[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1582 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1582

      To amend the Valles Caldera Preservation Act to improve the 
      preservation of the Valles Caldera, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 4, 2003

 Mr. Domenici (for himself and Mr. Bingaman) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Valles Caldera Preservation Act to improve the 
      preservation of the Valles Caldera, 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 ``Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE VALLES CALDERA PRESERVATION ACT.

    (a) Trust Employment.--Section 106(d) of the Valles Caldera 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-4(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Trust'' and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(A) Appointment.--The Trust'';
                    (B) by inserting after the first sentence the 
                following:
                    ``(B) Contract or employment agreement.--Employees 
                of the Trust may be employed under an employment 
                agreement, the terms and conditions of which shall be 
                determined by the Trust subject to this subsection.''; 
                and
                    (C) by striking ``No employee'' and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(C) Maximum compensation.--No employee''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``shall'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``may''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Eligibility for competitive service.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An employee of the Trust 
                        shall not be precluded from consideration for a 
                        position in the competitive service that is 
                        open to other Federal employees.
                            ``(ii) Classification and pay rate.--In 
                        considering an employee of the Trust for a 
                        position in the competitive service under 
                        clause (i), the employing agency shall consider 
                        a position with the Trust to be comparable in 
                        classification and General Schedule pay rates 
                        to a similar position in the competitive 
                        service.''.
    (b) Obligations and Expenditures.--Section 106(e) of the Valles 
Caldera Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-4(e)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(4) Obligations and expenditures.--Subject to the laws 
        applicable to Government corporations, the Trust shall 
        determine--
                    ``(A) the character of, and the necessity for, any 
                obligations and expenditures of the Trust; and
                    ``(B) the manner in which obligations and 
                expenditures shall be incurred, allowed, and paid.''.
    (c) Solicitation of Donations.--Section 106(g) of the Valles 
Caldera Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-4(g)) is amended by striking 
``The Trust may solicit'' and inserting ``The members of the Board of 
Trustees and any employees of the Trust designated by the Board of 
Trustees may solicit''.
    (d) Use of Proceeds.--Section 106(h)(1) of the Valles Caldera 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-4(h)(1)) is amended by striking 
``subsection (g)'' and inserting ``subsection (g), from claims, 
judgments, or settlements arising from activities occurring on the Baca 
Ranch or the Preserve after October 27, 1999,''.
    (e) Claims and Judgments.--Section 106(j) of the Valles Caldera 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-4(j)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``The Trust'' and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Trust''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Permanent judgment appropriation.--During any fiscal 
        year in which funds have been appropriated to the Trust or the 
        Secretary to carry out this title, the Trust shall not be 
        precluded from using the permanent judgment appropriation under 
        section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, for a claim, 
        judgment, or settlement against the Trust or the Secretary in 
        the name of the United States.''.

SEC. 3. BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

    Section 107(e) of the Valles Caldera Preservation Act (U.S.C. 698v-
5(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Trustees'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), Trustees''; 
        and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``Trustees'' and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(A) Selection.--Trustees''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Compensation.--On request of the chair, the 
                chair may be compensated at a rate determined by the 
                Board of Trustees, but not to exceed the daily 
                equivalent of the annual rate of pay for level IV of 
                the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 
                United States Code, for each day (including travel 
                time) in which the chair is engaged in the performance 
                of duties of the Board of Trustees.
                    ``(C) Maximum rate of pay.--The total amount of 
                compensation paid to the chair for a fiscal year under 
                subparagraph (B) shall not exceed 25 percent of the 
annual rate of pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 
5315 of title 5, United States Code.''.

SEC. 4. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Property Disposal Limitations.--Section 108(c)(3) of the Valles 
Caldera Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-6(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``The Trust may not 
        dispose'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Trust may not dispose'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Trust'' and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Maximum duration.--The Trust'';
            (3) in the last sentence, by striking ``Any such'' and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(C) Termination.--The''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Exclusions.--For the purposes of this 
                paragraph, the disposal of real property does not 
                include the sale or other disposal of forage, forest 
                products, or marketable renewable resources.''.
    (b) Law Enforcement and Fire Management.--Section 108(g) of the 
Valles Caldera Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 698v-6(g)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``The Secretary'' 
        and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Law enforcement.--The Secretary'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Trust'' and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Federal agency.--The Trust''; and
            (3) by striking ``At the request of the Trust'' and all 
        that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(2) Fire management.--To the extent generally authorized 
        at other units of the National Forest System, the Secretary 
        shall provide, under a cooperative agreement entered into 
        between the Secretary and the Trust--
                    ``(A) fire suppression and rehabilitation services; 
                and
                    ``(B) wildland fire severity funding for 
                extraordinary fire preparedness.''.
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