Title: Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act
This bill amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to permit states to allow qualified (tax-exempt) organizations, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements using funds provided to the state under the Forest Legacy Program. The qualified organizations must be organized for specified conservation purposes.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 344 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 344

    To amend the Forest Legacy Program of the Cooperative Forestry 
Assistance Act of 1978 to authorize States to allow certain entities to 
  acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements under the program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 2017

 Ms. Stefanik introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Forest Legacy Program of the Cooperative Forestry 
Assistance Act of 1978 to authorize States to allow certain entities to 
  acquire, hold, and manage conservation easements under the program.

    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 ``Forest Legacy Management Flexibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF STATES TO ALLOW QUALIFIED ORGANIZATIONS TO 
              ACQUIRE, HOLD, AND MANAGE CONSERVATION EASEMENTS UNDER 
              THE FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM.

    Section 7(l) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 2103c) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(4) State authorization.--
                    ``(A) In general.--At the request of a State acting 
                through the State Lead Agency, the Secretary shall 
                authorize the State to allow qualified organizations, 
                as defined in section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
                Code of 1986, and organized for one or more of the 
                purposes described in section 170(h)(4)(A) of that 
                Code, to acquire, hold, and manage conservation 
                easements, using funds granted to the State under this 
                subsection, for purposes of the Forest Legacy Program 
                in the State.
                    ``(B) Eligibility.--To be eligible to acquire and 
                manage conservation easements under this paragraph, a 
                qualified organization described in subparagraph (A) 
                must demonstrate to the Secretary the abilities 
                necessary to acquire, monitor, and enforce interests in 
                forestland consistent with the Forest Legacy Program 
                and the assessment of need for the State.
                    ``(C) Reversion.--If the Secretary, or a State 
                acting through the State Lead Agency, makes any of the 
                determinations described in subparagraph (D) with 
                respect to a conservation easement acquired by a 
                qualified organization under the authority of 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) all right, title, and interest of the 
                        qualified organization in and to the 
                        conservation easement shall terminate; and
                            ``(ii) all right, title, and interest in 
                        and to the conservation easement shall revert 
                        to the State or other qualified designee as 
                        approved by the State.
                    ``(D) Determinations.--The determinations required 
                for operation of the reversionary interest retained in 
                subparagraph (C) are that--
                            ``(i) the qualified organization is unable 
                        to carry out its responsibilities under the 
                        Forest Legacy Program in the State with respect 
                        to the conservation easement;
                            ``(ii) the conservation easement has been 
                        modified in a way that is inconsistent with the 
                        purposes of the Forest Legacy Program or the 
                        assessment of need for the State; or
                            ``(iii) the conservation easement has been 
                        conveyed to another person (other than a 
                        qualified organization approved by the State 
                        and the Secretary).''.
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