[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6767 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6767

To facilitate the establishment of additional or expanded public target 
                       ranges in certain States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2008

Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 
  on the Judiciary, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To facilitate the establishment of additional or expanded public target 
                       ranges in certain States.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Target Practice 
and Marksmanship Training Support Act''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Use of firearms for target practice and marksmanship 
        training on Federal lands is allowed except to the extent 
        specific portions of such lands have been closed to such 
        activities.
            (2) In recent years, considerations of public safety have 
        made it necessary to close additional portions of Federal lands 
        to target practice and marksmanship training, especially in 
        States that have experienced significant population growth.
            (3) Use of public target ranges on Federal lands is often 
        more consistent with public safety and convenience than use of 
        undeveloped Federal lands for target practice and marksmanship 
        training.
            (4) It is in the public interest for the Federal Government 
        to provide support for construction or expansion of public 
        target ranges, especially in States where population growth and 
        patterns of settlement in recent years have made it necessary 
        to prohibit such activities on Federal lands where target 
        practice and marksmanship training were formerly allowed.
            (5) Current law, including the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife 
        Restoration Act, provides Federal support for construction or 
        expansion of public target ranges by making available to States 
        funds that can be used for construction, operation, and 
        maintenance of public target ranges.
            (6) It is in the public interest to provide greater Federal 
        support to facilitate construction or expansion of public 
        target ranges in States that have experienced population growth 
        and a reduction in the number of such target ranges on Federal 
        lands.
    (c) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the 
construction and expansion of public target ranges, including ranges on 
Federal lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land 
Management, in States that have experienced population growth and a 
reduction in the extent to which target practice and marksmanship 
training are permitted on Federal lands in such States.

SEC. 2. FUNDING.

    (a) Cost Sharing and Availability of Funds.--Section 10 of the 
Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669h-1) is 
amended as follows:
            (1) By amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Cost Sharing.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
        Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out with a 
        grant under this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the 
        total cost of the activity.
            ``(2) Public target range construction or expansion.--
                    ``(A) The Federal share of the cost of acquiring 
                land for, or construction or expansion of, a public 
                target range in an eligible State shall not exceed 90 
                percent of such cost.
                    ``(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
                `eligible State' means a State that, since the most 
                recent decennial census, has experienced--
                            ``(i) at least a 2 percent growth in 
                        population, as demonstrated by the State to the 
                        satisfaction of the Secretary; and
                            ``(ii) a reduction in the acreage of 
                        Federal lands in such State where target 
                        practice and marksmanship training are 
                        permitted, as determined by the Secretary.''.
            (2) In subsection (c)(1), by striking the final period and 
        inserting the following: ``except that amounts provided for 
        acquiring land for, or construction or expansion of, public 
        target ranges shall remain available until expended in the case 
        of a State that, since the most recent decennial census, has 
        experienced--
                    ``(A) at least a 2 percent growth in population, as 
                demonstrated by the State to the satisfaction of the 
                Secretary; and
                    ``(B) a reduction in the acreage of Federal lands 
                in such State where target practice and marksmanship 
                training are permitted, as determined by the 
                Secretary.''.
    (b) Use of Wildlife Conservation Funds.--Section 4 of the Pittman-
Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669c) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (c) (relating to 
        apportionment of Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account) 
        as subsection (d) and subsection (d) (relating to Wildlife 
        Conservation and Restoration Programs) as subsection (e);
            (2) in subsection (e)(3), as redesignated by paragraph (1), 
        by striking ``subsection (c)'' and inserting ``subsection 
        (d)''; and
            (3) in subsection (e)(4)(B), as redesignated by paragraph 
        (1), by--
                    (A) inserting ``(i)'' after ``(B)''; and
                    (B) adding at the end the following new clauses:
                            ``(ii) During the first fiscal year 
                        beginning after the date of enactment of the 
                        Target Practice and Marksmanship Training 
                        Support Act and each of the 9 subsequent fiscal 
                        years, not more than 10 percent of the amounts 
                        apportioned to an eligible State under this 
                        section for such State's wildlife conservation 
                        and restoration program may be used for 
                        acquiring land for, or construction or 
                        expansion of, public target ranges or for 
                        assisting a Federal land-management agency with 
                        environmental remediation or other steps needed 
                        to allow for public target ranges on Federal 
                        lands.
                            ``(iii) As used in clause (ii), the term 
                        `eligible State' means a State that, since the 
                        most recent decennial census, has experienced--
                                    ``(I) at least a 2 percent growth 
                                in population, as demonstrated by the 
                                State to the satisfaction of the 
                                Secretary; and
                                    ``(II) a reduction in the acreage 
                                of Federal lands in such State where 
                                target practice and marksmanship 
                                training are permitted, as determined 
                                by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITS ON LIABILITY.

    (a) Discretionary Function.--For purposes of the Federal Tort 
Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680), any action by an agent or 
employee of the United States to authorize use of Federal land for 
purposes of target practice or marksmanship training by members of the 
public shall be considered to constitute the exercise or performance of 
a discretionary function.
    (b) Civil Action or Claims.--Except to the extent provided in the 
Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680), the United 
States shall not be subject to any civil action or claim for money 
damages for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death 
caused by any activity occurring at a public target range that is 
wholly or partially funded by the United States pursuant to this Act or 
located on Federal land.

SEC. 4. COOPERATION.

    It is the sense of Congress that, consistent with applicable laws 
and regulations, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management 
should cooperate with State and local authorities and other entities to 
carry out environmental remediation or other activities on Federal 
lands used as public target ranges in order to avoid closing such lands 
to use for target practice or marksmanship training.
                                 <all>