Reduces the land-use fee, but not below a minimum amount to be determined by the Secretary, for: (1) use by persons with disabilities and at-risk children; and (2) youth programs through organized social, citizenship, character-building, or faith-based activities oriented to outdoor recreation. Prohibits facility use fee reductions.
Provides for an additional fee if an organizational camp derives revenue from such lands' or facilities' use for purposes other than to introduce young people or people with disabilities to natural resource education or other appropriate experiences.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 420 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 420
To establish a user fee system that provides for an equitable return to
the Federal Government for the occupancy and use of National Forest
System lands and facilities by organizational camps that serve the
youth and disabled adults of America, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2003
Mr. Kolbe introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on
Resources, 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 establish a user fee system that provides for an equitable return to
the Federal Government for the occupancy and use of National Forest
System lands and facilities by organizational camps that serve the
youth and disabled adults of America, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Forest
Organizational Camp Fee Improvement Act of 2003''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings, purpose, and definitions.
Sec. 3. Fees for occupancy and use of National Forest System lands and
facilities by organizational camps.
Sec. 4. Implementation.
Sec. 5. Relationship to other laws.
Sec. 6. Deposit and expenditure of use fees.
Sec. 7. Ministerial issuance or amendment authorization.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND DEFINITIONS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Organizational camps, such as those administered by the
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and faith-based and community-based
organizations, provide a valuable service to young people,
individuals with a disability, and their families by promoting
physical, mental, and spiritual health through activities
conducted in a natural environment.
(2) The 192,000,0000 acres of national forests and
grasslands of the National Forest System managed for multiple
uses by the Forest Service provides an ideal setting for such
organizational camps.
(3) The Federal Government should charge land use fees for
the occupancy and use of National Forest System lands by such
organizational camps that, while based on the fair market value
of the land in use, also recognize the benefits provided to
society by such organizational camps, do not preclude the
ability of such organizational camps from utilizing these
lands, and permit capital investment in, and maintenance of,
camp facilities by such organizational camps or their
sponsoring organizations.
(4) Organizational camps should--
(A) ensure that their facilities meet applicable
building and safety codes, including fire and health
codes;
(B) have annual inspections as required by local
law, including at a minimum inspections for fire and
food safety; and
(C) have in place safety plans that address fire
and medical emergencies and encounters with wildlife.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a land use
fee system that provides for an equitable return to the Federal
Government for the occupancy and use of National Forest System lands by
organizational camps that serve young people or individuals with a
disability.
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) The term ``organizational camp'' means a public or
semi-public camp that--
(A) is developed on National Forest System lands by
a nonprofit organization or governmental entity;
(B) provides a valuable service to the public by
using such lands as a setting to introduce young people
or individuals with a disability to activities that
they may not otherwise experience and to educate them
on natural resource issues; and
(C) does not have as its primary purpose raising
revenue through commercial activities.
(2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
(3) The term ``individual with a disability'' has the
meaning given the term in section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705).
(4) The term ``children at risk'' means children who are
raised in poverty or in single-parent homes or are subject to
such circumstances as parental drug abuse, homelessness, or
child abuse.
(5) The term ``change in control'' means--
(A) in the case of a corporation, the sale or
transfer of a controlling interest in the corporation;
(B) in the case of a partnership or limited
liability company, the sale or transfer of a
controlling interest in the partnership or limited
liability company; and
(C) in the case of an individual, the sale or
transfer of an organizational camp to another party.
SEC. 3. FEES FOR OCCUPANCY AND USE OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS AND
FACILITIES BY ORGANIZATIONAL CAMPS.
(a) Land Use Fee.--
(1) Percentage of land value.--The Secretary shall charge
an annual land use fee for each organizational camp for its
occupancy and use of National Forest System lands equal to five
percent of the product of the following:
(A) The total number of acres of National Forest
System lands authorized for the organizational camp.
(B) The estimated per-acre market value of land and
buildings in the county where the camp is located, as
reported in the most recent Census of Agriculture
conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics
Service.
(2) Annual adjustment.--The land use fee determined under
paragraph (1) for an organizational camp shall be adjusted
annually by the annual compounded rate of change between the
two most recent Censuses of Agriculture.
(3) Reduction in fees.--
(A) Based on type of participants.--The Secretary
shall reduce the land use fee determined under
paragraph (1) for an organizational camp if the
organizational camp is attended by individuals with a
disability or children at risk. The amount of the
reduction for a year shall bear the same ratio to the
land use fee determined under paragraph (1) for the
organizational camp as the total number of individuals
with a disability and children at risk who attend the
organizational camp bears to the total number of
individuals who attend the organizational camp for the
year.
