What This Bill Does
This bill creates a test program that lets two federal agencies use arbitration (a process where a neutral third party decides disputes) instead of court cases when people object to certain forest management activities. The bill also changes how courts handle requests to stop forest management activities and removes attorney fee awards for people who sue over these activities.
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Who It Affects
- The Secretary of Agriculture (runs the National Forest System)
- The Secretary of the Interior (runs public lands)
- People or organizations that object to forest management activities
- People who submitted public comments on forest management plans
- Arbitrators appointed to hear disputes
- Federal courts reviewing forest management cases
- Property owners near forests threatened by wildfire or other forest issues
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Key Provisions
- Courts must consider both the short-term and long-term effects of doing or not doing a forest management activity when deciding whether to stop it with an injunction (a court order preventing action) (Sec. 3(a))
- No one can receive payment for attorney fees or court costs from the federal government when challenging a qualified forest management activity (Sec. 2)
- Temporary court orders stopping forest management activities cannot last longer than 60 days without the court issuing a renewal, and the court can grant multiple renewals (Sec. 3(b))
- The Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior must each create an arbitration pilot program allowing up to 10 disputes per federal region per year to be decided by arbitration instead of court cases (Sec. 4(a)(3))
- Arbitrators must choose either the original forest management plan or a modified proposal submitted by someone objecting or intervening, but arbitrators cannot create their own new proposal (Sec. 4(d)(1))
- The arbitration process must be finished within 90 days of when the case is filed (Sec. 4(f))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, people challenging forest management activities will no longer receive tax money to pay attorney fees in federal court. Temporary court orders that stop forest management work will expire after 60 days unless the court specifically renews them. For certain forest management activities, disputes will be solved through arbitration with a neutral arbitrator instead of going to court, meaning the arbitrator's decision is final and cannot be appealed to a judge. The arbitration pilot program will last for 7 years from when the law takes effect.
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Important Definitions
- **Qualified forest management activity**: Forest work done on land suitable for timber production that either happens in areas the Secretary designated for forest restoration, was developed with multiple interested parties working together, was proposed by a resource advisory committee, or is covered by a community wildfire protection plan (Sec. 5(5))
- **Community wildfire protection plan**: Not defined in this bill; the definition comes from another law (the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003)
- **Collaborative process**: A method where forest management projects are developed by the Secretary working together with multiple interested parties with different viewpoints (Sec. 5(1))
- **National Forest System**: Not defined in this bill; the definition comes from another law (the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974)
- **Public lands**: Not defined in this bill; the definition comes from another law (the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976), but this bill adds that it includes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands (Sec. 5(4))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 636
To establish an arbitration process pilot program as an alternative dispute
resolution process for certain objections or protests to qualified forest
management activities, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 30, 2023
Mr. ROSENDALE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agri-
culture, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish an arbitration process pilot program as an alter-
native dispute resolution process for certain objections
or protests to qualified forest management activities, 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 ‘‘Forest Litigation Re-
4
form Act of 2023’’.
5
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•HR 636 IH
SEC. 2. NO ATTORNEY FEES FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT
1
ACTIVITY CHALLENGES.
2
Notwithstanding section 1304 of title 31, United
3
States Code, no award may be made under section 2412
4
of title 28, United States Code, and no amounts may be
5
obligated or expended from the Claims and Judgment
6
Fund of the United States Treasury to pay any fees or
7
other expenses under such sections to any plaintiff related
8
to an action challenging a qualified forest management ac-
9
tivity.
10
SEC. 3. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.
11
(a) BALANCING SHORT- AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS
12
OF FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN CONSIDERING
13
INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—As part of its weighing the equities
14
while considering any request for an injunction that ap-
15
plies to any agency action as part of a qualified forest
16
management activity, the court reviewing the agency ac-
17
tion shall balance the impact to the ecosystem likely af-
18
fected by the forest management activity of—
19
(1) the short- and long-term effects of under-
20
taking the agency action; against
21
(2) the short- and long-term effects of not un-
22
dertaking the action.
23
(b) TIME LIMITATIONS FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—
24
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
25
the length of any preliminary injunctive relief and
26
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•HR 636 IH
stays pending appeal that applies to any agency ac-
1
tion as part of a forest management activity, shall
2
not exceed 60 days.
