[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 373 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 338
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 373
[Report No. 114-193]
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2015
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
December 16, 2015
Reported by Ms. Murkowski, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to
expedite access to certain Federal land under the administrative
jurisdiction of each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery
missions, 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 ``Good Samaritan Search and Recovery
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED ACCESS TO CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible.--The term ``eligible'', with respect to an
organization or individual, means that the organization or
individual, respectively, is--
(A) acting in a not-for-profit capacity; and
(B) composed entirely of members who, at the time
of the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission, have
attained the age of majority under the law of the State
where the mission takes place.
(2) Good samaritan search-and-recovery mission.--The term
``good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission'' means a search
conducted by an eligible organization or individual for 1 or
more missing individuals believed to be deceased at the time
that the search is initiated.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable.
(b) Process.--
(1) In general.--Each Secretary shall develop and implement
a process to expedite access to Federal land under the
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for eligible
organizations and individuals to request access to Federal land
to conduct good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions.
(2) Inclusions.--The process developed and implemented
under this subsection shall include provisions to clarify
that--
(A) an eligible organization or individual granted
access under this section--
(i) shall be acting for private purposes;
and
(ii) shall not be considered to be a
Federal volunteer;
(B) an eligible organization or individual
conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission
under this section shall not be considered to be a
volunteer under section 102301(c) of title 54, United
States Code;
(C) chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code
(commonly known as the ``Federal Tort Claims Act''),
shall not apply to an eligible organization or
individual carrying out a privately requested good
Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this
section; and
(D) chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly known as the ``Federal Employees Compensation
Act''), shall not apply to an eligible organization or
individual conducting a good Samaritan search-and-
recovery mission under this section, and the conduct of
the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission shall
not constitute civilian employment.
(c) Release of Federal Government From Liability.--The Secretary
shall not require an eligible organization or individual to have
liability insurance as a condition of accessing Federal land under this
section, if the eligible organization or individual--
(1) acknowledges and consents, in writing, to the
provisions described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
subsection (b)(2); and
(2) signs a waiver releasing the Federal Government from
all liability relating to the access granted under this section
and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States
from any claims or lawsuits arising from any conduct by the
eligible organization or individual on Federal land.
(d) Approval and Denial of Requests.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall notify an eligible
organization or individual of the approval or denial of a
request by the eligible organization or individual to carry out
a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section
by not later than 48 hours after the request is made.
(2) Denials.--If the Secretary denies a request from an
eligible organization or individual to carry out a good
Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section, the
Secretary shall notify the eligible organization or individual
of--
(A) the reason for the denial of the request; and
(B) any actions that the eligible organization or
individual can take to meet the requirements for the
request to be approved.
(e) Partnerships.--Each Secretary shall develop search-and-
recovery-focused partnerships with search-and-recovery organizations--
(1) to coordinate good Samaritan search-and-recovery
missions on Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction
of the Secretary; and
(2) to expedite and accelerate good Samaritan search-and-
recovery mission efforts for missing individuals on Federal
land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary.
(f) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress a joint report
describing--
(1) plans to develop partnerships described in subsection
(e)(1); and
(2) efforts carried out to expedite and accelerate good
Samaritan search-and-recovery mission efforts for missing
individuals on Federal land under the administrative
jurisdiction of each Secretary pursuant to subsection (e)(2).
Calendar No. 338
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 373
[Report No. 114-193]
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to
expedite access to certain Federal land under the administrative
jurisdiction of each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery
missions, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 16, 2015
Reported without amendment