(B) Based on type of programs.--After making the
reduction required by subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall also reduce the land use fee determined under
paragraph (1) for an organizational camp if the
organizational camp provides youth programs for
individuals attending the camp consisting of organized
and supervised social, citizenship, character-building,
or faith-based activities oriented to outdoor-
recreation experiences. The amount of the reduction for
a year shall be equal to 60 percent of the land use fee
determined under paragraph (1), as adjusted under
subparagraph (A).
(C) Relation to minimum fee.--Notwithstanding
subparagraphs (A) and (B), the reductions made under
this paragraph may not reduce the land use fee for an
organizational camp below the minimum land use fee
required to be charged under paragraph (4).
(D) Special considerations.--For purposes of
determining the amount of the land use fee reduction
required under subparagraph (A) or (B), the Secretary
may not take into consideration the existence of
sponsorships or scholarships to assist individuals in
attending the organizational camp.
(4) Minimum land use fee.--The Secretary shall charge a
minimum land use fee under paragraph (1) that represents, on
average, the Secretary's cost annually to administer an
organizational camp special use authorization in the National
Forest Region in which the organizational camp is located.
Notwithstanding paragraph (3) or subsection (d), the minimum
land use fee shall not be subject to a reduction or waiver.
(b) Facility Use Fee.--
(1) Percentage of facilities value.--If an organizational
camp uses a Government-owned facility on National Forest System
lands pursuant to section 7 of the Act of April 24, 1950
(commonly known as the Granger-Thye Act; 16 U.S.C. 580d), the
Secretary shall charge, in addition to the land use fee imposed
under subsection (a), a facility use fee equal to five percent
of the value of the authorized facilities, as determined by the
Secretary.
(2) Reduction in fees prohibited.--Notwithstanding
subsection (d), the facility use fees determined under
paragraph (1) shall not be subject to a reduction or waiver.
(c) Fee Related to Receipt of Other Revenues.-- If an
organizational camp derives revenue from the use of National Forest
System lands or authorized facilities described in subsection (b) for
purposes other than to introduce young people or individuals with a
disability to activities that they may not otherwise experience and to
educate them on natural resource issues, the Secretary shall charge, in
addition to the land use fee imposed under subsection (a) and the
facility use fee imposed under subsection (b), an additional fee equal
to five percent of that revenue.
(d) Work-In-Lieu Program.--Subject to subsections (a)(4) and
(b)(2), section 3 of the Federal Timber Contract Payment Modification
Act (16 U.S.C. 539f) shall apply to the use fees imposed under this
section.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) Prompt Implementation.--The Secretary shall issue direction
regarding implementation of this Act by interim directive within 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall
implement this Act beginning with the first billing cycle for
organizational camp special use authorizations occurring more than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Phase-In of Use Fee Increases.--In issuing any direction
regarding implementation of this Act under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall consider whether to phase-in any significant increases
in annual land or facility use fees for organizational camps.
SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
Except as specifically provided by this Act, nothing in this Act
supersedes or otherwise affects any provision of law, regulation, or
policy regarding the issuance or administration of authorizations for
organizational camps regarding the occupancy and use of National Forest
System lands.
SEC. 6. DEPOSIT AND EXPENDITURE OF USE FEES.
(a) Deposit and Availability.--Unless subject to section 7 of the
Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly known as the Granger-Thye Act; 16
U.S.C. 580d), use fees collected by the Secretary under this Act shall
be deposited in a special account in the Treasury and shall remain
available to the Secretary for expenditure, without further
appropriation until expended, for the purposes described in subsection
(c).
(b) Transfer.--Upon request of the Secretary, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary from the special account such
amounts as the Secretary may request. The Secretary shall accept and
use such amounts in accordance with subsection (c).
(c) Use.--Use fees deposited pursuant to subsection (a) and
transferred to the Secretary under subsection (b) shall be expended for
monitoring of Forest Service special use authorizations, administration
of the Forest Service's special program, interpretive programs,
environmental analysis, environmental restoration, and similar
purposes.
SEC. 7. MINISTERIAL ISSUANCE OR AMENDMENT AUTHORIZATION.
(a) NEPA Exception.--The ministerial issuance or amendment of an
organizational camp special use authorization shall not be subject to
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(b) Rule of Construction.--For purposes of subsection (a), the
ministerial issuance or amendment of an authorization occurs only when
the issuance or amendment of the authorization would not change the
physical environment or the activities, facilities, or program of the
operations governed by the authorization, and at least one of the
following apply:
(1) The authorization is issued upon a change in control of
the holder of an existing authorization.
(2) The holder, upon expiration of an authorization, is
issued a new authorization.
(3) The authorization is amended--
(A) to effectuate administrative changes, such as
modification of the land use fee or conversion to a new
special use authorization form; or
(B) to include nondiscretionary environmental
standards or to conform with current law.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
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