Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Promotion Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2384 To promote botanical research and botanical sciences capacity, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 31, 2019 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. VAN HOL- LEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To promote botanical research and botanical sciences capacity, and for other purposes. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, 5 Restoration, and Promotion Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2384 IS TITLE I—PROMOTING BOTANICAL RESEARCH AND BOTANICAL SCIENCES CAPACITY Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Department of the Interior botanical research. Sec. 103. Staff enhancement. TITLE II—GENERATING DEMAND FOR NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS Sec. 201. Policy for use of locally adapted native plant materials by Depart- ment of Agriculture and Department of the Interior. Sec. 202. Policy for use of locally adapted native plant materials by Depart- ment of Defense. Sec. 203. Surface transportation program. Sec. 204. Native plant materials requirements for Federal development projects. TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF FEDERAL NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS RELATED ACTIVITIES Sec. 301. Interagency plant materials efforts. Sec. 302. Bureau of Land Management plant conservation program. Sec. 303. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation plant conservation programs. Sec. 304. Grants to support collaborative efforts to prevent endangered species status. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 3 ‘‘invasive plant species’’ means a plant species that 4 is nonnative with respect to an ecosystem and whose 5 introduction into that ecosystem will cause, or is 6 likely to cause— 7 (A) economic harm; 8 (B) environmental harm; or 9 (C) harm to— 10 (i) human health; 11 (ii) animal health; or 12 (iii) plant health. 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2384 IS (2) LOCALLY ADAPTED.—The term ‘‘locally 1 adapted’’ means, with respect to a plant, a plant 2 that— 3 (A) originates from an area that is geo- 4 graphically proximate to a planting area; and 5 (B) is environmentally adapted to, and 6 likely to succeed in becoming established and 7 persisting within, that area. 8 (3) NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term ‘‘native 9 plant species’’ means indigenous terrestrial and 10 aquatic plant species that evolved naturally in a de- 11 fined native ecosystem. 12 (4) NONNATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The term 13 ‘‘nonnative plant species’’ means a plant that has 14 been introduced by humans to a location outside the 15 native or natural range of the plant and may, de- 16 pending on relevant facts and circumstances, include 17 a species introduced from— 18 (A) another continent; 19 (B) another ecosystem; 20 (C) another seed zone; or 21 (D) another habitat within an ecosystem. 22 (5) PLANT MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘plant mate- 23 rial’’ includes, with respect to a native plant species 24 or a nonnative plant species, such a plant or mate- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2384 IS rial of the plant capable of propagating that species, 1 including— 2 (A) the seeds of the plant; 3 (B) the eggs of the plant; 4 (C) the spores of the plant; or 5 (D) other biological material of the plant. 6 TITLE I—PROMOTING BOTAN- 7 ICAL RESEARCH AND BOTAN- 8 ICAL SCIENCES CAPACITY 9 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this title: 11 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 12 means the Department of the Interior. 13 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of the Interior. 15 SEC. 102. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BOTANICAL RE- 16 SEARCH. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support a 18 program of intramural and extramural botanical science 19 research as appropriate to support the land management 20 responsibilities of the Department. 21 (b) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—Research conducted 22 under this section shall include a focus on the following 23 topics: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2384 IS (1) Effective approaches to restoring habitat 1 damaged by wildfires that incorporate the use of ap- 2 propriate plant materials. 3 (2) Effective methods for developing and using 4 locally adapted plant materials of native plant spe- 5 cies in land management activities. 6 (3) Effective mitigation strategies for com- 7 bating invasive plant species. 8 (4) Mitigation strategies relating to the impacts 9 of long- and medium-term environmental changes 10 such as changes in— 11 (A) moisture levels; 12 (B) temperature; 13 (C) landscape fragmentation; 14 (D) nonnative animal species; 15 (E) nonnative plant species; and 16 (F) human activity. 17 (5) Methods to promote the recovery of threat- 18 ened and endangered species. 19 (c) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—As determined appropriate 21 by the Secretary, research conducted under this sec- 22 tion may be carried out through competitively 23 awarded grants or contracts, or cooperative agree- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2384 IS ments, awarded or entered into in accordance with 1 all applicable requirements governing that research. 2 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 3 the cost of a grant, contract, or cooperative agree- 4 ment awarded or entered into under this subsection 5 shall be not more than 50 percent. 6 (d) AGENCIES.—This section shall apply to— 7 (1) the Bureau of Land Management; 8 (2) the United States Geological Survey; 9 (3) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 10 (4) the National Park Service; and 11 (5) any other agencies and instrumentalities of 12 the Department as the Secretary determines appro- 13 priate. 14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec- 16 tion— 17 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 18 (2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal 19 year thereafter. 20 SEC. 103. STAFF ENHANCEMENT. 21 (a) DEFINITION OF BOTANICAL SCIENTIST.—In this 22 section, the term ‘‘botanical scientist’’ means an individual 23 with post-secondary education in botanical sciences, in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2384 IS cluding a plant ecologist and an individual with a bachelor 1 degree in plant biology. 2 (b) BOTANICAL SCIENCES STAFF ENHANCEMENT.— 3 For the purpose of improving the land management capa- 4 bilities of the Department, the Secretary shall augment 5 the expertise of the Department in the botanical sciences 6 by— 7 (1) hiring additional personnel who are botan- 8 ical scientists under subsection (c); and 9 (2) establishing a loan forgiveness program 10 under subsection (d) to facilitate the hiring of those 11 personnel. 