[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1238 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]


        S.1238

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the fourth day of January, two thousand and five


                                 An Act


 
 To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to provide for the conduct 
        of projects that protect forests, 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 ``Public Lands Corps Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC LANDS CORPS ACT OF 1993.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 
(16 U.S.C. 1722) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11) as 
    paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and (13), respectively;
        (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
        ``(8) Priority project.--The term `priority project' means an 
    appropriate conservation project conducted on eligible service 
    lands to further 1 or more of the purposes of the Healthy Forests 
    Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), as follows:
            ``(A) To reduce wildfire risk to a community, municipal 
        water supply, or other at-risk Federal land.
            ``(B) To protect a watershed or address a threat to forest 
        and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire.
            ``(C) To address the impact of insect or disease 
        infestations or other damaging agents on forest and rangeland 
        health.
            ``(D) To protect, restore, or enhance forest ecosystem 
        components to--
                ``(i) promote the recovery of threatened or endangered 
            species;
                ``(ii) improve biological diversity; or
                ``(iii) enhance productivity and carbon 
            sequestration.''; and
        (3) by inserting after paragraph (11) (as redesignated by 
    paragraph (1)) the following:
        ``(12) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means--
            ``(A) with respect to National Forest System land, the 
        Secretary of Agriculture; and
            ``(B) with respect to Indian lands, Hawaiian home lands, or 
        land administered by the Department of the Interior, the 
        Secretary of the Interior.''.
    (b) Qualified Youth or Conservation Corps.--Section 204(c) of the 
Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1723(c)) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``The Secretary of the Interior and the 
    Secretary of Agriculture are'' and inserting the following:
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary is''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
        ``(2) Preference.--
            ``(A) In general.--For purposes of entering into contracts 
        and cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        may give preference to qualified youth or conservation corps 
        located in a specific area that have a substantial portion of 
        members who are economically, physically, or educationally 
        disadvantaged to carry out projects within the area.
            ``(B) Priority projects.--In carrying out priority projects 
        in a specific area, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, give preference to qualified youth or conservation 
        corps located in that specific area that have a substantial 
        portion of members who are economically, physically, or 
        educationally disadvantaged.''.
    (c) Conservation Projects.--Section 204(d) of the Public Lands 
Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1723(d)) is amended--
        (1) in the first sentence--
            (A) by striking ``The Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Secretary of Agriculture may each'' and inserting the 
        following:
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may''; and
            (B) by striking ``such Secretary'' and inserting ``the 
        Secretary'';
        (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``Appropriate 
    conservation'' and inserting the following:
        ``(2) Projects on indian lands.--Appropriate conservation''; 
    and
        (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting the following:
        ``(3) Disaster prevention or relief projects.--The Secretary 
    may authorize appropriate conservation projects and other 
    appropriate projects to be carried out on Federal, State, local, or 
    private land as part of a Federal disaster prevention or relief 
    effort.''.
    (d) Conservation Centers and Program Support.--Section 205 of the 
Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1724) is amended--
        (1) by striking the heading and inserting the following:

``SEC. 205. CONSERVATION CENTERS AND PROGRAM SUPPORT.'';

        (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Establishment and Use.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish and use 
    conservation centers owned and operated by the Secretary for--
            ``(A) use by the Public Lands Corps; and
            ``(B) the conduct of appropriate conservation projects 
        under this title.
        ``(2) Assistance for conservation centers.--The Secretary may 
    provide to a conservation center established under paragraph (1) 
    any services, facilities, equipment, and supplies that the 
    Secretary determines to be necessary for the conservation center.
        ``(3) Standards for conservation centers.--The Secretary 
    shall--
            ``(A) establish basic standards of health, nutrition, 
        sanitation, and safety for all conservation centers established 
        under paragraph (1); and
            ``(B) ensure that the standards established under 
        subparagraph (A) are enforced.
        ``(4) Management.--As the Secretary determines to be 
    appropriate, the Secretary may enter into a contract or other 
    appropriate arrangement with a State or local government agency or 
    private organization to provide for the management of a 
    conservation center.''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Assistance.--The Secretary may provide any services, 
facilities, equipment, supplies, technical assistance, oversight, 
monitoring, or evaluations that are appropriate to carry out this 
title.''.
    (e) Living Allowances and Terms of Service.--Section 207 of the 
Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1726) is amended--
        (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Living Allowances.--The Secretary shall provide each 
participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource assistant with 
a living allowance in an amount established by the Secretary.''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Hiring.--The Secretary may--
        ``(1) grant to a member of the Public Lands Corps credit for 
    time served with the Public Lands Corps, which may be used toward 
    future Federal hiring; and
        ``(2) provide to a former member of the Public Lands Corps 
    noncompetitive hiring status for a period of not more than 120 days 
    after the date on which the member's service with the Public Lands 
    Corps is complete.''.
    (f) Funding.--The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is amended--
        (1) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729), by adding at the end the 
    following:
    ``(c) Other Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations under section 211 are in addition to 
amounts allocated to the Public Lands Corps through other Federal 
programs or projects.''; and
        (2) by inserting after section 210 the following:

``SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this title $12,000,000 for each fiscal year, of which $8,000,000 is 
authorized to carry out priority projects and $4,000,000 of which is 
authorized to carry out other appropriate conservation projects.
    ``(b) Disaster Relief or Prevention Projects.--Notwithstanding 
subsection (a), any amounts made available under that subsection shall 
be available for disaster prevention or relief projects.
    ``(c) Availability of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, amounts appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out this 
title shall remain available for obligation and expenditure until the 
end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year for which the amounts 
are appropriated.''.
    (g) Conforming Amendments.--The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is 
amended--
        (1) in section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1723)--
            (A) in subsection (b)--
                (i) in the first sentence, by striking ``Secretary of 
            the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture'' and 
            inserting ``Secretary'';
                (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' 
            and inserting ``Secretary''; and
                (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 
            ``Secretaries'' and inserting ``Secretary''; and
            (B) in subsection (e), by striking ``Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
        ``Secretary'';
        (2) in section 205 (16 U.S.C. 1724)--
            (A) in subsection (b), by striking ``Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
        ``Secretary''; and
            (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
        ``Secretary'';
        (3) in section 206 (16 U.S.C. 1725)--
            (A) in subsection (a)--
                (i) in the first sentence--

                    (I) by striking ``Secretary of the Interior and the 
                Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and inserting 
                ``Secretary is''; and
                    (II) by striking ``such Secretary'' and inserting 
                ``the Secretary'';

                (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' 
            and inserting ``Secretary''; and
                (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 
            ``Secretaries'' and inserting ``Secretary''; and
            (B) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by striking 
        ``Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture'' 
        and inserting ``the Secretary''; and
        (4) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729)--
            (A) in subsection (a)--
                (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Secretary of the 
            Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and 
            inserting ``Secretary is''; and
                (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Secretary of the 
            Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and 
            inserting ``Secretary is''; and
            (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
        ``Secretary''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.