II
Calendar No. 338
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 373
[Report No. 114–193]
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2015
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
December 16, 2015
Reported by Ms. Murkowski, without amendment
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to expedite access to certain Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act
.
Expedited access to certain Federal land
Definitions
In this section:
Eligible
The term eligible, with respect to an organization or individual, means that the organization or individual, respectively, is—
acting in a not-for-profit capacity; and
composed entirely of members who, at the time of the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission, have attained the age of majority under the law of the State where the mission takes place.
Good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission
The term good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission means a search conducted by an eligible organization or individual for 1 or more missing individuals believed to be deceased at the time that the search is initiated.
Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable.
Process
In general
Each Secretary shall develop and implement a process to expedite access to Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for eligible organizations and individuals to request access to Federal land to conduct good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions.
Inclusions
The process developed and implemented under this subsection shall include provisions to clarify that—
an eligible organization or individual granted access under this section—
shall be acting for private purposes; and
shall not be considered to be a Federal volunteer;
an eligible organization or individual conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section shall not be considered to be a volunteer under section 102301(c) of title 54, United States Code;
chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Tort Claims Act
), shall not apply to an eligible organization or individual carrying out a privately requested good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section; and
chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Employees Compensation Act
), shall not apply to an eligible organization or individual conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section, and the conduct of the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission shall not constitute civilian employment.
Release of Federal Government from liability
The Secretary shall not require an eligible organization or individual to have liability insurance as a condition of accessing Federal land under this section, if the eligible organization or individual—
acknowledges and consents, in writing, to the provisions described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (b)(2); and
signs a waiver releasing the Federal Government from all liability relating to the access granted under this section and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States from any claims or lawsuits arising from any conduct by the eligible organization or individual on Federal land.
Approval and denial of requests
In general
The Secretary shall notify an eligible organization or individual of the approval or denial of a request by the eligible organization or individual to carry out a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section by not later than 48 hours after the request is made.
Denials
If the Secretary denies a request from an eligible organization or individual to carry out a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section, the Secretary shall notify the eligible organization or individual of—
the reason for the denial of the request; and
any actions that the eligible organization or individual can take to meet the requirements for the request to be approved.
Partnerships
Each Secretary shall develop search-and-recovery-focused partnerships with search-and-recovery organizations—
to coordinate good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions on Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary; and
to expedite and accelerate good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission efforts for missing individuals on Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary.
Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress a joint report describing—
plans to develop partnerships described in subsection (e)(1); and
efforts carried out to expedite and accelerate good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission efforts for missing individuals on Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of each Secretary pursuant to subsection (e)(2).
December 16, 2015
Reported without amendment