Title: Ski Area Fee Retention Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Ski Area Fee Retention Act
This bill amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to establish the Ski Area Fee Retention Account. A specified portion of rental charges for ski area permits on a Forest Service unit shall be deposited in such account. Amounts in the fund shall be available for expenditure without further appropriation for ski area administration, improvements, and visitor services. Funds may only be reallocated if the rental charges collected exceed the reasonable needs of the unit.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2501 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2501

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 6, 2018

  Mr. Gardner (for himself, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to 
   provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account.

    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 ``Ski Area Fee Retention Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKI AREA FEE RETENTION ACCOUNT.

    (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 established 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--
                    ``(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 Account under paragraph (2) 
        shall remain available for expenditure, without further 
        appropriation, until expended.
            ``(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.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), 
                        the Secretary may reduce the percentage of 
                        amounts available to a covered unit under 
                        subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines 
                        that the rental charges collected at the 
                        covered unit exceed the reasonable needs of the 
                        covered unit for that fiscal year for 
                        authorized expenditures described 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 Account 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 
                                deposited in the Account from the 
                                covered unit in a fiscal year.
                    ``(C) Transfer to other covered units.--
                            ``(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 allocation in 
                        accordance with clause (ii), the percentage 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 
                                permit administration or the processing 
                                of ski area proposals in the other 
                                covered units; and
                                    ``(III) any need for services, 
                                training, staffing, or streamlining 
                                programs in the other covered units or 
                                the Region in which they are located 
                                that would improve the administration 
                                of the Forest Service Ski Area Program.
            ``(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 
                        administration and processing of proposals for 
                        ski area improvement projects in the covered 
                        unit, including staffing and contracting 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 pursuant to 
                        part 251 of title 36, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (or successor regulations);
                            ``(iii) training programs on processing ski 
                        area applications, administering ski area 
                        permits, or ski area process streamlining in 
                        the covered unit or the Region in which the 
                        unit is located; and
                            ``(iv) interpretation activities, visitor 
                        information, visitor services, and signage in 
                        the covered unit to enhance--
                                    ``(I) the ski area visitor 
                                experience 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 subparagraph (A) are made, 
                including amounts transferred to other covered units 
                pursuant to paragraph (4)(C), such remaining amounts in 
                the Account may be applied to permit administration for 
                other (non-ski area) Forest Service recreation special 
                use permits at the discretion of the Secretary. The 
                Secretary shall first determine that all ski area-
                related permit administration, 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.
                    ``(C) Limitation.--Amounts in the Account may not 
                be used for--
                            ``(i) the conduct of wildfire suppression 
                        or preparedness activities;
                            ``(ii) the conduct of biological monitoring 
                        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 
                        inclusion in the National Forest System; or
                            ``(iv) Forest Service administrative sites.
            ``(6) Savings provisions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Nothing in this subsection 
                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 System 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 subsection shall 
                supplement (and not supplant) appropriated funding for 
                the operation and maintenance 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 guidance to implement this 
section (including the amendments made by this section).
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