[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 659 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 659
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing,
and shooting, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 4, 2015
Mr. Sullivan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing,
and shooting, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Bipartisan
Sportsmen's Act of 2015''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Modification of definition of sport fishing equipment under the
Toxic Substances Control Act.
Sec. 3. Target practice and marksmanship.
Sec. 4. Permits for importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport
hunts in Canada.
Sec. 5. Baiting of migratory game birds.
Sec. 6. Protecting the right of individuals to bear arms at water
resources development projects.
Sec. 7. North American Wetlands Conservation Act.
Sec. 8. Multinational Species Conservation Funds Reauthorization.
Sec. 9. Interest on obligations held in the wildlife restoration fund.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF SPORT FISHING EQUIPMENT UNDER THE
TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT.
Section 3(2)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C.
2602(2)(B)) is amended--
(1) in clause (v), by striking ``, and'' and inserting ``,
or any component of any such article including, without
limitation, shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants,
and primers,'';
(2) in clause (vi) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``, and''; and
(3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
``(vii) any sport fishing equipment (as such term is
defined in section 4162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986) the sale of which is subject to the tax imposed by
section 4161(a) of such Code (determined without regard to any
exemptions from such tax provided by section 4162 or 4221 or
any other provision of such Code), and sport fishing equipment
components.''.
SEC. 3. TARGET PRACTICE AND MARKSMANSHIP.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to facilitate the
construction and expansion of public target ranges, including ranges on
Federal land managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management.
(b) Definition of Public Target Range.--In this section, the term
``public target range'' means a specific location that--
(1) is identified by a governmental agency for recreational
shooting;
(2) is open to the public;
(3) may be supervised; and
(4) may accommodate archery or rifle, pistol, or shotgun
shooting.
(c) Amendments to Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act.--
(1) Definitions.--Section 2 of the Pittman-Robertson
Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669a) is amended--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (8) as
paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) the term `public target range' means a specific
location that--
``(A) is identified by a governmental agency for
recreational shooting;
``(B) is open to the public;
``(C) may be supervised; and
``(D) may accommodate archery or rifle, pistol, or
shotgun shooting;''.
(2) Expenditures for management of wildlife areas and
resources.--Section 8(b) of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669g(b)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``(b) Each State'' and inserting
the following:
``(b) Expenditures for Management of Wildlife Areas and
Resources.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
each State'';
(B) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by
striking ``construction, operation,'' and inserting
``operation'';
(C) in the second sentence, by striking ``The non-
Federal share'' and inserting the following:
``(3) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share'';
(D) in the third sentence, by striking ``The
Secretary'' and inserting the following:
``(4) Regulations.--The Secretary''; and
(E) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as designated
by subparagraph (A)) the following:
``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding the limitation described
in paragraph (1), a State may pay up to 90 percent of the cost
of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public
target range.''.
(3) Firearm and bow hunter education and safety program
grants.--Section 10 of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669h-1) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the
following:
``(3) Allocation of additional amounts.--Of the amount
apportioned to a State for any fiscal year under section 4(b),
the State may elect to allocate not more than 10 percent, to be
combined with the amount apportioned to the State under
paragraph (1) for that fiscal year, for acquiring land for,
expanding, or constructing a public target range.'';
(B) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Cost Sharing.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out using a
grant under this section shall not exceed 75 percent of the
total cost of the activity.
``(2) Public target range construction or expansion.--The
Federal share of the cost of acquiring land for, expanding, or
constructing a public target range in a State on Federal or
non-Federal land pursuant to this section or section 8(b) shall
not exceed 90 percent of the cost of the activity.''; and
(C) in subsection (c)(1)--
(i) by striking ``Amounts made'' and
inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), amounts made''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Exception.--Amounts provided for acquiring
land for, constructing, or expanding a public target
range shall remain available for expenditure and
obligation during the 5-fiscal-year period beginning on
October 1 of the first fiscal year for which the
amounts are made available.''.
(d) Sense of Congress Regarding Cooperation.--It is the sense of
Congress that, consistent with applicable laws (including regulations),
the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management should cooperate with State and local authorities and other
entities to carry out waste removal and other activities on any Federal
land used as a public target range to encourage continued use of that
land for target practice or marksmanship training.
SEC. 4. PERMITS FOR IMPORTATION OF POLAR BEAR TROPHIES TAKEN IN SPORT
HUNTS IN CANADA.
