Title: Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act of 2021
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act of 2021
This bill establishes 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 to the unit for expenditure without further appropriation for ski area administration, improvements, visitor services, and wildfire preparedness. Funds may be reallocated only if the amounts collected exceed the reasonable needs of the unit.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1964 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1964

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 8, 2021

Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Crapo) 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, 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 ``Ski Hill Resources for Economic 
Development Act of 2021''.

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 unit of the National Forest System that collects a 
                rental charge.
                    ``(C) Program.--The term `Program' means the Forest 
                Service Ski Area Program.
                    ``(D) Region.--The term `region' means a region of 
                the Forest Service.
                    ``(E) Rental charge.--The term `rental charge' 
                means a permit rental charge that is charged under 
                subsection (a).
                    ``(F) 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 
                $15,000,000 or more is collected by the covered unit 
                from rental charges in a fiscal year, an amount equal 
                to 60 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 75 percent of the rental charges 
                collected at the covered unit in a fiscal year.
            ``(3) Availability.--Subject to paragraph (5), any amounts 
        deposited in the Account under paragraph (2) shall be available 
        to the Secretary for use in accordance with paragraph (4), 
        without further appropriation, and shall remain available until 
        expended.
            ``(4) Use and distribution of amounts in the account.--
                    ``(A) Distribution of percentage amounts.--Except 
                as provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (F), and 
                (G), 75 percent of the amounts deposited in the Account 
                from a covered unit at which the rental charges were 
                collected in the preceding fiscal year shall be 
                available for expenditure in accordance with 
                subparagraph (E) at that covered unit.
                    ``(B) Reduction of percentage amount.--Subject to 
                subparagraph (C), the Secretary may reduce the 
                percentage of amounts available to a covered unit under 
                subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines that the 
                amounts will exceed the reasonable needs of the covered 
                unit for the purposes described in subparagraph (E) in 
                the fiscal year.
                    ``(C) Limitation.--The Secretary may not reduce, 
                pursuant to subparagraph (B), the percentage of amounts 
                available under subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) in the case of a covered unit 
                        described in paragraph (2)(A), to less than 25 
                        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 40 percent of the amount of 
                        rental charges deposited in the Account from 
                        the covered unit in a fiscal year.
                    ``(D) Distribution of reduction amounts.--The 
                Secretary may make any amounts in the Account remaining 
                as a result of any reduction in the percentage of 
                amounts under subparagraph (B) available to other 
                covered units or the regions in which the covered units 
                are located for the purposes described in subparagraph 
                (E), taking into consideration the following factors:
                            ``(i) Any backlog in ski area permit and 
                        Program administration in the covered units, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) the number of proposals for 
                                ski area improvement projects; and
                                    ``(II) the processing of proposals 
                                for ski area improvement projects.
                            ``(ii) Any need for services, training, 
                        staffing, or the streamlining of programs in 
                        the other covered units or the region in which 
                        the covered units are located that would 
                        improve the administration of the Program.
                            ``(iii) Any need for wildfire preparedness, 
                        planning, and coordination in and around ski 
                        areas.
                    ``(E) Authorized expenditures.--Amounts distributed 
                from the Account to a covered unit under this 
                subsection may be used for--
                            ``(i) ski area special use permit and 
                        Program administration in the covered unit, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) the processing of proposals 
                                for ski area improvement projects; and
                                    ``(II) staffing and contracting for 
                                that processing and related services in 
                                the covered unit or in the applicable 
                                region;
                            ``(ii) staff training for processing of ski 
                        area applications and administering ski area 
                        permits in the covered unit or the region in 
                        which the covered unit is located;
                            ``(iii) interpretation activities, visitor 
                        information, visitor services, and signage in 
                        the covered unit to enhance the ski area 
                        visitor experience on National Forest System 
                        land; and
                            ``(iv) wildfire preparedness, planning, and 
                        coordination in and around ski areas in the 
                        covered unit or in the applicable region.
                    ``(F) Expenditure for other purposes.--If any 
                amounts remain in the Account after all necessary 
                Program expenditures have been made under subparagraph 
                (D), the Secretary may use the amounts for other 
                purposes in accordance with subparagraph (G).
                    ``(G) Other recreation permit administration, 
                visitor services, and other purposes.--In addition to 
                any amounts remaining in the Account described in 
                subparagraph (F), 25 percent of the amounts deposited 
                in the Account from a covered unit in which the rental 
                charges were collected shall remain available for 
                expenditure at that covered unit or the region in which 
                the covered unit is located for--
                            ``(i) administering non-ski area Forest 
                        Service recreation special use permits;
                            ``(ii) avalanche information and education 
                        activities carried out by the Secretary or 
                        nonprofit partners;
                            ``(iii) recreation management, maintenance, 
                        and services; and
                            ``(iv) administration of leases under--
                                    ``(I) the Forest Service Facility 
                                Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005 
                                (16 U.S.C. 580d note; Public Law 109-
                                54); and
                                    ``(II) section 8623 of the 
                                Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (16 
                                U.S.C. 580d note; Public Law 115-334).
                    ``(H) Limitation.--Amounts in the Account may not 
                be used for--
                            ``(i) the conduct of wildfire suppression 
                        outside ski area permit boundaries; or
                            ``(ii) the acquisition of land for 
                        inclusion in the National Forest System.
            ``(5) 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) 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.
                    ``(C) Cost recovery.--Nothing in this subsection 
                affects any cost recovery under any other provision of 
                law for processing applications for or monitoring 
                compliance with ski area permits or other recreation 
                special use permits.''.
    (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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