[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.