[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 144 Referred in House (RFH)]
1st Session
S. 144
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2003
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
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to
provide assistance through States to eligible weed management entities
to control or eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private
land.
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 ``Noxious Weed Control Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Noxious weed.--The term ``noxious weed'' has the same
meaning as in the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702(10)).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island, and any other
possession of the United States.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(5) Weed management entity.--The term ``weed management
entity'' means an entity that--
(A) is recognized by the State in which it is
established;
(B) is established by and includes local
stakeholders, including Indian tribes;
(C) is established for the purpose of controlling
or eradicating harmful, invasive weeds and increasing
public knowledge and education concerning the need to
control or eradicate harmful, invasive weeds; and
(D) is multijurisdicational and multidisciplinary
in nature.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
The Secretary shall establish a program to provide financial
assistance through States to eligible weed management entities to
control or eradicate weeds. In developing the program, the Secretary
shall consult with the National Invasive Species Council, the Invasive
Species Advisory Committee, representatives from States and Indian
tribes with weed management entities or that have particular problems
with noxious weeds, and public and private entities with experience in
noxious weed management.
SEC. 4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.
The Secretary shall allocate funds to States to provide funding to
weed management entities to carry out projects approved by States to
control or eradicate noxious weeds on the basis of the severity or
potential severity of the noxious weed problem, the extent to which the
Federal funds will be used to leverage non-Federal funds, the extent to
which the State has made progress in addressing noxious weed problems,
and such other factors as the Secretary deems relevant. The Secretary
shall provide special consideration for States with approved weed
management entities established by Indian Tribes, and may provide an
additional allocation to a State to meet the particular needs and
projects that such a weed management entity will address.
SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY AND USE OF FUNDS.
(a) Requirements.--The Secretary shall prescribe requirements for
applications by States for funding, including provisions for auditing
of and reporting on the use of the funds and criteria to ensure that
weed management entities recognized by States are capable of carrying
out projects, monitoring and reporting on the use of funds, and are
knowledgeable about and experienced in noxious weed management and
represent private and public interests adversely affected by noxious
weeds. Eligible activities for funding shall include--
(1) applied research to solve locally significant weed
management problems and solutions, except that such research
may not exceed 8 percent of the available funds in any year;
(2) incentive payments to encourage the formation of new
weed management entities, except that such payments may not
exceed 25 percent of the available funds in any year; and
(3) projects relating to the control or eradication or
noxious weeds, including education, inventories and mapping,
management, monitoring, and similar activities, including the
payment of the cost of personnel and equipment that promote
such control or eradication, and other activities to promote
such control or eradication, if the results of the activities
are disseminated to the public.
(b) Project Selection.--A State shall select projects for funding
to a weed management entity on a competitive basis considering--
(1) the seriousness of the noxious weed problem or
potential problem addressed by the project;
(2) the likelihood that the project will prevent or resolve
the problem, or increase knowledge about resolving similar
problems in the future;
(3) the extent to which the payment will leverage non-
Federal funds to address the noxious weed problem addressed by
the project;
(4) the extent to which the weed management entity has made
progress in addressing noxious weed problems;
(5) the extent to which the project will provide a
comprehensive approach to the control or eradication of noxious
weeds;
(6) the extent to which the project will reduce the total
population of a noxious weed;
(7) the extent to which the project uses the principles of
integrated vegetation management and sound science; and
(8) such other factors that the State determines to be
relevant.
(c) Information and Report.--As a condition of the receipt of
funding, States shall require such information from grant recipients as
necessary and shall submit to the Secretary a report that describes the
purposes and results of each project for which the payment or award was
used, by not later than 6 months after completion of the projects.
(d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of any project or activity
approved by a State or Indian tribe under this Act may not exceed 50
percent unless the State meets criteria established by the Secretary
that accommodates situations where a higher percentage is necessary to
meet the needs of an underserved area or addresses a critical need that
can not be met otherwise.
SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS.
(A) Landowner Consent; Land Under Cultivation.--Any activity
involving real property, either private or public, may be carried out
under this Act only with the consent of the landowner and no project
may be undertaken on property that is devoted to the cultivation of row
crops, fruits, or vegetables.
(b) Compliance With State Law.--A weed management entity may carry
out a project to address the noxious weed problem in more than one
State only if the entity meets the requirements of the State laws in
all States in which the entity will undertake the project.
(c) Use of Funds.--Funding under this Act may not be used to carry
out a project--
(1) to control or eradicate animals, pests, or submerged or
floating noxious aquatic weeds; or
(2) to protect an agricultural commodity (as defined in
section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C.
5602)) other than--
(A) livestock (as defined in section 602 of the
Agricultural Trade Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1471); or
(B) an animal- or insect-based product.
SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.
Assistance authorized under this Act is intended to supplement, and
not replace, assistance available to weed management entities, areas,
and districts for control or eradication of harmful, invasive weeds on
public lands and private lands, including funding available under the
``Pulling Together Initiative'' of the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, and the provision of funds to any entity under this Act
shall have no effect on the amount of any payment received by a county
from the Federal Government under chapter 69 of title 31, United States
Code (commonly known as the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act).
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out this Act there is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007, of
which not more than 5 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal
year may be used by the Secretary for administrative costs of Federal
agencies.
Passed the Senate March 4, 2003.
Attest:
EMILY J. REYNOLDS,
Secretary.