3
(2) RENEWAL.—
4
(A) IN GENERAL.—A court of competent
5
jurisdiction may issue one or more renewals of
6
any preliminary injunction, or stay pending ap-
7
peal, granted under paragraph (1).
8
(B) UPDATES.—In each renewal of an in-
9
junction in an action, the parties to the action
10
shall present the court with updated informa-
11
tion on the status of the authorized forest man-
12
agement activity.
13
SEC. 4. USE OF ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF LITIGATION TO
14
ADDRESS CHALLENGES TO FOREST MANAGE-
15
MENT ACTIVITIES.
16
(a) DISCRETIONARY ARBITRATION PROCESS PILOT
17
PROGRAM.—
18
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri-
19
culture, with respect to National Forest System
20
lands, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect
21
to public lands, shall each establish a discretionary
22
arbitration pilot program as an alternative dispute
23
resolution process for the activities described in
24
paragraph (2). Such arbitration pilot program shall
25
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•HR 636 IH
take place in lieu of judicial review for the activities
1
described in paragraph (2).
2
(2) ACTIVITIES
DESCRIBED.—The Secretary
3
concerned, at the sole discretion of the Secretary,
4
may designate objections or protests to qualified for-
5
est management activities for arbitration under the
6
arbitration pilot program established under para-
7
graph (1).
8
(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ARBITRATIONS.—
9
(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the arbitration
10
pilot program, the Secretary concerned may not
11
arbitrate more than 10 objections or protests to
12
qualified forest management activities in a fis-
13
cal year in—
14
(i) each Forest Service Region; and
15
(ii) each State Region of the Bureau
16
of Land Management.
17
(B) NOT SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—
18
A determination made by the Secretary con-
19
cerned that an objection or protest to a quali-
20
fied forest management activity is an activity
21
described under paragraph (2) shall not be sub-
22
ject to judicial review.
23
(4)
DETERMINING
AMOUNT
OF
ARBITRA-
24
TIONS.—An objection or protest to a qualified forest
25
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•HR 636 IH
management activity shall not be counted towards
1
the limitation on number of arbitrations under para-
2
graph (3) unless—
3
(A) on the date such objection or protest
4
is designated for arbitration, the qualified forest
5
management activity for which such objection
6
or protest is filed has not been the subject of
7
arbitration proceedings under the pilot pro-
8
gram; and
9
(B) the arbitration proceeding has com-
10
menced with respect to such objection or pro-
11
test.
12
(5) TERMINATION.—
13
(A) IN GENERAL.—The pilot programs es-
14
tablished pursuant to paragraph (1) shall ter-
15
minate on the date that is 7 years after the
16
date of the enactment of this Act.
17
(B) ACTIVITY IN ARBITRATION.—An objec-
18
tion or protest to a qualified forest management
19
activity that has commenced but has not com-
20
pleted arbitration on the date of termination
21
under subparagraph (A) shall continue until
22
such arbitration is completed.
23
(b) INTERVENING PARTIES.—
24
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•HR 636 IH
(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Any person that sub-
1
mitted a public comment on the qualified forest
2
management activity that is subject to arbitration
3
may intervene in the arbitration—
4
(A) by endorsing—
5
(i) the qualified forest management
6
activity; or
7
(ii) the modification proposal sub-
8
mitted under subparagraph (B); or
9
(B) by submitting a proposal to further
10
modify the qualified forest management activ-
11
ity.
12
(2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—With respect
13
to an objection or protest that is designated for arbi-
14
tration under this subsection (a), a request to inter-
15
vene in an arbitration must be submitted not later
16
than the date that is 30 days after the date on
17
which such objection or protest was designated for
18
arbitration.
19
(3) MULTIPLE PARTIES.—Multiple intervening
20
parties may submit a joint proposal so long as each
21
intervening party meets the eligibility requirements
22
of paragraph (1).
23
(c) APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATOR.—
24
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•HR 636 IH
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary of Agri-
1
culture and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly
2
develop and publish a list of not fewer than 20 indi-
3
viduals eligible to serve as arbitrators for the pilot
4
programs under this section.
5
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to
6
serve as an arbitrator under this subsection, an indi-
7
vidual shall be, on the date of the appointment of
8
such arbitrator—
9
(A) certified by the American Arbitration
10
Association; and
11
(B) not a registered lobbyist.
