To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to improve the farmland protection program.

Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 with respect to the farmland protection program to: (1) specify that the program shall be a matching grant program carried out through eligible entities such as State and local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit conservation organizations; (2) eliminate acreage limits; (3) require State certification; and (4) increase the existing funding cap, revising it from a total program to a fiscal year cap.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1950 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1950

To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to 
                improve the farmland protection program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 1999

Mr. Farr of California (for himself, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Condit, and Mr. 
  Boehlert) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to 
                improve the farmland protection program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    (a) Improvement of Existing Program.--Section 388 of the Federal 
Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3830 note; 
Public Law 104-127) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 388. FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, the term 
`eligible entity' means--
            ``(1) any agency of any State or local government, or 
        federally recognized Indian tribe; and
            ``(2) any organization that--
                    ``(A) is organized for, and at all times since its 
                formation has been operated principally for, 1 or more 
                of the conservation purposes specified in clause (i), 
                (ii), or (iii) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986;
                    ``(B) is an organization described in section 
                501(c)(3) of the Code that is exempt from taxation 
                under section 501(a) of the Code; and
                    ``(C)(i) is described in section 509(a)(2) of the 
                Code of; or
                    ``(ii) is described in section 509(a)(3) of the 
                Code and is controlled by an organization described in 
                section 509(a)(2) of the Code.
    ``(b) Authority.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish and 
carry out a farmland protection program under which the Secretary shall 
provide grants to eligible entities, to provide the Federal share of 
the cost of purchasing conservation easements or other interests in 
land with prime, unique, or other productive soil for the purpose of 
protecting topsoil by limiting nonagricultural uses of the land.
    ``(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of purchasing a 
conservation easement or other interest described in subsection (b) 
shall be not more than 50 percent.
    ``(d) Title; Enforcement.--Title to a conservation easement or 
other interest described in subsection (b) may be held, and the 
conservation requirements of the easement or interest enforced, by any 
eligible entity.
    ``(e) State Certification.--The attorney general of the State in 
which land is located shall take such actions as are necessary to 
ensure that a conservation easement or other interest under this 
section is in a form that is sufficient to achieve the conservation 
purpose of the farmland protection program established under this 
section, the law of the State, and the terms and conditions of any 
grant made by the Secretary under this section.
    ``(f) Conservation Plan.--Any land for which a conservation 
easement or other interest is purchased under this section shall be 
subject to the requirements of a conservation plan to the extent that 
the plan does not negate or adversely affect the restrictions contained 
in any easement.
    ``(g) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may use not more than 10 
percent of the amount that is made available for a fiscal year under 
subsection (h) to provide technical assistance to carry out this 
section.
    ``(h) Funding.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not 
more than $55,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation 
to carry out this section.''.
    (b) Effect on Existing Easements.--The amendment made by subsection 
(a) shall not affect the validity or terms of conservation easements 
and other interests in lands acquired under section 388 of the Federal 
Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-127; 16 
U.S.C. 3830 note) before the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>