Section 104(c)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
(16 U.S.C. 1374(c)(5)(D)) is amended to read as follows:
``(D)(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall, expeditiously
after the expiration of the applicable 30-day period under
subsection (d)(2), issue a permit for the importation of any
polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar
bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person--
``(I) who submits, with the permit application,
proof that the polar bear was legally harvested by the
person before February 18, 1997; or
``(II) who has submitted, in support of a permit
application submitted before May 15, 2008, proof that
the polar bear was legally harvested by the person
before May 15, 2008, from a polar bear population from
which a sport-hunted trophy could be imported before
that date in accordance with section 18.30(i) of title
50, Code of Federal Regulations.
``(ii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause
(i)(I) without regard to subparagraphs (A) and (C)(ii) of this
paragraph, subsection (d)(3), and sections 101 and 102.
Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) shall not apply to the
importation of any polar bear part authorized by a permit
issued under clause (i)(I). This clause shall not apply to
polar bear parts that were imported before June 12, 1997.
``(iii) The Secretary shall issue permits under clause
(i)(II) without regard to subparagraph (C)(ii) of this
paragraph or subsection (d)(3). Sections 101(a)(3)(B) and
102(b)(3) shall not apply to the importation of any polar bear
part authorized by a permit issued under clause (i)(II). This
clause shall not apply to polar bear parts that were imported
before the date of enactment of the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act
of 2015.''.
SEC. 5. BAITING OF MIGRATORY GAME BIRDS.
Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 704) is
amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Prohibition of Baiting.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Baited area.--
``(i) In general.--The term `baited area'
means--
``(I) any area on which salt,
grain, or other feed has been placed,
exposed, deposited, distributed, or
scattered, if the salt, grain, or feed
could lure or attract migratory game
birds; and
``(II) in the case of waterfowl,
cranes (family Gruidae), and coots
(family Rallidae), a standing,
unharvested crop that has been
manipulated through activities such as
mowing, discing, or rolling, unless the
activities are normal agricultural
practices.
``(ii) Exclusions.--An area shall not be
considered to be a `baited area' if the area--
``(I) has been treated with a
normal agricultural practice;
``(II) has standing crops that have
not been manipulated; or
``(III) has standing crops that
have been or are flooded.
``(B) Baiting.--The term `baiting' means the direct
or indirect placing, exposing, depositing,
distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, or other
feed that could lure or attract migratory game birds
to, on, or over any areas on which a hunter is
attempting to take migratory game birds.
``(C) Migratory game bird.--The term `migratory
game bird' means migratory bird species--
``(i) that are within the taxonomic
families of Anatidae, Columbidae, Gruidae,
Rallidae, and Scolopacidae; and
``(ii) for which open seasons are
prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.
``(D) Normal agricultural practice.--
``(i) In general.--The term `normal
agricultural practice' means any practice in 1
annual growing season that--
``(I) is carried out in order to
produce a marketable crop, including
planting, harvest, post-harvest, or
soil conservation practices; and
``(II) is recommended for the
successful harvest of a given crop by
the applicable State office of the
Cooperative Extension System of the
Department of Agriculture, in
consultation with, and if requested,
the concurrence of, the head of the
applicable State department of fish and
wildlife.
``(ii) Inclusions.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subclause (II), the term `normal
agricultural practice' includes the
destruction of a crop in accordance
with practices required by the Federal
Crop Insurance Corporation for
agricultural producers to obtain crop
insurance under the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.)
on land on which a crop during the
current or immediately preceding crop
year was not harvestable due to a
natural disaster (including any
hurricane, storm, tornado, flood, high
water, wind-driven water, tidal wave,
tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption,
landslide, mudslide, drought, fire,
snowstorm, or other catastrophe that is
declared a major disaster by the
President in accordance with section
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5170)).
``(II) Limitations.--The term
`normal agricultural practice' only
includes a crop described in subclause
(I) that has been destroyed or
manipulated through activities that
include (but are not limited to)
mowing, discing, or rolling if the
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
certifies that flooding was not an
acceptable method of destruction to
obtain crop insurance under the Federal
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et
seq.).
``(E) Waterfowl.--The term `waterfowl' means native
species of the family Anatidae.
``(2) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any person--
``(A) to take any migratory game bird by baiting or
on or over any baited area, if the person knows or
reasonably should know that the area is a baited area;
or
``(B) to place or direct the placement of bait on
or adjacent to an area for the purpose of causing,
inducing, or allowing any person to take or attempt to
take any migratory game bird by baiting or on or over
the baited area.
``(3) Regulations.--The Secretary of the Interior may
promulgate regulations to implement this subsection.
``(4) Reports.--Annually, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall submit to the Secretary of the Interior a report that
describes any changes to normal agricultural practices across
the range of crops grown by agricultural producers in each
region of the United States in which the recommendations are
provided to agricultural producers.''.
SEC. 6. PROTECTING THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO BEAR ARMS AT WATER
RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
The Secretary of the Army shall not promulgate or enforce any
regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm,
including an assembled or functional firearm, in any area open to the
public (other than a Federal facility as defined in section 930(g) of
title 18, United States Code) at a water resources development project
covered under section 327.0 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations
(as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), if--
(1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from
possessing the firearm; and
(2) the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the
law of the State in which the water resources development
project is located.
SEC. 7. NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT.
Section 7(c) of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16
U.S.C. 4406(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'';
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through
2020.''.
SEC. 8. MULTINATIONAL SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS REAUTHORIZATION.
(a) Reauthorization of African Elephant Conservation Act.--Section
2306(a) of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4245(a)) is
amended by striking ``2007 through 2012'' and inserting ``2016 through
2020''.
(b) Reauthorization of Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of
1994.--Section 10(a) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of
1994 (16 U.S.C. 5306(a)) is amended by striking ``2007 through 2012''
and inserting ``2016 through 2020''.
(c) Reauthorization of Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997.--
Section 8(a) of the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C.
4266(a)) is amended by striking ``2007 through 2012'' and inserting
``2016 through 2020''.
(d) Amendment and Reauthorization of Great Ape Conservation Act of
2000.--The Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000 is amended as follows:
(1) Multiyear grants.--In section 4 (16 U.S.C. 6303), by
adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(j) Multiyear Grants.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may award a multiyear
grant under this section to a person who is otherwise eligible
for a grant under this section, to carry out a project that the
person demonstrates is an effective, long-term conservation
strategy for great apes and their habitats.
``(2) Annual grants not affected.--This subsection shall
not be construed as precluding the Secretary from awarding
grants on an annual basis.''.
(2) Panel of experts.--In section 4(i) (16 U.S.C.
6303(i))--
(A) in paragraph (1), by--
(i) striking ``Every 2 years'' and
inserting ``Within one year after the date of
the enactment of the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act
of 2015, and every 5 years thereafter'';
(ii) striking ``may convene'' and inserting
``shall convene'';
(iii) inserting ``and priorities'' after
``needs''; and
(iv) adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The panel shall, to the extent
practicable, include representatives from
foreign range states with expertise in great
ape conservation.''; and
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph
(4), and inserting after paragraph (1) the following
new paragraphs:
``(2) In identifying conservation needs and priorities
under paragraph (1), the panel shall consider relevant great
ape conservation plans or strategies including scientific
research and findings related to--
``(A) the conservation needs and priorities of
great apes;
``(B) regional or species-specific action plans or
strategies;
``(C) applicable strategies developed or initiated
by the Secretary; and
``(D) any other applicable conservation plan or
strategy.
``(3) The Secretary, subject to the availability of
appropriations, may pay expenses of convening and facilitating
meetings of the panel.''.
(3) Administrative expenses limitation.--In section 5(b)(2)
(16 U.S.C. 6304(b)(2)), by striking ``$100,000'' and inserting
``$150,000''.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--In section 6 (16
U.S.C. 6305), by striking ``2006 through 2010'' and inserting
``2016 through 2020''.
(e) Amendment and Reauthorization of Marine Turtle Conservation Act
of 2004.--
(1) In general.--The Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004
is amended--
(A) in sections 2(b) and 3(2) (16 U.S.C. 6601(b),
6602(2)), by inserting ``and territories of the United
States'' after ``foreign countries'' each place it
occurs;
(B) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 6602) by adding at the
end the following:
``(7) Territory of the united states.--The term `territory
of the United States' means each of Puerto Rico, the United
States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or
possession of the United States.''; and
(C) in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 6603)--
(i) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting
``or territory of the United States'' after
``foreign country''; and
(ii) in subsection (d) by inserting ``and
territories of the United States'' after
``foreign countries''.
(2) Administrative expenses limitation.--Section 5(b)(2) of
the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 (16 U.S.C.
6604(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``$80,000'' and inserting
``$150,000''.
(3) Reauthorization.--Section 7 of the Marine Turtle
Conservation Act of 2004 (16 U.S.C. 6606) is amended by
striking ``each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009'' and
inserting ``each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020''.
SEC. 9. INTEREST ON OBLIGATIONS HELD IN THE WILDLIFE RESTORATION FUND.
Section 3(b)(2)(C) of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration
Act (16 U.S.C. 669b) is amended by striking ``2016'' and inserting
``2026''.
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