I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1159 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program by implementing 

a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin 

user fees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2013 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Cabin Fee Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Cabin user fees. 

Sec. 4. Payment of cabin transfer fees. 

Sec. 5. Right of appeal and judicial review. 

Sec. 6. Effect. 

Sec. 7. Regulations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AUTHORIZATION; AUTHORIZE.—The terms 

4 ‘‘authorization’’ and ‘‘authorize’’ mean the issuance 

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

6 National Forest System land by a cabin owner under 

7 the Recreation Residence Program. 

8 (2) CABIN.—The term ‘‘cabin’’ means a pri9 vately built and owned recreation residence and re10 lated improvements on National Forest System land 

11 that— 

12 (A) is authorized for private use and occu13 pancy; and 

14 (B) may be sold or transferred between 

15 private parties. 

16 (3) CABIN OWNER.—The term ‘‘cabin owner’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) a person authorized by the Secretary 

19 to use and to occupy a cabin; and 

20 (B) a trust, heir, or assign of a person de21 scribed in subparagraph (A). 


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1 (4) CABIN TRANSFER FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin 

2 transfer fee’’ means a fee that is paid to the United 

3 States on the transfer of a cabin between private 

4 parties for money or other consideration that results 

5 in the issuance of a new permit. 

6 (5) CABIN USER FEE.—The term ‘‘cabin user 

7 fee’’ means an annual fee paid to the United States 

8 by a cabin owner in accordance with an authoriza9 tion for the use and occupancy of a cabin. 

10 (6) CURRENT APPRAISAL CYCLE.—The term 

11 ‘‘current appraisal cycle’’ means the completion of 

12 Forest Service review and acceptance of— 

13 (A) initial typical lot appraisals; and 

14 (B) second appraisals, if ordered by cabin 

15 owners and approved by the Forest Service. 

16 (7) CURRENT CABIN USER FEE.—The term 

17 ‘‘current cabin user fee’’ means the most recent 

18 cabin user fee, as adjusted under section 3(c). 

19 (8) LOT.—The term ‘‘lot’’ means a parcel of 

20 National Forest System land on which a person is 

21 authorized to build, use, occupy, and maintain a 

22 cabin. 

23 (9) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

24 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

25 that term in section 11 of the Forest and Rangeland 


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1 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

2 U.S.C. 1609). 

3 (10) RECREATION RESIDENCE PROGRAM.—The 

4 term ‘‘Recreation Residence Program’’ means the 

5 Recreation Residence Program established under the 

6 last paragraph under the heading ‘‘FOREST SERV7 ICE’’ in the Act of March 4, 1915 (16 U.S.C. 497). 

8 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

10 the Chief of the Forest Service. 

11 (12) TYPICAL LOT.—The term ‘‘typical lot’’ 

12 means a cabin lot, or group of cabin lots, in a tract 

13 that is selected for use in an appraisal as being rep14 resentative of, and that has similar value character15 istics as, other lots or groups of lots within the tract. 

16 SEC. 3. CABIN USER FEES. 

17 (a) PAYMENT OF CABIN USER FEES.—Cabin owners 

18 shall pay an annual cabin user fee established by the Sec19 retary in accordance with this section. 

20 (b) INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es22 tablish initial cabin user fees in accordance with this 

23 subsection. 

24 (2) ASSIGNMENT TO VALUE TIERS.—On com25 pletion of the current appraisal cycle, as required by 


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1 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall assign each per2 mitted lot on National Forest System land to 1 of 

3 10 tiers based on the following considerations: 

4 (A) Before assigning the lots to tiers, all 

5 appraised lot values shall be adjusted, or nor6 malized, for price changes occurring after the 

7 appraisal, in accordance with the National As8 sociation of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing 

9 Opportunity Index. 

10 (B) Second appraisal values shall super11 sede initial lot appraisal values for the normal12 ization and ranking process under subpara13 graph (A). 

14 (C) The tiers shall be established, on a na15 tional basis, according to relative lot value, with 

16 lots having the lowest adjusted appraised value 

17 assigned to tier 1 and lots having the highest 

18 adjusted appraised value assigned to tier 10. 

19 (D) The number of lots (by percentage) as20 signed to each tier is contained in the table set 

21 forth in paragraph (3). 

22 (E) Data from incomplete appraisals may 

23 not be used to establish the fee tiers under this 

24 subsection. 


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1 (F) Until assigned to a tier under this sub2 section, the Secretary shall assess (and may ad3 just annually subject to clause (ii)) an interim 

4 fee for permitted cabin lots (including lots with 

5 incomplete appraisals) in an amount equal to 

6 the lesser of— 

7 (i) $5,000; or 

8 (ii) the amount of the current cabin 

9 user fee, as determined under the Cabin 

10 User Fee Fairness Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

11 6201 et seq.), which amount the Secretary 

12 may increase annually by not more than 

13 25 percent, except that the increased fee 

14 shall not exceed the otherwise scheduled 

15 fee determined under the Cabin User Fee 

16 Fairness Act of 2000. 

17 (3) AMOUNT OF INITIAL CABIN USER FEES.— 

18 The initial cabin user fees, based on the assignments 

19 under paragraph (2), are as follows: 

Fee Tier Approximate Percent of 

Permits Nationally Fee Amount 

Tier 1 5 percent $500 

Tier 2 12 percent $1,000 

Tier 3 22 percent $1,500 

Tier 4 22 percent $2,000 

Tier 5 10 percent $2,500 


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Fee Tier Approximate Percent of 

Permits Nationally Fee Amount 

Tier 6 9 percent $3,000 

Tier 7 6 percent $3,500 

Tier 8 5 percent $4,000 

Tier 9 5 percent $4,500 

Tier 10 4 percent $5,000 

1 (4) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF CURRENT

2 APPRAISAL CYCLE.—Not later than 3 years after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

4 complete the current appraisal cycle. 

5 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The initial cabin user 

6 fees required by this subsection shall take effect be7 ginning with the first calendar year beginning after 

8 the completion of the current appraisal cycle. 

9 (c) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS OF CABIN USER FEE.— 

10 Once initial cabin user fees have been assessed, based on 

11 the tier assignments under subsection (b)(2), the Sec12 retary shall use changes in the Implicit Price Deflator for 

13 the Gross Domestic Product published by the Bureau of 

14 Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, ap15 plied on a 5-year rolling average, to assess an annual ad16 justment to cabin user fees. 

17 (d) EFFECT OF DESTRUCTION, SUBSTANTIAL DAM18 AGE, OR LOSS OF ACCESS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reduce 

2 the cabin user fee to $100 per year for a cabin if— 

3 (A) the cabin is destroyed or suffers sub4 stantial damage in an amount that is greater 

5 than 50 percent of replacement cost of the 

6 cabin; or 

7 (B) access to the cabin is significantly im8 paired, whether by catastrophic events, natural 

9 causes, or governmental actions. 

10 (2) TERM OF REDUCED FEE.—The reduced fee 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be in effect until the later 

12 of— 

13 (A) the last day of the year in which the 

14 destruction or impairment occurs; or 

15 (B) the date on which the cabin may be 

16 lawfully reoccupied and normal access has been 

17 restored. 

18 SEC. 4. PAYMENT OF CABIN TRANSFER FEES. 

19 As a condition of the issuance by the Secretary of 

20 a new authorization for the use and occupancy of the 

21 cabin, the cabin owner transferring the cabin shall pay to 

22 the Secretary a cabin transfer fee in the amount of 

23 $1,200. 

24 SEC. 5. RIGHT OF APPEAL AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

25 (a) RIGHT OF APPEAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any action 

2 of a cabin owner to exercise rights in accordance 

3 with section 6, the Secretary shall by regulation 

4 grant to the cabin owner the right to an administra5 tive appeal of the determination of a new cabin user 

6 fee, fee tier, or whether or not to reduce a cabin 

7 user fee under section 3(d). 

8 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—An appeal under para9 graph (1) shall be pursuant to the appeal process 

10 provided under subpart C of part 251 of title 36, 

11 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula12 tion). 

13 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A cabin owner that contests 

15 a final decision of the Secretary under this Act may 

16 bring a civil action in United States district court. 

17 (2) VENUE.—The venue for an action brought 

18 before the United States district court under this 

19 subsection shall be in the Federal judicial district in 

20 which the cabin is located. 

21 (3) EFFECT ON MEDIATION.—Nothing in this 

22 Act precludes a person from seeking mediation for 

23 an action under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act limits or re3 stricts any right, title, or interest of the United States in 

4 or to any land or resource. 

5 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALASKA.—In determining a 

6 cabin user fee in the State of Alaska, the Secretary shall 

7 not establish or impose a cabin user fee or a condition 

8 affecting a cabin user fee that is inconsistent with 1303(d) 

9 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 3193(d)). 

11 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 

12 Not later than December 31, 2014, the Secretary 

13 shall issue regulations to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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