SOAR Act

IB Union Calendar No. 460 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3670 [Report No. 117–637, Part I] To improve access for outdoor recreation through the use of special recreation permits on Federal recreational lands and waters, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 1, 2021 Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned DECEMBER 14, 2022 Additional sponsors: Mr. PERLMUTTER and Mr. CROW DECEMBER 14, 2022 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] DECEMBER 14, 2022 Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 1, 2021] VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3670 RH A BILL To improve access for outdoor recreation through the use of special recreation permits on Federal recreational lands and waters, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3670 RH 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 ‘‘Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘SOAR Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 7 Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. 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. Savings provision. TITLE II—MAKING RECREATION A PRIORITY Sec. 201. Extension of seasonal recreation opportunities. Sec. 202. Recreation performance metrics. TITLE III—MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC LAND Sec. 301. Private-sector volunteer enhancement program. Sec. 302. Enhancing outdoor recreation through public lands service organiza- tions. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—The 11 term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has the 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3670 RH meaning given the term in section 802 of the Federal 1 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 2 6801). 3 (2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 4 WATERS.—The term ‘‘Federal recreational lands and 5 waters’’ has the meaning given the term in section 6 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 7 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 8 (3) SECRETARIES.—Except as otherwise pro- 9 vided in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means— 10 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 11 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 12 TITLE I—MODERNIZING 13 RECREATION PERMITTING 14 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this title: 16 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associated 17 agency’’ means the Federal land management agency, 18 other than the lead agency, that manages a Federal 19 land unit that is the subject of a single joint special 20 recreation permit under section 106. 21 (2) LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to a single 22 joint special recreation permit application submitted 23 under section 106(a), the term ‘‘lead agency’’ means 24 the Federal land management agency designated to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3670 RH administer the single joint special recreation permit 1 under section 106(a)(2). 2 (3) LONG-TERM SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.— 3 The term ‘‘long-term special recreation permit’’ 4 means— 5 (A) for a Federal land unit managed by the 6 Forest Service, a priority use permit; and 7 (B) for a Federal land unit managed by the 8 Bureau of Land Management, a multiyear spe- 9 cial recreation permit. 10 (4) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 11 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 12 (A) uses 2 or more Federal land units; and 13 (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 14 Federal land management agencies. 15 (5) FEDERAL LAND UNIT.—The term ‘‘Federal 16 land unit’’ means— 17 (A) a unit of the National Forest System; 18 (B) a unit of the National Park System; 19 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 20 System; 21 (D) a district of the Bureau of Land Man- 22 agement; and 23 (E) a project of the Bureau of Reclamation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3670 RH (6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 1 retary concerned’’ means— 2 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 3 spect to a Federal land unit described in para- 4 graph (5)(A); and 5 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 6 spect to a Federal land unit described in sub- 7 paragraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph 8 (5). 9 (7) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 10 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given the 11 term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation 12 Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 13 SEC. 102. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Federal Lands 15 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amend- 16 ed— 17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)’’ 18 and inserting ‘‘ section 803(f)’’; 19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 3(g)’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 21 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 23 (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 24 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3670 RH (5) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘section 7’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 2 (6) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘section 3(h)’’ 3 and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)’’; 4 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), 5 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para- 6 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), (10), 7 and (14), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so 8 as to appear in numerical order; 9 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so redes- 10 ignated) the following: 11 ‘‘(9) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 12 term ‘recreation service provider’ means an indi- 13 vidual or entity that— 14 ‘‘(A) provides outfitting, guiding, or other 15 recreation services; or 16 ‘‘(B) conducts recreational or competitive 17 events, including incidental sales.’’; and 18 (9) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 21 ‘special recreation permit’ means a permit issued by 22 a Federal Land Management Agency for specialized 23 individual or group uses of Federal recreational lands 24 and waters, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3670 RH ‘‘(A) for outfitting, guiding, or other recre- 1 ation services; 2 ‘‘(B) for recreation or competitive events, 3 which may include incidental sales; 4 ‘‘(C) for the use of— 5 ‘‘(i) a special area; or 6 ‘‘(ii) an area in which use is allocated; 7 ‘‘(D) for motorized recreational vehicle use 8 in compliance with an applicable travel manage- 9 ment plan or other regulation; and 10 ‘‘(E) for a group activity or event.’’