H.R. 4151 — Introduced in House

I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4151 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 1, 2015 Mr. Simpson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code, to fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide for the use of such funds, and for other purposes. 1. Land and water conservation fund (a) Reauthorization Section 200302 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking During the period ending September 30, 2015, there and inserting There; and (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking through September 30, 2015. (b) Allocation of funds Section 200304 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking There and inserting (a) In General.—There; and (2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the following: (b) Allocation Of the appropriations from the Fund— (1) not less than 40 percent shall be used collectively for Federal purposes under section 200306; (2) not less than 40 percent shall be used collectively— (A) to provide financial assistance to States under section 200305; (B) for the Forest Legacy Program established under section 7 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103c); (C) for cooperative endangered species grants authorized under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1535); and (D) for the American Battlefield Protection Program established under chapter 3081; and (3) not less than 1.5 percent or $10,000,000, whichever is greater, shall be used for projects that secure recreational public access to Federal public land for hunting, fishing, or other recreational purposes. . (c) Conservation easements Section 200306 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Conservation easements The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall consider the acquisition of conservation easements and other similar interests in land where appropriate and feasible. . (d) Acquisition considerations Section 200306 of title 54, United States Code (as amended by subsection (c)), is amended by adding at the end of the following: (d) Acquisition considerations The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall take into account the following in determining the land or interests in land to acquire: (1) Management efficiencies. (2) Management cost savings. (3) Geographic distribution. (4) Significance of the acquisition. (5) Urgency of the acquisition. (6) Threats to the integrity of the land to be acquired. (7) The recreational value of the land. . 2. National Park Service Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund (a) In general Chapter 1049 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 104908. National Park Service Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund (a) In general There is established in the Treasury a fund, to be known as the National Park Service Critical Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund (referred to in this section as the Fund). (b) Deposits to fund Notwithstanding any provision of law providing that the proceeds shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury, for each fiscal year, there shall be deposited in the Fund, from revenues due and payable to the United States under section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338) $150,000,000. (c) Use and availability (1) In general Amounts deposited in the Fund shall— (A) be used only for the purposes described in subsection (d); and (B) be available for expenditure only after the amounts are appropriated for those purposes. (2) Availability Any amounts in the Fund not appropriated shall remain available in the Fund until appropriated. (3) No limitation Appropriations from the Fund pursuant to this section may be made without fiscal year limitation. (d) National park system critical deferred maintenance The Secretary shall use amounts appropriated from the Fund for high priority deferred maintenance needs of the Service that support critical infrastructure and visitor services. (e) Land acquisition prohibition Amounts in the Fund shall not be used for land acquisition. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 1049 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 104907 the following: 104908. National Park Service Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund. .