12 (c) HIRING OF BOTANICAL SCIENTISTS.— 13 (1) HIRING.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—By not later than Sep- 15 tember 30, 2021, the Secretary shall hire not 16 fewer than 1 and not greater than 20 full-time 17 botanical scientists to support the land manage- 18 ment responsibilities of the Department. 19 (B) PLACEMENT.—The Secretary shall de- 20 termine the appropriate placement of the botan- 21 ical scientists hired under subparagraph (A) 22 within the appropriate agencies of the Depart- 23 ment with major land management responsibil- 24 ities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2384 IS (C) UTILIZATION OF PATHWAYS PRO- 1 GRAMS.—To the extent practicable, the Sec- 2 retary shall carry out this section through the 3 Pathways Programs under Executive Order 4 13562 (5 U.S.C. 3301 note; relating to recruit- 5 ing and hiring students and recent graduates). 6 (D) WAIVER OF LIMITATIONS.—The Sec- 7 retary may waive any limitation on the number 8 of full-time equivalent personnel assigned to the 9 Department in order to carry out the purposes 10 of this section. 11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A botanical scientist 12 hired under paragraph (1) shall be— 13 (A) in addition to— 14 (i) any position authorized in the De- 15 partment on the day before the date of en- 16 actment of this Act; and 17 (ii) any existing vacancy within the 18 Department on that day; 19 (B) part of the competitive service (as de- 20 fined in section 2102 of title 5, United States 21 Code); and 22 (C) hired in compliance with all applicable 23 provisions of title 5, United States Code. 24 (d) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2384 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 1 a program to provide educational loan repayment to 2 qualifying individuals who agree to a term of em- 3 ployment with the Department as a botanical sci- 4 entist. 5 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 6 in the loan repayment program under this sub- 7 section, an individual shall— 8 (A) either— 9 (i) have a degree in botanical sciences; 10 (ii) be enrolled in an approved grad- 11 uate training program in botanical 12 sciences; or 13 (iii) be enrolled as a full-time student 14 in an accredited educational institution 15 and in the final year of a course of a study 16 or program, offered by that institution and 17 approved by the Secretary, leading to a de- 18 gree in botanical sciences; and 19 (B) submit to the Secretary an application 20 for a contract described in paragraph (4). 21 (3) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED WITH AP- 22 PLICATION AND CONTRACT FORMS.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—In distributing applica- 24 tion forms and contract forms to individuals in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2384 IS terested in the loan repayment program under 1 this subsection, the Secretary shall include with 2 those forms a summary of the rights and liabil- 3 ities of an individual whose— 4 (i) application is approved; and 5 (ii) whose contract is accepted. 6 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The summary de- 7 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be written in 8 a manner calculated to be understood by an av- 9 erage individual applying to participate in the 10 loan repayment program, as determined by the 11 Secretary. 12 (4) CONTRACTS.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual shall be- 14 come a participant in the loan repayment pro- 15 gram under this subsection only on the Sec- 16 retary and the individual entering into a written 17 contract in which— 18 (i) the Secretary agrees to repay loans 19 on behalf of the individual in accordance 20 with paragraph (5); and 21 (ii) the individual agrees— 22 (I) to accept loan payments on 23 behalf of the individual; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2384 IS (II) if applicable, to maintain en- 1 rollment and acceptable academic 2 standing in a training program or 3 course of study or program described 4 in clause (ii) or (iii) of paragraph 5 (2)(A), respectively; and 6 (III) to serve for a period equal 7 to 2 years, or any longer period as the 8 individual may agree, as a botanical 9 scientist employed by the Department. 10 (B) OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A 11 contract under this paragraph shall include any 12 other appropriate terms and conditions to clar- 13 ify the rights, obligations, and liabilities of the 14 parties. 15 (5) REPAYMENT.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A loan repayment 17 under this subsection shall consist of repayment 18 by the Secretary on behalf of the individual of 19 government and commercial loans received by 20 the individual regarding the education described 21 in paragraph (2)(A) of the individual for— 22 (i) tuition; 23 (ii) other reasonable educational ex- 24 penses; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2384 IS (iii) reasonable living expenses, as de- 1 termined by the Secretary. 2 (B) AMOUNTS.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—For each year of 4 obligated service that an individual con- 5 tracts to serve in the Department, the Sec- 6 retary may pay not more than $50,000 on 7 behalf of the individual for loans described 8 in subparagraph (A). 9 (ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For 10 fiscal year 2021 and each subsequent fiscal 11 year, the Secretary shall adjust the amount 12 of the limitation described in clause (i) to 13 reflect inflation. 14 (iii) AGREEMENTS.—In making a de- 15 termination of the amount to pay under 16 subparagraph (A) for a year of service by 17 an individual, the Secretary may enter into 18 an agreement with the holder of any loan 19 for which payments are made to establish 20 a schedule for making those payments. 21 (C) LOANS.—A payment under this sub- 22 section may be used to repay— 23 (i) principal on a qualifying loan; 24 (ii) interest on a qualifying loan; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2384.IS S2384 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2384 IS (iii) related expenses on a qualifying 1 loan. 2 (6) EMPLOYMENT CEILING.—An individual who 3 has entered into a written contract with the Sec- 4 retary under this subsection while undergoing aca- 5 demic or other training shall not be counted against 6 any employment ceiling affecting the Department. 7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8 are authorized to be appropriated— 9 (1) for fiscal year 2020— 10 (A) $3,000,000 to carry out subsection (b); 11 and 12 (B) $1,000,000 to carry out subsection (c); 13 and 14 (2) such [Text truncated for display. 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