II 

Calendar No. 352 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2793 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2022 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to authorize 

States to use funds from that Act for administrative 

purposes, 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 ‘‘Highlands Conserva5 tion Reauthorization Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE HIGHLANDS CON7 SERVATION ACT. 

8 The Highlands Conservation Act (Public Law 108– 

9 421; 118 Stat. 2375) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 3— 


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1 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) HIGHLANDS REGION.—The term ‘High4 lands region’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) the area depicted on the map entitled 

6 ‘The Highlands Region’, dated June 2004, up7 dated after the date of enactment of the High8 lands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022 

9 to comprise each municipality included on the 

10 list of municipalities included in the Highlands 

11 region as of that date of enactment, and main12 tained in the headquarters of the Forest Service 

13 in Washington, District of Columbia; and 

14 ‘‘(B) a municipality approved by the Direc15 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv16 ice under section 4(e).’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by amending sub18 paragraph (B) to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(B) identified by a Highlands State as 

20 having high conservation value using the best 

21 available science and geographic information 

22 systems; and’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘, including a political subdivision 

25 thereof; or’’; and 


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1 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) through 

2 (7); 

3 (2) in section 4— 

4 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘in 

5 the Study’’ and all that follows through the end 

6 of the paragraph and inserting ‘‘using the best 

7 available science and geographic information 

8 systems; and’’; 

9 (B) in subsection (c), by amending para10 graph (5) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(5) provides that land conservation partner12 ship projects will be consistent with areas identified 

13 as having high conservation value in accordance with 

14 the purposes described in section 2 in the Highlands 

15 region.’’; 

16 (C) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘fiscal 

17 years 2005 through 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal 

18 years 2023 through 2029’’; 

19 (D) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub20 section (g); and 

21 (E) by inserting after subsection (d) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(e) REQUEST FOR INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL MU24 NICIPALITY.—The Director of the United States Fish and 

25 Wildlife Service may, at the request of a Highlands State, 


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1 with the concurrence of the municipality, approve the in2 clusion of a municipality within the State as part of the 

3 Highlands region. 

4 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec6 retary of the Interior may not expend more than 

7 $300,000 for the administration of this Act in each 

8 fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—A State that 

10 receives funds under this section for a land con11 servation partnership project may not use more than 

12 5 percent of the funds to administer the land con13 servation partnership project.’’; 

14 (3) in section 5— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the 

16 Study, Update, and any future study that the 

17 Forest Service may undertake in’’; 

18 (B) in subsection (b)— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in20 cluding a Pennsylvania and Connecticut 

21 Update’’; and 

22 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

23 findings’’ and all that follows through the 

24 end of the paragraph and inserting ‘‘with 


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1 stakeholders regarding implementation of 

2 the program; and’’; and 

3 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2005 

4 through 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 through 

5 2029’’; and 

6 (4) in section 6, by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) APPRAISAL METHODOLOGY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an ap10 praisal related to a land acquisition carried out 

11 under this Act, a Highlands State shall use an ap12 praisal methodology approved by the Secretary of 

13 the Interior. 

14 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE APPRAISAL METHOD15 OLOGY.—A Highlands State may petition the Sec16 retary of the Interior to consider an alternative ap17 praisal methodology when there is a conflict, in any 

18 Highlands State, between— 

19 ‘‘(A) an appraisal methodology approved 

20 by the Secretary of the Interior under para21 graph (1); and 

22 ‘‘(B) applicable State law.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2022. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 352 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2793 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to 

administrative purposes, and for other purposes. authorize States to use funds from that Act for 

APRIL 27, 2022 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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