[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1062 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1062

  To require the Secretary of the Interior to make reimbursement for 
certain damages incurred as a result of bonding regulations adopted by 
 the Bureau of Land Management on February 28, 1997, and subsequently 
             determined to be in violation of Federal law.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2003

 Mr. Gibbons introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

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                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Interior to make reimbursement for 
certain damages incurred as a result of bonding regulations adopted by 
 the Bureau of Land Management on February 28, 1997, and subsequently 
             determined to be in violation of Federal law.

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

SECTION 1. REIMBURSEMENT.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall reimburse all private and 
public entities in Nevada for all monetary damages incurred as a result 
of the bonding regulations promulgated by the Secretary on February 28, 
1997 (43 C.F.R. 3809), that were determined by the United States 
District Court for the District of Columbia on May 13, 1998 (Northwest 
Mining Association v. Bruce Babbitt, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Interior, et al., Case No. 97-1013), to have been adopted in violation 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    (b) Claims.--Any private or public entity in Nevada may submit a 
claim for such damages to the Secretary for reimbursement under this 
section. Such claim shall be supported by evidence showing that the 
damages were caused by the bonding regulations. Unless the Secretary 
finds within 90 days after receipt of the claim that the damages were 
not caused, in whole or in part, by such regulations, the Secretary 
shall make reimbursement to the claimant within such 90-day period.
    (c) Appeals.--Any private or public entity that submits a claim in 
accordance with this section that is rejected by the Secretary--
            (1) shall have a right to an appeal of the matter to the 
        State court of competent jurisdiction in the State in which the 
        entity is domiciled; and
            (2) shall have the right to a civil trial by jury if the 
        amount in dispute, including litigation costs, is $20,000 or 
        greater.
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