Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness Act of 1980
Latest action. public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) 96-476.
(Measure passed Senate, amended) Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness Act of 1980 - Designates specified lands within the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area in Montana as wilderness areas which shall be known as the Rattlesnake Wilderness and administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. Establishes the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, Montana. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to acquire with donated or appropriated funds, by exchange, gift, or purchase, such non-Federal lands, interests, or other property within the boundaries of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Rattlesnake Wilderness. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to consider and consummate an exchange with the owner of the private lands or interests within or contiguous to the boundaries of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Rattlesnake Wilderness, by which the Secretary of the Interior may accept conveyance to title to these private lands and in exchange issue bidding rights that may be exercised in competitive coal lease sales, or in coal lease modifications, or both. Specifies that any lands so acquired shall become national forest lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require any owner of the lands within or contiguous to the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area or Rattlesnake Wilderness to accept coal lease bidding rights in exchange for title to those private lands. Permits such coal lease bidding rights to be exercised as payment of bonus or other payment required of the successful bidder for a competitive coal lease, or required of an applicant for a coal lease modification. Specifies that such bidding rights shall equal the fair market value of the private lands or interests therein conveyed in exchange for their issuance. Permits the holder of the bidding rights, if for any reason the bidding rights issued in an exchange under this Act have not been exercised within three years from the date of enactment of this Act, to use the outstanding bidding rights as a credit against any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payments owed to the United States on any Federal coal lease(s) it may then hold. Declares that it is the intent of Congress that the exchange of bidding rights for the private lands or interests therein authorized by this Act shall occur within three years of the date of enactment of this Act. States the intent of Congress that the exchange of lands involving Burlington Northern, Inc. and the Regional Forester of the United States Forest Service, Region 1, in accordance with a specified agreement, shall occur within three years of the date of enactment of this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act shall affect or diminish any water right which is vested under either State or Federal law at the time of enactment of this Act, nor the rights of the owner of such water right to the customary and usual access.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed Senate amended" stage on October 1, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Public Law 96-476.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on October 19, 1980: Public Law 96-476.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN MELCHER (D-MT) introduced it on August 26, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on August 26, 1980, 16816 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16762 days ago, on October 19, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenatePublic Law 96-476.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action