[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2202 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2202

 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to promote 
  the voluntary protection of certain lands in portions of Marin and 
          Sonoma Counties, California, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 1999

 Ms. Woolsey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to promote 
  the voluntary protection of certain lands in portions of Marin and 
          Sonoma Counties, California, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Point Reyes Farmland Protection Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. POINT REYES FARMLAND PROTECTION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Eligible lands.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible lands'' means 
                parcels of land in Marin or Sonoma Counties in the 
                State of California that are located wholly or 
                partially in what is known as--
                            (i) the Marin County coastal zone, unit II, 
                        per Marin County Agricultural Zoning Map, file 
                        designation, MALT-AGDWG, PLT.HPG, extending 
                        from Lagunitas Creek north along the east shore 
                        of Tomales Bay to the boundary with Sonoma 
                        County; or
                            (ii) the Sonoma County coastal zone, per 
                        the Sonoma County Post-Local Coastal Plan 
                        Certification Map of January 1981, extending 
                        from the boundary with Marin County north to 
                        Highway 1 and Doran Beach Road.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term does not include any lands 
                described in subparagraph (A) that are zoned solely or 
                exclusively for commercial or residential use.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a State or local government agency; or
                    (B) a nonprofit organization having substantial 
                experience in the holding, monitoring, and managing of 
                conservation easements on eligible lands, including the 
                Marin Agricultural Land Trust, the Sonoma County 
                Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, and 
                the Sonoma Land Trust.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            (1) to promote the acquisition of conservation easements on 
        eligible lands from willing sellers, which will protect 
        agricultural lands and prevent incompatible development, while 
        still maintaining the lands in private ownership;
            (2) to create a voluntary public/private partnership among 
        the Federal Government, the State of California, local 
        governments, eligible entities, and participating citizens, 
        which can serve as a model for other farmland, watershed, and 
        open space preservation efforts; and
            (3) to protect the substantial Federal investment in the 
        Point Reyes National Seashore by protecting nearby eligible 
        lands and water resources that maintain the relatively 
        undeveloped nature of the lands adjacent to Tomales and Bodega 
        Bays.
    (c) Grants for Purchase of Easements.--To promote the purposes of 
this section, the Secretary may make grants to eligible entities to 
provide the Federal share of the cost of purchasing permanent 
conservation easements on eligible lands from willing sellers for the 
purpose of preserving agricultural lands.
    (d) Negotiation, Acquisition, and Administration of Easements.--
            (1) Acquisition of permanent easements.--Easements acquired 
        using funds provided by the Secretary under subsection (c) 
        shall be in perpetuity.
            (2) Negotiation.--The acquisition of an easement using 
        funds provided by the Secretary under subsection (c) shall be 
        negotiated and transacted between the willing seller and the 
        eligible entity.
            (3) Administration.--Easements acquired by an eligible 
        entity using funds provided by the Secretary under subsection 
        (c) shall be held by the eligible entity.
            (4) Executory limitation.--If an eligible entity holding an 
        easement acquired using funds provided by the Secretary under 
        subsection (c) ceases to exist or ceases to be a nonprofit 
        organization, the eligible entity's rights and obligations 
        under the easement shall vest in the United States.
    (e) Protection of Private Property.--
            (1) Consent of owner required.--No interest in eligible 
        lands may be acquired using funds provided by the Secretary 
        under subsection (c) without the consent of the owner of the 
        eligible lands.
            (2) Prohibition on land purchases.--Funds provided by the 
        Secretary under subsection (c) may not be used, or combined 
        with other funds, to acquire land in fee title.
            (3) Regulation.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
        authorize the Secretary or any other Federal agency or official 
        to regulate the use or enjoyment of privately owned eligible 
        lands, including lands subject to easements held by an eligible 
        entity.
    (f) Matching Funds.--
            (1) Matching requirement.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        Federal share of the costs for acquiring a conservation 
        easement in eligible lands may not exceed one half of the total 
        costs of such acquisition. The non-Federal share of the 
        acquisition costs may be provided in the form of property, 
        monies, services, or in-kind contributions, fairly valued.
            (2) Recognition of previous conservation efforts.--To the 
        extent that an eligible entity holds conservation easements on 
        eligible lands as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Secretary shall waive the match requirement of paragraph (1) 
        for that eligible entity until such time as Federal funds are 
        provided to that eligible entity under subsection (c) in an 
        amount equal to the fair market value of the conservation 
        easements, as determined by the Secretary.
    (g) Relationship to Other Land Preservation Efforts.--The authority 
provided by this section is in addition to, and shall not preclude the 
use of, other authorities that may be available to the Federal 
Government to preserve eligible lands.
    (h) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $60,000,000 to the Secretary to make grants under this 
section.
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