Conservation Reserve Program Amendments Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1365 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for the enrollment of citrus land in the conservation reserve program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for the enrollment of citrus land in the conservation reserve program, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation Reserve 4 Program Amendments Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231 of the Food Security 7 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (b)(5)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1365.IS S1365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1365 IS (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ 1 at the end; 2 (B) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 3 at the end; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(F) the land has, during the 10-year pe- 6 riod preceding the date of enactment of this 7 subparagraph, been used to plant a citrus 8 crop;’’; and 9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(j) CITRUS LAND.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In enrolling acres of citrus 12 land described in subsection (b)(5)(F) in the con- 13 servation reserve, the Secretary shall enroll the land 14 using the continuous enrollment procedure described 15 in subsection (d)(6). 16 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In enrolling acres of citrus 17 land described in subsection (b)(5)(F) in the con- 18 servation reserve, the Secretary may give priority to 19 land that, as determined by the Secretary— 20 ‘‘(A) is at risk of conversion or develop- 21 ment; 22 ‘‘(B) is affected by huanglongbing; or 23 ‘‘(C) is of ecological significance, including 24 land that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1365.IS S1365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1365 IS ‘‘(i) may assist in the restoration of 1 threatened or endangered species under 2 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 3 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 4 ‘‘(ii) may assist in preventing a spe- 5 cies from being listed as a threatened or 6 endangered species under that Act; or 7 ‘‘(iii) improves or creates wildlife habi- 8 tat corridors. 9 ‘‘(3) INCIDENTAL LAND.—In enrolling land in 10 the conservation reserve, land owned by an owner of 11 citrus land described in subsection (b)(5)(F) that is 12 incidental to agricultural production may be consid- 13 ered for enrollment if the Secretary determines that 14 the incidental land is at risk of conversion or devel- 15 opment and is of ecological significance as described 16 in paragraph (2)(C). 17 ‘‘(4) FALLOW GROVES.—Not later than 180 18 days after the later of the first day of the period of 19 enrollment of citrus land described in subsection 20 (b)(5)(F) in the conservation reserve and the date 21 on which Secretary notifies an owner or operator of 22 the decision of the Secretary to enroll citrus land de- 23 scribed in subsection (b)(5)(F) in the conservation 24 reserve, the owner or operator of the citrus land en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1365.IS S1365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1365 IS rolled in the conservation reserve shall provide evi- 1 dence to the Secretary that any fallow groves that 2 are affected by huanglongbing within the enrolled 3 area have been removed. 4 ‘‘(5) DURATION OF CONTRACTS.—For the pur- 5 pose of carrying out enrollment of citrus land de- 6 scribed in subsection (b)(5)(F), the Secretary shall 7 enter into contracts of not less than 1, and not more 8 than 5, years. 9 ‘‘(6) LIMITATIONS.—For each of fiscal years 10 2024 through 2028, the total acreage of citrus land 11 described in subsection (b)(5)(F) enrolled in the con- 12 servation reserve shall not exceed 100,000 acres.’’. 13 (b) EXCLUSION OF ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMI- 14 TATION.—Section 1001D(b)(2)(C) of the Food Security 15 Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(b)(2)(C)) is amended by 16 striking ‘‘the Food Security Act of 1985.’’ and inserting 17 ‘‘this Act (other than a payment or benefit under the con- 18 servation reserve program under subchapter B of chapter 19 1 of subtitle D of that title with respect to citrus land 20 described in section 1231(b)(5)(F)).’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1365.IS S1365 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS