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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7255 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7255
To amend Public Law 96-586 to modernize the authority of the Forest
Service to acquire and administer land under that Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 27, 2026
Mr. Kiley of California (for himself, Ms. Titus, and Ms. Lee of Nevada)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend Public Law 96-586 to modernize the authority of the Forest
Service to acquire and administer land under that Act, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Santini-Burton Modernization Act of
2026''.
SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LAND IN THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN.
(a) Findings; Purpose.--Section 1 of Public Law 96-586 (94 Stat.
3381) (commonly known as the ``Santini-Burton Act'') is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) the Lake Tahoe Basin is the homeland of the Washoe
Tribe of Nevada and California, but that Tribe owns less than
0.5 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and that
limited land ownership and the presence of that land in the
Lake Tahoe Basin hamper the ability of the Washoe Tribe of
Nevada and California to provide access and cultural resources
for the members of that Tribe.''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``and management''
after ``acquisition''.
(b) Acquisitions; Land Management.--Section 3 of Public Law 96-586
(94 Stat. 3383; 114 Stat. 2357; 130 Stat. 1790) (commonly known as the
``Santini-Burton Act'') is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3), in the first sentence, by
inserting ``the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and''
after ``local government agencies,'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``Land'' and inserting the
following:
``(A) National forest system.--Except as provided
in subparagraph (B), land'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so
designated), by striking ``United States
National Forest System; except that the
Secretary'' and inserting the following:
``National Forest System.
``(B) Transfers.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary''; and
(iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so
designated)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``lands''
each place it appears and
inserting ``land'';
(bb) by striking ``which
are unsuitable'' and inserting
``acquired under this section
that is unsuitable''; and
(cc) by inserting ``or to
the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and
California'' after ``local
government''; and
(II) by adding at the end the
following:
``(ii) Funding.--Amounts made available to
carry out this section may be used for the
administrative costs of transfers of land and
interests in land under this subsection.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Land management.--
``(A) Acquired land.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, funds appropriated pursuant to this
Act for the purpose of the acquisition of land and
interests in land under this section may be used by the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of
the Forest Service, for--
``(i) land management activities on land
acquired under this section within the Lake
Tahoe Basin; and
``(ii) land management activities on
National Forest System land within the
boundaries of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit.
``(B) Transferred land.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture may
transfer funds made available pursuant to this Act for
the purpose of the acquisition of land and interests in
land under this section to appropriate units of State
or local government or to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada
and California to carry out land management activities
on land acquired under this section and transferred to
that unit of State or local government or to that
Tribe.
``(C) Included land management activities.--Land
management activities that may be carried out under
subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall include activities for
the purposes of--
``(i) maintaining forest health;
``(ii) maintaining the wildland-urban
interface (as defined in section 101 of the
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16
U.S.C. 6511));
``(iii) maintaining water quality;
``(iv) preventing and mitigating
environmental impacts due to recreational use;
``(v) preserving cultural sites and
indigenous management practices; and
``(vi) scientific research to support
decisions relating to land management
activities described in clauses (i) through
(v).
``(D) Partnerships.--
``(i) Federal agencies.--The Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the
Forest Service, may enter into partnerships
with the heads of applicable Federal agencies
to carry out land management activities under
subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Other partnerships.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the
Forest Service, may enter into partnerships
with, and transfer funds appropriated pursuant
to this Act for the purpose of the acquisition
of land and interests in land under this
section to, appropriate units of State or local
government, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency,
or the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California to
develop and implement the land management
activities described in subparagraph (C) and
projects to provide public access to--
``(I) land in the Lake Tahoe Basin
acquired under this section;
``(II) land with a nexus to Federal
land in the Lake Tahoe Basin or the
shoreline of Lake Tahoe; or
``(III) land in the Lake Tahoe
Basin that is of cultural significance
to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and
California.
``(E) Spending plan.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than March 15
of each fiscal year, the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Forest
Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit, shall develop a spending plan for
activities under this paragraph for the next
fiscal year consistent with the priorities of
the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement
Program.
``(ii) Consultation.--In developing the
spending plan under clause (i), the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Forest
Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
Unit, shall consult with--
``(I) the Tahoe Regional Planning
Agency;
``(II) the States of California and
Nevada;
``(III) the Washoe Tribe of Nevada
and California; and
``(IV) appropriate units of local
government.
``(iii) Criteria.--The ranking of
management activities in the spending plan
developed under clause (i) shall be based on--
``(I) the potential to
significantly contribute to the
achievement and maintenance of the
environmental threshold carrying
capacities adopted by the Tahoe
Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe
Regional Planning Compact (Public Law
96-551; 94 Stat. 3233);
``(II) the 4-year threshold
carrying capacity evaluation;
``(III) the ability to measure
progress or success of the management
activity;
``(IV) the ability of the
management activity to have multiple
benefits;
``(V) the ability of the management
activity to leverage other
contributions;
``(VI) inclusion on the 5-year
priority list for the Lake Tahoe
Environmental Improvement Program; and
``(VII) whether there is
stakeholder support for the management
activity.
``(iv) Funding for administration;
availability.--Any funds made available under
this paragraph and allocated under the spending
plan developed under clause (i)--
``(I) may be used for
administrative costs of carrying out
the spending plan; and
``(II) shall remain available until
expended.
``(F) Maintenance of funding.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any funds made available under
this paragraph shall supplement, and not supplant, any
other amounts available to the Secretary of Agriculture
for expenditure in the Lake Tahoe Basin and any other
amounts made available by Congress.
``(G) Consideration as non-federal matching
funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any
funds transferred under this paragraph to the Washoe
Tribe of Nevada and California, an appropriate unit of
State or local government, or the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency shall be considered to be non-Federal
matching funds for purposes of any other provision of
Federal law.'';
(3) in subsection (c)(4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
subparagraph (C); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) `Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit' means the
land area included in the management unit created by
the Forest Service in 1973; and'';
(4) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(5) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g) Acquisition and Management of Land of Cultural Significance
to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, may transfer funds appropriated
pursuant to this Act for the purpose of the acquisition of land and
interests in land under this section to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and
California to acquire and manage land of cultural significance to that
Tribe in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the purposes of preservation, access,
and land management.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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