H.R. 1214 — what changed
National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015
From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 1 section amended between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Sec. 2 Additional authority for sale or exchange of small parcels of National Forest System land
Increase in maximum value of small parcels— Section 3 of Public Law 97–465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 16 U.S.C. 521e) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “$150,000” and inserting “$500,000”.
Additional conveyance purposes— Section 3 of Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521e) is further amended—
by striking “; or” at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting a semicolon;
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(4) parcels of 40 acres or less which are determined by the Secretary to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, or to have lost their National Forest character;
“(5) parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible for conveyance under paragraph (2), but which are encroached upon by permanent habitable improvements for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent; or
“(6) parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by the Secretary.”
Disposition of proceeds— Section 2 of Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521d) is amended—
by striking “The Secretary is authorized” and inserting the following:
“(a) Conveyance authority; consideration—The Secretary is authorized”
by striking “The Secretary shall insert” and inserting the following:
“(b) Inclusion of terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations—The Secretary shall insert”
by striking “convenants” and inserting “covenants”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) Disposition of proceeds
“(1) Deposit in sisk fund—The net proceeds derived from any sale or exchange conducted under the authority of paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 3 shall be deposited in the fund established by Public Law 90–171 (commonly known as the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
changed
“(2) Use—Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) shall be available to the Secretary, without further appropriation and Secretary until expended, for—
“(A) the acquisition of land or interests in land for administrative sites for the National Forest System in the State from which the amounts were derived;
changed
“(B) the acquisition of land or interests in land for inclusion in the National Forest System in that State, including land or interests in land which enhance opportunities for recreational access; oraccess;
changed
“(C) the performance of deferred maintenance on administrative sites for the National Forest System in that State or other deferred maintenance activities in that State which enhance opportunities for recreational access.”access; or
added “(D) the reimbursement of the Secretary for costs incurred in preparing a sale conducted under the authority of section 3 if the sale is a competitive sale.”