II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 992 

To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to facilitate the 

establishment of additional or expanded public target ranges in certain States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mrs. CAPITO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act 

to facilitate the establishment of additional or expanded 

public target ranges in certain States. 

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 ‘‘Target Practice and 

5 Marksmanship Training Support Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the use of firearms and archery equipment 

9 for target practice and marksmanship training ac10 tivities on Federal land is allowed, except to the exVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:09 Apr 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S992.IS S992

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1 tent specific portions of that land have been closed 

2 to those activities; 

3 (2) in recent years preceding the date of enact4 ment of this Act, portions of Federal land have been 

5 closed to target practice and marksmanship training 

6 for many reasons; 

7 (3) the availability of public target ranges on 

8 non-Federal land has been declining for a variety of 

9 reasons, including continued population growth and 

10 development near former ranges; 

11 (4) providing opportunities for target practice 

12 and marksmanship training at public target ranges 

13 on Federal and non-Federal land can help— 

14 (A) to promote enjoyment of shooting, rec15 reational, and hunting activities; and 

16 (B) to ensure safe and convenient locations 

17 for those activities; 

18 (5) Federal law in effect on the date of enact19 ment of this Act, including the Pittman-Robertson 

20 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.), 

21 provides Federal support for construction and ex22 pansion of public target ranges by making available 

23 to States amounts that may be used for construc24 tion, operation, and maintenance of public target 

25 ranges; and 


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1 (6) it is in the public interest to provide in2 creased Federal support to facilitate the construction 

3 or expansion of public target ranges. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to facili5 tate the construction and expansion of public target 

6 ranges, including ranges on Federal land managed by the 

7 Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC TARGET RANGE. 

9 In this Act, the term ‘‘public target range’’ means 

10 a specific location that— 

11 (1) is identified by a governmental agency for 

12 recreational shooting; 

13 (2) is open to the public; 

14 (3) may be supervised; and 

15 (4) may accommodate archery or rifle, pistol, or 

16 shotgun shooting. 

17 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO PITTMAN-ROBERTSON WILDLIFE 

18 RESTORATION ACT. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Pittman-Robert20 son Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669a) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

23 (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘public target range’ means a 

2 specific location that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is identified by a governmental agen4 cy for recreational shooting; 

5 ‘‘(B) is open to the public; 

6 ‘‘(C) may be supervised; and 

7 ‘‘(D) may accommodate archery or rifle, 

8 pistol, or shotgun shooting;’’. 

9 (b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD10 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.—Section 8(b) of the Pitt11 man-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 669g(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) Each State’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) EXPENDITURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF WILD16 LIFE AREAS AND RESOURCES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), each State’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 

20 striking ‘‘construction, operation,’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘operation’’; 

22 (3) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

23 non-Federal share’’ and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

25 share’’; 


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1 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec2 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary’’; and 

4 (5) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as des5 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the limita8 tion described in paragraph (1), a State may pay up 

9 to 90 percent of the cost of acquiring land for, ex10 panding, or constructing a public target range.’’. 

11 (c) FIREARM AND BOW HUNTER EDUCATION AND

12 SAFETY PROGRAM GRANTS.—Section 10 of the Pittman13 Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669h–1) 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

18 Of the amount apportioned to a State for any fiscal 

19 year under section 4(b), the State may elect to allo20 cate not more than 10 percent, to be combined with 

21 the amount apportioned to the State under para22 graph (1) for that fiscal year, for acquiring land for, 

23 expanding, or constructing a public target range.’’; 

24 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of any activ4 ity carried out using a grant under this section shall 

5 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activ6 ity. 

7 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC TARGET RANGE CONSTRUCTION OR

8 EXPANSION.—The Federal share of the cost of ac9 quiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public 

10 target range in a State on Federal or non-Federal 

11 land pursuant to this section or section 8(b) shall 

12 not exceed 90 percent of the cost of the activity.’’; 

13 and 

14 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Amounts made’’ and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), amounts made’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Amounts provided for 

21 acquiring land for, constructing, or expanding a 

22 public target range shall remain available for 

23 expenditure and obligation during the 5-fiscal24 year period beginning on October 1 of the first 


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1 fiscal year for which the amounts are made 

2 available.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. LIMITS ON LIABILITY. 

4 (a) DISCRETIONARY FUNCTION.—For purposes of 

5 chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly 

6 referred to as the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims Act’’), any action 

7 by an agent or employee of the United States to manage 

8 or allow the use of Federal land for purposes of target 

9 practice or marksmanship training by a member of the 

10 public shall be considered to be the exercise or perform11 ance of a discretionary function. 

12 (b) CIVIL ACTION OR CLAIMS.—Except to the extent 

13 provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, 

14 the United States shall not be subject to any civil action 

15 or claim for money damages for any injury to or loss of 

16 property, personal injury, or death caused by an activity 

17 occurring at a public target range that is— 

18 (1) funded in whole or in part by the Federal 

19 Government pursuant to the Pittman-Robertson 

20 Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.); or 

21 (2) located on Federal land. 

22 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COOPERATION. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that, consistent with appli24 cable laws and regulations, the Chief of the Forest Service 

25 and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management 


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1 should cooperate with State and local authorities and 

2 other entities to carry out waste removal and other activi3 ties on any Federal land used as a public target range 

4 to encourage continued use of that land for target practice 

5 or marksmanship training. 

Æ 


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