II

Calendar No. 520

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1608

[Report No. 106–275]

To provide annual payments to the States and counties from National Forest

System lands managed by the Forest Service, and the revested Oregon

and California Railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant

lands managed predominantly by the Bureau of Land Management,

for use by the counties in which the lands are situated for the benefit

of public schools, roads, emergency, and other public purposes; to encourage and provide new mechanisms for cooperation between counties and

the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to make necessary investments in Federal lands, and reaffirm the positive connection

between Federal Lands counties and Federal Lands; and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1999

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. CRAPO, Mr.

JOHNSON, Mr. DEWINE, Mrs. HUTCHISON, and Mr. BURNS) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources

APRIL 25, 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide annual payments to the States and counties from

National Forest System lands managed by the Forest

Service, and the revested Oregon and California Railroad
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and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands managed predominantly by the Bureau of Land Management,

for use by the counties in which the lands are situated

for the benefit of public schools, roads, emergency, and

other public purposes; to encourage and provide new

mechanisms for cooperation between counties and the

Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management

to make necessary investments in Federal lands, and

reaffirm the positive connection between Federal Lands

counties and Federal Lands; 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 ‘‘Secure Rural Schools

5 and Community Self-Determination Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the National Forest System, managed by

9 the Forest Service, was established in 1907 and has

10 grown to include 192 million acres of Federal

11 Lands;

12 (2) the revested Oregon and California Railroad

13 and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands,

14 managed predominantly by the Bureau of Land

15 Management, were returned to Federal ownership in

16 1916 and 1919, and added to thereafter, and com-
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1 prise approximately 2.6 million acres of Federal

2 Lands;

3 (3) Congress recognized that, by its decision to

4 secure these lands in Federal ownership, counties in

5 which the lands are situated are denied revenues

6 they would otherwise receive if the lands were sold

7 or transferred into, or the revested and reconveyed

8 grant lands had remained in, private ownership;

9 (4) counties expend public funds to provide edu10 cation, road construction and maintenance, search

11 and rescue, law enforcement, solid waste, fire protec12 tion, and other services based upon an artificially re13 duced tax base;

14 (5) to provide compensation to the affected

15 counties for their loss of tax revenues used for the

16 critical services they provide to both county citizens

17 and visitors to Federal Lands, Congress determined

18 that the Federal Government should share with

19 those jurisdictions the revenues received from the

20 Federal Lands;

21 (6) Congress enacted in 1908, and subsequently

22 amended, a law that requires 25 percent of the reve23 nues from National Forest lands be paid to States

24 for use by the counties in which those lands are situ25 ated for the benefit of public schools and roads;
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1 (7) Congress enacted in 1937, and subsequently

2 amended, a law that requires 50 percent of the reve3 nues from the revested and reconveyed grant lands

4 be paid to the counties in which those lands are situ5 ated to be used in the same manner as are other

6 county funds;

7 (8) in recent years, as the volume of timber sold

8 annually from most of the Federal Lands has de9 creased precipitously, so too have the revenues

10 shared with the affected counties;

11 (9) this decline in shared revenues has severely

12 curtailed the quality of education in the affected

13 counties, as well as other county services;

14 (10) Congress recognized this trend as it re15 lated to protection of the Northern Spotted Owl and

16 moved to ameliorate its adverse consequences when,

17 in 1993, it enacted a law—soon to expire—that pro18 vided an alternative annual ‘‘safety net’’ payment to

19 72 counties in Oregon, Washington, and northern

20 California in which Federal timber sales had been

21 restricted or prohibited by administrative and judi22 cial decisions;

23 (11) no comparable authority has ever been

24 granted for alternative payments to counties else25 where that have suffered similar shared revenue
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1 losses resulting from the general decreases in timber

2 harvests on Federal Lands;

3 (12) changes in Federal Land management, in

4 addition to having curtailed timber sales, have al5 tered the historic, cooperative relationship between

6 counties and the Forest Service and the Bureau of

7 Land Management;

8 (13) both the Forest Service and the Bureau of

9 Land Management face significant backlogs in infra10 structure maintenance and ecosystem restoration

11 which are not likely to be addressed through annual

12 appropriations; and

13 (14) new relationships between Federal Lands

14 counties and Federal Land managers need to be

15 formed to benefit our natural resources and our

16 rural communities as we enter the 21st century.

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

18 (1) to assist local governments dependent on

19 Federal Lands to restore funding for education and

20 other public services that the counties must provide

21 to their citizens;

22 (2) to provide this funding in a form that is en23 vironmentally sound and consistent with applicable

24 resource management plans;
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1 (3) to facilitate the development, by the Federal

2 Government and the counties which benefit from the

3 shared revenues from the Federal Lands, of a new

4 cooperative relationship in Federal Land manage5 ment;

6 (4) to help develop local consensus in imple7 menting applicable plans for the Federal Lands;

8 (5) to identify and implement projects on the

9 Federal Lands that enjoy broad-based local support;

10 and

11 (6) to make additional investments in infra12 structure maintenance and ecosystem restoration on

13 the Federal Lands.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 As used in this Act—

16 (a) The term ‘‘Federal Lands’’ means—

17 (1) lands within the National Forest System, as

18 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range19 land Renewable Resource Planning Act of 1974 (16

20 U.S.C. 1609(a)) and managed by the Forest Service,

21 Department of Agriculture; and

22 (2) revested Oregon and California Railroad

23 and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands,

24 managed in part by the Bureau of Land Manage-
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1 ment, Department of the Interior, and in part by the

2 Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.

3 (b) The term ‘‘eligible States’’ means each State that

4 received one or more 25 percent payments as defined in,

5 and during the period described in, subsection (d).

6 (c) The term ‘‘eligible counties’’ means each county

7 that received one or more 50 percent payments as defined

8 in, and during the period described in, subsection (e).

9 (d) The term ‘‘25 percent payments’’ means the pay10 ments to States authorized by the sixth paragraph under

11 the heading of ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ of the Act of May

12 23, 1908, as amended, or section 13 of the Act of March

13 1, 1911, as amended (35 Stat. 260, 36 Stat. 963, as

14 amended; 16 U.S.C. 500).

15 (e) The term ‘‘50 percent payments’’ means the pay16 ments that are the sum of the 50 percent share otherwise

17 paid to a county pursuant to title II of the Act of August

18 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 875, chapter 876; 43 U.S.C. 1181f),

19 and the payment made to a county pursuant to the Act

20 of May 24, 1939 (53 Stat. 753, chapter 144; 43 U.S.C.

21 1181f–1, et seq.).

22 (f) The term ‘‘full payment amount’’ means the

23 amount determined by calculating the average of the three

24 highest 25 percent payments, 50 percent payments, or

25 payments pursuant to section 13982 of the Omnibus
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1 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 500 note)

2 made to the eligible State or eligible county during the

3 period beginning on October 1, 1985, and concluding on

4 September 30 of the last full fiscal year prior to the date

5 of enactment of this Act, adjusted each fiscal year in

6 which payments are required pursuant to subsection 4(a)

7 and subsection 5(a) to reflect changes in the consumer

8 price index for rural areas (as published in the Bureau

9 of Labor Statistics) that occur after publication of that

10 index for the fiscal year prior to the full fiscal year after

11 the date of enactment of this Act.

