II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 937 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to authorize 

the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with 

States to provide for State management of grazing permits and leases. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2015 

Mr. HATCH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

of 1976 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

enter into cooperative agreements with States to provide 

for State management of grazing permits and leases. 

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 ‘‘State Grazing Manage5 ment Authority Act’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 937 IS

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 

2 BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 

3 AND THE STATES. 

4 Section 402 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage5 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH STATES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The 

10 term ‘cooperative agreement’ means a coopera11 tive agreement entered into under paragraph 

12 (2). 

13 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LAND.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

15 Federal land’ means public land that is 

16 subject to a grazing permit or lease issued 

17 by the Bureau. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘eligible 

19 Federal land’ does not include— 

20 ‘‘(I) a unit of the National Wil21 derness Preservation System; or 

22 ‘‘(II) an area of critical environ23 mental concern. 

24 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

25 means the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

26 through the Director of the Bureau. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 937 IS

1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—At the request of the 

2 Governor of a State, the Secretary shall enter into 

3 a cooperative agreement with the State to provide 

4 for State management of grazing allotments on eligi5 ble Federal land in the State, subject to this sub6 section. 

7 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRAZING ALLOT8 MENTS.— 

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

10 subparagraph (B), not more than 2 grazing al11 lotments may be managed by any one State at 

12 any one time under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

14 the limitation under subparagraph (A) with re15 spect to a State if the Secretary determines a 

16 waiver to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(4) NEPA AUTHORITY.—A cooperative agree18 ment shall include the assignment of the responsibil19 ities of the Secretary under the National Environ20 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

21 to the State with respect to the grazing allotments 

22 managed under that paragraph, including the re23 sponsibility for determining whether the following 

24 actions with respect to the grazing allotments qual25 ify for a categorical exclusion under that Act: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 937 IS

1 ‘‘(A) The conduct of vegetation projects. 

2 ‘‘(B) The conduct of pinyon or juniper 

3 treatments. 

4 ‘‘(C) Determinations with respect to the 

5 number of permitted animal unit months. 

6 ‘‘(5) TERM.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A cooperative agree8 ment shall be for a term of 20 years. 

9 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—If the Secretary and 

10 State agree to a renewal of a cooperative agree11 ment, the cooperative agreement may be re12 newed for an additional 20-year term. 

13 ‘‘(6) APPLICABLE LAW.—In managing grazing 

14 allotments under paragraph (2), a State shall be 

15 subject to— 

16 ‘‘(A) this Act; and 

17 ‘‘(B) any other applicable Federal law (in18 cluding regulations). 

19 ‘‘(7) RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY OF THE INTERIOR BOARD

21 OF LAND APPEALS.—Nothing in this subsection 

22 provides to the Interior Board of Land Appeals 

23 authority to hear a case with respect to a deci24 sion relating to a grazing allotment managed by 

25 the State under paragraph (2). 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 937 IS

1 ‘‘(B) STATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROC2 ESS.—A cooperative agreement shall provide for 

3 the development of a process by the State to re4 solve disputes relating to a decision by the 

5 State with respect to a grazing allotment man6 aged by the State under the cooperative agree7 ment.’’. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS