Title: A bill to amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to clarify the prohibition on the use of certain Federal funds for lobbying, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This bill prohibits the use of county funds distributed under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 for (1) any expenses related to lobbying, or (2) any activity that is to influence a state or federal lawmaker. Currently, the funds are authorized to be used for activities such as emergency services on federal land or wildfire protection.
The Forest Service, in coordination with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), must promulgate regulations that provide guidance to participating counties on the appropriate use of county funds. The Forest Service and the BLM each must publish such guidance on a public website.
Each participating county shall submit to the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior an annual report that includes a description of how the county used its county funds.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2861 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2861

To amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 
of 2000 to clarify the prohibition on the use of certain Federal funds 
                 for lobbying, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2019

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Merkley) 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 clarify the prohibition on the use of certain Federal funds 
                 for lobbying, 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. USE OF COUNTY FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 302 of the Secure Rural Schools and 
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7142) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by redesignating 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), 
                respectively, and indenting appropriately;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' 
                and inserting ``subparagraph (B)'';
                    (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and 
                indenting appropriately;
                    (D) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so 
                redesignated), by striking ``A participating'' and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--A participating''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Prohibition.--In accordance with section 1913 of 
        title 18, United States Code, county funds shall not be used 
        for--
                    ``(A) any expense relating to lobbying; or
                    ``(B) any activity the purpose of which is to 
                influence a State or Federal lawmaker.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Rulemaking.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Chief of the Forest 
        Service, in coordination with the Director of the Bureau of 
        Land Management, shall promulgate regulations providing 
        guidance for participating counties on the appropriate use of 
        county funds.
            ``(2) Publication.--The Chief of the Forest Service and the 
        Director of the Bureau of Land Management shall publish the 
        guidance under paragraph (1) on a publicly available website of 
        the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, 
        respectively.''.
    (b) Reports.--Section 303 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7143) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(c) Summary Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each participating county shall submit 
        to the Secretary concerned an annual report summarizing the 
        certification submitted under subsection (a) for the relevant 
        year, including a brief description of how the participating 
        county used county funds during the year covered by the report.
            ``(2) Submission.--A participating county shall submit a 
        report under paragraph (1) at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary concerned may 
        require.
            ``(3) Public availability.--The Secretary concerned shall 
        make each report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly 
        available online in a machine-readable format.''.
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