Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 435 To extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. RISCH, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. CAP- ITO, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KELLY, Mr. SULLIVAN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BENNET, Mr. TESTER, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. ROMNEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MANCHIN, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act of 2000. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Rural Schools 4 Reauthorization Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 435 IS SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COM- 1 MUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 2000. 2 (a) DEFINITION OF FULL FUNDING AMOUNT.—Sec- 3 tion 3(11) of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 4 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7102(11)) is 5 amended by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) and in- 6 serting the following: 7 ‘‘(D) for fiscal year 2017, the amount that 8 is equal to 95 percent of the full funding 9 amount for fiscal year 2015; 10 ‘‘(E) for each of fiscal years 2018 through 11 2020, the amount that is equal to 95 percent 12 of the full funding amount for the preceding fis- 13 cal year; and 14 ‘‘(F) for fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal 15 year thereafter, the amount that is equal to the 16 full funding amount for fiscal year 2017.’’. 17 (b) SECURE PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND COUNTIES 18 CONTAINING FEDERAL LAND.— 19 (1) SECURE PAYMENTS.—Section 101 of the 20 Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter- 21 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111) is amended, 22 in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘2015, 2017, 23 2018, 2019, and 2020’’ each place it appears and 24 inserting ‘‘2015 and 2017 through 2023’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 435 IS (2) DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE 1 COUNTIES.—Section 103(d)(2) of the Secure Rural 2 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 3 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7113(d)(2)) is amended by striking 4 ‘‘2020’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 5 (c) PILOT PROGRAM TO STREAMLINE NOMINATION 6 OF MEMBERS OF RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 7 Section 205 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community 8 Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125) is 9 amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(g) RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINT- 12 MENT PILOT PROGRAMS.— 13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 14 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE DESIGNEE.—The term 15 ‘applicable designee’ means the applicable re- 16 gional forester. 17 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL PILOT PROGRAM.—The 18 term ‘national pilot program’ means the na- 19 tional pilot program established under para- 20 graph (4)(A). 21 ‘‘(C) REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAM.—The 22 term ‘regional pilot program’ means the re- 23 gional pilot program established under para- 24 graph (3)(A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 435 IS ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAMS.— 1 In accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4), the Sec- 2 retary concerned shall carry out 2 pilot programs to 3 appoint members of resource advisory committees. 4 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAM.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con- 6 cerned shall carry out a regional pilot program 7 to allow an applicable designee to appoint mem- 8 bers of resource advisory committees. 9 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATION.—The re- 10 gional pilot program shall only apply to re- 11 source advisory committees chartered in— 12 ‘‘(i) the State of Montana; and 13 ‘‘(ii) the State of Arizona. 14 ‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES OF APPLICABLE 15 DESIGNEE.— 16 ‘‘(i) REVIEW.—Before appointing a 17 member of a resource advisory committee 18 under the regional pilot program, an appli- 19 cable designee shall conduct the review and 20 analysis that would otherwise be conducted 21 for an appointment to a resource advisory 22 committee if the regional pilot program 23 was not in effect, including any review and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 435 IS analysis with respect to civil rights and 1 budgetary requirements. 2 ‘‘(ii) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in 3 this paragraph relieves an applicable des- 4 ignee from any requirement developed by 5 the Secretary concerned for making an ap- 6 pointment to a resource advisory com- 7 mittee that is in effect on December 20, 8 2018, including any requirement for adver- 9 tising a vacancy. 10 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL PILOT PROGRAM.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con- 12 cerned shall carry out a national pilot program 13 to allow the Chief of the Forest Service or the 14 Director of the Bureau of Land Management, 15 as applicable, to submit to the Secretary con- 16 cerned nominations of individuals for appoint- 17 ment as members of resource advisory commit- 18 tees. 19 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.