HR975DEC16

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending December 16, 2005

H.R.975 To provide consistent enforcement authority to the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Forest Service to respond to violations of regulations regarding the management, use, and protection of public lands under the jurisdiction of these agencies, and for other purposes.

BRIEF

The bill aims to bring some uniformity of fines and punishments for degredation of public land. Several agencies have legal/criminal jurisdiction over public parks and forest land but fines and punishments differ. The crimes in particular that the bill text notes are lighting fires and other actions for degredation of the land. The committee considered the following data regarding the bill:

“Each of the four federal land management agencies have different penalties for violations carried out on public lands. For example, typically a violation on Bureau of Land Management land would result in a tougher penalty than a violation on Forest Service land. This legislation would provide consistent laws for the violation of provisions under the four land management agencies' organic acts or any regulation issued under those acts. Because in general the public does not distinguish between different land management agencies, the consistency in these laws will aid in clearing up confusion with the public while also serving as a deterrent.”

The bill would create “two general classes of fines and penalties (which already exist under the criminal code at 18 U.S.C. 3571) for those who are guilty of such crimes on federal lands. The two classes are as follows:

Class B Misdemeanor--Any individual found guilty of violating regulations will be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months. Any group found guilty of violating regulations will be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months.

Class A Misdemeanor--Any individual found guilty of `knowingly and willfully' violating governing regulations will be subject to a fine of not more than $100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year. Any group found guilty of `knowingly and willfully' violating regulations will be subject to a fine of not more than $200,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year. A defendant charged with a Class A misdemeanor has the right to a jury trial.

Additionally, the bill states the Secretary of Agriculture may issue regulations to protect National Forest System lands from destruction, namely wildfire destruction, and that anyone who knowingly violates such regulations shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Any person who otherwise violates such a regulation shall be subject to a Class B misdemeanor. In both cases, the person violating such regulation may also be subject to paying the cost of the proceedings.

H.R. 975 also establishes a $500 minimum fine for anyone, who as a result of reckless conduct, starts a fire in an area subject to a complete ban on open fires. This provision is in response to several human-caused fires, campfires or other, started while a fire ban was in effect and there was an extreme risk of wildfire. In one example, citizens called the local land management agency asking to pay the `fine' in advance to start a campfire. This is meant to serve as a stronger deterrent to starting a fire during a fire ban and therefore prevent some wildfires.

Sponsor: Representative Thomas G. Tancredo (R-CO-6^th)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote December 14, 2005.

Cost to the taxpayers: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 975 would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. Implementing the penalties established by the bill could change the amount of revenue collected from fines and penalties, but CBO expects that any net change would be less than $500,000 annually.