S 2566

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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”. <all>