Recreation Not Red Tape Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3527 To promote innovative approaches to outdoor recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for collaboration with non-Federal partners, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. MOORE of Utah (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. KIL- MER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To promote innovative approaches to outdoor recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for collabora- tion with non-Federal partners, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Recreation Not Red Tape Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3527 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress regarding outdoor recreation. TITLE I—MODERNIZING RECREATION PERMITTING Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Special recreation permit and fee. Sec. 103. Permitting process improvements. Sec. 104. Permit flexibility. Sec. 105. Permit administration. Sec. 106. Permits for multijurisdictional trips. Sec. 107. Forest Service permit use reviews. Sec. 108. Liability. Sec. 109. Cost recovery reform. Sec. 110. Extension of special recreation permits. Sec. 111. Availability of Federal and State recreation passes. Sec. 112. Online purchases of America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. Sec. 113. Effect. TITLE II—ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS Sec. 201. Access for servicemembers and veterans. TITLE III—MAKING RECREATION A PRIORITY Sec. 301. Extension of seasonal recreation opportunities. Sec. 302. Recreation performance metrics. Sec. 303. Recreation mission. Sec. 304. National Recreation Area System. TITLE IV—MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC LAND Subtitle A—Volunteers Sec. 401. Private-sector volunteer enhancement program. Subtitle B—Priority Trail Maintenance Sec. 411. Interagency trail management. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 3 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has 4 the meaning given the term in section 802 of the 5 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 6 U.S.C. 6801). 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3527 IH (2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 1 WATERS.—The term ‘‘Federal recreational lands and 2 waters’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 4 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 5 (3) SECRETARIES.—Except as otherwise pro- 6 vided in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means— 7 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OUTDOOR 10 RECREATION. 11 It is the sense of Congress that— 12 (1) outdoor recreation and the outdoor industry 13 that outdoor recreation supports are vital to the 14 United States; 15 (2) access to outdoor recreation on Federal rec- 16 reational lands and waters is important to the health 17 and wellness of all people of the United States, espe- 18 cially families and young people; 19 (3) in addition to the overall economic benefit 20 of outdoor recreation, the economic benefits of out- 21 door recreation on Federal recreational lands and 22 waters creates significant economic and employment 23 benefits to rural economies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3527 IH (4) Congress supports the creation of outdoor 1 recreation sector leadership positions within State 2 governments, as well as coordination with recreation 3 and tourism organizations within the State to guide 4 the growth of this sector, as evidenced by recent ex- 5 amples in the States of Colorado, Utah, and Wash- 6 ington; 7 (5) State and local recreation and tourism of- 8 fices play a pivotal role in— 9 (A) coordinating State outdoor recreation 10 policies, management, and promotion among 11 Federal, State, and local agencies and entities; 12 (B) disseminating information, increasing 13 awareness, and growing demand for outdoor 14 recreation experiences among visitors across the 15 United States and throughout the world; 16 (C) improving funding for, access to, and 17 participation in outdoor recreation; and 18 (D) promoting economic development in 19 the State by coordinating with stakeholders, im- 20 proving recreational opportunities, and recruit- 21 ing outdoor recreation businesses; 22 (6) it is vital— 23 (A) to support the coordination and col- 24 laboration of the Federal and State land and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3527 IH water management agencies in the delivery of 1 visitor services and management of outdoor 2 recreation for the United States; and 3 (B) provide adequate staffing within Fed- 4 eral land management agencies to facilitate sus- 5 tainable and accessible outdoor recreation op- 6 portunities; and 7 (7) volunteers and volunteer partnerships play 8 an important role in maintaining public land. 9 TITLE I—MODERNIZING 10 RECREATION PERMITTING 11 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 12 In this title: 13 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associ- 14 ated agency’’ means the Federal land management 15 agency, other than the lead agency, that manages a 16 public land unit that is the subject of a single joint 17 special recreation permit under section 106. 18 (2) LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to a single 19 joint special recreation permit application submitted 20 under section 106(a), the term ‘‘lead agency’’ means 21 the Federal land management agency designated to 22 administer the single joint special recreation permit 23 under section 106(a)(2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3527 IH (3) LONG-TERM SPECIAL RECREATION PER- 1 MIT.—The term ‘‘long-term special recreation per- 2 mit’’ means— 3 (A) for a public land unit managed by the 4 Forest Service, a priority use permit; and 5 (B) for a public land unit managed by the 6 Bureau of Land Management, a multiyear spe- 7 cial recreation permit. 8 (4) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 9 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 10 (A) uses 2 or more public land units; and 11 (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 12 Federal land management agencies. 13 (5) PUBLIC LAND UNIT.—The term ‘‘public 14 land unit’’ means— 15 (A) a unit of the National Forest System; 16 (B) a unit of the National Park System; 17 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 18 System; 19 (D) a district of the Bureau of Land Man- 20 agement; and 21 (E) a project of the Bureau of Reclama- 22 tion. 23 (6) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 24 term ‘‘recreation service provider’’ has the meaning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3527 IH given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands 1 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 2 (7) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 3 retary concerned’’ means— 4 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 5 spect to a public land unit described in para- 6 graph (5)(A); and 7 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 8 spect to a public land unit described in sub- 9 paragraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph 10 (5). 