12 (g) The term ‘‘resource management plans’’ means

13 land use plans prepared by the Bureau of Land Manage14 ment for units of the Federal Lands described in sub15 section (a)(2) of this section pursuant to section 202 of

16 the Federal Land Policy Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. § 1712);

17 and land and resource management plans prepared by the

18 Forest Service for units of the lands described in sub19 section (a)(1) of this section pursuant to section 6 of the

20 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act

21 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. § 1604).

22 (h) The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ or ‘‘Secretary’’ means the

23 Secretary of the Interior with respect to the Federal

24 Lands described in subsection (a)(2) and/or the Secretary
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1 of Agriculture with respect to Federal Lands described in

2 subsection (a)(1).

3 (i) The term ‘‘eligible projects’’ means any project or

4 projects conducted on Federal Lands paid for, in whole

5 or in part, by an eligible county which meets the require6 ments of subsection 6(b).

7 (j) The term ‘‘associated environmental analysis’’

8 means any evaluation required by the National Environ9 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq.) ac10 companying an eligible project, or any biological opinion

11 for a project required by the Endangered Species Act of

12 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531, et seq.).

13 (k) The term ‘‘infrastructure maintenance’’ means

14 any road or facility maintenance, reconstruction, or sta15 bilization activity approved by the appropriate Secretary

16 and consistent with the applicable resource management

17 plan.

18 (l) The term ‘‘ecosystem restoration’’ means any wa19 tershed restoration, wildlife habitat improvement or res20 toration, or forest health treatment activity approved by

21 the appropriate Secretary and consistent with the applica22 ble resource management plan.

23 (m) The term ‘‘Committee’’ means an Investment

24 Project Advisory Committee established pursuant to sec25 tion 7.
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1 (n) The term ‘‘best value stewardship contracting’’

2 means using contracts which secure, for the best price,

3 the best quality service as determined by the Secretary

4 based upon: the technical demands and complexity of the

5 work to be done; the ecological sensitivity of the resources

6 being treated; past experience by the contractor with the

7 type of work being done, using the type of equipment pro8 posed for the project, and meeting or exceeding desired

9 ecological conditions; utilization of low value species and

10 byproducts; commitment to hiring highly qualified work11 ers; and commitment to hiring local people.

12 SEC. 4. PAYMENTS TO STATES FROM FOREST SERVICE

13 LANDS FOR AFFECTED COUNTIES TO USE

14 FOR THE BENEFIT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

15 AND TRANSPORTATION.

16 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE

17 STATES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make pay18 ments in accordance with subsection (b) as early as prac19 ticable in each fiscal year from the first full fiscal year

20 after the date of enactment of this Act to eligible States

21 as defined in subsection 3(b).

22 (b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Each payment to a State

23 pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the amount of the

24 25 percent payments as defined in subsection 3(d) that

25 is applicable to that State and, if such amount is less than
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1 the full payment amount for that State as defined in, and

2 calculated pursuant to, subsection 3(f), such additional

3 funds as are necessary to provide a total payment equal

4 to the full payment amount as provided in subsection (d).

5 (c) EXPENDITURE OF PAYMENTS.—(1) Seventy-five

6 percent of the funds paid to the States pursuant to sub7 section (a) shall be distributed and expended in the same

8 manner in which the 25 percent payments are required

9 to be distributed and expended.

10 (2) Twenty-five percent of the funds paid to the

11 States pursuant to subsection (a) shall be distributed in

12 the same manner in which the 25 percent payments are

13 required to be distributed and expended in accordance

14 with section 6.

15 (d) SOURCE OF SPECIAL PAYMENTS.—Any funds

16 paid to the States in addition to the 25 percent payments

17 pursuant to this section and section 6 shall be derived first

18 from any revenues, fees, penalties, or miscellaneous re19 ceipts, exclusive of deposits to any relevant trust fund, re20 ceived by the Federal Government from activities by the

21 Forest Service on the Federal Lands described in sub22 section 3(a)(1) and/or secondly, as determined by the Sec23 retary of the Treasury, from any funds in the Treasury

24 not otherwise appropriated.
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1 SEC. 5. PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES FROM BUREAU OF LAND

2 MANAGEMENT LANDS TO USE FOR THE BEN3 EFIT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, LAW ENFORCE4 MENT, EDUCATION AND OTHER PUBLIC PUR5 POSES.

6 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE

7 COUNTIES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make

8 payments in accordance with subsection (b) as early as

9 practicable in each fiscal year from the first full fiscal year

10 after the date of enactment of this Act to eligible counties

11 as defined in subsection 3(c).

12 (b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Each payment to a county

13 pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the amount of the

14 50 percent payments as defined in subsection 3(e) that

15 is applicable to that county and, if such amount is less

16 than the full payment amount for that county as defined

17 in, and calculated pursuant to, subsection 3(f), such addi18 tional funds as are necessary to provide a total payment

19 equal to the full payment amount as provided in sub20 section (d).

21 (c) EXPENDITURE OF PAYMENTS.—(1) Seventy-five

22 percent of the funds paid to the counties pursuant to sub23 section (a) shall be distributed and expended in the same

24 manner in which the 50 percent payments are required

25 to be distributed and expended.
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1 (2) Twenty-five percent of the funds paid to the coun2 ties pursuant to subsection (a) shall be distributed in the

3 same manner in which the 50 percent payments are re4 quired to be distributed, and expended in accordance with

5 section 6.

6 (d) SOURCE OF SPECIAL PAYMENTS.—Any funds

7 paid to the counties in addition to the 50 percent pay8 ments pursuant to this section and section 6 shall be de9 rived first from any revenues, fees, penalties, or miscella10 neous receipts, exclusive of deposits to any relevant trust

11 funds, received by the Federal Government from activities

12 by the Bureau of Land Management on the Federal Lands

13 described in subsection 3(a)(2) and/or secondly, as deter14 mined by the Secretary of the Treasury, from any funds

15 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

16 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES FROM FOR17 EST SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MAN18 AGEMENT LANDS FOR COMMUNITY SELF-DE19 TERMINATION, RESOURCE INVESTMENT, AND

20 AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY.

21 (a) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES FOR RE22 SOURCE INVESTMENTS.—(1) To promote investments in

23 resource management and restoration, and an ongoing re24 lationship between eligible states and eligible counties and

25 the Federal Lands, eligible states and counties shall be
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1 provided twenty-five percent of the funds paid pursuant

2 to subsection 4(a) and subsection 5(a) to support invest3 ments in resource management and restoration on Federal

4 Lands.

5 (2) Investments referred to in paragraph (1) may

6 support eligible projects or groups of eligible projects

7 meeting the requirements of subsection (b), including both

8 commercial and noncommercial activities, involving re9 source management, stewardship, restoration, or develop10 ment.

