[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 144 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                 Union Calendar No. 438
108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 144

                      [Report No. 108-517, Part I]


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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

                              June 1, 2004

       Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

                              June 1, 2004

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                      not later than July 9, 2004

                              July 9, 2004

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                      not later than July 31, 2004

                             July 31, 2004

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                    not later than September 7, 2004

                           September 7, 2004

 Referral to the Committee on Agriculture extended for a period ending 
                   not later than September 30, 2004

                           September 30, 2004

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of 
  the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 
                                5, 2003]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Noxious Weed Control Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Noxious weed.--The term ``noxious weed'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 403(10) of the Plant 
        Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702(10)).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (4) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means 
        Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
        Management or the Forest Service.
            (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 for the purpose of controlling 
                or eradicating noxious weeds and increasing public 
                knowledge and education concerning the need to control 
                or eradicate noxious weeds;
                    (C) may be multijurisdicational and 
                multidisciplinary in nature; and
                    (D) may include Federal and State representatives, 
                private organizations, individuals, and State-
                recognized conservation districts.

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 noxious weeds. In developing the program, the 
Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior, 
representatives from States and Indian tribes that have 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.

    (a) In General.--Under the program established pursuant to section 
3, the Secretary may 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--
            (1) the severity or potential severity of the noxious weed 
        problem;
            (2) the extent to which the Federal funds will be used to 
        leverage non-Federal funds;
            (3) the extent to which the State has made progress in 
        addressing noxious weed problems; and
            (4) such other factors as the Secretary considers relevant.
    (b) Special Consideration.--The Secretary shall give special 
consideration to 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 plans to address.
    (c) Equal Consideration of Projects.--To the extent made possible 
by acceptable applications, the Secretary shall give equal 
consideration to projects that address noxious weed problems on lands 
under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Land Management and 
projects that address noxious weed problems on lands under the 
jurisdiction of the Forest Service.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY AND USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) Requirements.--The Secretary shall prescribe requirements for 
applications by weed management entities for funding under this Act 
(other than section 10). Such requirements shall include--
            (1) requirements for auditing of and reporting on the use 
        of the funds received under this Act by a weed management 
        entity;
            (2) requirements that a weed management entity receiving 
        funds under this Act (other than section 10) to provide to the 
        Secretary adequate assurances that the weed management entity--
                    (A) is capable of carrying out the project;
                    (B) is capable of monitoring and reporting on the 
                use of the funds;
                    (C) is knowledgeable about and experienced in 
                noxious weed management; and
                    (D) represents private and public interests 
                adversely affected by noxious weeds; and
            (3) a requirement that the results of the project be made 
        available to the public.
    (b) Eligible Projects.--Projects eligible to be funded under this 
Act (other than section 10) are projects relating to the control or 
eradication of noxious weeds, including the following:
            (1) Education.
            (2) Inventories.
            (3) Mapping.
            (4) Management.
            (5) Monitoring.
            (6) Payment of the cost of personnel and equipment that 
        promote control or eradication of noxious weeds.
            (7) Other activities to promote such control or 
        eradication, if the results of the activities are disseminated 
        to the public.
    (c) Project Selection.--The Secretary shall select projects for 
funding on a competitive basis considering the following:
            (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 project is likely to provide a 
        comprehensive approach to the control or eradication of noxious 
        weeds.
            (5) The extent to which the project is likely to reduce the 
        population of a noxious weed.
            (6) The extent to which the project uses sound science.
            (7) Such other factors that the Secretary determines 
        relevant.
    (d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of any project funded under 
this Act (other than section 10) may not exceed 50 percent--
            (1) 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; or
            (2) the project will be carried out exclusively on Federal 
        lands.

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    Field offices of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 
Service may provide technical assistance, on a reimbursable basis, to 
weed management agencies in developing projects and filing applications 
for funding of projects under this Act (other than section 10).

SEC. 7. CONDITIONS.

    (a) Landowner Consent; Land Under Cultivation.--Any activity 
involving real property, either private or public, may be carried out 
under this Act (other than section 10) 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 a noxious weed problem in more than 1 State 
only if the weed management entity meets the requirements of the State 
laws in all States in which the weed management entity will undertake 
the project.
    (c) Use of Funds.--Funding under this Act (other than section 10) 
may not be used to carry out a project--
            (1) to control or eradicate animals or pests; 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. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.

    Funds under this Act (other than section 10) are intended to 
supplement, not replace, assistance available to weed management 
entities, areas, and districts for control or eradication of noxious 
weeds on Federal lands and private lands. The provision of funds to a 
weed management entity under this Act (other than section 10) 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. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out sections 1 through 8 of this Act, there is authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2005 through 2009, of which--
            (1) 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; and
            (2) not more than 10 percent of the funds made available 
        for a fiscal year may be used by States for administrative 
        costs.

SEC. 10. RAPID RESPONSE CAPABILITY TO NOXIOUS WEEDS.

    (a) Establishment.--At the request of the Governor of a State, the 
Secretary may provide financial assistance to weed management entities 
through that State to enable a rapid response to outbreaks of noxious 
weeds that are at a stage at which rapid eradication or control is 
possible and to ensure eradication or immediate control of the noxious 
weeds.
    (b) Requirements for Assistance.--Assistance may be provided under 
this section only if--
            (1) there is a demonstrated need for the assistance;
            (2) the noxious weed is considered to be an immediate 
        threat to native fish, wildlife, or their habitats, as 
        determined by the Secretary;
            (3) the economic impact of delaying action is considered by 
        the Secretary to be substantial; and
            (4) the proposed response to such threat--
                    (A) is technically feasible;
                    (B) economically responsible; and
                    (C) minimizes adverse impacts to the structure and 
                function of an ecosystem and adverse effects on 
                nontarget species and ecosystems.
    (c) Amount of Financial Assistance.--The Secretary shall determine 
the amount of financial assistance to be provided under this section, 
subject to the availability of appropriations.
    (d) Cost Share.--The Federal share of the cost of any project 
carried out with assistance under this section may be up to 100 
percent.
    (e) Reporting.--The Secretary shall require that weed management 
entities receiving assistance under this section report on activities 
carried out with such assistance in the same manner required pursuant 
to section 5(a)(1).




                                                 Union Calendar No. 438

108th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 144

                      [Report No. 108-517, Part I]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 30, 2004

The Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of 
  the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed