Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB199 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		II
2		-	Calendar No. 122
3	2		118THCONGRESS
4	3		1
5	4		STSESSION S. 199
6		-	[Report No. 118–50]
7	5		To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
8	6		of the Interior to conduct certain landscape-scale forest restoration
9	7		projects, and for other purposes.
10	8		IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
11	9		FEBRUARY1, 2023
12	10		Mr. D
13	11		AINES(for himself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill;
14	12		which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat-
15	13		ural Resources
16		-	J
17		-	ULY11, 2023
18		-	Reported by Mr. M
19		-	ANCHIN, without amendment
20	14		A BILL
21	15		To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and
22	16		the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain land-
23	17		scape-scale forest restoration projects, and for other pur-
24	18		poses.
25	19		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
26	20		tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
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29		-	•S 199 RS
30		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
31		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Root and Stem Project 2
32		-	Authorization Act of 2023’’. 3
33		-	SEC. 2. ROOT AND STEM PROJECTS. 4
	21	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
	22	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Root and Stem Project 4
	23	+	Authorization Act of 2023’’. 5
	24	+	SEC. 2. ROOT AND STEM PROJECTS. 6
34	25		(a) D
35		-	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 5
36		-	(1) C
37		-	OLLABORATIVE PROCESS .—The term ‘‘col-6
38		-	laborative process’’ means a process that— 7
39		-	(A) includes multiple interested persons 8
40		-	representing diverse interests; and 9
41		-	(B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or 10
42		-	(ii) meets the requirements for a resource 11
43		-	advisory committee under subsections (c) 12
44		-	through (f) of section 205 of the Secure Rural 13
45		-	Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 14
46		-	of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125). 15
	26	+	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 7
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	29	+	•S 199 IS
	30	+	(1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS .—The term ‘‘col-1
	31	+	laborative process’’ means a process that— 2
	32	+	(A) includes multiple interested persons 3
	33	+	representing diverse interests; and 4
	34	+	(B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or 5
	35	+	(ii) meets the requirements for a resource 6
	36	+	advisory committee under subsections (c) 7
	37	+	through (f) of section 205 of the Secure Rural 8
	38	+	Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 9
	39	+	of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125). 10
47	40		(2) F
48		-	EDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 16
49		-	means— 17
50		-	(A) land of the National Forest System (as 18
51		-	defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 19
52		-	Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 20
53		-	of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 21
54		-	(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 22
55		-	of the Federal Land Policy and Management 23
56		-	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 24
	41	+	EDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 11
	42	+	means— 12
	43	+	(A) land of the National Forest System (as 13
	44	+	defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 14
	45	+	Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 15
	46	+	of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 16
	47	+	(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 17
	48	+	of the Federal Land Policy and Management 18
	49	+	Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 19
57	50		(3) S
58		-	ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term ‘‘Sec-25
59		-	retary concerned’’ means, as applicable— 26
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62		-	~~•S 199 RS~~
63		-	~~(A) the Secretary of Agriculture,~~ ~~acting 1~~
64		-	~~through the Chief of the Forest Service; or 2~~
65		-	(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 3
66		-	through the Director of the Bureau of Land 4
67		-	Management. 5
	51	+	ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term ‘‘Sec-20
	52	+	retary concerned’’ means, as applicable— 21
	53	+	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 22
	54	+	through the Chief of the Forest Service; or 23
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	57	+	•S 199 IS
	58	+	(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 1
	59	+	through the Director of the Bureau of Land 2
	60	+	Management. 3
68	61		(b) L
69		-	IST OFCONTRACTORS.—The Secretary con-6
70		-	cerned shall— 7
71		-	(1) maintain a list of non-Federal, third-party 8
72		-	contractors that the Secretary concerned can hire in 9
73		-	each State to complete the analysis described in sub-10
74		-	section (c)(1); and 11
75		-	(2) not later than 180 days after the date of 12
76		-	enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, 13
77		-	submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 14
78		-	Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat-15
79		-	ural Resources of the House of Representatives a 16
80		-	copy of the list described in paragraph (1). 17
	62	+	IST OFCONTRACTORS.—The Secretary con-4
	63	+	cerned shall— 5
	64	+	(1) maintain a list of non-Federal, third-party 6
	65	+	contractors that the Secretary concerned can hire in 7
	66	+	each State to complete the analysis described in sub-8
	67	+	section (c)(1); and 9
	68	+	(2) not later than 180 days after the date of 10
	69	+	enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, 11
	70	+	submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 12
	71	+	Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat-13
	72	+	ural Resources of the House of Representatives a 14
	73	+	copy of the list described in paragraph (1). 15
81	74		(c) A
82		-	GREEMENTS.—If a person submits to the Sec-18
83		-	retary concerned a proposal for a project on Federal land 19
84		-	that was developed through a collaborative process and 20
85		-	that meets local and rural community needs, the Secretary 21
86		-	concerned may enter into an agreement with the person, 22
87		-	under which— 23
88		-	(1) the person initially provides to the Secretary 24
89		-	concerned all, or a portion of, the funding necessary 25
90		-	~~VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Jul 12,~~ ~~2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S199.RS S199~~
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92		-	~~•S 199 RS~~
93		-	~~to complete any analysis that the Secretary con-1~~
94		-	~~cerned determines to be necessary under Federal 2~~
95		-	law, including the National Environmental Policy 3
96		-	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the En-4
97		-	dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 5
98		-	seq.), for the consideration of the proposed project; 6
99		-	(2) the Secretary concerned uses the funding 7
100		-	provided under paragraph (1) to pay a contractor in-8
101		-	cluded on the list maintained under subsection 9
102		-	(b)(1) to conduct the analysis described in para-10
103		-	graph (1); 11
104		-	(3) on completion of the analysis described in 12
105		-	paragraph (1), if the Secretary concerned makes a 13
106		-	decision to proceed with the project, the Secretary 14
107		-	concerned— 15
108		-	(A) solicits bids to carry out the project; 16
109		-	and 17
110		-	(B) enters into a contract or agreement 18
111		-	under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res-19
112		-	toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) to 20
113		-	carry out the project; and 21
114		-	(4) using any receipts described in subsection 22
115		-	(d)(1), the Secretary concerned, to the maximum ex-23
116		-	tent practicable, repays to the person the funding 24
117		-	initially provided under paragraph (1). 25
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120		-	~~•S 199 RS~~
121		-	~~(d) ADDITIONALRELATEDAUTHORITIES.— 1~~
122		-	~~(1) U~~
123		-	SE OF RECEIPTS.—Any receipts that are 2
124		-	generated by a project described in subsection (c) 3
125		-	that are normally deposited in the General Fund of 4
126		-	the Treasury shall be available for expenditure by 5
127		-	the Secretary concerned, without further appropria-6
128		-	tion or fiscal year limitation, for the use described 7
129		-	in subsection (c)(4). 8
	75	+	GREEMENTS.—If a person submits to the Sec-16
	76	+	retary concerned a proposal for a project on Federal land 17
	77	+	that was developed through a collaborative process and 18
	78	+	that meets local and rural community needs, the Secretary 19
	79	+	concerned may enter into an agreement with the person, 20
	80	+	under which— 21
	81	+	(1) the person initially provides to the Secretary 22
	82	+	concerned all, or a portion of, the funding necessary 23
