H.R. 7255

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7255 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7255

To amend Public Law 96-586 to modernize the authority of the Forest 
Service to acquire and administer land under that Act, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 27, 2026

Mr. Kiley of California (for himself, Ms. Titus, and Ms. Lee of Nevada) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend Public Law 96-586 to modernize the authority of the Forest 
Service to acquire and administer land under that Act, 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 ``Santini-Burton Modernization Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LAND IN THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN.

(a) Findings; Purpose.--Section 1 of Public Law 96-586 (94 Stat. 
3381) (commonly known as the ``Santini-Burton Act'') is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the 
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) the Lake Tahoe Basin is the homeland of the Washoe 
Tribe of Nevada and California, but that Tribe owns less than 
0.5 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and that 
limited land ownership and the presence of that land in the 
Lake Tahoe Basin hamper the ability of the Washoe Tribe of 
Nevada and California to provide access and cultural resources 
for the members of that Tribe.''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``and management'' 
after ``acquisition''.
(b) Acquisitions; Land Management.--Section 3 of Public Law 96-586 
(94 Stat. 3383; 114 Stat. 2357; 130 Stat. 1790) (commonly known as the 
``Santini-Burton Act'') is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(3), in the first sentence, by 
inserting ``the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and'' 
after ``local government agencies,'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``Land'' and inserting the 
following:
``(A) National forest system.--Except as provided 
in subparagraph (B), land'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so 
designated), by striking ``United States 
National Forest System; except that the 
Secretary'' and inserting the following: 
``National Forest System.
``(B) Transfers.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary''; and
(iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so 
designated)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``lands'' 
each place it appears and 
inserting ``land'';
(bb) by striking ``which 
are unsuitable'' and inserting 
``acquired under this section 
that is unsuitable''; and
(cc) by inserting ``or to 
the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California'' after ``local 
government''; and
(II) by adding at the end the 
following:
``(ii) Funding.--Amounts made available to 
carry out this section may be used for the 
administrative costs of transfers of land and 
interests in land under this subsection.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Land management.--
``(A) Acquired land.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, funds appropriated pursuant to this 
Act for the purpose of the acquisition of land and 
interests in land under this section may be used by the 
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 
the Forest Service, for--
``(i) land management activities on land 
acquired under this section within the Lake 
Tahoe Basin; and
``(ii) land management activities on 
National Forest System land within the 
boundaries of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management 
Unit.
``(B) Transferred land.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture may 
transfer funds made available pursuant to this Act for 
the purpose of the acquisition of land and interests in 
land under this section to appropriate units of State 
or local government or to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada 
and California to carry out land management activities 
on land acquired under this section and transferred to 
that unit of State or local government or to that 
Tribe.
``(C) Included land management activities.--Land 
management activities that may be carried out under 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall include activities for 
the purposes of--
``(i) maintaining forest health;
``(ii) maintaining the wildland-urban 
interface (as defined in section 101 of the 
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6511));
``(iii) maintaining water quality;
``(iv) preventing and mitigating 
environmental impacts due to recreational use;
``(v) preserving cultural sites and 
indigenous management practices; and
``(vi) scientific research to support 
decisions relating to land management 
activities described in clauses (i) through 
(v).
``(D) Partnerships.--
``(i) Federal agencies.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service, may enter into partnerships 
with the heads of applicable Federal agencies 
to carry out land management activities under 
subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Other partnerships.--Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service, may enter into partnerships 
with, and transfer funds appropriated pursuant 
to this Act for the purpose of the acquisition 
of land and interests in land under this 
section to, appropriate units of State or local 
government, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 
or the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California to 
develop and implement the land management 
activities described in subparagraph (C) and 
projects to provide public access to--
``(I) land in the Lake Tahoe Basin 
acquired under this section;
``(II) land with a nexus to Federal 
land in the Lake Tahoe Basin or the 
shoreline of Lake Tahoe; or
``(III) land in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin that is of cultural significance 
to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California.
``(E) Spending plan.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than March 15 
of each fiscal year, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Forest 
Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management 
Unit, shall develop a spending plan for 
activities under this paragraph for the next 
fiscal year consistent with the priorities of 
the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement 
Program.
``(ii) Consultation.--In developing the 
spending plan under clause (i), the Secretary 
of Agriculture, acting through the Forest 
Supervisor of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management 
Unit, shall consult with--
``(I) the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency;
``(II) the States of California and 
Nevada;
``(III) the Washoe Tribe of Nevada 
and California; and
``(IV) appropriate units of local 
government.
``(iii) Criteria.--The ranking of 
management activities in the spending plan 
developed under clause (i) shall be based on--
``(I) the potential to 
significantly contribute to the 
achievement and maintenance of the 
environmental threshold carrying 
capacities adopted by the Tahoe 
Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe 
Regional Planning Compact (Public Law 
96-551; 94 Stat. 3233);
``(II) the 4-year threshold 
carrying capacity evaluation;
``(III) the ability to measure 
progress or success of the management 
activity;
``(IV) the ability of the 
management activity to have multiple 
benefits;
``(V) the ability of the management 
activity to leverage other 
contributions;
``(VI) inclusion on the 5-year 
priority list for the Lake Tahoe 
Environmental Improvement Program; and
``(VII) whether there is 
stakeholder support for the management 
activity.
``(iv) Funding for administration; 
availability.--Any funds made available under 
this paragraph and allocated under the spending 
plan developed under clause (i)--
``(I) may be used for 
administrative costs of carrying out 
the spending plan; and
``(II) shall remain available until 
expended.
``(F) Maintenance of funding.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, any funds made available under 
this paragraph shall supplement, and not supplant, any 
other amounts available to the Secretary of Agriculture 
for expenditure in the Lake Tahoe Basin and any other 
amounts made available by Congress.
``(G) Consideration as non-federal matching 
funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
funds transferred under this paragraph to the Washoe 
Tribe of Nevada and California, an appropriate unit of 
State or local government, or the Tahoe Regional 
Planning Agency shall be considered to be non-Federal 
matching funds for purposes of any other provision of 
Federal law.'';
(3) in subsection (c)(4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
subparagraph (C); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
following:
``(B) `Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit' means the 
land area included in the management unit created by 
the Forest Service in 1973; and'';
(4) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(5) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g) Acquisition and Management of Land of Cultural Significance 
to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
the Chief of the Forest Service, may transfer funds appropriated 
pursuant to this Act for the purpose of the acquisition of land and 
interests in land under this section to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California to acquire and manage land of cultural significance to that 
Tribe in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the purposes of preservation, access, 
and land management.''.
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