SA 3610. Mr. CASEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3500 proposed by Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Grassley) to the bill H.R. 2419, to provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike section 2371 and insert the following:
SEC. 2371. FARM AND RANCHLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.
Subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.) is amended to read as follows:
``Subchapter B--Farm and Ranchland Protection Program


``SEC. 1238H. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subchapter:
``(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.--The term `eligible entity' means any of the following:
``(A) An agency of a State or local government or an Indian tribe (including a farmland protection board or land resource council established under State law).
``(B) An organization that is organized for, and at all times since the formation of the organization has been operated principally for, 1 or more of the conservation purposes specified in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(C) An organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code.
``(D) An organization described in section 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(E) An organization described in section 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is controlled by an organization described in section 509(a)(2), of that Code.
``(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.--The term `eligible land' means land on a farm or ranch that--
``(A) is cropland;
``(B) is rangeland;
``(C) is grassland;
``(D) is pasture land;
``(E) is forest land that is an incidental part of an agricultural operation, as determined by the Secretary; or
``(F) contains historical or archaeological resources.
``(3) INDIAN TRIBE.--The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
``(4) PROGRAM.--The term `program' means the farm and ranchland protection program established under section 1238I(a).
``(5) SECRETARY.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.
``SEC. 1238I. FARM AND RANCHLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out a farm and ranchland protection program under which the Secretary shall facilitate and provide funding for the purchase of conservation easements or other interests in eligible land that is subject to a pending offer from a certified State or eligible entity for the purpose of protecting the agricultural use and related conservation values of the land by limiting incompatible nonagricultural uses of the land.
``(2) PRIORITY.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall give the highest priority--
``(A) to protecting farm and ranchland with prime, unique or other productive soils that are at risk of non-agricultural development; or
``(B) to projects that further a State or local policy consistent with the purposes of the program.
``(b) Grants to Certified States.--The Secretary shall make grants to States certified by the Secretary under subsection (c). Such grants shall be made based on demonstrated need for farm and ranch land protection. Grants may be made for multiple transactions so long as all funds provided under the program are used to purchase conservation easements or other interests in land in a timely and effective manner. A State receiving a grant under this subsection may use up to 10 percent of
the grant funds for reasonable costs of purchasing and enforcing conservation easements.
``(c) Certification of States for Grants.--
``(1) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.--The Secretary shall implement a process, to be published in the Federal Register, for certifying States as eligible to participate in the program. The Secretary may provide a reasonable transitional period, not to extend past September 30, 2008, in order to allow continued operation of the program for such time as needed for the Secretary to implement the certification process.
``(2) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.--To be certified under the process implemented under paragraph (1), a State shall demonstrate, at a minimum, the following:
``(A) A legislative or organizational purpose consistent with the purposes of the program.
``(B) The necessary authority and the resources and technical ability to monitor and enforce the terms of conservation easements or other interests in land or to require the holder of such easements or other interests in land acquired with the use of funding under the program to monitor and enforce the terms of such easements or other interests in land.
``(C) The capacity to provide the necessary matching funds from non-Federal sources for projects undertaken under the program and to use program funds in a timely and effective manner.
``(D) Policies and procedures to ensure that, on average, the purchase price of conservation easements or other interests in land purchased with program funds do not exceed the fair market value of the easements or other interests in land.
``(E) Policies and procedures that ensure that conservation easements or other interests in land purchased with program funds will continue to protect the agricultural use and related conservation values of the land.
``(F) Provision for continued stewardship of the conservation easements or other interest in land purchased with program funds in the event the State loses its certification under the program.
``(G) A determination of its own criteria and priorities for purchasing conservation easements and other interests in land under the program.
``(d) Agreements With Eligible Entities.--
``(1) AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.--The Secretary may enter into an agreement with an eligible entity, under which the entity may purchase conservation easements using a combination of its own funds and funds distributed by the Secretary under the program.
``(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.--An agreement under this subsection shall stipulate the terms and conditions under which the eligible entity shall use funds provided by the Secretary under the program. The eligible entity shall be authorized to use its own terms and conditions for conservation easements and other purchases of interests in land, so long as--
``(A) such terms and conditions are consistent with the purposes of the program and permit effective enforcement of the conservation purposes of such easements or other interests;
``(B) the eligible entity has in place a requirement consistent with agricultural activities regarding the impervious surfaces to be allowed for any conservation easement or other interest in land purchased using grant funds provided under the program; and
``(C) the eligible entity requires use of a conservation plan for any highly erodible cropland for which a conservation easement or other interest in land has been purchased using grant funds provided under the program.
``(e) Federal Contingent Right of Enforcement.--The Secretary may require the inclusion of a Federal contingent right of enforcement or executory limitation in a conservation easement or other interest in land for conservation purposes purchased with Federal funds provided under the program, in order to preserve the easement as a party of last resort. The inclusion of such a right or interest shall not be considered to be the Federal acquisition of real property and the Federal standards
and procedures for land acquisition shall not apply to the inclusion of the right or interest
``(f) Review; Revocation.--
``(1) REVIEW.--Every 3 years, the Secretary shall review the certification of States under subsection (c) and the performance of eligible entities in meeting the terms and conditions of an agreement under subsection (d).
``(2) REVOCATION.--If, in the determination of the Secretary, a State no longer meets the qualifications described in subsection (c)(2) or an eligible entity is not meeting the terms and conditions of an agreement under subsection (d), the Secretary may--
``(A) revoke the certification of the State or terminate the agreement with the eligible entity; or
``(B) allow the State or eligible entity a specified period of time in which to take such actions as may be necessary to retain its certification or to meet the terms and conditions of the agreement, as the case may be.
``(g) Conservation Plan.--Any highly erodible cropland for which a conservation easement or other interest is purchased under this subchapter shall be subject to the requirements of a conservation plan. In the case of an easement or other interest in land that is perpetual in duration, the Secretary may not require the conversion of the cropland to less intensive uses if, under such plan, soil erosion can be reduced to `T' or below.
``(h) Cost Sharing.--The share of the cost provided under this section for purchasing a conservation easement or other interest in land shall not exceed 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement or other interest in eligible land. Fair market value shall be determined on the basis of an appraisal of the conservation easement or other interest in eligible land using an industry-approved methodology determined by the entity.''.


(As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Nov 13, 2007.)