FILM Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1616 To provide exceptions from permitting and fee requirements for content cre- ation, regardless of distribution platform, including digital or analog video and digital or analog audio recording activities, conducted on land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 13, 2021 Mr. BARRASSO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To provide exceptions from permitting and fee requirements for content creation, regardless of distribution platform, including digital or analog video and digital or analog audio recording activities, conducted on land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec- retary of the Interior. 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 ‘‘Federal Interior Land 4 Media Act’’ or the ‘‘FILM Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1616 IS SEC. 2. EXCEPTIONS FOR PERMITTING AND FEE REQUIRE- 1 MENTS FOR CERTAIN CONTENT CREATION, 2 REGARDLESS OF DISTRIBUTION PLATFORM, 3 INCLUDING DIGITAL OR ANALOG VIDEO AND 4 DIGITAL OR ANALOG AUDIO RECORDING AC- 5 TIVITIES, CONDUCTED ON LAND UNDER THE 6 JURISDICTION OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRI- 7 CULTURE AND THE SECRETARY OF THE IN- 8 TERIOR. 9 (a) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM LAND.—Section 10 100905 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (c)(1), in the first sentence, by 12 inserting ‘‘commercial or non-commercial’’ before 13 ‘‘still photography’’; 14 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 15 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; 16 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(d) CONTENT CREATION, REGARDLESS OF DIS- 19 TRIBUTION PLATFORM, INCLUDING DIGITAL OR ANALOG 20 VIDEO AND DIGITAL OR ANALOG AUDIO RECORDING AC- 21 TIVITIES.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 23 graph (3), the Secretary shall not require a permit 24 or assess a fee or charge for any commercial or non- 25 commercial content creation, regardless of distribu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1616 IS tion platform, including digital or analog video and 1 digital or analog audio recording activity, in a Sys- 2 tem unit (referred to in this subsection as a ‘covered 3 activity’), if the covered activity— 4 ‘‘(A) takes place at a location in which the 5 public is allowed; 6 ‘‘(B) complies with and adheres to visitor 7 use policies, practices, and regulations applica- 8 ble to the applicable System unit; 9 ‘‘(C) is conducted in a manner that does 10 not— 11 ‘‘(i) impede or intrude on the experi- 12 ence of other visitors to the applicable Sys- 13 tem unit; or 14 ‘‘(ii) disturb other resource values and 15 wildlife; 16 ‘‘(D) does not require the exclusive use of 17 a site or area; 18 ‘‘(E) complies with other applicable Fed- 19 eral, State, and local laws (including regula- 20 tions), such as laws relating to the use of un- 21 manned aerial equipment; and 22 ‘‘(F) is conducted by— 23 ‘‘(i) an individual; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1616 IS ‘‘(ii) a group of not more than 10 in- 1 dividuals. 2 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTIFICATION NOT RE- 3 QUIRED.—The Secretary shall not require advance 4 notification for the conduct of a covered activity 5 under paragraph (1). 6 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding para- 7 graph (1), the Secretary may require a permit, as- 8 sess a fee or charge, or both, for the conduct of a 9 covered activity, if— 10 ‘‘(A) the covered activity takes place at a 11 location in which members of the public are 12 generally not allowed; 13 ‘‘(B) additional administrative costs are 14 likely to be incurred by the Secretary with re- 15 spect to the covered activity; 16 ‘‘(C) the covered activity is being con- 17 ducted in a localized area that receives very 18 high volume visitation; 19 ‘‘(D) the covered activity requires the use 20 of a set or staging equipment; or 21 ‘‘(E) the covered activity is being con- 22 ducted by a group of 11 or more individuals. 23 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY PERMIT APPLICATIONS.—Not- 24 withstanding paragraph (1), an individual or small 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1616 IS group of individuals conducting a covered activity 1 that meets the requirements of that paragraph may 2 elect to apply for a permit for the covered activity 3 for any reason, including to benefit from any assur- 4 ances provided by the permit.’’; 5 (4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), in the 6 matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, a 7 covered activity described in subsection (d),’’ after 8 ‘‘still photography’’; and 9 (5) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)— 10 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 11 inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a permit is required 16 for an activity under this section and 1 or more 17 additional Federal agencies or jurisdictional 18 units are involved in the permitting of the activ- 19 ity, the Secretary and the head of the Federal 20 agency or jurisdictional unit shall, to the max- 21 imum extent practicable, coordinate permit 22 processing procedures. 23 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION OF LEAD PERMIT 24 AGENCY CONTACT.