| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 472 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 |
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| 6 | 6 | | to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, |
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| 7 | 7 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 9 | 9 | | FEBRUARY6 (legislative day, FEBRUARY5), 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. B |
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| 11 | 11 | | ARRASSO(for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mrs. SHA- |
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| 12 | 12 | | HEEN, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. LUMMIS, Ms. CORTEZMASTO, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. |
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| 13 | 13 | | R |
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| 14 | 14 | | ISCH, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. SHEEHY) introduced the fol- |
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| 15 | 15 | | lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- |
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| 16 | 16 | | ergy and Natural Resources |
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| 17 | 17 | | A BILL |
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| 18 | 18 | | To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Manage- |
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| 19 | 19 | | ment Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of |
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| 20 | 20 | | a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, and for other pur- |
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| 21 | 21 | | poses. |
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| 22 | 22 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ski Hill Resources for 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Economic Development Act’’. 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 29 | 29 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 30 | 30 | | SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKI AREA FEE RETENTION AC-1 |
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| 31 | 31 | | COUNT. 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (a) I |
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| 33 | 33 | | NGENERAL.—Section 701 of division I of the 3 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 4 |
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| 35 | 35 | | 1996 (16 U.S.C. 497c) is amended by adding at the end 5 |
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| 36 | 36 | | the following: 6 |
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| 37 | 37 | | ‘‘(k) S |
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| 38 | 38 | | KIAREAFEERETENTIONACCOUNT.— 7 |
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| 39 | 39 | | ‘‘(1) D |
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| 40 | 40 | | EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 8 |
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| 41 | 41 | | ‘‘(A) A |
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| 42 | 42 | | CCOUNT.—The term ‘Account’ 9 |
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| 43 | 43 | | means the Ski Area Fee Retention Account es-10 |
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| 44 | 44 | | tablished under paragraph (2). 11 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ‘‘(B) C |
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| 46 | 46 | | OVERED UNIT.—The term ‘covered 12 |
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| 47 | 47 | | unit’ means the unit of the National Forest 13 |
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| 48 | 48 | | System that collects the ski area permit rental 14 |
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| 49 | 49 | | charge under this section. 15 |
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| 50 | 50 | | ‘‘(C) S |
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| 51 | 51 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 16 |
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| 52 | 52 | | means the Secretary of Agriculture. 17 |
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| 53 | 53 | | ‘‘(2) E |
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| 54 | 54 | | STABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 18 |
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| 55 | 55 | | Treasury shall establish a special account in the 19 |
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| 56 | 56 | | Treasury, to be known as the ‘Ski Area Fee Reten-20 |
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| 57 | 57 | | tion Account’. 21 |
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| 58 | 58 | | ‘‘(3) D |
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| 59 | 59 | | EPOSITS.—Subject to paragraphs (4) 22 |
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| 60 | 60 | | and (5), a ski area permit rental charge collected by 23 |
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| 61 | 61 | | the Secretary under this section shall— 24 |
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| 62 | 62 | | ‘‘(A) be deposited in the Account; 25 |
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| 65 | 65 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 66 | 66 | | ‘‘(B) be available to the Secretary for use, 1 |
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| 67 | 67 | | without further appropriation; and 2 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ‘‘(C) remain available for the period of 4 3 |
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| 69 | 69 | | fiscal years beginning with the first fiscal year 4 |
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| 70 | 70 | | after the fiscal year in which the ski area per-5 |
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| 71 | 71 | | mit rental charge is deposited in the Account 6 |
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| 72 | 72 | | under subparagraph (A). 7 |
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| 73 | 73 | | ‘‘(4) D |
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| 74 | 74 | | ISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN THE AC -8 |
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| 75 | 75 | | COUNT.— 9 |
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| 76 | 76 | | ‘‘(A) L |
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| 77 | 77 | | OCAL DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS .— 10 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ‘‘(i) I |
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| 79 | 79 | | N GENERAL.—Except as pro-11 |
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| 80 | 80 | | vided in subparagraph (C), the Secretary 12 |
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| 81 | 81 | | shall expend 80 percent of the ski area 13 |
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| 82 | 82 | | permit rental charges deposited in the Ac-14 |
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| 83 | 83 | | count from a covered unit at the covered 15 |
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| 84 | 84 | | unit in accordance with clause (ii). 16 |
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| 85 | 85 | | ‘‘(ii) D |
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| 86 | 86 | | ISTRIBUTION.—Of the amounts 17 |
