US Congress Senate Bill 538 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on March 7 2017 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2017-03-07 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Pending: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Timber Innovation Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA), acting through the Research and Development and the State and Private Forestry deputy areas of the Forest Service, to conduct performance-driven research and development, education, and technical assistance to facilitate the use of innovative wood products in wood building construction in the United States. Such activities shall give priority to: (1) improving the commercialization of such products, (2) analyzing the safety of tall wood building materials, (3) calculating and reducing the life cycle environmental footprint of tall wood building construction, and (4) analyzing the potential implications of the use of innovative wood products in building construction on wildlife. "Tall wood building" means a building designed to be over 85 feet high and constructed with large panelized wood construction, including cross-laminated timber, nail laminated timber, glue laminated timber, laminated strand lumber, and laminated veneer lumber. USDA shall carry out an annual competition for FY2017-FY2021 for a tall wood building design, or other innovative wood product demonstration, in accordance with the requirements for prize competitions carried out under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. The Forest Service, in carrying out a wood innovation grant program, may make grants to advance the use of innovative wood products, with priority to grant proposals that include the use or retrofitting of existing sawmill facilities in counties where the average annual unemployment rate exceeded the national average by more than 1% in the previous year.

Timber Innovation Act of 2017

Sen. Debbie Stabenow [D-MI]	Sen. Mike Crapo [R-ID]	Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]	Sen. James Risch [R-ID]
Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]	Sen. Roger Wicker [R-MS]	Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]	Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]	Sen. Steve Daines [R-MT]	Sen. Angus King [I-ME]	Sen. Gary Peters [D-MI]
Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]	Sen. Thad Cochran [R-MS]	Sen. Richard Shelby [R-AL]	Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]
Sen. Johnny Isakson [R-GA]	Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]	Sen. Tina Smith [D-MN]	Sen. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]

Date	Chamber	Action
2017-03-07	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

HB1380 (Same As) 2017-04-25 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment.
HB2 (Related) 2018-12-20 - Became Public Law No: 115-334.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/538/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s538/BILLS-115s538is.pdf