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LegislationLEGISLATION | Detail


H.R. 146: Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009

Sponsor: Holt (D - NJ)

Official Title: A bill to establish a battlefield acquisition grant program for the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and for other purposes.

Status:
1/6/2009: Introduced
3/3/2009: House Passage
3/17/2009: Amended by the Senate
3/19/2009: Amended by the Senate
3/19/2009: Senate Passage
3/25/2009: House Passage
3/30/2009: Signed by the President

Commentary:
This massive lands omnibus contains a version of the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (H.R. 554 in the 110th Congress). This provision would prohibit the excavation, removal, or damage of paleontological resources (i.e., fossils) located on federal lands without first securing a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior that includes the condition that all such resources remain the property of the federal government. The bill would also prohibit exchanging, transporting, exporting, receiving, or offering paleontological resources if, “in the exercise of due care, the person knew or should have known such resource” was removed in violation of the law. [Ed. note: The “should have known” criminal-intent term is derived from tort law – where penalties are monetary and do not include incarceration or carry similarly harsh consequences – and severely undermines the protection against unjust conviction that would otherwise be provided by the criminal-intent term “knew.”] Violations would be punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment of up to 5 years, with doubled penalties for second and subsequent offenses. An amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and adopted by the Senate removed the additional penalty of criminal forfeiture of any vehicles or equipment used in connection with violations and directed the Secretary of the Interior to allow “casual collecting” of paleontological resources without a permit.

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