—Under the national 20 pilot program, subject to subparagraph (C), not 21 later than 30 days after the date on which a 22 nomination is transmitted to the Secretary con- 23 cerned under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 24 concerned shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 435 IS ‘‘(i) appoint the nominee to the appli- 1 cable resource advisory committee; or 2 ‘‘(ii) reject the nomination. 3 ‘‘(C) AUTOMATIC APPOINTMENT.—If the 4 Secretary concerned does not act on a nomina- 5 tion in accordance with subparagraph (B) by 6 the date described in that subparagraph, the 7 nominee shall be deemed appointed to the appli- 8 cable resource advisory committee. 9 ‘‘(D) GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATION.—The na- 10 tional pilot program shall apply to a resource 11 advisory committee chartered in any State other 12 than— 13 ‘‘(i) the State of Montana; or 14 ‘‘(ii) the State of Arizona. 15 ‘‘(E) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 16 paragraph relieves the Secretary concerned 17 from any requirement relating to an appoint- 18 ment to a resource advisory committee, includ- 19 ing any requirement with respect to civil rights 20 or advertising a vacancy. 21 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The 22 authority provided under this subsection terminates 23 on October 1, 2023. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 435 IS ‘‘(6) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 180 1 days after the date described in paragraph (5), the 2 Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a re- 3 port that includes— 4 ‘‘(A) with respect to appointments made 5 under the regional pilot program compared to 6 appointments made under the national pilot 7 program, a description of the extent to which— 8 ‘‘(i) appointments were faster or slow- 9 er; and 10 ‘‘(ii) the requirements described in 11 paragraph (3)(C)(i) differ; and 12 ‘‘(B) a recommendation with respect to 13 whether Congress should terminate, continue, 14 modify, or expand the pilot programs.’’. 15 (d) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SPE- 16 CIAL PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND.— 17 (1) EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—Section 18 205(a)(4) of the Secure Rural Schools and Commu- 19 nity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 20 7125(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘December 20, 21 2021’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Decem- 22 ber 20, 2023’’. 23 (2) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 208 24 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 435 IS Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7128) is 1 amended— 2 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2022’’ 3 and inserting ‘‘2025’’; and 4 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘2026’’. 6 (e) ACCESS TO BROADBAND AND OTHER TECH- 7 NOLOGY.—Section 302(a) of the Secure Rural Schools and 8 Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 9 7142(a)) is amended— 10 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11 end; 12 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(5) to provide or expand access to— 16 ‘‘(A) broadband telecommunications serv- 17 ices at local schools; or 18 ‘‘(B) the technology and connectivity nec- 19 essary for students to use a digital learning tool 20 at or outside of a local school campus.’’. 21 (f) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO EXPEND COUNTY 22 FUNDS.—Section 304 of the Secure Rural Schools and 23 Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 24 7144) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 435 IS (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2022’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘2025’’; and 2 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 3 inserting ‘‘2026’’. 4 (g) AMOUNTS OBLIGATED BUT UNSPENT; PROHIBI- 5 TION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Title III of the Secure Rural 6 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 7 (16 U.S.C. 7141 et seq.) is amended— 8 (1) by redesignating section 304 as section 305; 9 and 10 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 304. AMOUNTS OBLIGATED BUT UNSPENT; PROHIBI- 12 TION ON USE OF FUNDS. 13 ‘‘(a) AMOUNTS OBLIGATED BUT UNSPENT.—Any 14 county funds that were obligated by the applicable partici- 15 pating county before October 1, 2017, but are unspent on 16 October 1, 2020— 17 ‘‘(1) may, at the option of the participating 18 county, be deemed to have been reserved by the par- 19 ticipating county on October 1, 2020, for expendi- 20 ture in accordance with this title; and 21 ‘‘(2)(A) may be used by the participating coun- 22 ty for any authorized use under section 302(a); and 23 ‘‘(B) on a determination by the participating 24 county under subparagraph (A) to use the county 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 435 IS funds, shall be available for projects initiated after 1 October 1, 2020, subject to section 305. 2 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Notwith- 3 standing any other provision of law, effective beginning 4 on the date of enactment of the Secure Rural Schools Re- 5 authorization Act of 2021, no county funds made available 6 under this title may be used by any participating county 7 for any lobbying activity, regardless of the purpose for 8 which the funds are obligated on or before that date.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S435.IS S435 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS