[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1214 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1214


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2015

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Small Tracts Act to expand the authority of the Secretary 
  of Agriculture to sell or exchange small parcels of National Forest 
System land to enhance the management of the National Forest System, to 
          resolve minor encroachments, 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 ``National Forest Small Tracts Act 
Amendments Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE OF SMALL PARCELS OF 
              NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.

    (a) Increase in Maximum Value of Small Parcels.--Section 3 of 
Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 16 U.S.C. 
521e) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking 
``$150,000'' and inserting ``$500,000''.
    (b) Additional Conveyance Purposes.--Section 3 of Public Law 97-465 
(16 U.S.C. 521e) is further amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``which are--'' and inserting ``which involve any one of the 
        following:'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``parcels'' and inserting 
                ``Parcels''; and
                    (B) by striking the semicolon at the end and 
                inserting a period;
            (3) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``parcels'' the first place it 
                appears and inserting ``Parcels''; and
                    (B) by striking ``; or'' at the end and inserting a 
                period;
            (4) in paragraph (3), by striking ``road'' and inserting 
        ``Road''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(4) Parcels of 40 acres or less which are determined by 
        the Secretary to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, or 
        to have lost their National Forest character.
            ``(5) Parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible 
        for conveyance under paragraph (2), but which are encroached 
        upon by permanent habitable improvements for which there is no 
        evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent.
            ``(6) Parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage 
        treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by the 
        Secretary. In the case of a cemetery expected to reach capacity 
        within 10 years, the sale, exchange, or interchange may 
        include, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, up to 1 
        additional acre abutting the permit area to facilitate 
        expansion of the cemetery.''.
    (c) Disposition of Proceeds.--Section 2 of Public Law 97-465 (16 
U.S.C. 521d) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary is authorized'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(a) Conveyance Authority; Consideration.--The Secretary is 
authorized'';
            (2) by striking ``The Secretary shall insert'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(b) Inclusion of Terms, Covenants, Conditions, and 
Reservations.--The Secretary shall insert'';
            (3) by striking ``convenants'' and inserting ``covenants''; 
        and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Disposition of Proceeds.--
            ``(1) Deposit in sisk fund.--The net proceeds derived from 
        any sale or exchange conducted under the authority of paragraph 
        (4), (5), or (6) of section 3 shall be deposited in the fund 
        established by Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the Sisk 
        Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
            ``(2) Use.--Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) shall be 
        available to the Secretary until expended for--
                    ``(A) the acquisition of land or interests in land 
                for administrative sites for the National Forest System 
                in the State from which the amounts were derived;
                    ``(B) the acquisition of land or interests in land 
                for inclusion in the National Forest System in that 
                State, including land or interests in land which 
                enhance opportunities for recreational access;
                    ``(C) the performance of deferred maintenance on 
                administrative sites for the National Forest System in 
                that State or other deferred maintenance activities in 
                that State which enhance opportunities for recreational 
                access; or
                    ``(D) the reimbursement of the Secretary for costs 
                incurred in preparing a sale conducted under the 
                authority of section 3 if the sale is a competitive 
                sale.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 16, 2015.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.