—To maximize the efficient 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1616 IS and coordinated processing of permits under 1 this section in which more than 1 Federal agen- 2 cy or jurisdictional unit is involved in the per- 3 mitting of the activity, the Secretary and the 4 heads of any other applicable Federal agencies 5 shall consider, to the maximum extent prac- 6 ticable, identifying a lead contact or office to 7 process and coordinate applicable permits and 8 fees.’’. 9 (b) OTHER LAND UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE 10 SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE AND THE SECRETARY OF 11 THE INTERIOR.—Section 1 of Public Law 106–206 (16 12 U.S.C. 460l–6d) is amended— 13 (1) in subsection (c)(1), in the first sentence, by 14 inserting ‘‘commercial or non-commercial’’ before 15 ‘‘still photography’’; 16 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f) 17 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; 18 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(d) CONTENT CREATION, REGARDLESS OF DIS- 21 TRIBUTION PLATFORM, INCLUDING DIGITAL OR ANALOG 22 VIDEO AND DIGITAL OR ANALOG AUDIO RECORDING AC- 23 TIVITIES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1616 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (3), the Secretary shall not require a permit 2 or assess a fee or charge for any commercial or non- 3 commercial content creation, regardless of distribu- 4 tion platform, including digital or analog video and 5 digital or analog audio recording activity, on land 6 administered by the Secretary (referred to in this 7 subsection as a ‘covered activity’), if the covered ac- 8 tivity— 9 ‘‘(A) takes place at a location in which the 10 public is allowed; 11 ‘‘(B) complies with and adheres to visitor 12 use policies, practices, and regulations applica- 13 ble to the applicable land administered by the 14 Secretary; 15 ‘‘(C) is conducted in a manner that does 16 not— 17 ‘‘(i) impede or intrude on the experi- 18 ence of other visitors to the applicable land 19 administered by the Secretary; or 20 ‘‘(ii) disturb other resource values and 21 wildlife; 22 ‘‘(D) does not require the exclusive use of 23 a site or area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1616 IS ‘‘(E) complies with other applicable Fed- 1 eral, State, and local laws (including regula- 2 tions), such as laws relating to the use of un- 3 manned aerial equipment; and 4 ‘‘(F) is conducted by— 5 ‘‘(i) an individual; or 6 ‘‘(ii) a group of not more than 10 in- 7 dividuals. 8 ‘‘(2) ADVANCE NOTIFICATION NOT RE- 9 QUIRED.—The Secretary shall not require advance 10 notification for the conduct of a covered activity 11 under paragraph (1). 12 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding para- 13 graph (1), the Secretary may require a permit, as- 14 sess a fee or charge, or both, for the conduct of a 15 covered activity, if— 16 ‘‘(A) the covered activity takes place at a 17 location in which members of the public are 18 generally not allowed; 19 ‘‘(B) additional administrative costs are 20 likely to be incurred by the Secretary with re- 21 spect to the covered activity; 22 ‘‘(C) the covered activity is being con- 23 ducted in a localized area that receives very 24 high volume visitation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1616 IS ‘‘(D) the covered activity requires the use 1 of a set or staging equipment; or 2 ‘‘(E) the covered activity is being con- 3 ducted by a group of 11 or more individuals. 4 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY PERMIT APPLICATIONS.—Not- 5 withstanding paragraph (1), an individual or small 6 group of individuals conducting a covered activity 7 that meets the requirements of that paragraph may 8 elect to apply for a permit for the covered activity 9 for any reason, including to benefit from any assur- 10 ances provided by the permit.’’; 11 (4) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), in the 12 matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, a 13 covered activity described in subsection (d),’’ after 14 ‘‘still photography’’; and 15 (5) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)— 16 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 17 inserting the following: 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a permit is required 22 for an activity under this section and 1 or more 23 additional Federal agencies or jurisdictional 24 units are involved in the permitting of the activ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1616 IS ity, the Secretary and the head of the Federal 1 agency or jurisdictional unit shall, to the max- 2 imum extent practicable, coordinate permit 3 processing procedures. 4 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION OF LEAD AGENCY 5 CONTACT.—To maximize the efficient and co- 6 ordinated processing of permits under this sec- 7 tion in which more than 1 Federal agency or 8 jurisdictional unit is involved in the permitting 9 of the activity, the Secretary and the heads of 10 any other applicable Federal agencies shall con- 11 sider, to the maximum extent practicable, iden- 12 tifying a lead contact or office to process and 13 coordinate applicable permits and fees.’’. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1616.IS S1616 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS