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STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - February 29, 2000)

``(4) The Secretary shall notify each State of its apportionment, and the amounts thereof shall be available thereafter to the State for planning, acquisition, or development projects as hereafter described. Any amount of any apportionment under this subsection that has not been paid or obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which such notification is given and the two fiscal

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years thereafter shall be reapportioned by the Secretary in accordance with paragraph (2), but without regard to the 10 percent limitation to an individual State specified in paragraph (3).

    ``(5)(A) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(A)--

    ``(i) the District of Columbia shall be treated as a State; and

    ``(ii) Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa--

    ``(I) shall be treated collectively as one State; and

    ``(II) shall each be allocated an equal share of any amount distributed to them pursuant to clause (i).

    ``(B) Each of the areas referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be treated as a State for all other purposes of this Act.' '.

    (b) TRIBES AND ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATIONS.--Section 6(b)(5) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(b)(5)) is further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

    ``(C) For the purposes of paragraph (1), all federally recognized Indian tribes and Native Corporations (as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1602)), shall be eligible to receive shares of the apportionment under paragraph (1) in accordance with a competitive grant program established by the Secretary by rule. The total apportionment available to such tribes and Native Corporations shall be equivalent to the amount available to a single State. No single tribe or Native Corporation shall receive a grant that constitutes more than 10 percent of the total amount made available to all tribes and Native Corporations pursuant to the apportionment under paragraph (1). Funds received by a tribe or Native Corporation under this subparagraph may be expended only for the purposes specified in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a).''.

    (c) LOCAL ALLOCATION.--Section 6(b) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

    ``(6) Absent some compelling and annually documented reason to the contrary acceptable to the Secretary of the Interior, each State (other than an area treated as a State under paragraph (5)) shall make available as grants to local governments, at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment, or an equivalent amount made available from other sources.''.

   SEC. 207. STATE PLANNING.

    (a) STATE ACTION AGENDA REQUIRED.--

    (1) IN GENERAL.--Section 6(d) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(d)) is amended to read as follows:

    ``(d) STATE ACTION AGENDA REQUIRED.--(1) Each State may define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor conservation a nd recreation acquisition and development projects eligible for grants under this Act s o long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Conservation a nd Recreation (in this Act r eferred to as the `State Action Agenda') indicating the needs it has identified and the priorities and criteria it has established. In order to assess its needs and establish its overall priorities, each State, in partnership with its local governments and Federal agencies, and in consultation with its citizens, shall develop, within 5 years after the enactment of the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct o f 1999, a State Action Agenda that meets the following requirements:

    ``(A) The agenda must be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next 4 years.

    ``(B) The agenda must be updated at least once every 4 years and certified by the Governor that the State Action Agenda conclusions and proposed actions have been considered in an active public involvement process.

    ``(2) State Action Agendas shall take into account all providers of conservation a nd recreation lands within each State, including Federal, regional, and local government resources, and shall be correlated whenever possible with other State, regional, and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation. Recovery action programs developed by urban localities under section 1007 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act o f 1978 shall be used by a State as a guide to the conclusions, priorities, and action schedules contained in State Action Agenda. Each State shall assure that any requirements for local outdoor conservation a nd recreation planning, promulgated as conditions for grants, minimize redundancy of local efforts by allowing, wherever possible, use of the findings, priorities, and implementation schedules of recovery action programs to meet such requirements.''.

    (2) EXISTING STATE PLANS.--Comprehensive State Plans developed by any State under section 6(d) of the Land and Water Conservation F und Act o f 1965 before the date that is 5 years after the enactment of this Act s hall remain in effect in that State until a State Action Agenda has been adopted pursuant to the amendment made by this subsection, but no later than 5 years after the enactment of this Act.< p>    (b) MISCELLANEOUS.--Section 6(e) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(e)) is amended as follows:

    (1) In the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``State comprehensive plan'' and inserting ``State Action Agenda''.

    (2) In paragraph (1) by striking ``comprehensive plan'' and inserting ``State Action Agenda''.

   SEC. 208. ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR OTHER PROJECTS.

    Section 6(e) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(e)) is amended--

    (1) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ``, but not including incidental costs relating to acquisition''; and

    (2) in subsection (e)(2) by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``or to enhance public safety within a designated park or recreation area''.

   SEC. 209. CONVERSION OF PROPERTY TO OTHER USE.

    Section 6(f)(3) (16 U.S.C. 460l-8(f)(3)) is amended--

    (1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``No property''; and

    (2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the following:

    ``(B) The Secretary shall approve such conversion only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists with the exception of those properties that no longer meet the criteria within the State Plan or Agenda as an outdoor conservation a nd recreation facility due to changes in demographics or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination which endangers public health and safety. Any conversion must satisfy such conditions as the Secretary deems necessary to assure the substitution of other conservation a nd recreation properties of at least equal fair market value and reasonably equivalent usefulness and location and which are consistent with the existing State Plan or Agenda; except that wetland areas and interests therein as identified in the wetlands provisions of the action agenda and proposed to be acquired as suitable replacement property within that same State that is otherwise acceptable to the Secretary shall be considered to be of reasonably equivalent usefulness with the property proposed for conversion.''.

   SEC. 210. WATER RIGHTS.

    Title I is amended by adding at the end the following:

   ``WATER RIGHTS

    ``SEC. 14. Nothing in this title--

    ``(1) invalidates or preempts State or Federal water law or an interstate compact governing water;

    ``(2) alters the rights of any State to any appropriated share of the waters of any body of surface or ground water, whether determined by past or future interstate compacts or by past or future legislative or final judicial allocations;

    ``(3) preempts or modifies any Federal or State law, or interstate compact, dealing with water quality or disposal; or

    ``(4) confers on any non-Federal entity the ability to exercise any Federal right to the waters of any stream or to any ground water resource.''.

   TITLE III--WILDLIFE CONSERVATION A ND RESTORATION

   SEC. 301. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this title are--

    (1) to extend financial and technical assistance to the States under the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act f or the benefit of a diverse array of wildlife and associated habitats, including species that are not hunted or fished, to fulfill unmet needs of wildlife within the States in recognition of the primary role of the States to conserve all wildlife;

    (2) to assure sound conservation p olicies through the development, revision, and implementation of a comprehensive wildlife conservation a nd restoration plan;

    (3) to encourage State fish and wildlife agencies to participate with the Federal Government, other State agencies, wildlife conservation o rganizations, and outdoor recreation and conservation i nterests through cooperative planning and implementation of this title; and

    (4) to encourage State fish and wildlife agencies to provide for public involvement in the process of development and implementation of a wildlife conservation a nd restoration program.

   SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) REFERENCE TO LAW.--In this title, the term ``Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act'' m eans the Act o f September 2, 1937 (16 U.S.C. 669 and following), commonly referred to as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act o r the Pittman-Robertson Act.< p>    (b) WILDLIFE CONSERVATION A ND RESTORATION PROGRAM.--Section 2 of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669a) is amended by inserting after ``shall be construed'' the first place it appears the following: ``to include the wildlife conservation a nd restoration program and''.

    (c) STATE AGENCIES.--Section 2 of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669a) is amended by inserting ``or State fish and wildlife department'' after ``State fish and game department''.

    (d) DEFINITIONS.--Section 2 of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669a) is amended by striking the period at the end thereof, substituting a semicolon, and adding the following: ``the term `conservation' s hall be construed to mean the use of methods and procedures necessary or desirable to sustain healthy populations of wildlife including all activities associated with scientific resources management such as research, census, monitoring of populations, acquisition, improvement and management of habitat, live trapping and transplantation, wildlife damage management, and periodic or total protection of a species or population as well as the taking of individuals within wildlife stock or population if permitted by applicable State and Federal law; the term `wildlife conservation a nd restoration program' means a program developed by a State fish and wildlife department

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and approved by the Secretary under section 4(d), the projects that constitute such a program, which may be implemented in whole or part through grants and contracts by a State to other State, Federal, or local agencies (including those that gather, evaluate, and disseminate information on wildlife and their habitats), wildlife conservation o rganizations, and outdoor recreation and conservation e ducation entities from funds apportioned under this title, and maintenance of such projects; the term `wildlife' shall be construed to mean any species of wild, free-ranging fauna including fish, and also fauna in captive breeding programs the object of which is to reintroduce individuals of a depleted indigenous species into previously occupied range; the term `wildlife-associated recreation' shall be construed to mean projects intended to meet the demand for outdoor activities associated with wildlife including, but not limited to, hunting and fishing, wildlife observation and photography, such projects as construction or restoration of wildlife viewing areas, observation towers, blinds, platforms, land and water trails, water access, trail heads, and access for such projects; and the term `wildlife conservation e ducation' shall be construed to mean projects, including public outreach, intended to foster responsible natural resource stewardship.''.

   SEC. 303. TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED FROM CONSERVATION A ND REINVESTMENT A CT F UND.

    Section 3 of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended--

    (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'', and by adding at the end the following:

    ``(2) There is established in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund a subaccount to be known as the `wildlife conservation a nd restoration account'. Amounts transferred to the fund for a fiscal year under section 5(b)(3) of the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct o f 1999 shall be deposited in the subaccount and shall be available without further appropriation, in each fiscal year, for apportionment in accordance with this Act t o carry out State wildlife conservation a nd restoration programs.''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:

    ``(c) Amounts transferred to the fund from the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct F und and apportioned under subsection (a)(2) shall supplement, but not replace, existing funds available to the States from the sport fish restoration account and wildlife restoration account and shall be used for the development, revision, and implementation of wildlife conservation a nd restoration programs and should be used to address the unmet needs for a diverse array of wildlife and associated habitats, including species that are not hunted or fished, for wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation e ducation, and wildlife-associated recreation projects. Such funds may be used for new programs and projects as well as to enhance existing programs and projects.

    ``(d)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section, with respect to amounts transferred to the fund from the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct F und so much of such amounts as is apportioned to any State for any fiscal year and as remains unexpended at the close thereof shall remain available for expenditure in that State until the close of--

    ``(A) the fourth succeeding fiscal year, in the case of amounts transferred in any of the first 10 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct o f 1999; or

    ``(B) the second succeeding fiscal year, in the case of amounts transferred in a fiscal year beginning after the 10-fiscal-year period referred to in subparagraph (A).

    ``(2) Any amount apportioned to a State under this subsection that is unexpended or unobligated at the end of the period during which it is available under paragraph (1) shall be reapportioned to all States during the succeeding fiscal year.''.

   SEC. 304. APPORTIONMENT OF AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED FROM CONSERVATION A ND REINVESTMENT A CT F UND.

    (a) IN GENERAL.--Section 4 of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669c) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

    ``(c) AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED FROM CONSERVATION A ND REINVESTMENT A CT F UND.--(1) The Secretary of the Interior shall make the following apportionment from the amount transferred to the fund from the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct F und for each fiscal year:

    ``(A) To the District of Columbia and to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, each a sum equal to not more than 1/2 of 1 percent thereof.

    ``(B) To Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, each a sum equal to not more than 1/6 of 1 percent thereof.

    ``(2)(A) The Secretary of the Interior, after making the apportionment under paragraph (1), shall apportion the remainder of the amount transferred to the fund from the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct F und for each fiscal year among the States in the following manner:

    ``(i) 1/3 of which is based on the ratio to which the land area of such State bears to the total land area of all such States.

    ``(ii) 2/3 of which is based on the ratio to which the population of such State bears to the total population of all such States.

    ``(B) The amounts apportioned under this paragraph shall be adjusted equitably so that no such State shall be apportioned a sum which is less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the amount available for apportionment under this paragraph for any fiscal year or more than 5 percent of such amount.

    ``(3) Amounts transferred to the fund from the Conservation a nd Reinvestment A ct F und shall not be available for any expenses incurred in the administration and execution of programs carried out with such amounts.

    ``(d) WILDLIFE CONSERVATION A ND RESTORATION PROGRAMS.--(1) Any State, through its fish and wildlife department, may apply to the Secretary of the Interior for approval of a wildlife conservation a nd restoration program, or for funds to develop a program. To apply, a State shall submit a comprehensive plan that includes--

    ``(A) provisions vesting in the fish and wildlife department of the State overall responsibility and accountability for the program;

    ``(B) provisions for the development and implementation of--

    ``(i) wildlife conservation p rojects that expand and support existing wildlife programs, giving appropriate consideration to all wildlife;

    ``(ii) wildlife-associated recreation projects; and

    ``(iii) wildlife conservation e ducation projects pursuant to programs under section 8(a); and

    ``(C) provisions to ensure public participation in the development, revision, and implementation of projects and programs required under this paragraph.

    ``(2) A State shall provide an opportunity for public participation in the development of the comprehensive plan required under paragraph (1).

    ``(3) If the Secretary finds that the comprehensive plan submitted by a State complies with paragraph (1), the Secretary shall approve the wildlife conservation a nd restoration program of the State and set aside from the apportionment to the State made pursuant to subsection (c) an amount that shall not exceed 75 percent of the estimated cost of developing and implementing the program.

    ``(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), after the Secretary approves a State's wildlife conservation a nd restoration program, the Secretary may make payments on a project that is a segment of the State's wildlife conservation a nd restoration program as the project progresses. Such payments, including previous payments on the project, if any, shall not be more than the United States pro rata share of such project. The Secretary, under such regulations as he may prescribe, may advance funds representing the United States pro rata share of a project that is a segment of a wildlife conservation a nd restoration program, including funds to develop such program.


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