Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 253 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1964 [Report No. 117–56] To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2021 Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. RISCH, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. SHA- HEEN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. KELLY, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. DAINES, Ms. CANT- WELL, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources JANUARY 19 (legislative day, JANUARY 18), 2022 Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Manage- ment Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1964 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ski Hill Resources for 2 Economic Development Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKI AREA FEE RETENTION AC- 4 COUNT. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 701 of division I of the 6 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 7 1996 (16 U.S.C. 497c) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 ‘‘(k) SKI AREA FEE RETENTION ACCOUNT.— 10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 11 ‘‘(A) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Account’ 12 means the Ski Area Fee Retention Account es- 13 tablished under paragraph (2). 14 ‘‘(B) COVERED UNIT.—The term ‘covered 15 unit’ means a unit of the National Forest Sys- 16 tem that collects a rental charge. 17 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ 18 means the Forest Service Ski Area Program. 19 ‘‘(D) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means a 20 region of the Forest Service. 21 ‘‘(E) RENTAL CHARGE.—The term ‘rental 22 charge’ means a permit rental charge that is 23 charged under subsection (a). 24 ‘‘(F) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 25 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1964 RS ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 1 Treasury shall establish in the Treasury a special 2 account, to be known as the ‘Ski Area Fee Retention 3 Account’, into which there shall be deposited— 4 ‘‘(A) in the case of a covered unit at which 5 $15,000,000 or more is collected by the covered 6 unit from rental charges in a fiscal year, an 7 amount equal to 60 percent of the rental 8 charges collected at the covered unit in the fis- 9 cal year; or 10 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other covered unit, 11 an amount equal to 75 percent of the rental 12 charges collected at the covered unit in a fiscal 13 year. 14 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Subject to paragraph (5), 15 any amounts deposited in the Account under para- 16 graph (2) shall be available to the Secretary for use 17 in accordance with paragraph (4), without further 18 appropriation, and shall remain available until ex- 19 pended. 20 ‘‘(4) USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN 21 THE ACCOUNT.— 22 ‘‘(A) DISTRIBUTION OF PERCENTAGE 23 AMOUNTS.—Except as provided in subpara- 24 graphs (B), (C), (D), (F), and (G), 75 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1964 RS of the amounts deposited in the Account from 1 a covered unit at which the rental charges were 2 collected in the preceding fiscal year shall be 3 available for expenditure in accordance with 4 subparagraph (E) at that covered unit. 5 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF PERCENTAGE 6 AMOUNT.—Subject to subparagraph (C), the 7 Secretary may reduce the percentage of 8 amounts available to a covered unit under sub- 9 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that 10 the amounts will exceed the reasonable needs of 11 the covered unit for the purposes described in 12 subparagraph (E) in the fiscal year. 13 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not 14 reduce, pursuant to subparagraph (B), the per- 15 centage of amounts available under subpara- 16 graph (A)— 17 ‘‘(i) in the case of a covered unit de- 18 scribed in paragraph (2)(A), to less than 19 25 percent of the amount of rental charges 20 deposited in the Account from the covered 21 unit in a fiscal year; or 22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other covered 23 unit, to less than 40 percent of the amount 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1964 RS of rental charges deposited in the Account 1 from the covered unit in a fiscal year. 2 ‘‘(D) DISTRIBUTION OF REDUCTION 3 AMOUNTS.—The Secretary may make any 4 amounts in the Account remaining as a result 5 of any reduction in the percentage of amounts 6 under subparagraph (B) available to other cov- 7 ered units or the regions in which the covered 8 units are located for the purposes described in 9 subparagraph (E), taking into consideration the 10 following factors: 11 ‘‘(i) Any backlog in ski area permit 12 and Program administration in the covered 13 units, including— 14 ‘‘(I) the number of proposals for 15 ski area improvement projects; and 16 ‘‘(II) the processing of proposals 17 for ski area improvement projects. 18 ‘‘(ii) Any need for services, training, 19 staffing, or the streamlining of programs 20 in the other covered units or the region in 21 which the covered units are located that 22 would improve the administration of the 23 Program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1964 RS ‘‘(iii) Any need for wildfire prepared- 1 ness, planning, and coordination in and 2 around ski areas. 3 ‘‘(E) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.— 4 Amounts distributed from the Account to a cov- 5 ered unit under this subsection may be used 6 for— 7 ‘‘(i) ski area special use permit and 8 Program administration in the covered 9 unit, including— 10 ‘‘(I) the processing of proposals 11 for ski area improvement projects; 12 and 13 ‘‘(II) staffing and contracting for 14 that processing and related services in 15 the covered unit or in the applicable 16 region; 17 ‘‘(ii) staff training for processing of 18 ski area applications and administering ski 19 area permits in the covered unit or the re- 20 gion in which the covered unit is located; 21 ‘‘(iii) interpretation activities, visitor 22 information, visitor services, and signage in 23 the covered unit to enhance the ski area 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1964 RS visitor experience on National Forest Sys- 1 tem land; and 2 ‘‘(iv) wildfire preparedness, planning, 3 and coordination in and around ski areas 4 in the covered unit or in the applicable re- 5 gion. 6 ‘‘(F) EXPENDITURE FOR OTHER PUR- 7 POSES.—If any amounts remain in the Account 8 after all necessary Program expenditures have 9 been made under subparagraph (D), the Sec- 10 retary may use the amounts for other purposes 11 in accordance with subparagraph (G). 12 ‘‘(G) OTHER RECREATION PERMIT ADMIN- 13 ISTRATION, VISITOR SERVICES, AND OTHER 14 PURPOSES.