	83	+	to complete any analysis that the Secretary con-24
	84	+	cerned determines to be necessary under Federal 25
	85	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S199.IS S199
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	87	+	•S 199 IS
	88	+	law, including the National Environmental Policy 1
	89	+	Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the En-2
	90	+	dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 3
	91	+	seq.), for the consideration of the proposed project; 4
	92	+	(2) the Secretary concerned uses the funding 5
	93	+	provided under paragraph (1) to pay a contractor in-6
	94	+	cluded on the list maintained under subsection 7
	95	+	(b)(1) to conduct the analysis described in para-8
	96	+	graph (1); 9
	97	+	(3) on completion of the analysis described in 10
	98	+	paragraph (1), if the Secretary concerned makes a 11
	99	+	decision to proceed with the project, the Secretary 12
	100	+	concerned— 13
	101	+	(A) solicits bids to carry out the project; 14
	102	+	and 15
	103	+	(B) enters into a contract or agreement 16
	104	+	under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res-17
	105	+	toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) to 18
	106	+	carry out the project; and 19
	107	+	(4) using any receipts described in subsection 20
	108	+	(d)(1), the Secretary concerned, to the maximum ex-21
	109	+	tent practicable, repays to the person the funding 22
	110	+	initially provided under paragraph (1). 23
	111	+	(d) A
	112	+	DDITIONALRELATEDAUTHORITIES.— 24
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	115	+	•S 199 IS
	116	+	(1) USE OF RECEIPTS.—Any receipts that are 1
	117	+	generated by a project described in subsection (c) 2
	118	+	that are normally deposited in the General Fund of 3
	119	+	the Treasury shall be available for expenditure by 4
	120	+	the Secretary concerned, without further appropria-5
	121	+	tion or fiscal year limitation, for the use described 6
	122	+	in subsection (c)(4). 7
130	123		(2) C
131		-	ONTRACTORS.—The Secretary concerned 9
132		-	may noncompetitively hire a contractor included on 10
133		-	the list maintained under subsection (b)(1) to con-11
134		-	duct the analysis described in subsection (c)(1). 12
	124	+	ONTRACTORS.—The Secretary concerned 8
	125	+	may noncompetitively hire a contractor included on 9
	126	+	the list maintained under subsection (b)(1) to con-10
	127	+	duct the analysis described in subsection (c)(1). 11
135	128		(e) S
136		-	AVINGSCLAUSES.— 13
	129	+	AVINGSCLAUSES.— 12
137	130		(1) A
138		-	UTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY CON -14
139		-	CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall— 15
140		-	(A) determine the sufficiency of any docu-16
141		-	ments prepared by a contractor under sub-17
142		-	section (c)(2); and 18
143		-	(B) retain responsibility for any author-19
144		-	izing decision relating to a proposed project de-20
145		-	scribed in subsection (c). 21
	131	+	UTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY CON -13
	132	+	CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall— 14
	133	+	(A) determine the sufficiency of any docu-15
	134	+	ments prepared by a contractor under sub-16
	135	+	section (c)(2); and 17
	136	+	(B) retain responsibility for any author-18
	137	+	izing decision relating to a proposed project de-19
	138	+	scribed in subsection (c). 20
146	139		(2) R
147		-	EVIEW AND APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT 22
148		-	THIRD PARTIES.—The Secretary concerned shall 23
149		-	verify that there is no conflict of interest between— 24
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152		-	~~•S 199 RS~~
153		-	~~(A) a person that submits a proposal 1~~
154		-	~~under subsection (c); and 2~~
155		-	(B) a contractor that the Secretary con-3
156		-	cerned hires under paragraph (2) of that sub-4
157		-	section to carry out an analysis with respect to 5
158		-	that proposal. 6
	140	+	EVIEW AND APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT 21
	141	+	THIRD PARTIES.—The Secretary concerned shall 22
	142	+	verify that there is no conflict of interest between— 23
	143	+	(A) a person that submits a proposal 24
	144	+	under subsection (c); and 25
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	147	+	•S 199 IS
	148	+	(B) a contractor that the Secretary con-1
	149	+	cerned hires under paragraph (2) of that sub-2
	150	+	section to carry out an analysis with respect to 3
	151	+	that proposal. 4
159	152		(3) A
160		-	DMINISTRATIVE COSTS .—The Secretary 7
161		-	concerned— 8
162		-	(A) shall only use the funding provided to 9
163		-	the Secretary concerned under subsection (c)(1) 10
164		-	to pay a contractor pursuant to subsection 11
165		-	(c)(2); and 12
166		-	(B) shall not use any portion of the fund-13
167		-	ing provided to the Secretary concerned under 14
168		-	subsection (c)(1) to cover any other expense or 15
169		-	cost incurred by the Secretary concerned, in-16
170		-	cluding administrative costs. 17
	153	+	DMINISTRATIVE COSTS .—The Secretary 5
	154	+	concerned— 6
	155	+	(A) shall only use the funding provided to 7
	156	+	the Secretary concerned under subsection (c)(1) 8
	157	+	to pay a contractor pursuant to subsection 9
	158	+	(c)(2); and 10
	159	+	(B) shall not use any portion of the fund-11
	160	+	ing provided to the Secretary concerned under 12
	161	+	subsection (c)(1) to cover any other expense or 13
	162	+	cost incurred by the Secretary concerned, in-14
	163	+	cluding administrative costs. 15
171	164		(4) L
172		-	IMITATIONS ON REIMBURSEMENTS .—If in-18
173		-	sufficient receipts are generated by a project de-19
174		-	scribed in subsection (c) to reimburse the person 20
175		-	that provided funding under paragraph (1) of that 21
176		-	subsection, the Secretary concerned shall not provide 22
177		-	additional funding to the person. 23
	165	+	IMITATIONS ON REIMBURSEMENTS .—If in-16
	166	+	sufficient receipts are generated by a project de-17
	167	+	scribed in subsection (c) to reimburse the person 18
	168	+	that provided funding under paragraph (1) of that 19
	169	+	subsection, the Secretary concerned shall not provide 20
	170	+	additional funding to the person. 21
178	171		(f) P
179		-	ROMOTION.—Not later than 60 days after the 24
180		-	date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 25
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183		-	~~•S 199 RS~~
184		-	~~shall provide guidance to each local field office of the Sec-1~~
185		-	~~retary concerned for— 2~~
186		-	(1) making stakeholders aware of the authority 3
187		-	under this Act; and 4
188		-	(2) encouraging use of that authority to meet 5
189		-	land management goals. 6
	172	+	ROMOTION.—Not later than 60 days after the 22
	173	+	date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 23
	174	+	shall provide guidance to each local field office of the Sec-24
	175	+	retary concerned for— 25
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	178	+	•S 199 IS
	179	+	(1) making stakeholders aware of the authority 1
	180	+	under this Act; and 2
	181	+	(2) encouraging use of that authority to meet 3
	182	+	land management goals. 4
190	183		(g) T
191		-	REATMENT OF COLLABORATIVEMEMBERS.— 7
192		-	For purposes of a civil action relating to a project de-8
193		-	scribed in subsection (c), any person that participated in 9
194		-	the collaborative process to develop the proposal for the 10
195		-	project shall be— 11
196		-	(1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any sub-12
197		-	sequent civil action; and 13
198		-	(2) considered to be a full participant in any 14
199		-	settlement negotiation relating to the project. 15
	184	+	REATMENT OF COLLABORATIVEMEMBERS.— 5
	185	+	For purposes of a civil action relating to a project de-6
	186	+	scribed in subsection (c), any person that participated in 7
	187	+	the collaborative process to develop the proposal for the 8
	188	+	project shall be— 9
	189	+	(1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any sub-10
	190	+	sequent civil action; and 11
	191	+	(2) considered to be a full participant in any 12
	192	+	settlement negotiation relating to the project. 13
200	193		(h) S
201		-	UNSET.—The requirements described in sub-16
202		-	section (b) and the authority to enter into an agreement 17
203		-	under subsection (c) shall expire on January 1, 2033. 18
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206		-	122
207		-	118
208		-	TH
209		-	CONGRESS
210		-	1
211		-	ST
212		-	S
213		-	ESSION
214		-
215		-	S. 199
216		-	[Report No. 118–50]
217		-	A BILL
218		-	To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agri-
219		-	culture and the Secretary of the Interior to con-
220		-	duct certain landscape-scale forest restoration
221		-	projects, and for other purposes.
222		-	J
223		-	ULY
224		-	11, 2023
225		-	Reported without amendment
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	194	+	UNSET.—The requirements described in sub-14
	195	+	section (b) and the authority to enter into an agreement 15
	196	+	under subsection (c) shall expire on January 1, 2033. 16
	197	+	Æ
	198	+	VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S199.IS S199
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