12
(3) SELECTION OF ARBITRATOR.—
13
(A) IN
GENERAL.—For each arbitration
14
commenced under this section, the Secretary
15
concerned and each applicable objector or
16
protestor shall agree, not later than 14 days
17
after the agreement process is initiated, on a
18
mutually acceptable arbitrator from the list
19
published under this subsection.
20
(B) APPOINTMENT
AFTER
14
DAYS.—In
21
the case of an agreement with respect to a mu-
22
tually acceptable arbitrator not being reached
23
within the 14-day limit described in subpara-
24
graph (A), the Secretary concerned shall ap-
25
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•HR 636 IH
point an arbitrator from the list published
1
under this subsection.
2
(d) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.—
3
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The arbitrator appointed
4
under subsection (c)—
5
(A) may not modify any of the proposals
6
submitted with the objection, protest, or request
7
to intervene; and
8
(B) shall select to be conducted—
9
(i) the qualified forest management
10
activity, as approved by the Secretary; or
11
(ii) a proposal submitted by an objec-
12
tor or an intervening party.
13
(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—An arbitrator shall,
14
when selecting a proposal, consider—
15
(A) whether the proposal is consistent with
16
the applicable forest plan, laws, and regula-
17
tions;
18
(B) whether the proposal can be carried
19
out by the Secretary concerned; and
20
(C) the effect of each proposal on—
21
(i) forest health;
22
(ii) potential losses of life and prop-
23
erty;
24
(iii) habitat diversity;
25
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•HR 636 IH
(iv) wildfire potential;
1
(v) insect and disease potential;
2
(vi) timber production; and
3
(vii) the implications of a resulting de-
4
cline in forest health, loss of habitat diver-
5
sity, wildfire, or insect or disease infesta-
6
tion, given fire and insect and disease his-
7
toric cycles, on—
8
(I) potential losses of life and
9
property;
10
(II) domestic water costs;
11
(III) wildlife habitat loss; and
12
(IV) other economic and social
13
factors.
14
(e) EFFECT OF DECISION.—The decision of an arbi-
15
trator with respect to the qualified forest management ac-
16
tivity shall—
17
(1) not be considered a major Federal action;
18
(2) be binding; and
19
(3) not be subject to judicial review, except as
20
provided in section 10(a) of title 9, United States
21
Code.
22
(f) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not later than 90
23
days after the date on which the arbitration is filed with
24
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•HR 636 IH
respect to the qualified forest management activity, the
1
arbitration process shall be completed.
2
SEC. 5. DEFINITION.
3
In this Act:
4
(1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col-
5
laborative process’’ means a process relating to the
6
management of National Forest System lands or
7
public lands by which a project or forest manage-
8
ment activity is developed and implemented by the
9
Secretary concerned through collaboration with mul-
10
tiple interested persons representing diverse inter-
11
ests.
12
(2)
COMMUNITY
WILDFIRE
PROTECTION
13
PLAN.—The term ‘‘community wildfire protection
14
plan’’ has the meaning given that term in section
15
101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
16
(16 U.S.C. 6511).
17
(3) NATIONAL
FOREST
SYSTEM.—The term
18
‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given
19
that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range-
20
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
21
U.S.C. 1609(a)).
22
(4) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’
23
has the meaning given that term in section 103 of
24
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
25
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•HR 636 IH
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except that the term in-
1
cludes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and Or-
2
egon and California Railroad Grant lands.
3
(5) QUALIFIED FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIV-
4
ITY.—The term ‘‘qualified forest management activ-
5
ity’’ means any forest management activity that—
6
(A) will occur on lands identified as the
7
Secretary concerned as suitable for timber pro-
8
duction; and
9
(B) meets at least one of the following con-
10
ditions:
11
(i) The forest management activity
12
will occur on lands designated by the Sec-
13
retary (or designee thereof) pursuant to
14
section 602(b) of the Healthy Forests Res-
15
toration
Act
of
2003
(16
U.S.C.
16
6591a(b)), notwithstanding whether such
17
forest management activity is initiated
18
prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
19
(ii) The forest management activity is
20
developed through a collaborative process.
21
(iii) The forest management activity is
22
proposed by a resource advisory committee.
23
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•HR 636 IH
(iv) The forest management activity is
1
covered by a community wildfire protection
2
plan.
3
(6) RESOURCE
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.—The
4
term ‘‘resource advisory committee’’ has the mean-
5
ing given that term in section 201 of the Secure
6
Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination
7
Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121).
8
Æ
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