[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3247 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3247

   To provide consistent enforcement authority to the Bureau of Land 
   Management, the National Park Service, the United States Fish and 
 Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service to respond to violations of 
  regulations regarding the management, use, and protection of public 
lands under the jurisdiction of these agencies, to clarify the purposes 
     for which collected fines may be used, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2003

  Mr. Tancredo (for himself, Mr. McInnis, and Mr. Udall of Colorado) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide consistent enforcement authority to the Bureau of Land 
   Management, the National Park Service, the United States Fish and 
 Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service to respond to violations of 
  regulations regarding the management, use, and protection of public 
lands under the jurisdiction of these agencies, to clarify the purposes 
     for which collected fines may be used, 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 ``Trail Responsibility and 
Accountability for the Improvement of Lands Act (TRAIL Act) of 2003''.

SEC. 2. CONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY REGARDING NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM 
              LANDS, NATIONAL FOREST LANDS, AND OTHER PUBLIC LANDS.

    (a) Lands Under Jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management.--Section 
303(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1733(a)) is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
following new sentences: ``A violation of any such regulation shall be 
a Class B misdemeanor, except that a person who knowingly and willfully 
violates any such regulation shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, 
subject to fine as provided in section 3571 of title 18, United States 
Code, or imprisonment as provided in section 3581 of that title, or 
both. A person who violates any such regulation may also be adjudged to 
pay all costs of the proceedings.''.
    (b) National Park System Lands.--
            (1) Enforcement.--Section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916 
        (popularly known as the National Park Service Organic Act; 16 
        U.S.C. 3) is amended in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``That the Secretary'' and 
                inserting ``(a) Regulations for Use and Management of 
                National Park System; Enforcement.--The Secretary''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``Service,'' and all that follows 
                through ``proceedings.'' and inserting the following: 
                ``Service. A violation of any such rule or regulation 
                shall be a Class B misdemeanor, except that a person 
                who knowingly and willfully violates any such rule or 
                regulation shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, 
                subject to fine as provided in section 3571 of title 
                18, United States Code, or imprisonment as provided in 
                section 3581 of that title, or both. A person who 
                violates any such rule or regulation may also be 
                adjudged to pay all costs of the proceedings.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Such section is further 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``He may also'' the first place it 
                appears and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Special Management Authorities.--The Secretary of the 
Interior may'';
                    (B) by striking ``He may also'' the second place it 
                appears and inserting ``The Secretary may''; and
                    (C) by striking ``No natural,'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(c) Lease and Permit Authorities.--No natural''.
    (c) National Wildlife Refuge System Lands.--Subsection (f) of 
section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(f) Penalties for Violations.--
            ``(1) Penalties.--A violation of this Act or any regulation 
        issued thereunder shall be a Class B misdemeanor, except that a 
        person who knowingly and willfully violates this Act or any 
        regulation issued thereunder shall be guilty of a Class A 
        misdemeanor, subject to fine as provided in section 3571 of 
        title 18, United States Code, or imprisonment as provided in 
        section 3581 of that title, or both. A person who violates this 
        Act or any regulation issued thereunder may also be adjudged to 
        pay all costs of the proceedings.''.
    (d) National Forest System Lands.--The eleventh undesignated 
paragraph under the heading ``surveying the public lands'' of the Act 
of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 551), is amended by striking ``destruction; 
and any'' and all that follows through ``or both.'' and inserting the 
following: ``destruction. A violation of any such rule or regulation 
shall be a Class B misdemeanor, except that a person who knowingly and 
willfully violates any such rule or regulation shall be guilty of a 
Class A misdemeanor, subject to fine as provided in section 3571 of 
title 18, United States Code, or imprisonment as provided in section 
3581 of that title, or both. A person who violates any such rule or 
regulation may also be adjudged to pay all costs of the proceedings.''.

SEC. 3. CONSISTENT AUTHORITIES REGARDING USE OF COLLECTED FINES.

    (a) Lands Under Jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management.--Section 
305 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1735), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Use of Collected Fines.--
            ``(1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys received 
        by the United States as a result of a fine imposed under 
        section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, for a violation 
        of a regulation prescribed under section 303(a) shall be 
        available to the Secretary, without further appropriation and 
        until expended, for the following purposes:
                    ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                public lands rendered necessary by the action which led 
                to the fine.
                    ``(B) To increase public awareness of regulations 
                and other requirements regarding the use of the public 
                lands.
            ``(2) Return of excess funds to treasury.--Moneys referred 
        to in paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess to 
        the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in 
        such paragraph shall be transferred to miscellaneous 
        receipts.''.
    (b) National Park System Lands.--Section 3 of the Act of August 25, 
1916 (popularly known as the National Park Service Organic Act; 16 
U.S.C. 3), as amended by section 2(b), is further amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Use of Collected Fines.--
            ``(1) Availability and authorized use.--Any moneys received 
        by the United States as a result of a fine imposed under 
        section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, for a violation 
        of a rule or regulation prescribed under this section shall be 
        available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further 
        appropriation and until expended, for the following purposes:
                    ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                National Park System lands rendered necessary by the 
                action which led to the fine.
                    ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of such lands.
            ``(2) Return of excess funds to treasury.--Moneys referred 
        to in paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines are excess to 
        the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in 
        such paragraph shall be transferred to miscellaneous 
        receipts.''.
    (c) National Wildlife Refuge System Lands.--Subsection (f) of 
section 4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd), as amended by section 2(c), is further amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(2) Use of collected fines.--Any moneys received by the 
        United States as a result of a fine imposed under section 3571 
        of title 18, United States Code, for a violation of this Act or 
        a regulation issued thereunder shall be available to the 
        Secretary, without further appropriation and until expended, 
        for the following purposes:
                    ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on the 
                System lands rendered necessary by the action which led 
                to the fine.
                    ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of System lands.
            ``(3) Return of excess funds to treasury.--Moneys referred 
        to in paragraph (2) that the Secretary determines are excess to 
        the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in 
        such paragraph shall be transferred to miscellaneous 
        receipts.''.
    (d) National Forest System Lands.--Section 7 of the Act of June 20, 
1958 (16 U.S.C. 579c), is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) Treatment of Certain Moneys Received 
        on Behalf of Forest Service.--'' before ``Any funds'';
            (2) by striking ``contract or (2)'' and inserting 
        ``contract, (2)'';
            (3) by inserting after ``improvements,'' the following: 
        ``or (3) as a result of a fine imposed under section 3571 of 
        title 18, United States Code, for a violation of a rule or 
        regulation prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture with 
        respect to such lands,'';
            (4) by striking ``to cover'' and all that follows through 
        the end of the section and inserting the following: ``for the 
        purposes specified in subsection (b).''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Authorized Use.--
            ``(1) In general.--The moneys referred to in subsection (a) 
        shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for the 
        following purposes:
                    ``(A) To cover the cost to the United States of any 
                improvement, protection, or rehabilitation work on 
                National Forest System lands rendered necessary by the 
                action which led to the fine, forfeiture, judgment, 
                compromise, or settlement.
                    ``(B) To increase public awareness of rules, 
                regulations, and other requirements regarding the use 
                of such lands.
            ``(2) Return of excess funds to treasury.--Moneys referred 
        to in subsection (a) that the Secretary determines are excess 
        to the amounts necessary to carry out the purposes specified in 
        paragraph (1) shall be transferred to miscellaneous 
        receipts.''.
                                 <all>