IB 

Union Calendar No. 538 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5476 

[Report No. 113–707] 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program as the program 

applies to units of the National Forest System derived from the public 

domain by implementing a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure 

for determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 22, 2014 

Additional sponsor: Mr. COOK

DECEMBER 22, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 16, 2014] 


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A BILL 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence Program 

as the program applies to units of the National Forest 

System derived from the public domain by implementing 

a simple, equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user fees, and for other purposes. 


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•HR 5476 RH

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 ‘‘Cabin Fee Act of 2014’’. 

5 SEC. 2. CABIN USER FEES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re7 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a 

8 fee in accordance with this section for the issuance of a spe9 cial use permit for the use and occupancy of National For10 est System land for recreational residence purposes. 

11 (b) INTERIM FEE.—During the period beginning on 

12 January 1, 2014, and ending on the last day of the calendar 

13 year during which the current appraisal cycle is completed 

14 under subsection (c), the Secretary shall assess an interim 

15 annual fee for recreational residences on National Forest 

16 System land that is an amount equal to the lesser of— 

17 (1) the fee determined under the Cabin User Fee 

18 Fairness Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), subject 

19 to the requirement that any increase over the fee as20 sessed during the previous year shall be limited to not 

21 more than 25 percent; or 

22 (2) $5,600. 

23 (c) COMPLETION OF CURRENT APPRAISAL CYCLE.— 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

25 this Act, the Secretary shall complete the current appraisal 


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1 cycle, including receipt of timely second appraisals, for rec2 reational residences on National Forest System land in ac3 cordance with the Cabin User Fee Fairness Act of 2000 (16 

4 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘current 

5 appraisal cycle’’). 

6 (d) LOT VALUE.—Only appraisals conducted and ap7 proved by the Secretary in accordance with the Cabin User 

8 Fee Fairness Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) during 

9 the current appraisal cycle shall be used to establish the 

10 base value assigned to the lot, subject to the adjustment in 

11 subsection (e). If a second appraisal— 

12 (1) was approved by the Secretary, the value es13 tablished by the second appraisal shall be the base 

14 value assigned to the lot; or 

15 (2) was not approved by the Secretary, the value 

16 established by the initial appraisal shall be the base 

17 value assigned to the lot. 

18 (e) ADJUSTMENT.—On the date of completion of the 

19 current appraisal cycle, and before assessing a fee under 

20 subsection (f), the Secretary shall make a 1-time adjustment 

21 to the value of each appraised lot on which a recreational 

22 residence is located to reflect any change in value occurring 

23 after the date of the most recent appraisal for the lot, in 

24 accordance with the 4th quarter of 2012 National AssociaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Dec 24, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5476.RH H5476

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1 tion of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity 

2 Index. 

3 (f) ANNUAL FEE.— 

4 (1) BASE.—After the date on which appraised 

5 lot values have been adjusted in accordance with sub6 section (e), the annual fee assessed prospectively by 

7 the Secretary for recreational residences on National 

8 Forest System land shall be in accordance with the 

9 following tiered fee structure: 

Fee Tier 

Approximate 

Percent of Permits 

Nationally 

Fee 

Amount 

Tier 1 ....................................... 6 percent ............................................... $650

Tier 2 ....................................... 16 percent ............................................. $1,150

Tier 3 ....................................... 26 percent ............................................. $1,650

Tier 4 ....................................... 22 percent ............................................. $2,150

Tier 5 ....................................... 10 percent ............................................. $2,650

Tier 6 ....................................... 5 percent ............................................... $3,150

Tier 7 ....................................... 5 percent ............................................... $3,650

Tier 8 ....................................... 3 percent ............................................... $4,150

Tier 9 ....................................... 3 percent ............................................... $4,650

Tier 10 ..................................... 3 percent ............................................... $5,150

Tier 11 ..................................... 1 percent ............................................... $5,650. 

10 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary 

11 shall increase or decrease the annual fees set forth in 

12 the table under paragraph (1) to reflect changes in the 

13 Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Prod14 uct published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of 

15 the Department of Commerce, applied on a 5-year 

16 rolling average. 

17 (3) ACCESS AND OCCUPANCY ADJUSTMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by 

2 regulation establish criteria pursuant to which 

3 the annual fee determined in accordance with 

4 this section may be suspended or reduced tempo5 rarily if access to, or the occupancy of, the rec6 reational residence is significantly restricted. 

7 (B) APPEAL.—The Secretary shall by regu8 lation grant the cabin owner the right of an ad9 ministrative appeal of the determination made 

10 in accordance with subparagraph (A) whether to 

11 suspend or reduce temporarily the annual fee. 

12 (g) PERIODIC REVIEW.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 

14 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En16 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives a report that— 

19 (A) analyzes the annual fees set forth in the 

20 table under subsection (f) to ensure that the fees 

21 reflect fair value for the use of the land for rec22 reational residence purposes, taking into account 

23 all use limitations and restrictions (including 

24 any limitations and restrictions imposed by the 

25 Secretary); and 


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1 (B) includes any recommendations of the 

2 Secretary with respect to modifying the fee sys3 tem. 

4 (2) LIMITATION.—The use of appraisals shall not 

5 be required for any modifications to the fee system 

6 based on the recommendations under paragraph 

7 (1)(B). 

8 SEC. 3. CABIN TRANSFER FEES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a fee 

10 in the amount of $1,200 for the issuance of a new rec11 reational residence permit due to a change of ownership of 

12 the recreational residence. 

13 (b) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall annually in14 crease or decrease the transfer fee established under sub15 section (a) to reflect changes in the Implicit Price Deflator 

16 for the Gross Domestic Product published by the Bureau 

17 of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, ap18 plied on a 5-year rolling average. 

19 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act limits or re21 stricts any right, title, or interest of the United States in 

22 or to any land or resource in the National Forest System. 

23 (b) ALASKA.—The Secretary shall not establish or im24 pose a fee or condition under this Act for permits in the 

25 State of Alaska that is inconsistent with section 1303(d) 


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1 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 3193(d)). 

3 SEC. 5. RETENTION OF FEES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 10 years after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary may retain, and 

6 expend, for the purposes described in subsection (b), any 

7 fees collected under this Act without further appropriation. 

8 (b) USE.—Amounts made available under subsection 

9 (a) shall be used to administer the recreational residence 

10 program and other recreation programs carried out on Na11 tional Forest System land. 

12 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF CABIN USER FEE FAIRNESS ACT OF 2000. 

13 Effective on the date of the assessment of annual per14 mit fees in accordance with section 2(f) (as certified to Con15 gress by the Secretary), the Cabin User Fee Fairness Act 

16 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is repealed. 


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Union Calendar No. 538 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5476 

[Report No. 113–707] 

A BILL 

To modify the Forest Service Recreation Residence 

fees, and for other purposes. predictable procedure for determining cabin user domain by implementing a simple, equitable, and National Forest System derived from the public Program as the program applies to units of the 

DECEMBER 22, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS