Summary#
This bill would change and reauthorize the existing program in title 23 that supports pollinator-friendly practices along roadsides and highway rights-of-way. It adds nonprofit organizations (those with 501(c)(3) and 501(a) status) as eligible entities. It requires consultation with the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a specific planning step. It narrows and clarifies which Indian Tribes must be consulted during plan development to those tribes described in subsection (b)(2) whose tribal land is 50 miles or less from a proposed project or practice. It updates language about which eligible entities may carry out projects and clarifies that no additional consultation beyond plan development is required. It raises the maximum individual grant amount and increases the annual authorized funding level for the program.
What it means for you#
- More groups can apply for or take part in pollinator projects: 501(c)(3) nonprofits are explicitly eligible.
- State departments of transportation, Federal land management agencies, eligible Indian Tribes, and newly included nonprofits are named as eligible entities in different places of the program text.
- Project plans must include consultation with the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at a specified step.
- Consultation with Indian Tribes is limited to tribes listed in subsection (b)(2) whose tribal land lies within 50 miles of a proposed project or practice.
- Grant awards to individual recipients can be larger under the bill.
Expenses#
- The bill increases the maximum grant amount in subsection (e)(2)(B) from $150,000 to $500,000.
- The bill replaces the prior authorization level of $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 with $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031.
- No other cost estimates or budgetary effects are provided in the bill text.
Proponents' View#
No publicly available information.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.