Title I — Department of the Interior

Appropriations made in this title shall be available for expenditure or transfer (within each bureau or office), with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, for the emergency reconstruction, replacement, or repair of aircraft, buildings, utilities, or other facilities or equipment damaged or destroyed by fire, flood, storm, or other unavoidable causes: Provided, That no funds shall be made available under this authority until funds specifically made available to the Department of the Interior for emergencies have been exhausted: Provided further, That all funds used pursuant to this section must be replenished by a supplemental appropriation, which must be requested as promptly as possible.

The Secretary of the Interior may authorize the expenditure or transfer of any no year appropriation in this title, in addition to the amounts included in the budget programs of the several agencies, for the suppression or emergency prevention of wildland fires on or threatening lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior; for the emergency rehabilitation of burned-over lands under its jurisdiction; for emergency actions related to potential or actual earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, storms, or other unavoidable causes; for contingency planning subsequent to actual oil spills; for response and natural resource damage assessment activities related to actual oil spills or releases of hazardous substances into the environment; for the prevention, suppression, and control of actual or potential grasshopper and Mormon cricket outbreaks on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, pursuant to the authority in section 417(b) of Public Law 106–224 (7 U.S.C. 7717(b)); for emergency reclamation projects under section 410 of Public Law 95–87; and shall transfer, from any no year funds available to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, such funds as may be necessary to permit assumption of regulatory authority in the event a primacy State is not carrying out the regulatory provisions of the Surface Mining Act: Provided, That appropriations made in this title for wildland fire operations shall be available for the payment of obligations incurred during the preceding fiscal year, and for reimbursement to other Federal agencies for destruction of vehicles, aircraft, or other equipment in connection with their use for wildland fire operations, with such reimbursement to be credited to appropriations currently available at the time of receipt thereof: Provided further, That for wildland fire operations, no funds shall be made available under this authority until the Secretary determines that funds appropriated for “wildland fire suppression” shall be exhausted within 30 days: Provided further, That all funds used pursuant to this section must be replenished by a supplemental appropriation, which must be requested as promptly as possible: Provided further, That such replenishment funds shall be used to reimburse, on a pro rata basis, accounts from which emergency funds were transferred.

Appropriations made to the Department of the Interior in this title shall be available for services as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, when authorized by the Secretary of the Interior, in total amount not to exceed $500,000; purchase and replacement of motor vehicles, including specially equipped law enforcement vehicles; hire, maintenance, and operation of aircraft; hire of passenger motor vehicles; purchase of reprints; payment for telephone service in private residences in the field, when authorized under regulations approved by the Secretary; and the payment of dues, when authorized by the Secretary, for library membership in societies or associations which issue publications to members only or at a price to members lower than to subscribers who are not members.

Appropriations made in this Act under the headings “Bureau of Indian Affairs,”“Bureau of Indian Education,” and “Bureau of Trust Funds Administration” and any unobligated balances from prior appropriations Acts made under the same headings shall be available for expenditure or transfer for Indian trust management and reform activities. Total funding for settlement support activities shall not exceed amounts specifically designated in this Act for such purpose. The Secretary shall notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 60 days of the expenditure or transfer of any funds under this section, including the amount expended or transferred and how the funds will be used.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to redistribute any Tribal Priority Allocation funds, including Tribal base funds, to alleviate Tribal funding inequities by transferring funds to address identified, unmet needs, dual enrollment, overlapping service areas or inaccurate distribution methodologies. No Tribe shall receive a reduction in Tribal Priority Allocation funds of more than 10 percent in fiscal year 2024. Under circumstances of dual enrollment, overlapping service areas or inaccurate distribution methodologies, the 10 percent limitation does not apply.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior may enter into multiyear cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations and other appropriate entities, and may enter into multiyear contracts in accordance with the provisions of section 3903 of title 41, United States Code (except that the 5-year term restriction in subsection (a) shall not apply), for the long-term care and maintenance of excess wild free-roaming horses and burros by such organizations or entities on private land. Such cooperative agreements and contracts may not exceed 10 years, subject to renewal at the discretion of the Secretary.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service shall, in carrying out its responsibilities to protect threatened and endangered species of salmon, implement a system of mass marking of salmonid stocks, intended for harvest, that are released from federally operated or federally financed hatcheries including but not limited to fish releases of coho, chinook, and steelhead species. Marked fish must have a visible mark that can be readily identified by commercial and recreational fishers.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during fiscal year 2024, in carrying out work involving cooperation with State, local, and Tribal governments or any political subdivision thereof, Indian Affairs may record obligations against accounts receivable from any such entities, except that total obligations at the end of the fiscal year shall not exceed total budgetary resources available at the end of the fiscal year.

Amounts appropriated by this Act to the Department of the Interior shall be available for obligation and expenditure not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

The Secretary of the Interior, in order to implement an orderly transition to separate accounts of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education, may transfer funds among and between the successor offices and bureaus affected by the reorganization only in conformance with the reprogramming guidelines described in this Act.

Section 6906 of title 31, United States Code, shall be applied by substituting “fiscal year 2024” for “fiscal year 2019”.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law or Federal regulation, federally recognized Indian Tribes or authorized Tribal organizations that receive Tribally-Controlled School Grants pursuant to Public Law 100–297 may obtain interagency motor vehicles and related services for performance of any activities carried out under such grants to the same extent as if they were contracting under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

For fiscal year 2024, funds made available in this or any other Act or otherwise made available to the Department of the Interior for the Appraisal and Valuation Services Office may be used by the Secretary of the Interior to establish higher minimum rates of basic pay for employees of the Department of the Interior in the Appraiser (GS–1171) job series at grades 11 through 15 carrying out appraisals of real property and appraisal reviews conducted in support of the Department’s realty programs at rates no greater than 15 percent above the minimum rates of basic pay normally scheduled, and such higher rates shall be consistent with subsections (e) through (h) of section 5305 of title 5, United States Code.

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)—

For expenses necessary to carry out section 200305 of title 54, United States Code, the National Park Service may retain up to 7 percent of the State Conservation Grants program to provide to States, the District of Columbia, and insular areas, as matching grants to support State program administrative costs.