16 U.S.C. § 1725b — Forest Service hire authority

Page 1987 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1726 1 See References in Text note below. amended Pub. L. 109–154, § 2(g)(3), Dec. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2893; Pub. L. 116–9, title IX, § 9003(d)(1), Mar. 12, 2019, 133 Stat. 833.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–9 substituted ‘‘The Sec- retary may provide individual placements of resource assistants to carry out research or resource protection activities on behalf of the Secretary.’’ for ‘‘The Sec- retary is authorized to provide individual placements of resource assistants with any Federal land managing agency under the jurisdiction of the Secretary to carry out research or resource protection activities on behalf of the agency.’’ 2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–154, § 2(g)(3)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘Secretary is’’ for ‘‘Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each’’, ‘‘the Sec- retary to carry out’’ for ‘‘such Secretary to carry out’’, ‘‘Secretary may’’ for ‘‘Secretaries may’’, and ‘‘Sec- retary shall’’ for ‘‘Secretaries shall’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–154, § 2(g)(3)(B), substituted ‘‘the Secretary, appropriate’’ for ‘‘Secretary of the In- terior or the Secretary of Agriculture, appropriate’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1993, see section 123 of Pub. L. 103–82, set out as an Effective Date of 1993 Amend- ment note under section 1701 of this title. § 1725a. Direct hire authority (1) During fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the Secretary (as defined in section 1722 of this title) may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such title, a qualified candidate described in paragraph (2) directly to a position for which the candidate meets Office of Personnel Management qualification stand- ards. (2) Paragraph (1) applies with respect to a former resource assistant (as defined in section 1722 of this title) who— (A) completed a rigorous undergraduate or graduate summer internship with the Sec- retary (as so defined), such as the National Park Service Business Plan Internship; (B) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the internship program; and (C) subsequently earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education. (3) The direct hire authority under this section may not be exercised with respect to a specific qualified candidate after the end of the two-year period beginning on the date on which the can- didate completed the undergraduate or graduate degree, as the case may be. (Pub. L. 112–74, div. E, title I, § 121(a), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1012; Pub. L. 116–9, title IX, § 9003(d)(2), Mar. 12, 2019, 133 Stat. 834.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appro- priations Act, 2012, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, and not as part of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 which comprises this sub- chapter. AMENDMENTS 2019—Par. (1). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(d)(2)(A), substituted ‘‘Secretary (as defined in section 1722 of this title)’’ for ‘‘Secretary of the Interior’’ and ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and struck out ‘‘with a land managing agency of the Department of the Interior’’ after ‘‘posi- tion’’. Par. (2)(A). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(d)(2)(B), substituted ‘‘with the Secretary (as so defined)’’ for ‘‘with a land managing agency’’. § 1725b. Forest Service hire authority (a) In general The Secretary of Agriculture may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such title, a qualified candidate de- scribed in subsection (b) directly to a position with the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service for which the candidate meets Office of Personnel Management qualification standards. (b) Qualifications Subsection (a) applies to a former resource as- sistant (as defined in section 203 of the Public Land Corps Act 1 (16 U.S.C. 1722)) who— (1) completed a rigorous internship with a land managing agency, such as the Forest Service Resource Assistant Program; (2) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the internship program; and (3) earned an undergraduate or graduate de- gree from an accredited institution of higher education (as defined in section 1001 of title 20). (c) Limitation The direct hire authority under this section may not be exercised with respect to a specific qualified candidate after the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the can- didate completed the undergraduate or graduate degree, as the case may be, or has successfully fulfilled the requirements of the internship pro- gram, whichever is later. (Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12518, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 5001.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 203 of the Public Land Corps Act, referred to in subsec. (b), probably means section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, title II of Pub. L. 91–378, which is classified to section 1722 of this title. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Agriculture Im- provement Act of 2018 and not as part of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 which comprises this sub- chapter. § 1726. Compensation and terms of service (a) Living allowances The Secretary shall provide each participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource as- sistant with a living allowance in an amount es- tablished by the Secretary. (b) Educational credit The Secretary may provide a Corps partici- pant with an educational credit that may be ap-