I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5171 
To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 
to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2018 
Mr. TIPTON (for himself and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and 
in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Manage-
ment Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of 
a Ski Area Fee Retention Account. 
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 ‘‘Ski Area Fee Reten-
tion Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKI AREA FEE RETENTION AC-
COUNT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 701 of division I of the 
Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 
1996 (16 U.S.C. 497c) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(k) SKI AREA FEE RETENTION ACCOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) 
ACCOUNT.—The 
term 
‘Account’ 
means the Ski Area Fee Retention Account es-
tablished under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) COVERED UNIT.—The term ‘covered 
unit’ means a National Forest which collects a 
rental charge under this section. 
‘‘(C) REGION.—The term ‘Region’ means a 
Forest Service Region. 
‘‘(D) RENTAL CHARGE.—The term ‘rental 
charge’ means a permit rental charge that is 
charged under subsection (a). 
‘‘(E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Agriculture. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall establish in the Treasury a special 
account, to be known as the ‘Ski Area Fee Retention 
Account’, into which there shall be deposited— 
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‘‘(A) in the case of a covered unit at which 
not less than $15,000,000 is collected by the 
covered unit from rental charges in a fiscal 
year, an amount equal to 50 percent of the 
rental charges collected at the covered unit in 
the fiscal year; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of any other covered unit, 
an amount equal to 65 percent of the rental 
charges collected at the covered unit in a fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Subject to paragraphs 
(4), (5), and (6), any amounts deposited in the Ac-
count under paragraph (2) shall remain available for 
expenditure, without further appropriation, until ex-
pended. 
‘‘(4) LOCAL
DISTRIBUTION
OF
AMOUNTS
IN 
THE ACCOUNT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), 100 percent of the amounts 
deposited in the Account from a specific covered 
unit shall remain available for expenditure at 
the covered unit at which the rental charges 
were collected. 
‘‘(B) REDUCTION.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), the Secretary may reduce the percent-
age of amounts available to a covered unit 
under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 
determines that the rental charges col-
lected at the covered unit exceed the rea-
sonable needs of the covered unit for that 
fiscal year for authorized expenditures de-
scribed in paragraph (5)(A). 
‘‘(ii) 
LIMITATION.—The 
Secretary 
may not reduce the percentage of amounts 
available under clause (i)— 
‘‘(I) in the case of a covered unit 
described in paragraph (2)(A), to less 
than 35 percent of the amount of 
rental charges deposited in the Ac-
count from the covered unit in a fiscal 
year; or 
‘‘(II) in the case of any other 
covered unit, to less than 50 percent 
of the amount of rental charges de-
posited in the Account from the cov-
ered unit in a fiscal year. 
‘‘(C) TRANSFER
TO
OTHER
COVERED 
UNITS.— 
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‘‘(i) DISTRIBUTION.—If the Secretary 
determines that the percentage of amounts 
otherwise available to a covered unit under 
subparagraph (A) should be reduced under 
subparagraph (B), the Secretary may 
transfer to other covered units, for alloca-
tion in accordance with clause (ii), the per-
centage of the amounts withheld from the 
covered unit under subparagraph (B), to 
be expended by the other covered units in 
accordance with paragraph (5). 
‘‘(ii) CRITERIA.—In determining the 
allocation of amounts to be transferred 
under clause (i) among other covered 
units, the Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(I) the number of proposals for 
ski area improvements in the other 
covered units; 
‘‘(II) any backlog in ski area per-
mit administration or the processing 
of ski area proposals in the other cov-
ered units; and 
‘‘(III) any need for services, 
training, staffing, or streamlining pro-
grams in the other covered units or 
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the Region in which they are located 
that would improve the administration 
of the Forest Service Ski Area Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Amounts distributed 
from the Account to a covered unit under this 
subsection may be used for— 
‘‘(i) ski area special use permit ad-
ministration and processing of proposals 
for ski area improvement projects in the 
covered unit, including staffing and con-
tracting for such administration, process, 
or services through the unit or the Region; 
‘‘(ii) any expenses that the Forest 
Service would have otherwise applied to ski 
area permittees through cost recovery pur-
suant to part 251 of title 36, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations; 
‘‘(iii) training programs on processing 
ski area applications, administering ski 
area permits, or ski area process stream-
lining in the covered unit or the Region in 
which the unit is located; and 
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‘‘(iv) interpretation activities, visitor 
information, visitor services, and signage in 
the covered unit to enhance— 
‘‘(I) the ski area visitor experi-
ence on National Forest System land; 
and 
‘‘(II) avalanche information and 
education activities carried out by the 
Forest Service. 
‘‘(B) OTHER USES.—If any amounts are 
still available in the Account after all ski area 
permit-related expenditures under subpara-
graph (A) are made, including amounts trans-
ferred to other covered units pursuant to para-
graph (4)(C), such remaining amounts in the 
Account may be applied to permit administra-
tion for other (non-ski area) Forest Service 
recreation special use permits at the discretion 
of the Secretary. The Secretary shall first de-
termine that all ski area-related permit admin-
istration, processing and interpretation needs 
have been met in all covered units and Regions 
before applying any remaining amounts in the 
Account to non-ski area uses. 
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‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Amounts in the Ac-
count may not be used for— 
‘‘(i) the conduct of wildfire suppres-
sion or preparedness activities; 
‘‘(ii) the conduct of biological moni-
toring on National Forest System land 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) for listed species 
or candidate species, except as required by 
law for environmental review of ski area 
projects; 
‘‘(iii) the acquisition of land for inclu-
sion in the National Forest System; or 
‘‘(iv) Forest Service administrative 
sites. 
‘‘(6) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub-
section affects the applicability of section 7 of 
the Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly known as 
the ‘Granger-Thye Act’) (16 U.S.C. 580d), to 
ski areas on National Forest System land. 
‘‘(B) REVENUE ALLOCATION PAYMENTS.— 
Rental charges deposited in the Account under 
paragraph (2) shall be considered to be 
amounts received from the National Forest Sys-
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tem for purposes of calculating amounts to be 
paid under— 
‘‘(i) the Secure Rural Schools and 
Community 
Self-Determination 
Act 
of 
2000 (16 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); 
‘‘(ii) the sixth paragraph under the 
heading ‘forest service’ in the Act of May 
23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260; 16 U.S.C. 500); 
‘‘(iii) section 13 of the Act of March 
1, 1911 (36 Stat. 963; 16 U.S.C. 500); 
and 
‘‘(iv) chapter 69 of title 31, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENTAL
FUNDING.—Rental 
charges retained and expended under this sub-
section shall supplement (and not supplant) ap-
propriated funding for the operation and main-
tenance of each covered unit.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section (including the 
amendments made by this section) shall take effect on the 
date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall not be required to issue regulations or policy guid-
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ance to implement this section (including the amendments 
made by this section). 
Æ 
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