# 119-s-2566: Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act

119-s-2566, Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2566
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2566
- Congress: 119
- Title: Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-31
- Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Lets accredited, state‑approved nonprofits hold and manage Forest Legacy conservation easements.** The bill would let States authorize qualified organizations to acquire, monitor, and enforce easements under the Forest Legacy Program while adding accreditation, IRS and Attorney General checks and a reversion rule if responsibilities lapse. - States would gain explicit authority to approve third‑party organizations to hold easements, giving them more partners for conserving private forestland. - Qualified organizations would have to meet strict standards, including alignment with Internal Revenue Code rules for charitable easements, accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, and no certain enforcement actions by the IRS or Attorney General. - Private landowners could convey easements to these approved groups, and a reversion mechanism would return easement rights to the State or another approved holder if an organization cannot meet program or easement obligations.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-07-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Allow local groups to hold easements: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would let a State ask the Secretary to approve local conservation groups to acquire, hold, and manage Forest Legacy conservation easements. Approved groups would need the special tax-deduction charity status under IRC 170(h), be organized mainly for conservation, have no relate…
- Apply Vermont rule to all States: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would change specific Forest Legacy text that now mentions only Vermont so it applies to any State for the cited paragraph. This could let landowners and groups in other States get the same statutory treatment that previously applied only in Vermont. If enacted, the change woul…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2566 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2566)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1462)
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-306)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2566 (as of 2026-04-21).