11 (8) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 12 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given 13 the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recre- 14 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 15 SEC. 102. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Federal Lands 17 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amend- 18 ed— 19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘803(f)’’; 21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 3(g)’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 23 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3527 IH (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 2 (5) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘section 7’’ 3 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 4 (6) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘section 5 3(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)’’; 6 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), 7 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para- 8 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), 9 (10), and (14), respectively, and moving the para- 10 graphs so as to appear in numerical order; 11 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re- 12 designated) the following: 13 ‘‘(9) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 14 term ‘recreation service provider’ means an indi- 15 vidual or entity that— 16 ‘‘(A) provides outfitting, guiding, or other 17 recreation services; or 18 ‘‘(B) conducts recreational or competitive 19 events, including incidental sales.’’; and 20 (9) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The 23 term ‘special recreation permit’ means a permit 24 issued by a Federal land management agency for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3527 IH specialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 1 reational lands and waters, including for— 2 ‘‘(A) outfitting, guiding, or other recre- 3 ation services; 4 ‘‘(B) recreation or competitive events, 5 which may include incidental sales; 6 ‘‘(C) the use of— 7 ‘‘(i) a special area; or 8 ‘‘(ii) an area in which use is allocated; 9 ‘‘(D) motorized recreation vehicle use in 10 compliance with an applicable travel manage- 11 ment plan or other regulation; and 12 ‘‘(E) a group activity or event.’’. 13 (b) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.—Sec- 14 tion 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 15 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 17 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 18 (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 19 following: 20 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.— 21 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The Sec- 22 retary may issue a special recreation permit for spe- 23 cialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 24 reational lands and waters. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3527 IH ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 2 charge a special recreation permit fee in con- 3 nection with the issuance of a special recreation 4 permit under paragraph (1). 5 ‘‘(B) FEES FOR CERTAIN LANDS.— 6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 7 (ii) and (iii), a special recreation permit fee 8 under subparagraph (A) for use of Federal 9 recreational lands and waters managed by 10 the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land 11 Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, 12 or the United States Fish and Wildlife 13 Service shall not exceed the difference be- 14 tween— 15 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 16 ‘‘(aa) 3 percent of the an- 17 nual gross revenue of the recre- 18 ation service provider for all ac- 19 tivities authorized by the special 20 recreation permit; and 21 ‘‘(bb) any applicable revenue 22 addition; and 23 ‘‘(II) any applicable revenue ex- 24 clusion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3527 IH ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVE- 1 NUES AND PAYMENTS.—In calculating the 2 amount of a fee for a special recreation 3 permit under clause (i), the Secretary shall 4 exclude— 5 ‘‘(I) revenue from goods, services, 6 souvenirs, merchandise, gear, food, 7 and activities provided or sold by a 8 special recreation permit holder in a 9 location other than the Federal rec- 10 reational lands and waters covered by 11 the permit, including transportation 12 costs, lodging, and any other service 13 before or after a trip; and 14 ‘‘(II) revenue from any rec- 15 reational services provided by a spe- 16 cial recreation permit holder for ac- 17 tivities on Federal recreational lands 18 and waters for which a separate per- 19 mit is issued. 20 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE PER-PERSON 21 FEE.— 22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For Federal 23 recreational lands and waters man- 24 aged by the Forest Service, the Bu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3527 IH reau of Land Management, the Bu- 1 reau of Reclamation, or the United 2 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 3 Secretary may charge a per-person fee 4 in connection with the issuance of a 5 special recreation permit under para- 6 graph (1). 7 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The 8 total amount charged by the Secretary 9 in connection with the issuance of a 10 special recreation permit under para- 11 graph (1) using a per-person fee 12 under subclause (I) shall be com- 13 parable to the amount the Secretary 14 may charge for a special recreation 15 permit fee under subparagraph (A) 16 and clauses (i) and (ii). 17 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT.—Nothing in this sub- 18 paragraph affects any fee for a commercial 19 use authorization for use of Federal rec- 20 reational lands and waters managed by the 21 National Park Service. 22 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—A special 23 recreation permit holder may inform customers 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3527.IH H3527 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3527 IH of any fee charged by the Secretary under this 1 section. 2 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 3 ‘ [Text truncated for display. 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