Sec. 113. Solving shortages for seedlings
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Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall develop and implement a national strategy to increase the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, and private nurseries to address the nationwide shortage of tree seedlings. The strategy required under subsection
(a)shall— be based on the best available science and data; and identify and address— regional seedling shortages of bareroot and container tree seedlings; regional reforestation opportunities and the seedling supply necessary to fulfill such opportunities; opportunities to enhance seedling diversity and close gaps in seed inventories; and barriers to expanding, enhancing, or creating new infrastructure to increase nursery capacity. Section 2 of the Act of June 9, 1930 ( 16 U.S.C. 576a ; commonly known as the Knutson-Vandenberg Act ), is amended by striking each fiscal year after year ending June 30, 1934, not to exceed $400,000, and inserting each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030, $25,000,000, . The Secretary shall carry out a loan program to make or guarantee qualified nursery loans to eligible entities under this subsection. To be eligible to receive a qualified nursery loan or loan guarantee under this subsection, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a plan to maintain the genetic and physical quality of seedlings of the eligible entity. In making qualified nursery loans or loan guarantees under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— are small businesses, in particular small businesses located in rural areas; create or support jobs, particularly in rural areas; and serve regions with high demand for reforestation. A loan or loan guarantee under this subsection may only be used to carry out a qualified nursery project to— develop, expand, enhance, or improve nursery capacity or infrastructure; establish nurseries; or develop or implement quality control measures at nurseries. The portion of a loan that the Secretary may guarantee under this subsection may not be greater than 80 percent of the principal amount of such loan. The period of repayment for a loan made under this subsection shall not exceed 20 years. The total amount of qualified nursery loans made or guaranteed under this subsection by the Secretary may not exceed $1,000,000,000. The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that loans made or guaranteed under this subsection are distributed across diverse geographic regions. In this subsection: The term eligible entity means— a State, Tribal, or local government; or a domestic private, non-profit, or cooperative organization. The term nursery means a State, Tribal, or local government or privately-owned facility that grows, stores, extracts, or monitors bareroot or container tree seedlings. The term qualified nursery loan means a low-interest loan, the proceeds of which are used to cover the costs to the borrower of carrying out a qualified nursery project described in paragraph (4).
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Sec. 113
Solving shortages for seedlings
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