[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6000 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6000

    To revise the Farmland Protection Program of the Department of 
                              Agriculture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2006

  Mr. Holden introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To revise the Farmland Protection Program of the Department of 
                              Agriculture.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 1238H of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3838h) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``an entity certified 
        under section 1238I(b) that is'' after ``means''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B)(v), by inserting ``, including 
        woodlots, wooded corners, and forested riparian areas that may 
        comprise up to 50 percent of the offered acreage'' after 
        ``Secretary''.
    (b) Program.--Section 1238I of the Food Security Act of 1985 is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 1238I. FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Grant Program.--The Secretary, acting through the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, shall establish and carry out a program 
to make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of protecting the 
agricultural production capacity of the land by limiting incompatible 
nonagricultural uses of the land. The program shall give priority to 
protecting farm and ranchland--
            ``(1) with prime, unique, or other productive soils that 
        are at risk of nonagricultural development;
            ``(2) that will stay in production agriculture;
            ``(3) in rural communities that face intense pressure for 
        conversion to nonagricultural use, as determined by the 
        Secretary; or
            ``(4) in areas that have locally-led land-use planning and 
        zoning strategies.
    ``(b) Certification.--In order to delineate eligible entities for 
program participation under this section, the Secretary shall implement 
a process, to be published in the Federal Register, for certifying 
entities described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 1238H(1). The 
certification requirements shall include at a minimum the following:
            ``(1) Strategic planning and articulated objectives.
            ``(2) Demonstrated long-term commitment and organizational 
        viability.
            ``(3) Track record of funds management and accountability.
            ``(4) History of successfully completing agricultural 
        conservation projects.
            ``(5) Use of a conservation plan for any highly erodible 
        cropland for which a conservation easement or other interest is 
        purchased.
    ``(c) Grant Agreements.--The Secretary, acting through the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, may enter into agreements with eligible 
entities certified for program participation under subsection (b), 
under which an eligible entity may purchase conservation easements 
using a combination of its own funds and grant funds distributed by the 
Secretary under the program. An agreement shall stipulate the terms and 
conditions under which the eligible entity shall use funds provided by 
the Secretary under the program, except that under such an agreement--
            ``(1) the eligible entity shall be authorized to determine 
        its own criteria and priorities for purchasing conservation 
        easements and other interests in land; and
            ``(2) the eligible entity shall be authorized to use its 
        own terms and conditions for conservation easements and other 
        purchases of interests in land, if the attorney general of the 
        State in which the property to be purchased is located 
        certifies that such terms and conditions are adequate under 
        State law to achieve and permit effective enforcement of the 
        conservation purposes of such easements or other interests.
    ``(d) Enforcement and Reversionary Interests.--No Federal 
contingent right of enforcement or reversionary interest in a 
conservation easement or other purchase of an interest in land shall be 
required under the program if the attorney general of the State in 
which the property to be purchased using grant funds is located 
certifies that the State or local government has a direct or contingent 
right of enforcement or reversionary interest therein.
    ``(e) Cost Sharing.--
            ``(1) Share provided under this section.--The share of the 
        cost of purchasing a conservation easement or other interest in 
        eligible land described in subsection (a) provided under 
        section 1241(d) shall not exceed 50 percent of the appraised 
        fair market value of the conservation easement or other 
        interest in eligible land.
            ``(2) Share provided under other funding source.--As part 
        of the share of the cost of purchasing a conservation easement 
        or other interest in eligible land described in subsection (a) 
        that is not provided under section 1241(d), an eligible entity 
        may include a charitable donation by the private landowner from 
        which the eligible land is to be purchased of not more than 50 
        percent of the fair market value of the conservation easement 
        or other interest in eligible land.''.
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