RYA17167

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115TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

S. ll

To clarify research and development for wood products, and for other
purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
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Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. RISCH, Mr.
WYDEN, Mr. WICKER, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr.
DAINES, Mr. KING, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
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A BILL
To clarify research and development for wood products, and
for other purposes.
1

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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4

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Timber Innovation Act

5 of 2017’’.
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

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In this Act:

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9

(1) INNOVATIVE

WOOD PRODUCT.—The

term

‘‘innovative wood product’’ means a type of building

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component or system that uses large panelized wood

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construction, including mass timber.

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(2) MASS

TIMBER.—The

term ‘‘mass timber’’

includes—

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(A) cross-laminated timber;

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(B) nail laminated timber;

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(C) glue laminated timber;

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(D) laminated strand lumber; and

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(E) laminated veneer lumber.

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(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

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the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Re-

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search and Development deputy area and the State

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and Private Forestry deputy area of the Forest

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Service.

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(4) TALL

WOOD BUILDING.—The

term ‘‘tall

wood building’’ means a building designed to be—

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(A) constructed with mass timber; and

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(B) more than 85 feet in height.

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SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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PROGRAM FOR WOOD BUILDING CONSTRUC-

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TION.

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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct per-

23 formance-driven research and development, education, and
24 technical assistance for the purpose of facilitating the use

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1 of innovative wood products in wood building construction
2 in the United States.
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(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the

4 Secretary shall—
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(1) after receipt of input and guidance from,

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and collaboration with, the wood products industry,

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conservation organizations, and institutions of high-

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er education, conduct research and development,

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education, and technical assistance at the Forest

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Products Laboratory or through the State and Pri-

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vate Forestry deputy area that meets measurable

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performance goals for the achievement of the prior-

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ities described in subsection (c); and

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(2) after coordination and collaboration with

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the wood products industry and conservation organi-

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zations, make competitive grants to institutions of

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higher education to conduct research and develop-

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ment, education, and technical assistance that meets

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measurable performance goals for the achievement

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of the priorities described in subsection (c).

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(c) PRIORITIES.—The research and development,

22 education, and technical assistance conducted under sub23 section (a) shall give priority to—
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(1) ways to improve the commercialization of
innovative wood products;

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(2) analyzing the safety of tall wood building
materials;

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(3) calculations by the Forest Products Labora-

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tory of the life cycle environmental footprint, from

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extraction of raw materials through the manufac-

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turing process, of tall wood building construction;

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(4) analyzing methods to reduce the life cycle

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environmental footprint of tall wood building con-

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struction;

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(5) analyzing the potential implications of the

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use of innovative wood products in building con-

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struction on wildlife; and

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(6) 1 or more other research areas identified by

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the Secretary, in consultation with conservation or-

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ganizations, institutions of higher education, and the

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wood products industry.

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(d) TIMEFRAME.—To the maximum extent prac-

18 ticable, the measurable performance goals for the research
19 and development, education, and technical assistance con20 ducted under subsection (a) shall be achievable within a
21 5-year timeframe.
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23

SEC. 4. TALL WOOD BUILDING COMPETITION.

Subject to availability of appropriations, not less fre-

24 quently than once during each fiscal year for the period
25 of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, the Secretary shall

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1 carry out a competition for a tall wood building design,
2 or other innovative wood product demonstration, in ac3 cordance with section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Tech4 nology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719).
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SEC. 5. WOOD INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM.

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(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

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(1) ELIGIBLE

ENTITY.—The

term ‘‘eligible enti-

ty’’ means—
(A) an individual;

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(B) a public or private entity (including a

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center of excellence that consists of 1 or more

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partnerships between forestry, engineering, ar-

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chitecture, or business schools at 1 or more in-

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stitutions of higher education); or

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(C) a State, local, or tribal government.

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(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

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the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the

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Chief of the Forest Service.

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(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary, in car-

20 rying out the wood innovation grant program of the Sec21 retary described in the notice of the Secretary entitled
22 ‘‘Request for Proposals: 2016 Wood Innovations Funding
23 Opportunity’’ (80 Fed. Reg. 63498 (October 20, 2015)),
24 may make a wood innovation grant to 1 or more eligible

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1 entities each year for the purpose of advancing the use
2 of innovative wood products.
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(c) INCENTIVIZING USE
PACITY.—In

OF

EXISTING MILLING CA-

selecting among proposals of eligible entities

5 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall give priority to
6 proposals that include the use or retrofitting (or both) of
7 existing sawmill facilities located in counties in which the
8 average annual unemployment rate exceeded the national
9 average unemployment rate by more than 1 percent in the
10 previous calendar year.
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(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition of re-

12 ceiving a grant under subsection (b), an eligible entity
13 shall provide funds equal to the amount the eligible entity
14 receives under the grant, to be derived from non-Federal
15 sources.