. 11 (b) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.—Section 12 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 13 U.S.C. 6802) is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 15 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 16 (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.— 19 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The Sec- 20 retary may issue a special recreation permit for spe- 21 cialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 22 reational lands and waters as defined in section 23 802(13) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 24 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3670 RH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1 charge a special recreation permit fee in connec- 2 tion with the issuance of a special recreation 3 permit under paragraph (1). 4 ‘‘(B) FEES FOR CERTAIN LANDS.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 6 (ii) and (iii), a special recreation permit 7 fee under subparagraph (A) for use of Fed- 8 eral recreational lands and waters managed 9 by the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land 10 Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, or 11 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 12 shall not exceed the difference between— 13 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 14 ‘‘(aa) 3 percent of the annual 15 gross revenue of the recreation 16 service provider for all activities 17 authorized by the special recre- 18 ation permit; and 19 ‘‘(bb) any applicable revenue 20 addition; and 21 ‘‘(II) any applicable revenue ex- 22 clusion. 23 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVE- 24 NUES AND PAYMENTS.—In calculating the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3670 RH amount of a fee for a special recreation per- 1 mit under clause (i), the Secretary con- 2 cerned shall exclude— 3 ‘‘(I) revenue from goods, services, 4 souvenirs, merchandise, gear, food, and 5 activities provided or sold by a special 6 recreation permit holder in a location 7 other than the Federal recreational 8 lands and waters covered by the per- 9 mit, including transportation costs, 10 lodging, and any other service before or 11 after a trip; and 12 ‘‘(II) revenue from any rec- 13 reational services provided by a special 14 recreation permit holder for activities 15 on Federal recreational lands and 16 waters for which a separate permit is 17 issued. 18 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE PER-PERSON 19 FEE.— 20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For Federal 21 recreational lands and waters managed 22 by the Forest Service, the Bureau of 23 Land Management, the Bureau of Rec- 24 lamation, or the United States Fish 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3670 RH and Wildlife Service, the Secretary 1 may charge a per-person fee in connec- 2 tion with the issuance of a special 3 recreation permit under paragraph 4 (1). 5 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The total 6 amount charged by the Secretary in 7 connection with the issuance of a spe- 8 cial recreation permit under para- 9 graph (1) using a per-person fee under 10 subclause (I) shall not exceed the 11 amount the Secretary may charge for a 12 special recreation permit fee under 13 subparagraph (A) and clauses (i) and 14 (ii). 15 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT.—Nothing in this sub- 16 paragraph affects any fee for a commercial 17 use authorization for use of Federal rec- 18 reational lands and waters managed by the 19 National Park Service. 20 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—A special 21 recreation permit holder may inform customers 22 of any fee charged by the Secretary under this 23 section. 24 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3670 RH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 1 make available to holders of special recreation 2 permits under paragraph (1) and the public an 3 annual report describing the use of fees collected 4 by the Secretary under paragraph (2). 5 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under 6 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 7 how the fees are used in each Federal land unit 8 (as defined in section 2 of the SOAR Act) ad- 9 ministered by the Secretary, including an identi- 10 fication of the amounts used for specific activi- 11 ties within the Federal land unit.’’. 12 (c) USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT REV- 13 ENUE.—Section 808 of the Federal Lands Recreation En- 14 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6807) is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(F), by striking ‘‘section 16 6(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 806(a)’’; 17 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 18 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 19 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 20 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and 21 (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3670.RH H3670 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3670 RH ‘‘(b) USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE REV- 1 ENUE.—Revenue from a special recreation permit fee may 2 be used for— 3 ‘‘(1) the purposes described in subsection (a); 4 and 5 ‘‘(2) expenses— 6 ‘‘(A) associated with issuing and admin- 7 istering special recreation permits; and 8 ‘‘(B) incurred in the improvement of the op- 9 eration of the special recreation permit system.’’. 10 (d) PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION.—Section 810 of the 11 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 12 6809) is amended— 13 (1) by striking ‘‘The authority’’ and inserting 14 the following: 15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 16 (b), the authority’’; and 17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 19 to— 20 ‘‘(1) section 802; 21 ‘‘(2) subsection (d)(2) or (h) of section 803; or 22 ‘‘(3) subsection (a), (b) or (c) of section 808.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO [Text truncated for display. 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