I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7255 
To amend Public Law 96–586 to modernize the authority of the Forest 
Service to acquire and administer land under that Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2026 
Mr. KILEY of California (for himself, Ms. TITUS, and Ms. LEE of Nevada) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend Public Law 96–586 to modernize the authority 
of the Forest Service to acquire and administer land 
under that Act, 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 ‘‘Santini-Burton Mod-
ernization Act of 2026’’. 
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SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LAND IN THE LAKE 
TAHOE BASIN. 
(a) FINDINGS; PURPOSE.—Section 1 of Public Law 
96–586 (94 Stat. 3381) (commonly known as the 
‘‘Santini-Burton Act’’) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) the Lake Tahoe Basin is the homeland of 
the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, but 
that Tribe owns less than 0.5 percent of the land in 
the Lake Tahoe Basin, and that limited land owner-
ship and the presence of that land in the Lake 
Tahoe Basin hamper the ability of the Washoe Tribe 
of Nevada and California to provide access and cul-
tural resources for the members of that Tribe.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘and man-
agement’’ after ‘‘acquisition’’. 
(b) ACQUISITIONS; LAND MANAGEMENT.—Section 3 
of Public Law 96–586 (94 Stat. 3383; 114 Stat. 2357; 
130 Stat. 1790) (commonly known as the ‘‘Santini-Burton 
Act’’) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)(3), in the first sentence, 
by inserting ‘‘the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and Cali-
fornia, and’’ after ‘‘local government agencies,’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Land’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—Except 
as provided in subparagraph (B), land’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so des-
ignated), by striking ‘‘United States Na-
tional Forest System; except that the Sec-
retary’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Na-
tional Forest System. 
‘‘(B) TRANSFERS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 
and 
(iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so des-
ignated)— 
(I) in clause (i)— 
(aa) by striking ‘‘lands’’ 
each place it appears and insert-
ing ‘‘land’’; 
(bb) by striking ‘‘which are 
unsuitable’’ and inserting ‘‘ac-
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quired under this section that is 
unsuitable’’; and 
(cc) by inserting ‘‘or to the 
Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California’’ after ‘‘local govern-
ment’’; and 
(II) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii) 
FUNDING.—Amounts 
made 
available to carry out this section may be 
used for the administrative costs of trans-
fers of land and interests in land under 
this subsection.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) LAND MANAGEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) ACQUIRED
LAND.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, funds appropriated 
pursuant to this Act for the purpose of the ac-
quisition of land and interests in land under 
this section may be used by the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service, for— 
‘‘(i) land management activities on 
land acquired under this section within the 
Lake Tahoe Basin; and 
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‘‘(ii) land management activities on 
National Forest System land within the 
boundaries of the Lake Tahoe Basin Man-
agement Unit. 
‘‘(B) 
TRANSFERRED
LAND.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture may transfer funds made 
available pursuant to this Act for the purpose 
of the acquisition of land and interests in land 
under this section to appropriate units of State 
or local government or to the Washoe Tribe of 
Nevada and California to carry out land man-
agement activities on land acquired under this 
section and transferred to that unit of State or 
local government or to that Tribe. 
‘‘(C) INCLUDED LAND MANAGEMENT AC-
TIVITIES.—Land management activities that 
may be carried out under subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) shall include activities for the purposes 
of— 
‘‘(i) maintaining forest health; 
‘‘(ii) maintaining the wildland-urban 
interface (as defined in section 101 of the 
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6511)); 
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‘‘(iii) maintaining water quality; 
‘‘(iv) preventing and mitigating envi-
ronmental impacts due to recreational use; 
‘‘(v) preserving cultural sites and in-
digenous management practices; and 
‘‘(vi) scientific research to support de-
cisions relating to land management activi-
ties described in clauses (i) through (v). 
