I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1530
To make forestry insurance plans available to owners and operators of private
forest land, to encourage the use of prescribed burning on private forest
land, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 22, 1999
Mr. FOLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Agriculture
A BILL
To make forestry insurance plans available to owners and
operators of private forest land, to encourage the use
of prescribed burning on private forest land, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forestry Initiative to
Restore the Environment Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FORESTRY INSURANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508 of the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended in subsections
(l) and (m)(2) by inserting after ‘‘generally available from
private companies’’ each place it appears the following: ‘‘in
a State or area at rates and terms that are normal for
privately underwritten policies, as determined by the Cor-
poration’’.
(b) PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 508 of the Federal
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(o) FORESTRY INSURANCE PILOT PROGRAM.—The
Corporation shall conduct a pilot program in at least 4
States under which the Corporation shall offer forestry in-
surance plans to indemnify owners and operators of pri-
vate forest land that is used to produce a variety of types
of timber for loss of yield or prevented planting due to
drought, flood, or other natural disaster (as determined
by the Secretary), with an emphasis on small, nonindus-
trial owners and operators of private forest land.’’.
SEC. 3. FORESTRY INCENTIVES PROGRAM.
Section 4(a) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103(a)) is amended in the second
sentence by inserting ‘‘increased seedling production ca-
pacity,’’ after ‘‘prescribed burning,’’.
SEC. 4. RURAL FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10(b) of the Cooperative
Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106(b)) is
amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(2) provide financial, technical, and related as-
sistance to State foresters or equivalent State offi-
cials, and through them to other agencies and indi-
viduals, for the prescribed use of burning on private
forest land for the prevention, control, and suppres-
sion of fire, including providing grants to pay up to
75 percent of the cost of carrying out the burning;’’;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) develop, in cooperation with the Adminis-
trator of the Environmental Protection Agency, edu-
cational and outreach programs and materials on
prescribed use of burning for the prevention, control,
and suppression of fire.’’.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
10(e) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2106(e)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, (2),’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(2) PRESCRIBED
BURNING.—There are au-
thorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection
(b)(2) $10,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’.
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