 matter or content as a criterion for issuing or deny13 ing a permit under this Act.’’. 

14 (4) By striking subsection (b) and redesig15 nating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) and sub16 sections (b), (c), (d), and (e), respectively. 

17 (5) By adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FROM COMMERCIAL FILMING OR

19 STILL PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITS AND FEES.—The Sec20 retary shall not require persons holding commercial use 

21 authorizations or special recreation permits to obtain an 

22 additional permit or pay an additional fee for commercial 

23 filming or still photography under this section if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the filming or still photography conducted 

25 is incidental to the permitted activity that is the 


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1 subject of the commercial use authorization or spe2 cial recreation permit; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the holder of the commercial use author4 ization or special recreation permit is an individual 

5 or small business concern (within the meaning of 

6 section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 632)). 

8 ‘‘(g) NEWS GATHERING ACTIVITIES.—For the pur9 poses of this section, news gathering shall not be consid10 ered a commercial activity. 

11 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec12 tion— 

13 ‘‘(1) the term ‘commercial film crew’ means any 

14 persons present on Federal land or waterways under 

15 the jurisdiction of the Secretary who are associated 

16 with the production of a film; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘news gathering’ includes, at a 

18 minimum, the gathering, recording, and filming of 

19 news and information related to news in any me20 dium; and 

21 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 

22 of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as 

23 applicable, with respect to land under the respective 

24 jurisdiction of the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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