Paleontological Resources Preservation Act
Latest action · Jun 24, 2003 Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 11, 2003
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Directs the Secretaries to establish a program to increase public awareness about the significance of paleontological resources.
Prohibits a person from collecting a paleontological resource from Federal land without a permit issued under this Act by one of the Secretaries. Authorizes the Secretaries to allow casual collecting of common invertebrate and plant paleontological resources for scientific, educational, and recreational uses, without a permit, on certain Federal lands where not inconsistent with laws governing management of such lands and this Act. Recognizes as valid permits issued before enactment of this Act.
Prohibits: (1) excavating, removing, or altering a paleontological resource located on Federal lands, except in compliance with this Act; (2) exchanging or receiving such a resource, if the person knew or should have known such resource to have been illegally removed from Federal lands; (3) selling or purchasing a paleontological resource, if the person knew or should have known such resource to have been illegally removed from Federal lands; or (4) making or submitting false records, accounts, or identification of any paleontological resource excavated or removed from Federal lands. Imposes criminal penalties for violating this Act.
Sets forth requirements for the assessment of civil penalties by the Secretaries for violations of any prohibitions contained in regulations or permits issued under this Act. Requires any recovered amounts to be available for use: (1) to protect or restore the paleontological resources and sites which were the subject of the action, or to acquire sites with equivalent resources and to protect, monitor, and study the resources and sites; (2) to provide educational materials to the public about paleontological resources and sites; and (3) as a reward.
Requires that information on the nature and specific location of a paleontological resource that requires a permit under this Act or other Federal law be withheld from the public, including under the Freedom of Information Act, except under specified conditions.
Declares that no permit is required by this Act for the casual collecting of rocks and minerals on National Forest System lands for personal use.
Cosponsors 15
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 11, 2003 to Apr 27, 2004; 10 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| R-MT | Denny Rehberg | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| R-NE | Doug Bereuter | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| D-CO | Mark Udall | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| R-PA | Phil English | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| R-CO | Scott McInnis | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| R-MD | Wayne T. Gilchrest | Original | Jun 11, 2003 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Jun 19, 2003 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Jun 19, 2003 | |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Jul 9, 2003 | |
| R-KS | Todd Tiahrt | Jul 16, 2003 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Apr 27, 2004 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2003 |
| Federal Lands Subcommittee | Referred Jun 19, 2003 | |
| Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee | Referred Jun 19, 2003 | |
| Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee | Referred Jun 19, 2003Hearings Jun 19, 2003 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2003 |
| Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee | Referred Jun 24, 2003 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 24, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
- Jun 19, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands.
- Jun 19, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
- Jun 19, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
- Jun 19, 2003Subcommittees on Fisheries and Forests held a joint hearing.
- Jun 11, 2003Introduced in House
- Jun 11, 2003Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 108-30 | H.R. 511, H.R. 708, H.R. 1038 and H.R. 165155 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jun 19, 2003 |
| Serial No. 108-29 | H.R. 2057 and H.R. 241667 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jun 19, 2003 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Paleontological Resources Preservation Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Administrative remedies
- Archives
- Arts, Culture, Religion
- Commerce
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Cultural property
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of the Interior
- Destruction of property
- Environmental Protection
- Fines (Penalties)
- Forfeiture
- Fossils
- Fraud
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government property
- Government publicity
- Informers
- Judicial review
- Labeling
- Land use
- Larceny
- Law
- Licenses
- Museums
- National forests
- Nature conservation
- Official secrets
- Paleontology
- Planning
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Public records
- Recidivists
- Research natural areas
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 11, 2003Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.