Title: A bill to amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to modify the authorized uses of certain county funds and to extend the deadline for participating counties to initiate projects and obligate funds.
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
This bill amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to modify the authorized uses of funds a county elects to receive under such Act to include:
A participating county may reallocate funds for a different use than authorized only after the 45-day public comment period has ended, at the beginning of which the county shall publish a description of how it proposes to use the funds.
The bill extends the authority for the initiation of county projects until the end of FY2019 and allows county funds to remain available until expended.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1508 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1508

To amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 
 of 2000 to modify the authorized uses of certain county funds and to 
extend the deadline for participating counties to initiate projects and 
                            obligate funds.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2017

   Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
Risch, Mr. Hatch, and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; which 
  was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 
 of 2000 to modify the authorized uses of certain county funds and to 
extend the deadline for participating counties to initiate projects and 
                            obligate funds.

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

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZED USES OF COUNTY FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools and 
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142(a)) is amended 
by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) to reimburse the participating county for--
                    ``(A) search and rescue and other emergency 
                services, including firefighting, law enforcement 
                patrols, and evacuations, that are--
                            ``(i) performed on Federal land after the 
                        date on which the use was approved under 
                        subsection (b); and
                            ``(ii) paid for by the participating 
                        county;
                    ``(B) search and rescue preparedness training; and
                    ``(C) capital equipment, equipment maintenance, and 
                other purchases relating to carrying out search and 
                rescue and other emergency services; and
            ``(3) to develop and implement community wildfire 
        protection plans in coordination with the appropriate Secretary 
        concerned.''.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) Approved county funds.--The term ``approved 
                county funds'' means county funds (as defined in 
                section 301 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 
                Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7141)) the 
                use of which, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 
                has been approved under section 302(b) of that Act (16 
                U.S.C. 7142(b)) for an authorized use described in 
                section 302(a) of that Act (as in effect on the day 
                before the date of enactment of this Act).
                    (B) New authorized use.--The term ``new authorized 
                use'' means--
                            (i) a law enforcement patrol or evacuation 
                        authorized under subparagraph (A) of section 
                        302(a)(2) of the Secure Rural Schools and 
                        Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 
                        U.S.C. 7142(a)(2)) (as amended by subsection 
                        (a)); and
                            (ii) any other authorized use described in 
                        subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 302(a)(2) of 
                        that Act (16 U.S.C. 7142(a)(2)) (as so 
                        amended).
                    (C) Participating county.--The term ``participating 
                county'' has the meaning given the term in section 301 
                of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
                Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7141).
            (2) New authorized uses.--Notwithstanding section 302(b) of 
        the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 
        of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142(b)), effective beginning on the date of 
        enactment of this Act, a participating county may use any 
        approved county funds for a new authorized use.

SEC. 2. REALLOCATION OF COUNTY FUNDS.

    Section 302 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(c) Reallocation of County Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A participating county may reallocate 
        county funds that have been allocated for a use described in 
        subsection (a) for a different use described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Proposals.--A participating county may reallocate 
        county funds under paragraph (1) only after a 45-day public 
        comment period, at the beginning of which the participating 
        county shall publish in any publications of local record a 
        proposal that describes the proposed use of the county funds to 
        be reallocated.''.

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

    Section 304 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7144) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
        ``2019''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Availability.--County funds shall remain available until 
expended.''.
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