,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #dgb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #f 7legislative day1 ,february #e71 #bjbe,mr4 ,barrasso 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,hickenlooper1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,ms4 ,lummis1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,mr4 ,daines1 and ,mr4 ,sheehy7 introduced the following bill2 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 #aiif to provide for the establishment of a ,ski ,area ,fee ,retention ,account1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ski ,hill ,resources for ,economic ,development ,act 4 #b4 ,establishment of ski area fee retention account 7a7 ,in general ,section #gja of division ,i of the ,omnibus ,parks and ,public ,lands ,management ,act of #aiif 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #dig;c7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7k7 ,ski area fee retention account 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,account ,the term ,account means the ,ski ,area ,fee ,retention ,account established under paragraph 7#b74 7,b7 ,covered unit ,the term covered unit means the unit of the ,national ,forest ,system that collects the ski area permit rental charge under this section4 7,c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7#b7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall establish a special account in the ,treasury1 to be known as the ,ski ,area ,fee ,retention ,account4 7#c7 ,deposits ,subject to paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e71 a ski area permit rental charge collected by the ,secretary under this section shall-- 7,a7 be deposited in the ,account2 7,b7 be available to the ,secretary for use1 without further appropriation2 and 7,c7 remain available for the period of #d fiscal years beginning with the first fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the ski area permit rental charge is deposited in the ,account under subparagraph 7,a74 7#d7 ,distribution of amounts in the account 7,a7 ,local distribution of funds 7i7 ,in general ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,c71 the ,secretary shall expend #hj percent of the ski area permit rental charges deposited in the ,account from a covered unit at the covered unit in accordance with clause 7ii74 7ii7 ,distribution ,of the amounts made available for expenditure under clause 7i7-- 7,i7 #ge percent shall be used at the covered unit for activities described in paragraph 7#e77;,a72 and 7,,ii7 #be percent shall be used for activities at the covered unit described in paragraph 7#e77;,b74 7,b7 ,agency-wide distribution of funds ,the ,secretary shall expend #bj percent of the ski area permit rental charges deposited in the ,account from a covered unit at any unit of the ,national ,forest ,system for an activity described in subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of paragraph 7#e74 7,c7 ,reduction of percentage 7i7 ,reduction ,the ,secretary shall reduce the percentage otherwise applicable under subparagraph 7,a77i7 to not less than #fj percent if the ,secretary determines that the amount otherwise made available under that subparagraph exceeds the reasonable needs of the covered unit for which expenditures may be made in the applicable fiscal year4 7ii7 ,distribution of funds ,the balance of the ski area permit rental charges that are collected at a covered unit1 deposited into the ,account1 and not distributed in accordance with subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 shall be available to the ,secretary for expenditure at any other unit of the ,national ,forest ,system in accordance with the following3 7,i7 #ge percent shall be used for activities described in paragraph 7#e77;,a74 7,,ii7 #be percent shall be used for activities described in paragraph 7#e77;,b74 7#e7 ,expenditures ,amounts available to the ,secretary for expenditure from the ,account shall be only used for-- 7,a7 7i7 the administration of the ,forest ,service ski area program1 including-- 7,i7 the processing of an application for a new ski area or a ski area improvement project1 including staffing and contracting for the processing2 and 7,,ii7 administering a ski area permit described in subsection 7a72 7ii7 staff training for-- 7,i7 the processing of an application for-- 7aa7 a new ski area2 7bb7 a ski area improvement project2 or 7cc7 a special use permit2 or 7,,ii7 administering-- 7aa7 a ski area permit described in subsection 7a72 or 7bb7 a special use permit2 7iii7 an interpretation activity1 ,national ,forest ,system visitor information1 a visitor service1 or signage2 7iv7 direct costs associated with collecting a ski area permit rental charge or other fee collected by the ,secretary related to recreation2 7v7 planning for1 or coordinating to respond to1 a wildfire in or adjacent to a recreation site1 particularly a ski area2 or 7vi7 reducing the likelihood of a wildfire starting1 or the risks posed by a wildfire1 in or adjacent to a recreation site1 particularly a ski area1 except through hazardous fuels reduction activities2 or 7,b7 7i7 the repair1 maintenance1 or enhancement of a ,forest ,service-owned facility1 road1 or trail directly related to visitor enjoyment1 visitor access1 or visitor health or safety2 7ii7 habitat restoration directly related to recreation2 7iii7 law enforcement related to public use and recreation2 7iv7 the construction or expansion of parking areas2 7v7 the processing or administering of a recreation special use permit2 7vi7 avalanche information and education activities carried out by the ,secretary or nonprofit partners2 7vii7 search and rescue activities carried out by the ,secretary1 a local government1 or a nonprofit partner2 or 7viii7 the administration of leases under-- 7,i7 the ,forest ,service ,facility ,realignment and ,enhancement ,act of #bjje 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ehj;d note2 ,public ,law #aji-ed72 and 7,,ii7 section #hfbc of the ,agriculture ,improvement ,act of #bjah 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ehj;d note2 ,public ,law #aae-ccd74 7#f7 ,limitation ,amounts in the ,account may not be used for-- 7,a7 the conduct of wildfire suppression2 or 7,b7 the acquisition of land for inclusion in the ,national ,forest ,system4 7#g7 ,effect 7,a7 ,in general ,nothing in this subsection affects the applicability of section #g of the ,act of ,april #bd1 #aiej 7commonly known as the ,granger-,thye ,act7 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ehj;d71 to ski areas on ,national ,forest ,system land4 7,b7 ,supplemental funding ,rental charges retained and expended under this subsection shall supplement 7and not supplant7 appropriated funding for the operation and maintenance of each covered unit4 7,c7 ,cost recovery ,nothing in this subsection affects any cost recovery under any provision of law 7including regulations7 for processing an application for or monitoring compliance with a ski area permit or other recreation special use permit4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,this section 7including the amendments made by this section7 shall take effect on the date that is #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4