16 U.S.C. § 6231 — Findings, purpose, and definitions
submitted 23 years ago by Pub. L. 108-7 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 484 words · no verdicts yet
Congress describes the social benefits of organizational camps and the suitability of National Forest System lands. This chapter creates a land-use fee system for camps serving young people or people with disabilities and defines key terms.
(a) Findings. Congress finds that (1) organizational camps, including camps run by the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and faith-based or community organizations, help young people, people with disabilities, and families by promoting physical, mental, and spiritual health through natural-environment activities; (2) the 192,000,0000 acres of national forests and grasslands managed for multiple uses by the Forest Service provide an ideal setting; (3) the Federal Government should charge fees based on fair market land value while recognizing the camps’ social benefits, preserving their ability to use the lands, and allowing capital investment and maintenance by camps or sponsors; and (4) camps should (A) meet applicable building and safety codes, including fire and health codes, (B) receive locally required annual inspections, at least for fire and food safety, and (C) have plans for fire and medical emergencies and wildlife encounters.
(b) Purpose. This chapter establishes a land-use fee system giving the Federal Government an equitable return for organizational camps’ use of National Forest System lands to serve young people or people with disabilities.
(c) Definitions. (1) “Organizational camp” means a public or semipublic camp developed on National Forest System lands by a nonprofit or government entity that (A) provides public value by introducing young people or people with disabilities to otherwise unavailable activities and educating them about natural resources, and (B) does not primarily seek revenue through commercial activity. (2) “Secretary” means the Agriculture Secretary acting through the Forest Service Chief. (3) “Individual with a disability” has the meaning in 29 U.S.C. 705(20); this chapter does not define it. (4) “Children at risk” means children raised in poverty or single-parent homes or subject to parental drug abuse, homelessness, or child abuse. (5) “Change in control” means, for a corporation or partnership or limited liability company, sale or transfer of a controlling interest, and, for an individual, sale or transfer of a chapter-covered organizational camp to another party. This chapter does not otherwise define the quoted terms.
Congress finds the following:
Organizational camps, such as those administered by the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and faith-based and community-based organizations, provide a valuable service to young people, individuals with a disability, and their families by promoting physical, mental, and spiritual health through activities conducted in a natural environment.
The 192,000,0000 1 acres of national forests and grasslands of the National Forest System managed for multiple uses by the Forest Service provides an ideal setting for such organizational camps.
The Federal Government should charge land use fees for the occupancy and use of National Forest System lands by such organizational camps that, while based on the fair market value of the land in use, also recognize the benefits provided to society by such organizational camps, do not preclude the ability of such organizational camps from utilizing these lands, and permit capital investment in, and maintenance of, camp facilities by such organizational camps or their sponsoring organizations.
Organizational camps should—
ensure that their facilities meet applicable building and safety codes, including fire and health codes;
have annual inspections as required by local law, including at a minimum inspections for fire and food safety; and
have in place safety plans that address fire and medical emergencies and encounters with wildlife.
It is the purpose of this chapter to establish a land use fee system that provides for an equitable return to the Federal Government for the occupancy and use of National Forest System lands by organizational camps that serve young people or individuals with a disability.
In this chapter:
The term “organizational camp” means a public or semipublic camp that—
is developed on National Forest System lands by a nonprofit organization or governmental entity;
provides a valuable service to the public by using such lands as a setting to introduce young people or individuals with a disability to activities that they may not otherwise experience and to educate them on natural resource issues; and
does not have as its primary purpose raising revenue through commercial activities.
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
The term “individual with a disability” has the meaning given the term in section 705(20) of title 29.
The term “children at risk” means children who are raised in poverty or in single-parent homes or are subject to such circumstances as parental drug abuse, homelessness, or child abuse.
The term “change in control” means—
for a corporation, the sale or transfer of a controlling interest in the corporation;
for a partnership or limited liability company, the sale or transfer of a controlling interest in the partnership or limited liability company; and
for an individual, the sale or transfer or an organizational camp subject to this chapter to another party.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title V, § 502, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 294.)
- 2003Enacted · Pub. L. 108-7 · 117 Stat. 294
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 108-7 on 2003-02-20.
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