‘‘(D) PARTNERSHIPS.— 
‘‘(i) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into 
partnerships with the heads of applicable 
Federal agencies to carry out land man-
agement activities under subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(ii) OTHER
PARTNERSHIPS.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, 
the 
Secretary 
of 
Agriculture, 
acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service, 
may enter into partnerships with, and 
transfer funds appropriated pursuant to 
this Act for the purpose of the acquisition 
of land and interests in land under this 
section to, appropriate units of State or 
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local government, the Tahoe Regional 
Planning Agency, or the Washoe Tribe of 
Nevada and California to develop and im-
plement the land management activities 
described in subparagraph (C) and projects 
to provide public access to— 
‘‘(I) land in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin acquired under this section; 
‘‘(II) land with a nexus to Fed-
eral land in the Lake Tahoe Basin or 
the shoreline of Lake Tahoe; or 
‘‘(III) land in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin that is of cultural significance 
to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California. 
‘‘(E) SPENDING PLAN.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 
March 15 of each fiscal year, the Secretary 
of Agriculture, acting through the Forest 
Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Man-
agement Unit, shall develop a spending 
plan for activities under this paragraph for 
the next fiscal year consistent with the pri-
orities of the Lake Tahoe Environmental 
Improvement Program. 
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‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—In developing 
the spending plan under clause (i), the 
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
the Forest Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe 
Basin Management Unit, shall consult 
with— 
‘‘(I) the Tahoe Regional Plan-
ning Agency; 
‘‘(II) the States of California and 
Nevada; 
‘‘(III) the Washoe Tribe of Ne-
vada and California; and 
‘‘(IV) appropriate units of local 
government. 
‘‘(iii) 
CRITERIA.—The 
ranking 
of 
management activities in the spending plan 
developed under clause (i) shall be based 
on— 
‘‘(I) the potential to significantly 
contribute to the achievement and 
maintenance of the environmental 
threshold carrying capacities adopted 
by the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency and the Tahoe Regional Plan-
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ning Compact (Public Law 96–551; 
94 Stat. 3233); 
‘‘(II) the 4-year threshold car-
rying capacity evaluation; 
‘‘(III) the ability to measure 
progress or success of the manage-
ment activity; 
‘‘(IV) the ability of the manage-
ment activity to have multiple bene-
fits; 
‘‘(V) the ability of the manage-
ment activity to leverage other con-
tributions; 
‘‘(VI) inclusion on the 5-year pri-
ority list for the Lake Tahoe Environ-
mental Improvement Program; and 
‘‘(VII) whether there is stake-
holder support for the management 
activity. 
‘‘(iv) FUNDING FOR ADMINISTRATION; 
AVAILABILITY.—Any funds made available 
under this paragraph and allocated under 
the spending plan developed under clause 
(i)— 
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‘‘(I) may be used for administra-
tive costs of carrying out the spending 
plan; and 
‘‘(II) shall remain available until 
expended. 
‘‘(F) MAINTENANCE
OF
FUNDING.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, any 
funds made available under this paragraph shall 
supplement, and not supplant, any other 
amounts available to the Secretary of Agri-
culture for expenditure in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin and any other amounts made available by 
Congress. 
‘‘(G) CONSIDERATION
AS
NON-FEDERAL 
MATCHING FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, any funds transferred under 
this paragraph to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada 
and California, an appropriate unit of State or 
local government, or the Tahoe Regional Plan-
ning Agency shall be considered to be non-Fed-
eral matching funds for purposes of any other 
provision of Federal law.’’; 
(3) in subsection (c)(4)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
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(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
subparagraph (C); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
the following: 
‘‘(B) ‘Lake Tahoe Basin Management 
Unit’ means the land area included in the man-
agement unit created by the Forest Service in 
1973; and’’; 
(4) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h); and 
(5) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(g) ACQUISITION AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND OF 
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE TO THE WASHOE TRIBE OF 
NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service, may transfer 
funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for the purpose 
of the acquisition of land and interests in land under this 
section to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California to 
acquire and manage land of cultural significance to that 
Tribe in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the purposes of preser-
vation, access, and land management.’’. 
Æ 
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