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| 87 | 87 | | made available for expenditure under 18 |
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| 88 | 88 | | clause (i)— 19 |
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| 89 | 89 | | ‘‘(I) 75 percent shall be used at 20 |
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| 90 | 90 | | the covered unit for activities de-21 |
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| 91 | 91 | | scribed in paragraph (5)(A); and 22 |
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| 92 | 92 | | ‘‘(II) 25 percent shall be used for 23 |
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| 93 | 93 | | activities at the covered unit described 24 |
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| 94 | 94 | | in paragraph (5)(B). 25 |
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| 97 | 97 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 98 | 98 | | ‘‘(B) AGENCY-WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF 1 |
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| 99 | 99 | | FUNDS.—The Secretary shall expend 20 percent 2 |
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| 100 | 100 | | of the ski area permit rental charges deposited 3 |
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| 101 | 101 | | in the Account from a covered unit at any unit 4 |
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| 102 | 102 | | of the National Forest System for an activity 5 |
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| 103 | 103 | | described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para-6 |
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| 104 | 104 | | graph (5). 7 |
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| 105 | 105 | | ‘‘(C) R |
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| 106 | 106 | | EDUCTION OF PERCENTAGE .— 8 |
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| 107 | 107 | | ‘‘(i) R |
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| 108 | 108 | | EDUCTION.—The Secretary 9 |
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| 109 | 109 | | shall reduce the percentage otherwise ap-10 |
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| 110 | 110 | | plicable under subparagraph (A)(i) to not 11 |
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| 111 | 111 | | less than 60 percent if the Secretary deter-12 |
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| 112 | 112 | | mines that the amount otherwise made 13 |
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| 113 | 113 | | available under that subparagraph exceeds 14 |
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| 114 | 114 | | the reasonable needs of the covered unit 15 |
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| 115 | 115 | | for which expenditures may be made in the 16 |
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| 116 | 116 | | applicable fiscal year. 17 |
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| 117 | 117 | | ‘‘(ii) D |
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| 118 | 118 | | ISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS .—The 18 |
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| 119 | 119 | | balance of the ski area permit rental 19 |
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| 120 | 120 | | charges that are collected at a covered 20 |
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| 121 | 121 | | unit, deposited into the Account, and not 21 |
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| 122 | 122 | | distributed in accordance with subpara-22 |
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| 123 | 123 | | graph (A) or (B) shall be available to the 23 |
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| 124 | 124 | | Secretary for expenditure at any other unit 24 |
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| 127 | 127 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 128 | 128 | | of the National Forest System in accord-1 |
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| 129 | 129 | | ance with the following: 2 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ‘‘(I) 75 percent shall be used for 3 |
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| 131 | 131 | | activities described in paragraph 4 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (5)(A). 5 |
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| 133 | 133 | | ‘‘(II) 25 percent shall be used for 6 |
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| 134 | 134 | | activities described in paragraph 7 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (5)(B). 8 |
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| 136 | 136 | | ‘‘(5) E |
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| 137 | 137 | | XPENDITURES.—Amounts available to 9 |
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| 138 | 138 | | the Secretary for expenditure from the Account shall 10 |
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| 139 | 139 | | be only used for— 11 |
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| 140 | 140 | | ‘‘(A)(i) the administration of the Forest 12 |
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| 141 | 141 | | Service ski area program, including— 13 |
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| 142 | 142 | | ‘‘(I) the processing of an application 14 |
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| 143 | 143 | | for a new ski area or a ski area improve-15 |
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| 144 | 144 | | ment project, including staffing and con-16 |
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| 145 | 145 | | tracting for the processing; and 17 |
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| 146 | 146 | | ‘‘(II) administering a ski area permit 18 |
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| 147 | 147 | | described in subsection (a); 19 |
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| 148 | 148 | | ‘‘(ii) staff training for— 20 |
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| 149 | 149 | | ‘‘(I) the processing of an application 21 |
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| 150 | 150 | | for— 22 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ‘‘(aa) a new ski area; 23 |
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| 152 | 152 | | ‘‘(bb) a ski area improvement 24 |
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| 153 | 153 | | project; or 25 |
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| 156 | 156 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 157 | 157 | | ‘‘(cc) a special use permit; or 1 |
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| 158 | 158 | | ‘‘(II) administering— 2 |
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| 159 | 159 | | ‘‘(aa) a ski area permit described 3 |
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| 160 | 160 | | in subsection (a); or 4 |
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| 161 | 161 | | ‘‘(bb) a special use permit; 5 |
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| 162 | 162 | | ‘‘(iii) an interpretation activity, National 6 |
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| 163 | 163 | | Forest System visitor information, a visitor 7 |
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| 164 | 164 | | service, or signage; 8 |
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| 165 | 165 | | ‘‘(iv) direct costs associated with collecting 9 |
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| 166 | 166 | | a ski area permit rental charge or other fee col-10 |
