Neighborhood Tree Act of 2022
Bill: S.4118 | Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Neighborhood Tree Act of 2022
This bill provides for additional assistance to states, Indian tribes, units of local government, approved organizations, and local community tree volunteer groups to plant and maintain trees.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall establish a Neighborhood Tree Fund from which to provide assistance to such entities to increase and improve the overall health of the tree canopies in their communities.
In providing the assistance, USDA must give priority to those entities with proposed projects that include and prioritize tree planting and tree maintenance in underserved communities and neighborhoods, including those that are low-income or have a lower tree canopy.
The bill modifies the composition of the membership of the Forestry Advisory Council by (1) increasing the number of council members to 16, and (2) including as a member of the council one individual who is the resident of a low-income community.

To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to provide 
States and communities with additional assistance to plant and maintain 
                     trees, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Neighborhood Tree Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the presence of a healthy and well-maintained urban 
        forest can--
                    (A) support--
                            (i) the physical and mental health of 
                        community residents;
                            (ii) the regulation of air quality;
                            (iii) the mitigation of the urban heat 
                        island effect;
                            (iv) the reduction of energy demand; and
                            (v) stormwater management; and
                    (B) provide other benefits;
            (2) according to research of the Forest Service, the 
        estimated value of benefits described in paragraph (1) exceeds 
        $18,000,000,000;
            (3) the maintenance and management of an urban forest 
        offers additional opportunities relating to workforce 
        development, job creation, and enhancement of property values;
            (4) urban forest canopy cover is inequitably distributed 
        among racial groups and income levels, exacerbating disparities 
        in exposure, for example, to the urban heat island effect and 
        in related health risks or financial burdens relating to 
        cooling;
            (5) the effects of historical discriminatory policies, such 
        as redlining, continue to have effects on urban environments;
            (6) a recent analysis shows that--
                    (A) urbanized neighborhoods with mostly people of 
                color have 33 percent less tree canopy on average than 
                majority white neighborhoods; and
                    (B) low-income neighborhoods have 41 percent less 
                tree cover than neighborhoods with low rates of 
                poverty;
            (7) additional analyses of cities in the United States 
        found that--
                    (A) communities primarily inhabited by United 
                States-born, white populations contain more than twice 
                the urban forest canopy cover of communities primarily 
                inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities; and
                    (B) there were elevated land temperatures in 
                formerly redlined areas compared to their nonredlined 
                counterparts, by an average 2.6 degrees Celsius and up 
                to 7 degrees Celsius; and
            (8) to reduce disparities in the enjoyment of the social, 
        environmental, and economic benefits of healthy and well-
        maintained urban forests and manage risks relating to heat 
        exposure and other urban stressors, the Federal Government 
        should accelerate actions to enhance the health and resilience 
        of urban forests, with investment in priority communities.

SEC. 3. NEIGHBORHOOD TREE FUND.

    Section 9 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 2105) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (h) and (i) as subsections 
        (i) and (j), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h) Neighborhood Tree Fund.--
            ``(1) In general.--Consistent with the purposes described 
        in subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish the 
        Neighborhood Tree Fund (referred to in this subsection as the 
        `Fund').
            ``(2) Assistance.--The Secretary shall use amounts from the 
        Fund to provide assistance to eligible entities described in 
        paragraph (3) to increase and improve the overall health of the 
        tree canopy in a community.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--An entity that is eligible to receive 
        assistance under paragraph (2) is--
                    ``(A) a State;
                    ``(B) an Indian Tribe; and
                    ``(C) a local unit of government, approved 
                organization, or local community tree volunteer group 
                described in subsection (b)(4).
            ``(4) Requirements.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
        the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall establish 
        requirements for the receipt of assistance under paragraph (2), 
        including requirements with respect to--
                    ``(A) engagement with communities and stakeholders;
                    ``(B) the conduct of a tree canopy assessment;
                    ``(C) the use of climate change science in the 
                design of a project using the assistance;
                    ``(D) the conduct of site preparation and tree 
                species selection; and
                    ``(E) the conduct of monitoring and maintenance to 
                ensure the successful establishment of the tree canopy.
            ``(5) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority to the 
        provision of assistance under paragraph (2) to eligible 
        entities that propose projects that--
                    ``(A) include and prioritize tree planting and tree 
                maintenance in--
                            ``(i) a census tract with a poverty rate of 
                        not less than 20 percent, as measured by the 5-
                        year data series available from the American 
                        Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census 
                        for the period of 2014 through 2018, including 
                        such a census tract that includes an area that 
                        was designated as `hazardous' or `definitely 
                        declining' in maps drawn by the Home Owners' 
                        Loan Corporation; or
                            ``(ii) a community or neighborhood with 
                        lower tree canopy and higher maximum daytime 
                        summer temperatures compared to surrounding 
                        communities or neighborhoods, as determined by 
                        the Secretary, based on publicly available 
                        information; or
                    ``(B) optimize outcomes for climate mitigation and 
                resilience for the purpose of public health, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
            ``(6) Limitations on use of amounts for community tree 
        assessments.--Not more than 10 percent of the amount made 
        available under paragraph (7) for a fiscal year may be used for 
        the development of community tree assessments.
            ``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated for deposit into the Fund, for 
        use by the Secretary to carry out this subsection, not less 
        than--
                    ``(A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
                    ``(B) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
                    ``(C) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
                    ``(D) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and
                    ``(E) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.''.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY ADVISORY COUNCIL 
              COMPOSITION.

    Section 9(g)(2)(A) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 
1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(g)(2)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking ``15'' 
        and inserting ``16'';
            (2) in each of clauses (i) through (viii), by striking the 
        comma at the end and inserting a period;
            (3) in clause (ix), by striking ``, and'' at the end and 
        inserting a period; and
            (4) by striking clause (x) and inserting the following:
                            ``(x) 3 members who are not officers or 
                        employees of any governmental body and who have 
                        expertise and have been active in urban and 
                        community forestry, of whom--
                                    ``(I) 1 is a resident of a 
                                community with a population of less 
                                than 50,000 as of the most recent 
                                census; and
                                    ``(II) 1 is a resident of a low-
                                income community, as determined by the 
                                Secretary.''.
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