—In addition to any amounts re- 15 maining in the Account described in subpara- 16 graph (F), 25 percent of the amounts deposited 17 in the Account from a covered unit in which the 18 rental charges were collected shall remain avail- 19 able for expenditure at that covered unit or the 20 region in which the covered unit is located for— 21 ‘‘(i) administering non-ski area Forest 22 Service recreation special use permits; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1964 RS ‘‘(ii) avalanche information and edu- 1 cation activities carried out by the Sec- 2 retary or nonprofit partners; 3 ‘‘(iii) recreation management, mainte- 4 nance, and services; and 5 ‘‘(iv) administration of leases under— 6 ‘‘(I) the Forest Service Facility 7 Realignment and Enhancement Act of 8 2005 (16 U.S.C. 580d note; Public 9 Law 109–54); and 10 ‘‘(II) section 8623 of the Agri- 11 culture Improvement Act of 2018 (16 12 U.S.C. 580d note; Public Law 115– 13 334). 14 ‘‘(H) LIMITATION.—Amounts in the Ac- 15 count may not be used for— 16 ‘‘(i) the conduct of wildfire suppres- 17 sion outside ski area permit boundaries; or 18 ‘‘(ii) the acquisition of land for inclu- 19 sion in the National Forest System. 20 ‘‘(5) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub- 22 section affects the applicability of section 7 of 23 the Act of April 24, 1950 (commonly known as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1964 RS the ‘Granger-Thye Act’) (16 U.S.C. 580d), to 1 ski areas on National Forest System land. 2 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.—Rental 3 charges retained and expended under this sub- 4 section shall supplement (and not supplant) ap- 5 propriated funding for the operation and main- 6 tenance of each covered unit. 7 ‘‘(C) COST RECOVERY.—Nothing in this 8 subsection affects any cost recovery under any 9 other provision of law for processing applica- 10 tions for or monitoring compliance with ski area 11 permits or other recreation special use per- 12 mits.’’. 13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section (including the 14 amendments made by this section) shall take effect on the 15 date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 16 Act. 17 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 18 shall not be required to issue regulations or policy guid- 19 ance to implement this section (including the amendments 20 made by this section). 21 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ski Hill Resources for 23 Economic Development Act of 2021’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1964 RS SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SKI AREA FEE RETENTION AC- 1 COUNT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 701 of division I of the Om- 3 nibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 4 (16 U.S.C. 497c) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(k) SKI AREA FEE RETENTION ACCOUNT.— 7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 8 ‘‘(A) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘Account’ means 9 the Ski Area Fee Retention Account established 10 under paragraph (2). 11 ‘‘(B) COVERED UNIT.—The term ‘covered 12 unit’ means the unit of the National Forest Sys- 13 tem that collects the ski area permit rental 14 charge under this section. 15 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 16 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 17 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the 18 Treasury shall establish a special account in the 19 Treasury, to be known as the ‘Ski Area Fee Retention 20 Account’. 21 ‘‘(3) DEPOSITS.—Subject to paragraphs (4) and 22 (5), a ski area permit rental charge collected by the 23 Secretary under this section shall— 24 ‘‘(A) be deposited in the Account; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1964 RS ‘‘(B) be available to the Secretary for use, 1 without further appropriation; and 2 ‘‘(C) remain available for the period of 4 3 fiscal years beginning with the first fiscal year 4 after the fiscal year in which the ski area permit 5 rental charge is deposited in the Account under 6 subparagraph (A). 7 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN THE AC- 8 COUNT.— 9 ‘‘(A) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 11 in subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall ex- 12 pend 80 percent of the ski area permit rent- 13 al charges deposited in the Account from a 14 covered unit at the covered unit in accord- 15 ance with clause (ii). 16 ‘‘(ii) DISTRIBUTION.—Of the amounts 17 made available for expenditure under clause 18 (i)— 19 ‘‘(I) 75 percent shall be used at 20 the covered unit for activities described 21 in paragraph (5)(A); and 22 ‘‘(II) 25 percent shall be used for 23 activities at the covered unit described 24 in paragraph (5)(B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1964 RS ‘‘(B) AGENCY-WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF 1 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall expend 20 percent 2 of the ski area permit rental charges deposited in 3 the Account from a covered unit at any unit of 4 the National Forest System for an activity de- 5 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 6 (5). 7 ‘‘(C) REDUCTION OF PERCENTAGE.— 8 ‘‘(i) REDUCTION.—The Secretary shall 9 reduce the percentage otherwise applicable 10 under subparagraph (A)(i) to not less than 11 60 percent if the Secretary determines that 12 the amount otherwise made available under 13 that subparagraph exceeds the reasonable 14 needs of the covered unit for which expendi- 15 tures may be made in the applicable fiscal 16 year. 17 ‘‘(ii) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The 18 balance of the ski area permit rental 19 charges that are collected at a covered unit, 20 deposited into the Account, and not distrib- 21 uted in accordance with subparagraph (A) 22 or (B) shall be available to the Secretary for 23 expenditure at any other unit of the Na- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1964.RS S1964 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1964 RS tional Forest System in accordance with the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(I) 75 percent shall be used for 3 activities described in paragraph 4 (5)(A). 5 ‘‘(II) 25 percent shall be used for 6 activities described in paragraph 7 (5)(B). 8 ‘‘(5) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts available to the 9 Secretary for expenditure from the Account shall be 10 only used for— 11 ‘‘(A)(i) the administration of the Forest 12 Service ski area program, including— 13 ‘‘(I) the processing of an application 14 for a new ski area or a ski area improve- 15 ment project, including staffing and con- 16 tracting for the processing; and 17 ‘‘(II) administering a ski area permit 18 described in subsection (a); 19 ‘‘(ii) staff training fo [Text truncated for display. 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