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| 167 | 167 | | lected by the Secretary related to recreation; 11 |
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| 168 | 168 | | ‘‘(v) planning for, or coordinating to re-12 |
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| 169 | 169 | | spond to, a wildfire in or adjacent to a recre-13 |
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| 170 | 170 | | ation site, particularly a ski area; or 14 |
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| 171 | 171 | | ‘‘(vi) reducing the likelihood of a wildfire 15 |
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| 172 | 172 | | starting, or the risks posed by a wildfire, in or 16 |
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| 173 | 173 | | adjacent to a recreation site, particularly a ski 17 |
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| 174 | 174 | | area, except through hazardous fuels reduction 18 |
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| 175 | 175 | | activities; or 19 |
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| 176 | 176 | | ‘‘(B)(i) the repair, maintenance, or enhance-20 |
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| 177 | 177 | | ment of a Forest Service-owned facility, road, or 21 |
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| 178 | 178 | | trail directly related to visitor enjoyment, visitor ac-22 |
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| 179 | 179 | | cess, or visitor health or safety; 23 |
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| 180 | 180 | | ‘‘(ii) habitat restoration directly related to 24 |
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| 181 | 181 | | recreation; 25 |
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| 184 | 184 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 185 | 185 | | ‘‘(iii) law enforcement related to public use and 1 |
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| 186 | 186 | | recreation; 2 |
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| 187 | 187 | | ‘‘(iv) the construction or expansion of parking 3 |
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| 188 | 188 | | areas; 4 |
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| 189 | 189 | | ‘‘(v) the processing or administering of a recre-5 |
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| 190 | 190 | | ation special use permit; 6 |
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| 191 | 191 | | ‘‘(vi) avalanche information and education ac-7 |
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| 192 | 192 | | tivities carried out by the Secretary or nonprofit 8 |
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| 193 | 193 | | partners; 9 |
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| 194 | 194 | | ‘‘(vii) search and rescue activities carried out by 10 |
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| 195 | 195 | | the Secretary, a local government, or a nonprofit 11 |
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| 196 | 196 | | partner; or 12 |
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| 197 | 197 | | ‘‘(viii) the administration of leases under— 13 |
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| 198 | 198 | | ‘‘(I) the Forest Service Facility Realign-14 |
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| 199 | 199 | | ment and Enhancement Act of 2005 (16 U.S.C. 15 |
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| 200 | 200 | | 580d note; Public Law 109–54); and 16 |
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| 201 | 201 | | ‘‘(II) section 8623 of the Agriculture Im-17 |
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| 202 | 202 | | provement Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 580d note; 18 |
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| 203 | 203 | | Public Law 115–334). 19 |
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| 204 | 204 | | ‘‘(6) L |
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| 205 | 205 | | IMITATION.—Amounts in the Account 20 |
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| 206 | 206 | | may not be used for— 21 |
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| 207 | 207 | | ‘‘(A) the conduct of wildfire suppression; 22 |
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| 208 | 208 | | or 23 |
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| 209 | 209 | | ‘‘(B) the acquisition of land for inclusion 24 |
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| 210 | 210 | | in the National Forest System. 25 |
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| 213 | 213 | | •S 472 IS |
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| 214 | 214 | | ‘‘(7) EFFECT.— 1 |
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| 215 | 215 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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| 216 | 216 | | N GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub-2 |
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| 217 | 217 | | section affects the applicability of section 7 of 3 |
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| 218 | 218 | | the Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly known as 4 |
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| 219 | 219 | | the ‘Granger-Thye Act’) (16 U.S.C. 580d), to 5 |
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| 220 | 220 | | ski areas on National Forest System land. 6 |
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| 221 | 221 | | ‘‘(B) S |
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| 222 | 222 | | UPPLEMENTAL FUNDING .—Rental 7 |
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| 223 | 223 | | charges retained and expended under this sub-8 |
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| 224 | 224 | | section shall supplement (and not supplant) ap-9 |
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| 225 | 225 | | propriated funding for the operation and main-10 |
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| 226 | 226 | | tenance of each covered unit. 11 |
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| 227 | 227 | | ‘‘(C) C |
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| 228 | 228 | | OST RECOVERY.—Nothing in this 12 |
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| 229 | 229 | | subsection affects any cost recovery under any 13 |
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| 230 | 230 | | provision of law (including regulations) for 14 |
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| 231 | 231 | | processing an application for or monitoring 15 |
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| 232 | 232 | | compliance with a ski area permit or other 16 |
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| 233 | 233 | | recreation special use permit.’’. 17 |
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| 234 | 234 | | (b) E |
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| 235 | 235 | | FFECTIVEDATE.—This section (including the 18 |
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| 236 | 236 | | amendments made by this section) shall take effect on the 19 |
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| 237 | 237 | | date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 20 |
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| 238 | 238 | | Act. 21 |
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| 239 | 239 | | Æ |
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