11 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—To be an eligible project

12 or projects for the purposes of receipt of funds under sub13 section (a)(1), the project or group of projects must—

14 (1) be nominated and paid for, in whole or in

15 part, by the eligible county;

16 (2) be in compliance with the applicable re17 source management plan, or with any watershed or

18 subsequent plan developed pursuant to the resource

19 management plan and approved by the appropriate

20 Secretary;

21 (3) be recommended by the appropriate invest22 ment project advisory committee formed pursuant to

23 section 7;

24 (4) be in compliance with all applicable environ25 mental laws;
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1 (5) be approved by the appropriate Secretary

2 with whom the final project authority lies;

3 (6) assure that the sale of any commodity,

4 asset, lease, or right to use the Federal Lands shall

5 be on a competitive bid basis to receive at least fair

6 market value. For any eligible project not subject to

7 competitive bidding or involving ecosystem restora8 tion, infrastructure maintenance, or other resource

9 stewardship work, the appropriate Secretary shall, to

10 the maximum extent feasible, use best value stew11 ardship contracting; and

12 (7) be governed by a Memorandum of Under13 standing between the eligible county and the appro14 priate Secretary which specifies—

15 (A) a schedule with deadlines for comple16 tion;

17 (B) an agreed-upon level of overhead to be

18 assessed against each eligible project or group

19 of eligible projects by the appropriate Secretary;

20 and

21 (C) (i) the circumstances in which the ap22 propriate Secretary shall, at the eligible coun23 ty’s request, reimburse the county the full

24 amount paid by the county pursuant to sub25 section (c) with interest if the Secretary fails to
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1 carry out an approved project within the time

2 frame established pursuant to subparagraph

3 (A).

4 (ii) Any reimbursement pursuant to clause

5 (i) shall not include repayment of any funds al6 ready expended for projects enjoined or prohib7 ited by action of a Federal court.

8 (c) FUNDING OF PROJECTS.—Upon approval by the

9 appropriate Secretary of an eligible project or group of

10 eligible projects that meet the requirements of subsection

11 (b), the eligible county will convey the necessary funding

12 to the appropriate Secretary to undertake single-year or

13 multi-year projects or groups of projects.

14 (d) RETURN OF UNUSED FUNDS.—(1) If an eligible

15 county and the Secretary fail to agree on a sufficient num16 ber of eligible projects to fully obligate the funds provided

17 under subsection (a)(1) by the end of the fiscal year in

18 which the funds were provided, any remaining funds shall

19 be returned to the Secretary of the Treasury and redistrib20 uted in the following fiscal year to those eligible states

21 and counties that did fully expend such funds available

22 to them pursuant to subsection (a)(1) in the same propor23 tion as, and in addition to, funds distributed annually to

24 eligible states and counties under this section.
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1 (2) Any funds returned to an eligible county by the

2 Secretary under subsection (b)(7)(B) shall be used by that

3 county to fund eligible projects meeting the requirements

4 of subsection (b) within one year from the date of reim5 bursement by the Secretary.

6 (e) FUNDS GENERATED BY ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—

7 (1) DIVISION OF FUNDS.—Any fees, receipts, or

8 payments resulting from any revenue-generating

9 project receiving funds pursuant to subsection (a)(1)

10 shall be, after deposits to any relevant trust funds,

11 divided equally between the eligible county and the

12 Secretary.

13 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—

14 (A) The portion of the funds referred to in

15 paragraph (1) that is paid to the eligible county

16 shall be used by the county for the same pur17 poses as provided in subsection 4(c)(1) and sub18 section 5(c)(1) of this Act.

19 (B) The portion of funds referred to in

20 paragraph (1) that is received by the Secretary

21 shall be used by the National Forest or Bureau

22 of Land Management District from which the

23 funds originated for infrastructure maintenance

24 or ecosystem restoration.
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1 (f) RELATION OF FUNDS TO ANNUAL APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—Any funds provided to the Secretaries under this

3 section shall be in addition to the annual appropriations

4 for the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Manage5 ment.

6 SEC. 7. INVESTMENT PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF INVESTMENT

8 PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—(1) For each Na9 tional Forest and Bureau of Land Management District

10 managing Federal Lands, the appropriate Secretary shall

11 establish and maintain an Investment Project Advisory

12 Committee to recommend eligible projects or groups of eli13 gible projects pursuant to subsection 6(b)(3) for funds

14 provided pursuant to subsection 6(a)(1).

15 (2) No eligible project or groups of eligible projects

16 may be funded under subsection 6(a)(1) without the rec17 ommendation of the appropriate Committee.

18 (3) For the purposes of establishing Committees pur19 suant to this section, the appropriate Secretary may, at

20 his sole discretion, combine or divide National Forests or

21 Bureau of Land Management Districts.

22 (b) COMMITTEE MEMBERS.—

23 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Each Committee shall be

24 comprised of 15 members broadly representative of

25 local resource users, environmental interests, forest
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1 workers and organized labor representatives, county

2 elected officials, school administrators, teachers, and

3 other local interests as determined by the Secretary.

4 (2) CHAIR.—The Chair of each Committee shall

5 be selected by a majority of the members.

6 (3) VACANCIES.—

7 (A) A vacancy in the membership of any

8 Committee shall be filled by the Secretary in a

9 fashion which maintains the breadth of inter10 ests on the Committee.

11 (B) A vacancy in the membership of any

12 Committee shall not impair the right of the re13 maining members to fulfill the purposes of the

14 Committee provided in subsection (a).

15 (4) TERM.—Each Committee member shall

16 serve a term of two years from appointment. A Com17 mittee member shall be eligible for reappointment at

18 the sole discretion of the Secretary.

19 (c) COMMITTEE STAFF.—At the request of a Com20 mittee Chair, the appropriate Secretary may assign Fed21 eral employees to assist a Committee in fulfilling the pur22 poses pursuant to subsection (a).

23 (d) COMMITTEE RULES.—Each Committee is author24 ized to establish such procedural and administrative rules
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1 as are necessary to achieve the purpose of the Committee

2 pursuant to subsection (a).

3 (e) COMMITTEE MEETINGS.—

4 (1) Each Secretary shall develop procedures for

5 the publication, public attendance, and development

6 of a record for the meetings of the Committees.

7 (2) All Committee meetings shall be announced

8 one week in advance of the meeting in a local news9 paper of record, and shall be open to the public.

10 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT REQUIRE11 MENTS.—Except as may be provided by this section, the

12 provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (86

13 Stat. 770; 5 U.S.C. App. 1) shall not apply to the Commit14 tees.

15 SEC. 8. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION.

16 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

17 sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this

18 Act.

19 SEC. 9. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

20 (a) Section 13982 of the Omnibus Budget Reconcili21 ation Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 500 note) is repealed. Sec22 tions 13982 and 13983 of the Omnibus Budget Reconcili23 ation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–66; 16 U.S.C. 500

24 note; 43 U.S.C. 1181f note) is repealed.
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1 (b) Section 6903(a)(1) of title 31, United States

2 Code, is amended by—

3 (1) re-designating subparagraphs (D) through

4 (J) as (E) through (K), respectively; and

5 (2) inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol6 lowing new subparagraph:

7 ‘‘(D) the Secure Rural Schools and Com8 munity Self-Determination Act of 1999;’’.

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

10 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Se11 cure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act

12 of 2000’’.

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

14 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—SECURE PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND COUNTIES

CONTAINING FEDERAL LANDS

Sec. 101. Determination of full payment amount for eligible States and counties.

Sec. 102. Payments to States from Forest Service lands for use by counties to benefit public education and transportation.

Sec. 103. Payments to counties from Bureau of Land Management lands for use

to benefit public safety, law enforcement, education, and other

public purposes.

TITLE II—SPECIAL PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LANDS

Sec. 201. Definitions.

Sec. 202. General limitation on use of project funds.

Sec. 203. Submission of project proposals.

Sec. 204. Evaluation and approval of projects by Secretary concerned.

Sec. 205. Resource advisory committees.

Sec. 206. Use of project funds.

Sec. 207. Availability of project funds.
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TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 302. Treatment of funds and revenues.

Sec. 303. Regulations.

Sec. 304. Conforming amendments.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The National Forest System, which is man4 aged by the United States Forest Service, was estab5 lished in 1907 and has grown to include approxi6 mately 192,000,000 acres of Federal lands.

7 (2) The public domain lands known as revested

8 Oregon and California Railroad grant lands and the

9 reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands, which

10 are managed predominately by the Bureau of Land

11 Management were returned to Federal ownership in

12 1916 and 1919 and now comprise approximately

13 2,600,000 acres of Federal lands.

14 (3) Congress recognized that, by its decision to

15 secure these lands in Federal ownership, the counties

16 in which these lands are situated would be deprived

17 of revenues they would otherwise receive if the lands

18 were held in private ownership.

19 (4) These same counties have expended public

20 funds year after year to provide services, such as edu21 cation, road construction and maintenance, search

22 and rescue, law enforcement, waste removal, and fire
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1 protection, that directly benefit these Federal lands

2 and people who use these lands.

3 (5) To accord a measure of compensation to the

4 affected counties for the critical services they provide

5 to both county residents and visitors to these Federal

6 lands, Congress determined that the Federal Govern7 ment should share with these counties a portion of the

8 revenues the United States receives from these Federal

9 lands.

10 (6) Congress enacted in 1908 and subsequently

11 amended a law that requires that 25 percent of the

12 revenues derived from National Forest System lands

13 be paid to States for use by the counties in which the

14 lands are situated for the benefit of public schools and

15 roads.

16 (7) Congress enacted in 1937 and subsequently

17 amended a law that requires that 75 percent of the

18 revenues derived from the revested and reconveyed

19 grant lands be paid to the counties in which those

20 lands are situated to be used as are other county

21 funds, of which 50 percent is to be used as other coun22 ty funds.

23 (8) For several decades primarily due to the

24 growth of the Federal timber sale program, counties

25 dependent on and supportive of these Federal lands
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1 received and relied on increasing shares of these reve2 nues to provide funding for schools and road mainte3 nance.

4 (9) In recent years, the principal source of these

5 revenues, Federal timber sales, has been sharply cur6 tailed and, as the volume of timber sold annually

7 from most of the Federal lands has decreased precipi8 tously, so too have the revenues shared with the af9 fected counties.

10 (10) This decline in shared revenues has affected

11 educational funding and road maintenance for many

12 counties.

13 (11) In the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

14 of 1993, Congress recognized this trend and amelio15 rated its adverse consequences by providing an alter16 native annual safety net payment to 72 counties in

17 Oregon, Washington, and northern California in

18 which Federal timber sales had been restricted or pro19 hibited by administrative and judicial decisions to

20 protect the northern spotted owl.

21 (12) The authority for these particular safety net

22 payments is expiring and no comparable authority

23 has been granted for alternative payments to counties

24 elsewhere in the United States that have suffered

25 similar losses in shared revenues from the Federal
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1 lands and in the funding for schools and roads those

2 revenues provide.

3 (13) There is a need to stabilize education and

4 road maintenance funding through predictable pay5 ments to the affected counties, job creation in those

6 counties, and other opportunities associated with res7 toration, maintenance, and stewardship of federal

8 lands.

9 (14) Both the Forest Service and the Bureau of

10 Land Management face significant backlogs in infra11 structure maintenance and ecosystem restoration that

12 are difficult to address through annual appropria13 tions.

14 (15) There is a need to build new, and strength15 en existing, relationships and to improve manage16 ment of public lands and waters.

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

18 (1) to stabilize and make permanent payments

19 to counties to provide funding for schools and roads;

20 (2) to make additional investments in, and cre21 ate additional employment opportunities through,

22 projects that improve the maintenance of existing in23 frastructure, implement stewardship objectives that

24 enhance forest ecosystems, and restore and improve

25 land health and water quality. Such projects shall
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1 enjoy broad-based support with objectives that may

2 include, but are not limited to:

3 (A) Road, trail, and infrastructure mainte4 nance or obliteration;

5 (B) Soil productivity improvement;

6 (C) Improvements in forest ecosystem

7 health;

8 (D) Watershed restoration and mainte9 nance;

10 (E) Restoration, maintenance and improve11 ment of wildlife and fish habitat;

12 (F) Control of noxious and exotic weeds;

13 (G) Reestablishment of native species; and

14 (H) General resource stewardship.

15 (3) to improve cooperative relationships among

16 the people that use and care for Federal lands and the

17 agencies that manage these lands.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal lands’’

21 means—

22 (A) lands within the National Forest Sys23 tem, as defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and

24 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

25 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)) exclusive of the Na-
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1 tional Grasslands administered pursuant to the

2 Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010–10912);

3 and

4 (B) the Oregon and California Railroad

5 grant lands revested in the United States by the

6 Act of June 9, 1916 (chapter 137; 39 Stat. 218),

7 Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands reconveyed to

8 the United States by the Act of February 26,

9 1919 (chapter 47; 40 Stat. 1179), and subsequent

10 additions to such lands.

11 (2) ELIGIBILITY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘eligibility

12 period’’ means fiscal year 1984 through fiscal year

13 1999.

14 (3) ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—The term ‘‘eligible coun15 ty’’ means a county or borough that received 50-per16 cent payments for one or more fiscal years of the eli17 gibility period or a county or borough that received

18 a portion of an eligible State’s 25-percent payments

19 for one or more fiscal years of the eligibility period.

20 The term includes a county or borough established

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act so long as

22 the county or borough includes all or a portion of a

23 county or borough described in the preceding sentence.
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1 (4) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible State’’

2 means a State that received 25-percent payments for

3 one or more fiscal years of the eligibility period.

4 (5) FULL PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘full

5 payment amount’’ means the amount calculated for

6 each eligible State and eligible county under section

7 101.

8 (6) 25-PERCENT PAYMENTS.—The term ‘‘25-per9 cent payments’’ means the payments to States re10 quired by the sixth paragraph under the heading of

11 ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908

12 (35 Stat. 260; 16 U.S.C. 500), and section 13 of the

13 Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 963; 16 U.S.C. 500).

14 (7) 50-PERCENT PAYMENTS.—The term ‘‘50-per15 cent payments’’ means the payments that are the sum

16 of the 50-percent share otherwise paid to a county

17 pursuant to title II of the Act of August 28, 1937

18 (chapter 876; 50 Stat. 875; 43 U.S.C. 1181f), and the

19 payment made to a county pursuant to the Act of

20 May 24, 1939 (chapter 144; 53 Stat. 753; 43 U.S.C.

21 1181f–1 et seq.).

22 (8) SAFETY NET PAYMENTS.—The term ‘‘safety

23 net payments’’ means the payments to States and

24 counties required by section 13982 or 13983 of the

25 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public
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1 Law 103–66; 16 U.S.C. 500 note; 43 U.S.C. 1181f

2 note).

3 TITLE I—SECURE PAYMENTS

4 FOR STATES AND COUNTIES

5 CONTAINING FEDERAL LANDS

6 SEC. 101. DETERMINATION OF FULL PAYMENT AMOUNT

7 FOR ELIGIBLE STATES AND COUNTIES.

8 (a) CALCULATION REQUIRED.—

9 (1) ELIGIBLE STATES.—The Secretary of the

10 Treasury shall calculate for each eligible State an

11 amount equal to the average of the three highest 25-

12 percent payments and safety net payments made to

13 the eligible counties in that State for fiscal years of

14 the eligibility period,

15 (2) BLM COUNTIES.—The Secretary of the

16 Treasury shall calculate for each eligible county that

17 received a 50-percent payment during the eligibility

18 period an amount equal to the average of the three

19 highest 50-percent payments and safety net payments

20 made to that eligible county for fiscal years of the eli21 gibility period.

22 (b) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT.—For each fiscal year in

23 which payments are required to be made to eligible States

24 and eligible counties under this title, the Secretary of the

25 Treasury shall adjust the full payment amount for the pre-
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1 vious fiscal year for each eligible State and eligible county

2 to reflect changes in the consumer price index for rural

3 areas (as published in the Bureau of Labor Statistics) that

4 occur after publication of that index for fiscal year 2000.

5 SEC. 102. PAYMENTS TO STATES FROM NATIONAL FOREST

6 SYSTEM LANDS FOR USE BY COUNTIES TO

7 BENEFIT PUBLIC EDUCATION AND TRANS8 PORTATION.

9 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE

10 STATES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make to each

11 eligible State a payment in accordance with subsection (b)

12 for each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 2000. The pay13 ment for a fiscal year shall be made as soon as practicable

14 after the end of that fiscal year.

15 (b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in sub16 section (c), the payment to an eligible State for a fiscal year

17 shall consist of the 25-percent payment applicable to that

18 State for that fiscal year as described in section 3(6).

19 (c) ELECTION TO RECEIVE FULL PAYMENT

20 AMOUNT.—

21 (1) An eligible State may elect to receive the full

22 payment amount as described in sections 101(a)(1)

23 and 101(b), in lieu of the payment described in sub24 section (b). The election shall be made at the discre25 tion of each affected county and transmitted to the
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1 Secretary by the Governor of a State. Each such

2 county election shall be effective for two fiscal years.

3 (2) Except that, when a county elects to receive

4 the full payment amount, such election shall be effec5 tive for all the subsequent fiscal years.

6 (3) The payment to an eligible State under this

7 subsection for a fiscal year shall be derived first from

8 any revenues, fees, penalties, or miscellaneous re9 ceipts, exclusive of deposits to any relevant trust fund,

10 or special accounts, received by the Federal Govern11 ment from activities by the Forest Service on the Fed12 eral lands described in subsection 3(1)(A) and/or sec13 ondly, as determined by the Secretary of the Treas14 ury, from any funds in the Treasury not otherwise

15 appropriated.

16 (d) DISTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE OF PAY17 MENTS.—

18 (1) DISTRIBUTION METHOD.—An eligible State

19 that elects to receive a payment under subsection (c)

20 shall distribute the payment among all eligible coun21 ties in the State, with each eligible county receiving

22 the amount calculated for that county in Section

23 101(a).

24 (2) EXPENDITURE PURPOSES.—Subject to sub25 section (e), payments received by eligible States under
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1 subsection (a) and distributed to eligible counties

2 shall be expended in the same manner in which 25-

3 percent payments are required to be expended.

4 (e) EXPENDITURE RULES FOR ELIGIBLE COUNTIES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds to be distributed

6 to an eligible county pursuant to subsection (d)—

7 (A) not less than 80 percent but not more

8 than 85 percent of the funds shall be expended in

9 the same manner in which the 25-percent pay10 ments are required to be expended; and

11 (B) at the election of an eligible county, the

12 balance of the funds not expended pursuant to

13 subparagraph (A) shall either be reserved for

14 projects in accordance with title II, or remitted

15 to the fund created by section 302(b).

16 (2) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS IN SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

17 Funds reserved by an eligible county under para18 graph (1) shall be deposited in a special account in

19 the Treasury of the United States and shall be avail20 able for expenditure by the Secretary of Agriculture,

21 without further appropriation, and shall remain

22 available until expended in accordance with title II.

23 (3) ELECTION.—

24 (A) GENERAL.—An eligible county shall no25 tify the Secretary of Agriculture of its election
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1 under this subsection not later than September

2 30 of each fiscal year. If the eligible county fails

3 to make an election by that date, the county is

4 deemed to have elected to expend 85 percent of

5 the funds to be received under subsection (c) in

6 the same manner in which the 25-percent pay7 ments are required to be expended, and remitted

8 the balance to the fund created by Section

9 302(b).

10 (B) COUNTIES WITH MINOR DISTRIBU11 TIONS.—Notwithstanding the expenditure rules

12 in this subsection, in the case of each eligible

13 county to which less than $100,000 is distributed

14 for any fiscal year pursuant to subsection (c),

15 the eligible county may elect to expend all such

16 funds in accordance with subsection (d).

17 SEC. 103. PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES FROM BUREAU OF LAND

18 MANAGEMENT LANDS FOR USE TO BENEFIT

19 PUBLIC SAFETY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, EDU20 CATION, AND OTHER PUBLIC PURPOSES.

21 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE

22 COUNTIES.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall make to

23 each eligible county that received a 50-percent payment

24 during the eligibility period a payment in accordance with

25 subsection (b) for each of fiscal year in fiscal year 2000.
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1 The payment for a fiscal year shall be made as soon as

2 practicable after the end of that fiscal year.

3 (b) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in sub4 section (c), the payments to an eligible county for a fiscal

5 year shall consist of the 50-percent payment applicable to

6 that county for that fiscal year as described in section 3(7).

7 (c) ELECTION TO RECEIVE FULL PAYMENT

8 AMOUNT.—

9 (1) An eligible county may elect to receive the

10 full payment amount, as described in sections

11 101(a)(2) and 101(b) in lieu of the payment described

12 in subsection (b). The election shall be made at the

13 discretion of the county. Once the election is made, it

14 shall be effective for the fiscal year in which the elec15 tion is made and all subsequent fiscal years.

16 (2) The payment to an eligible county under this

17 subsection for a fiscal year shall be derived first from

18 any revenues, fees, penalties, or miscellaneous re19 ceipts, exclusive of deposits to any relevant trust fund,

20 or special accounts, received by the Federal Govern21 ment from activities by the Bureau of Land Manage22 ment on the Federal Lands described in subsection

23 3(1)(B) and/or secondly, as determined by the Sec24 retary of the Treasury, from any funds in the Treas25 ury not otherwise appropriated.
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1 (d) EXPENDITURE RULES FOR ELIGIBLE COUNTIES.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds to be distributed

3 to an eligible county pursuant to subsection (d)—

4 (A) Not less than 80 percent but not more

5 than 85 percent of the funds distributed to the el6 igible county shall be expended in the same man7 ner in which the 50-percent payments are re8 quired to be expended; and

9 (B) At the election of an eligible county, the

10 balance of the funds not expended pursuant to

11 subparagraph (A) shall either be reserved for

12 projects in accordance with title II, or remitted

13 to the fund created by section 302(b).

14 (2) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS IN SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

15 Funds reserved by an eligible county under para16 graph (1) shall be deposited in a special account in

17 the Treasury of the United States and shall be avail18 able for expenditure by the Secretary of the Interior,

19 without further appropriation, and shall remain

20 available until expended in accordance with title II.

21 (3) ELECTION.—An eligible county shall notify

22 the Secretary of the Interior of its election under this

23 subsection not later than September 30 of each fiscal

24 year under subsection (d). If the eligible county fails

25 to make an election by that date, the county is deemed
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1 to have elected to expend 85 percent on the funds re2 ceived under subsection (c) in the same manner in

3 which the 50-percent payments are required to be ex4 pended and remitted the balance to the fund created

5 by section 302(b).

6 TITLE II—SPECIAL PROJECTS ON

7 FEDERAL LANDS

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this title:

10 (1) PARTICIPATING COUNTY.—The term ‘‘partici11 pating county’’ means an eligible county that—

12 (A) receives Federal funds pursuant to sec13 tion 102 or 103; and

14 (B) elects under sections 102(e)(3) or

15 103(d)(3) to expend a portion of those funds in

16 accordance with sections 102(e)(1)(B) or

17 103(d)(3).

18 (2) PROJECT FUNDS.—The term ‘‘project funds’’

19 means all funds an eligible county elects under sec20 tions 102(e)(3) and 103(d)(3) to reserve for expendi21 ture under sections 102(e)(1)(B) or 103(d)(2) for ex22 penditure in accordance with this title.

23 (3) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The

24 term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ means an advi25 sory committee established by the Secretary concerned
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1 under section 205, or determined by the Secretary

2 concerned to meet the requirements of section 205.

3 (4) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term

4 ‘‘resource management plan’’ means a land use plan

5 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for

6 units of the Federal lands described in section 3(1)(B)

7 pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy

8 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) and

9 a land and resource management plan prepared by

10 the Forest Service for units of the National Forest

11 System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and

12 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

13 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

14 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec15 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Interior

16 or his designee with respect to the Federal lands de17 scribed in section 3(1)(B) and the Secretary of Agri18 culture or his designee with respect to the Federal

19 lands described in section 3(1)(A).

20 SEC. 202. GENERAL LIMITATION ON USE OF PROJECT

21 FUNDS.

22 Project funds shall be expended solely on projects that

23 meet the requirements of this title. Project funds may be

24 used by the Secretary concerned for the purpose of entering

25 into and implementing cooperative agreements with willing
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1 Federal agencies, State and local governments, private and

2 nonprofit entities, and landowners for protection, restora3 tion and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and

4 other resource objectives consistent with the purposes of this

5 title on public or private land or both that benefit these

6 resources within the watershed.

7 SEC. 203. SUBMISSION OF PROJECT PROPOSALS.

8 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROJECT PROPOSALS TO SEC9 RETARY CONCERNED.—

10 (1) PROJECTS FUNDED USING PROJECT

11 FUNDS.—Not later than September 30 for fiscal year

12 2001, and each September 30 thereafter for each suc13 ceeding fiscal year, each resource advisory committee

14 established under section 205 shall submit to the Sec15 retary concerned a description of any projects that the

16 resource advisory committee proposes the Secretary

17 undertake using any project funds reserved.

18 (2) PROJECTS FUNDED USING OTHER FUNDS.—

19 A resource advisory committee may submit to the Sec20 retary concerned a description of any projects that the

21 committee proposes the Secretary undertake using

22 funds from State or local governments, from the pri23 vate sector, or funds held by the Secretary concerned

24 pursuant to section 302(b), other than project funds
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1 and funds appropriated and otherwise available to do

2 similar work.

3 (3) JOINT PROJECTS.—Participating counties or

4 other persons may propose to pool project funds or

5 other funds, described in paragraph (2), and jointly

6 propose a project or group of projects to a resource

7 advisory committee established under section 205.

8 (b) REQUIRED DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS.—In sub9 mitting proposed projects to the Secretary concerned under

10 subsection (a), a resource advisory committee shall include

11 in the description of each proposed project the following in12 formation:

13 (1) The purpose of the project and a description

14 of how the project will meet the purposes of this Act.

15 (2) The anticipated duration of the project.

16 (3) The anticipated cost of the project.

17 (4) The proposed source of funding for the

18 project, whether project funds or other funds.

19 (5) Expected outcomes, including how the project

20 will meet or exceed desired ecological conditions,

21 maintenance objectives, or stewardship objectives, as

22 well as an estimation of the amount of any timber,

23 forage, and other commodities and other economic ac24 tivity, including jobs generated, if any, anticipated as

25 part of the project.
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1 (6) A detailed monitoring plan, including fund2 ing needs and sources, that tracks project effectiveness,

3 implementation, and provides for validation moni4 toring. The monitoring plan shall include an assess5 ment of the following: whether or not the project cre6 ated local employment or training opportunities, in7 cluding summer youth jobs programs such as the

8 Youth Conservation Corps where appropriate; and

9 whether the project improved the use of, or added

10 value to, any products removed from lands consistent

11 with the purposes of this Act.

12 (7) An assessment that the project is to be in the

13 public interest.

14 (c) AUTHORIZED PROJECTS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Projects proposed under sub16 section (a) shall be consistent with section 2(b).

17 (2) SEARCH, RESCUE, AND EMERGENCY SERV18 ICES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a resource

19 advisory committee may submit as a proposed project

20 under subsection (a) a proposal that the participating

21 county or sheriff’s department receive reimbursement

22 for search and rescue and other emergency services

23 performed on Federal lands and paid for by the coun24 ty. The source of funding for an approved project of

25 this type must be the fund created by section 302(b).
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1 (3) COMMUNITY SERVICE WORK CAMPS.—Not2 withstanding paragraph (1), a resource advisory com3 mittee may submit as a proposed project under sub4 section (a) a proposal that the participating county

5 receive reimbursement for all or part of the costs in6 curred by the county to pay the salaries and benefits

7 of county employees who supervise adults or juveniles

8 performing mandatory community service on Federal

9 lands.

10 SEC. 204. EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF PROJECTS BY

11 SECRETARY CONCERNED.

12 (a) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL OF PROPOSED

13 PROJECT.—The Secretary concerned may make a decision

14 to approve a project submitted by a resource advisory com15 mittee under section 203 only if the proposed project satis16 fies each of the following conditions:

17 (1) The project complies with all applicable Fed18 eral laws and regulations.

19 (2) The project is consistent with the applicable

20 resource management plan and with any watershed

21 or subsequent plan developed pursuant to the resource

22 management plan and approved by the Secretary

23 concerned.

24 (3) The project has been approved by the resource

25 advisory committee in accordance with section 205,
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1 including the procedures issued under subsection (e)

2 of such section.

3 (4) A project description has been submitted by

4 the resource advisory committee to the Secretary con5 cerned in accordance with section 203.

6 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.—

7 (1) PAYMENT OF REVIEW COSTS.—

8 (A) REQUEST FOR PAYMENT BY COUNTY.—

9 The Secretary concerned may request the re10 source advisory committee submitting a proposed

11 project to agree to the use of project funds to pay

12 for any environmental review, consultation, or

13 compliance with applicable environmental laws

14 required in connection with the project. When

15 such a payment is requested and the resource ad16 visory committee agrees to the expenditure of

17 funds for this purpose, the Secretary concerned

18 shall conduct environmental review, consultation,

19 or other compliance responsibilities in accord20 ance with Federal law and regulations.

21 (B) EFFECT OF REFUSAL TO PAY.—If a re22 source advisory committee does not agree to the

23 expenditure of funds under subparagraph (A),

24 the project shall be deemed withdrawn from fur25 ther consideration by the Secretary concerned
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1 pursuant to this title. Such a withdrawal shall

2 be deemed to be a rejection of the project for pur3 poses of section 207(c).

4 (c) DECISIONS OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.—

5 (1) REJECTION OF PROJECTS.—A decision by the

6 Secretary concerned to reject a proposed project shall

7 be at the Secretary’s sole discretion. Notwithstanding

8 any other provision of law, a decision by the Sec9 retary concerned to reject a proposed project shall not

10 be subject to administrative appeal or judicial review.

11 Within 30 days after making the rejection decision,

12 the Secretary concerned shall notify in writing the re13 source advisory committee that submitted the pro14 posed project of the rejection and the reasons for rejec15 tion.

16 (2) NOTICE OF PROJECT APPROVAL.—The Sec17 retary concerned shall publish in the Federal Register

18 notice of each project approved under subsection (a)

19 if such notice would be required had the project origi20 nated with the Secretary.

21 (d) SOURCE AND CONDUCT OF PROJECT.—Once the

22 Secretary concerned accepts a project for review under sec23 tion 204, it shall be deemed a Federal action for all pur24 poses.

25 (e) IMPLEMENTATION OF APPROVED PROJECTS.—
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1 (1) COOPERATION.—Notwithstanding chapter 63

2 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary con3 cerned may enter into contracts, grants, and coopera4 tive agreements with States and local governments,

5 private and nonprofit entities, and landowners and

6 other persons to assist the Secretary in carrying out

7 an approved project.

8 (2) BEST VALUE CONTRACTING.—For any project

9 involving a contract authorized by paragraph (1) the

10 Secretary concerned may elect a source for perform11 ance of the contract on a best value basis. The Sec12 retary concerned shall determine best value based on

13 such factors as:

14 (A) The technical demands and complexity

15 of the work to be done.

16 (B) The ecological objectives of the project

17 and the sensitivity of the resources being treated.

18 (C) The past experience by the contractor

19 with the type of work being done, using the type

20 of equipment proposed for the project, and meet21 ing or exceeding desired ecological conditions.

22 (D) The commitment of the contractor to

23 hiring highly qualified workers and local resi24 dents.
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1 (3) MERCHANTABLE MATERIALS SALES CON2 TRACTING PILOT PROJECTS.—Until September 30,

3 2004, for a portion of the contracts issued under this

4 paragraph, the Secretary concerned shall provide for

5 the disposal of the forest products under a separate

6 contract. Within one year of the completion of the

7 contracts authorized under this paragraph, the Sec8 retary shall report to the Committee on Energy and

9 Natural Resources of the United States Senate and

10 the Committee of Resources of the United States

11 House of Representatives on the environmental and

12 fiscal results of these projects.

13 SEC. 205. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF RESOURCE AD15 VISORY COMMITTEES.—

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary concerned

17 shall establish and maintain a resource advisory com18 mittee to perform the duties in subsection (b), except

19 as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4).

20 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a resource advi21 sory committee shall be to improve collaborative rela22 tionships and to provide advice and recommendations

23 to the land management agencies consistent with the

24 purposes of this Act.
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1 (3) ACCESS TO RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMIT2 TEES.—To ensure that each unit of Federal land has

3 access to a resource advisory committee, and that

4 there is sufficient interest in participation on a com5 mittee to ensure that membership can be balanced in

6 terms of the points of view represented and the func7 tions to be performed, the Secretary concerned may,

8 establish resource advisory committees for part of, or

9 one or more, units of Federal lands.

10 (4) EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—Existing

11 advisory committees meeting the requirements of this

12 section may be deemed by the Secretary concerned, as

13 a resource advisory committee for the purposes of the

14 title. The Secretary of the Interior may deem a re15 source advisory committee meeting the requirements

16 of part 1780, subpart 1784 of title 43, Code of Federal

17 Regulations, as a resource advisory committee for the

18 purposes of this title.

19 (b) DUTIES.—A resource advisory committee shall—

20 (1) review projects proposed by participating

21 counties and other persons;

22 (2) propose projects and funding to the Secretary

23 concerned under section 203;

24 (3) provide early and continuous coordination

25 with appropriate land management agency officials
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1 in recommending projects consistent with purposes of

2 this Act; and

3 (4) provide frequent opportunities for citizens,

4 organizations, Tribes, land management agencies, and

5 other interested parties to participate openly and

6 meaningfully, beginning at the early stages of the

7 project development processs.

8 (c) APPOINTMENT BY THE SECRETARY.—

9 (1) APPOINTMENT AND TERM.—The Secretary

10 concerned, shall appoint the members of resource ad11 visory committees for a term of 3 years beginning on

12 the date of appointment. The Secretary concerned

13 may reappoint members to subsequent 3-year terms.

14 (2) BASIC REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary con15 cerned shall ensure that each resource advisory com16 mittee established meets the requirements of subsection

17 (d).

18 (3) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary con19 cerned shall make initial appointments to the re20 source advisory committees not later than 180 days

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

22 (4) VACANCIES.—The Secretary concerned shall

23 make appointments to fill vacancies on any resource

24 advisory committee as soon as practicable after the

25 vacancy has occurred.
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1 (5) COMPENSATION.—Members of the resource

2 advisory committees shall not receive any compensa3 tion.

4 (d) COMPOSITION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

5 (1) NUMBER.—Each resource advisory committee

6 shall be comprised of 15 members.

7 (2) COMMUNITY INTERESTS REPRESENTED.—

8 Committee members shall be representative of the in9 terests of the following categories:

10 (A) 5 persons who—

11 (i) represent organized labor;

12 (ii) represent developed outdoor recre13 ation, off highway vehicle users, or commer14 cial recreation activities;

15 (iii) represent energy and mineral de16 velopment interests;

17 (iv) represent the commercial timber

18 industry; or

19 (v) hold Federal grazing permits, or

20 other land use permits within the area for

21 which the committee is organized.

22 (B) 5 persons representing—

23 (i) nationally recognized environ24 mental organizations;
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1 (ii) regionally or locally recognized en2 vironmental organizations;

3 (iii) dispersed recreational activities;

4 (iv) archeological and historical inter5 ests; or

6 (v) nationally or regionally recognized

7 wild horse and burro interest groups.

8 (C) 5 persons who—

9 (i) hold state elected office or their des10 ignee;

11 (ii) hold county or local elected office;

12 (iii) represent American Indian tribes

13 within or adjacent to the area for which the

14 committee is organized;

15 (iv) are school officials or teachers; or

16 (v) represent the affected public at

17 large.

18 (3) BALANCED REPRESENTATION.—In appoint19 ing committee members from the three categories in

20 paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned shall provide

21 for balanced and broad representation from within

22 each category.

23 (4) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The members

24 of a resource advisory committee shall reside within
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1 the State in which the committee has geographic ju2 risdiction.

3 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—A majority on each resource

4 advisory committee shall select the chairperson of the

5 committee.

6 (e) APPROVAL PROCEDURES.—

7 (1) Subject to paragraph (2), each resource advi8 sory committee shall establish procedures for defining

9 a quorum and proposing projects to the Secretary

10 concerned. A quorum must be present to constitute an

11 official meeting of the committee.

12 (2) A project may be proposed by a resource ad13 visory committee to the Secretary concerned under

14 section 203(a) if it has been approved by a majority

15 of members of the committee from each of the three

16 categories in subsection (c)(2).

17 (f) OTHER COMMITTEE AUTHORITIES AND REQUIRE18 MENTS.—

19 (1) STAFF ASSISTANCE.—A resource advisory

20 committee may submit to the Secretary concerned a

21 request for periodic staff assistance from Federal em22 ployees under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.

23 (2) MEETINGS.—All meetings of a resource advi24 sory committee shall be announced at least one week
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1 in advance in a local newspaper of record and shall

2 be open to the public.

3 (3) RECORDS.—A resource advisory committee

4 shall maintain records of the meetings of the com5 mittee and make the records available for public in6 spection.

7 SEC. 206. USE OF PROJECT FUNDS.

8 (a) AGREEMENT REGARDING SCHEDULE AND COST OF

9 PROJECT.—

10 (1) AGREEMENT BETWEEN PARTIES.—The Sec11 retary concerned may carry out a project submitted

12 by a resource advisory committee under section

13 203(a) using project funds or other funds described in

14 section 203(a)(2), if, as soon as practicable after the

15 issuance of a decision document for the project and

16 the exhaustion of all administrative appeals and judi17 cial review of the project decision, the Secretary con18 cerned and the resource advisory committee enter into

19 an agreement addressing, at a minimum, the fol20 lowing:

21 (A) The schedule for completing the project.

22 (B) The total cost of the project, including

23 the level of agency overhead to be assessed

24 against the project.
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1 (C) For a multi-year project, the estimated

2 cost of the project for each of the fiscal years in

3 which it will be carried out.

4 (D) The remedies for failure of the Sec5 retary concerned to comply with the terms of the

6 agreement consistent with current Federal law.

7 (2) LIMITED USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—The Sec8 retary concerned may decide, at the Secretary’s sole

9 discretion, to cover the costs of a portion of an ap10 proved project using Federal funds appropriated or

11 otherwise available to the Secretary for the same pur12 poses as the project.

13 (b) TRANSFER OF PROJECT FUNDS.—

14 (1) INITIAL TRANSFER REQUIRED.—As soon as

15 practicable after the agreement is reached under sub16 section (a) with regard to a project to be funded in

17 whole or in part using projects funds, or other funds

18 described in section 203(a)(2), the Secretary con19 cerned shall transfer to the applicable unit of Na20 tional Forest Systems lands or BLM District an

21 amount of project funds equal to—

22 (A) in the case of a project to be completed

23 in a single fiscal year, the total amount specified

24 in the agreement to be paid using project funds,

25 or other funds described in section 203(a)(2); or
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1 (B) in the case of a multi-year project, the

2 amount specified in the agreement to be paid

3 using project funds, or other funds described in

4 section 203(a)(2) for the first fiscal year.

5 (2) CONDITION ON PROJECT COMMENCEMENT.—

6 The unit of National Forest System lands or BLM

7 District concerned, shall not commence a project until

8 the project funds, or other funds described in section

9 203(a)(2) required to be transferred under paragraph

10 (1) for the project, have been made available by the

11 Secretary concerned.

12 (3) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS FOR MULTI-YEAR

13 PROJECTS.—For the second and subsequent fiscal

14 years of a multi-year project to be funded in whole

15 or in part using project funds, the unit of National

16 Forest System lands or BLM District concerned shall

17 use the amount of project funds required to continue

18 the project in that fiscal year according to the agree19 ment entered into under subsection (a). The Secretary

20 concerned shall suspend work on the project if the

21 project funds required by the agreement in the second

22 and subsequent years fiscal years are not available.

23 SEC. 207. AVAILABILITY OF PROJECT FUNDS.

24 (a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS TO OBLI25 GATE FUNDS.—By the end of each fiscal year, a resource
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1 advisory committee shall submit to the Secretary concerned

2 pursuant to section 203(a)(1) a sufficient number of project

3 proposals that, if approved, would result in the obligation

4 of at least the full amount of the project funds reserved by

5 the participating county in the preceding fiscal year.

6 (b) USE OR TRANSFER OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—

7 (1) If a resource advisory committee fails to com8 ply with subsection (a) for a fiscal year, any project

9 funds reserved by the participating county in the pre10 ceding fiscal year and remaining unobligated shall be

11 available for use as part of the project submissions in

12 the next fiscal year.

13 (2) Any funds not used because a county fails to

14 elect under section 102(e)(3) or section 103(d)(3) to

15 expend monies for local projects shall be remitted to

16 the fund created by section 302(b).

17 (c) EFFECT OF REJECTION OF PROJECTS.—Any

18 project funds reserved by a participating county in the pre19 ceding fiscal year that are unobligated at the end of a fiscal

20 year because the Secretary concerned has rejected one or

21 more proposed projects shall be available for use as part

22 of the project submissions in the next fiscal year.

23 (d) EFFECT OF COURT ORDERS.—If an approved

24 project is enjoined or prohibited by a Federal court under

25 this Act, the Secretary concerned shall use unobligated
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1 project funds related to that project in the participating

2 county or counties that reserved the funds. The returned

3 funds shall be available for the county to expend in the same

4 manner as the funds reserved by the county under section

5 102(e)(1)(B) or 103(d)(1)(B), whichever applies to the

6 funds involved.

7 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

8 PROVISIONS

9 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

11 sums as are necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal years

12 2001 through 2007.

13 SEC. 302. TREATMENT OF FUNDS AND REVENUES.

14 (a) Funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization

15 of appropriations in section 301 and funds made available

16 to a Secretary concerned under section 206 shall be in addi17 tion to any other annual appropriations for the Forest

18 Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

19 (b) Any and all revenues generated from projects pur20 suant to title II, any funds remitted by counties pursuant

21 to section 102(e)(1)(B) or section 103(d)(1)(B), and any in22 terest accrued from any such funds shall be deposited and

23 retained without further appropriation in a national fund

24 and available to the Secretary concerned to fund projects

25 authorized pursuant to section 203. The Secretary con-
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1 cerned shall prioritize expenditures from this fund and shall

2 identify, in an annual report to the Committee on Energy

3 and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the

4 Committee on Resources of the United States House of Rep5 resentatives, all projects receiving funds pursuant to this

6 subsection.

7 SEC. 303. REGULATIONS.

8 The Secretaries concerned may jointly issue regula9 tions to carry out the purposes of this Act.

10 SEC. 304. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

11 Section 13982 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

12 Act of 1993 (116 U.S.C. 500 note) is repealed. Sections

13 13982 and 13983 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

14 of 1993 (Public Law 103–66; 16 U.S.C. 500 note; 43 U.S.C.

15 1181f note) is repealed.
Calendar No. 520

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1608

[Report No. 106–275]

A BILL

To provide annual payments to the States and

counties from National Forest System landsmanaged by the Forest Service, and the revestedOregon and California Railroad and reconveyedCoos Bay Wagon Road grant lands managed predominantly by the Bureau of Land Management,for use by the counties in which the lands are situated for the benefit of public schools, roads,emergency, and other public purposes; to encourage and provide new mechanisms for cooperationbetween counties and the Forest Service and theBureau of Land Management to make necessaryinvestments in Federal lands, and reaffirm thepositive connection between Federal Lands counties and Federal Lands; and for other purposes.

APRIL 25, 2000

Reported with an amendment