Grazing Improvement Act
Latest action · May 22, 2014 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 392.
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.
- IntroducedFeb 7, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Grazing Improvement Act - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to revise provisions related to grazing leases and permits.
Extends the maximum period of a term for grazing permits and leases for domestic livestock grazing on public lands or lands within national forests in 16 contiguous western states from 10 years to 20 years, if the Secretary of Interior with respect to land administered by Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest Service System land (the Secretary concerned) has assessed and evaluated the grazing allotment and determined that the grazing allotment meets applicable standards or objectives.
Requires a permit or lease to be continued until the Secretary concerned completes any environmental analysis and documentation for the permit or lease required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and other applicable laws.
Instructs the Secretary concerned to seek to conduct environmental reviews on an allotment or multiple allotment basis, if the allotments share similar ecological conditions for purposes of compliance with NEPA and other applicable laws.
Permits the exclusion of grazing permits or leases from environmental assessment or environmental impact statement requirements under NEPA if: (1) the issued permit or lease continues the current grazing management of the allotment, and (2) the Secretary concerned has determined that the allotment meets applicable standards or objectives. Permits the exclusion of the trailing and crossing of livestock across public land from such requirements.
Gives the Secretary concerned sole discretion to determine the priority and timing for completing each required environmental analysis based on environmental significance and available funding.
Establishes in the Departments of the Interior and of Agriculture (USDA) a pilot program that: (1) authorizes the voluntary relinquishment of grazing permits or leases in New Mexico and Oregon, and (2) provides that grazing permits or leases voluntarily relinquished shall be permanently retired from further grazing authorization.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 7, 2013 to Apr 23, 2013; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NV | Dean Heller | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-WY | Michael B. Enzi | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-UT | Mike Lee | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-UT | Orrin G. Hatch | Original | Feb 7, 2013 |
| R-ND | John Hoeven | Mar 6, 2013 | |
| R-AZ | Jeff Flake | Apr 23, 2013 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Referred Feb 7, 2013Markup Nov 21, 2013Reported May 22, 2014 |
| Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee | Hearings Apr 25, 2013 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 22, 2014Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Landrieu with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-166.
- May 22, 2014Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 392.
- Nov 21, 2013Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
- Apr 25, 2013Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-28.
- Feb 7, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Feb 7, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jan 14, 2014S. 258, Grazing Improvement ActAs ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on November 21, 2013
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 113-102 | DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUDGET74 pages | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Jun 6, 2013 |
| S. Hrg. 113-28 | CURRENT PUBLIC LANDS, FORESTS, AND MINING BILLS130 pages | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Apr 25, 2013 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 657 | Grazing Improvement Act | Related bill | Jul 9, 2013 |
| HR 2954 | Public Access and Lands Improvement Act | Related bill | Feb 10, 2014 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve the management of grazing leases and permits, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Grazing Improvement Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Grazing Improvement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 22, 2014Reported to Senate
- Feb 7, 2013Introduced in Senate
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.
