[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1944 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1944

To amend section 100905 of title 54, United States Code, to direct the 
 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to require 
annual permits and assess annual fees for commercial filming activities 
  on Federal land for film crews of 5 persons or fewer, and for other 
                               purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2017

 Mr. Latta (for himself, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, 
 Mr. Bacon, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Cole, and 
  Mr. Walz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, 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 amend section 100905 of title 54, United States Code, to direct the 
 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to require 
annual permits and assess annual fees for commercial filming activities 
  on Federal land for film crews of 5 persons or fewer, 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. ANNUAL PERMIT AND FEE FOR FILM CREWS OF 5 PERSONS OR FEWER.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of the amendments made by subsection (b) 
is to provide commercial film crews of 5 persons or fewer access to 
film in areas designated for public use during public hours on Federal 
land and waterways.
    (b) Access for Film Crews of 5 Persons or Fewer.--Section 100905 of 
title 54, United States Code, is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Film crews of 5 persons or fewer.--For film crews of 
        5 persons or fewer, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) assess an annual fee of $200 for commercial 
                filming activities or similar projects on Federal land 
                administered by the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) require a permit which shall be valid for 
                commercial filming activities or similar projects that 
                occur in areas designated for public use during public 
                hours on all Federal land and waterways administered by 
                the Secretary for a 1-year period beginning on the date 
                of issuance of the permit.''.
            (2) In subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end the 
        following: ``The fee under this paragraph for film crews of 5 
        persons or fewer shall be not more than $200.''.
            (3) In subsection (f), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``The Secretary shall not consider subject matter or content as 
        a criterion for issuing or denying a permit under this Act.''.
            (4) By adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Exemption From Commercial Filming or Still Photography 
Permits and Fees.--The Secretary shall not require persons holding 
commercial use authorizations or special recreation permits to obtain 
an additional permit or pay an additional fee for commercial filming or 
still photography under this section if--
            ``(1) the filming or still photography conducted is 
        incidental to the permitted activity that is the subject of the 
        commercial use authorization or special recreation permit; and
            ``(2) the holder of the commercial use authorization or 
        special recreation permit is an individual or small business 
        concern (within the meaning of section 3 of the Small Business 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).
    ``(h) Exception From Certain Fees.--Commercial filming or 
commercial still photography shall be exempt from fees under this Act, 
but not from recovery of costs under subsection (e), if the activity is 
conducted--
            ``(1) by an entity that is a small business concern (within 
        the meaning of section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        632));
            ``(2) by a crew of not more than 5 individuals; and
            ``(3) using only a camera and tripod.
    ``(i) News Gathering Activities.--For the purposes of this section, 
news gathering shall not be considered a commercial activity.
    ``(j) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `commercial film crew' means any persons 
        present on Federal land or waterways under the jurisdiction of 
        the Secretary who are associated with the production of a film;
            ``(2) the term `news gathering' includes, at a minimum, the 
        gathering, recording, and filming of news and information 
        related to news in any medium; and
            ``(3) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, with 
        respect to land under the respective jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary.''.
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