[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2566 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2566
To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to authorize
States to approve certain organizations to acquire, hold, and manage
conservation easements under the Forest Legacy Program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Sheehy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to authorize
States to approve certain organizations to acquire, hold, and manage
conservation easements under the Forest Legacy Program, 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 ``Forest Legacy Management Flexibility
Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY OF STATES TO ALLOW QUALIFIED ORGANIZATIONS TO
ACQUIRE, HOLD, AND MANAGE CONSERVATION EASEMENTS UNDER
THE FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM.
(a) State Authorization.--Section 7 of the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (l)--
(A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``subsection
(m)'' and inserting ``subsection (n)''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``the
State of Vermont'' and inserting ``any State'';
and
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), in the matter
preceding subclause (I), by striking ``State of
Vermont'' and inserting ``applicable State'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (m) as subsection (n); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (l) the following:
``(m) Third-Party Conservation Easements.--
``(1) Definition of qualified organization.--In this
subsection, the term `qualified organization' means an
organization that--
``(A) is a qualified organization (as defined in
section 170(h)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986);
``(B) is organized for, and at all times since the
formation of the organization has been operated
principally for, one or more conservation purposes (as
defined in section 170(h)(4)(A) of that Code);
``(C) has not been the subject of any criminal or
civil enforcement action taken by the Attorney General
or the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
pertaining to the charitable donation of conservation
easements under that Code; and
``(D) has been awarded, and at all times thereafter
has maintained, accredited status by the Land Trust
Accreditation Commission, or if that Commission ceases
to exist, a successor organization that offers
substantially similar accreditation and is approved by
the Secretary for purposes of this section.
``(2) Authorization.--At the request of a State, the
Secretary shall authorize the State to approve eligible
qualified organizations to acquire, hold, and manage
conservation easements to carry out activities under the Forest
Legacy Program.
``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible to acquire, hold, and
manage a conservation easement under this subsection, a
qualified organization shall demonstrate to the Secretary the
abilities necessary to acquire, monitor, and enforce interests
in forestland--
``(A) consistent with the Forest Legacy Program;
and
``(B) in accordance with the applicable assessment
of need submitted to the Secretary by the State in
which the conservation easement is located.
``(4) Reversion.--If the Secretary or a State determines a
condition described in paragraph (5) is met with respect to a
conservation easement--
``(A) all right, title, and interest of the
qualified organization in and to the conservation
easement shall terminate; and
``(B) all right, title, and interest in and to the
conservation easement shall revert to the State or, if
approved by the State, another qualified organization
determined eligible by the Secretary under paragraph
(3).
``(5) Conditions for reversion.--A condition referred to in
paragraph (4) is, with respect to a conservation easement
acquired, held, and managed by a qualified organization under
this subsection, any of the following:
``(A) The qualified organization is unable to carry
out the responsibilities of the qualified organization
under the Forest Legacy Program with respect to the
conservation easement.
``(B) The conservation easement has been modified
in a way that is inconsistent with the purposes of the
Forest Legacy Program or the applicable assessment of
need described in paragraph (3)(B).
``(C) The conservation easement has been conveyed
to another person (other than a qualified organization
determined eligible by the Secretary under paragraph
(3) and approved by the State).''.
(b) Technical Corrections.--Section 7 of the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (i), in the first sentence, by striking
``subsection (b)'' and inserting ``subsection (c)'';
(2) in subsection (l)(3)(B)(i)(II), by adding ``and'' after
the semicolon at the end; and
(3) in subsection (n) (as redesignated by subsection
(a)(2)), in the subsection heading, by striking
``Appropriation'' and inserting ``Authorization of
Appropriations''.
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