Sec. 9. Approval of grasslands conservation projects
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Each calendar year, the Council shall submit to the Commission a report that includes a list of the grasslands conservation projects (including the costs of those projects), in order of priority, that the Council, in consultation with each Regional Grasslands Conservation Council, recommends to the Commission for funding under the Program. In making the list of recommended grasslands conservation projects under paragraph (1), the Council shall consider— the extent to which the grasslands conservation project fulfills the purpose of this Act and the strategies and objectives of the Conservation Strategy; the availability of sufficient non-Federal funds to carry out the grasslands conservation project and to match Federal contributions in accordance with section 8(h)(1), notwithstanding the waivers described in paragraph
(2)of that section; the extent to which the grasslands conservation project represents a partnership between public entities, including Indian Tribes, and private entities, including landowners; and the substantiality of the character and design of the grasslands conservation project. The Council shall establish best practices and procedures for carrying out the requirements of subsection (a). The best practices and procedures established under paragraph
(1)shall require that— a quorum of the Council be present before any business may be conducted; and the Council may not refer a grasslands conservation project to the Commission under subsection (a)(1) unless the grasslands conservation project is approved by a vote of 2/3 of the members of the Council present and voting. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each select 1 member of the Council to serve as an ex officio member of the Commission for the purposes of considering and voting on grasslands conservation projects recommended to the Commission by the Council under subsection (a)(1). A member of the Council selected under paragraph
(1)shall be a citizen of the United States. The Commission, including the 2 members of the Council selected to serve as ex officio members on the Commission under subsection (c)(1), shall approve, reject, or reorder the priority of any grasslands conservation projects recommended by the Council under subsection (a)(1) based on, to the greatest extent practicable, the considerations described in paragraph
(2)of that subsection. If the Commission approves a grasslands conservation project under paragraph (1), the Commission shall award a grant under the Program to the eligible entity that applied to carry out the grasslands conservation project. If the Commission rejects or reorders the priority of any grasslands conservation project under paragraph (1), the Commission shall provide the Council and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a written statement explaining the rationale of the Commission in rejecting or reordering the priority of, as applicable, the grasslands conservation project. Not less frequently than annually, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and make publicly available, a report that includes— a list and description of the grasslands conservation projects approved by the Commission under subsection (d)(2), in order of priority; the amounts and sources of Federal and non-Federal funding for those grasslands conservation projects; a justification for the approval of those grasslands conservation projects and the order of priority for funding those grasslands conservation projects; a list and description of the grasslands conservation projects that the Council recommended, in order of priority, that the Commission approved for funding under the Program; and a justification for any rejection or reordering of the priority of grasslands conservation projects recommended by the Council that was based on factors other than the considerations described in subsection (a)(2).