SOAR Act

IB Union Calendar No. 562 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3879 [Report No. 116–678, Part I] To modify the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2019 Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. STEWART, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. LAMALFA) 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 Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned DECEMBER 18, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. KILMER, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. COOK, Mr. MCCLIN- TOCK, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. PERL- MUTTER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LAMB, and Mr. BLUMENAUER DECEMBER 18, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with amendments [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3879 RH DECEMBER 18, 2020 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 July 23, 2019] A BILL To modify the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3879 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. 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. 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. TITLE IV—MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC LAND Subtitle A—Volunteers Sec. 401. Private-sector volunteer enhancement program. Sec. 402. Enhancing outdoor recreation through public lands service organiza- tions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6213 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3879 RH Subtitle B—Priority Trail Maintenance Sec. 411. Interagency trail management. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—The 3 term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has the 4 meaning given the term in section 802 of the Federal 5 Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6 6801). 7 (2) FEDERAL RECREATIONAL LANDS AND 8 WATERS.—The term ‘‘Federal recreational lands and 9 waters’’ has the meaning given the term in section 10 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 11 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 12 (3) SECRETARIES.—Except as otherwise pro- 13 vided in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means— 14 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 15 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture. 16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING OUTDOOR 17 RECREATION. 18 It is the sense of Congress that— 19 (1) outdoor recreation and the outdoor industry 20 that outdoor recreation supports are vital to the 21 United States; 22 (2) access to outdoor recreation on Federal rec- 23 reational lands and waters is important to the health 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3879 RH and wellness of all people of the United States, espe- 1 cially young people; 2 (3) in addition to the overall economic benefit of 3 outdoor recreation, the economic benefits of outdoor 4 recreation on Federal recreational lands and waters 5 creates significant economic and employment benefits 6 to rural economies; 7 (4) Congress supports the creation of outdoor 8 recreation sector leadership positions within State 9 governments, as well as coordination with recreation 10 and tourism organizations within the State to guide 11 the growth of this sector, as evidenced by recent exam- 12 ples in the States of Colorado, Utah, and Washington; 13 (5) State and local recreation and tourism offices 14 play a pivotal role in— 15 (A) coordinating State outdoor recreation 16 policies, management, and promotion among 17 Federal, State, and local agencies and entities; 18 (B) disseminating information, increasing 19 awareness, and growing demand for outdoor 20 recreation experiences among visitors across the 21 United States and throughout the world; 22 (C) improving funding for, access to, and 23 participation in outdoor recreation; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3879 RH (D) promoting economic development in the 1 State by coordinating with stakeholders, improv- 2 ing recreational opportunities, and recruiting 3 outdoor recreation businesses; 4 (6) it is vital— 5 (A) to support the coordination and collabo- 6 ration of the Federal and State land and water 7 management agencies in the delivery of visitor 8 services and management of outdoor recreation 9 for the United States; and 10 (B) provide adequate staffing within Fed- 11 eral land management agencies to facilitate sus- 12 tainable and accessible outdoor recreation oppor- 13 tunities; and 14 (7) volunteers and volunteer partnerships play 15 an important role in maintaining public land. 16 TITLE I—MODERNIZING 17 RECREATION PERMITTING 18 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this title: 20 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associated 21 agency’’ means the Federal land management agency, 22 other than the lead agency, that manages a public 23 land unit that is the subject of a single joint special 24 recreation permit under section 106. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3879 RH (2) LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to a single 1 joint special recreation permit application submitted 2 under section 106(a), the term ‘‘lead agency’’ means 3 the Federal land management agency designated to 4 administer the single joint special recreation permit 5 under section 106(a)(2). 6 (3) LONG-TERM SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.— 7 The term ‘‘long-term special recreation permit’’ 8 means— 9 (A) for a public land unit managed by the 10 Forest Service, a priority use permit; and 11 (B) for a public land unit managed by the 12 Bureau of Land Management, a multiyear spe- 13 cial recreation permit. 14 (4) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 15 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 16 (A) uses 2 or more public land units; and 17 (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 18 Federal land management agencies. 19 (5) PUBLIC LAND UNIT.—The term ‘‘public land 20 unit’’ means— 21 (A) a unit of the National Forest System; 22 (B) a unit of the National Park System; 23 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 24 System; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3879 RH (D) a district of the Bureau of Land Man- 1 agement; and 2 (E) a project of the Bureau of Reclamation. 3 (6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 4 retary concerned’’ means— 5 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 6 spect to a public land unit described in para- 7 graph (5)(A); and 8 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 9 spect to a public land unit described in subpara- 10 graph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (5). 11 (7) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 12 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given the 13 term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation 14 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 ‘‘section 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 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3879 RH (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 3(h)’’ 5 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), (10), 9 and (14), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so 10 as to appear in numerical order; 11 (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so redes- 12 ignated) 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 term 23 ‘special recreation permit’ means a permit issued by 24 a Federal Land Management Agency for specialized 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3879 RH individual or group uses of Federal recreational lands 1 and waters, including— 2 ‘‘(A) for outfitting, guiding, or other recre- 3 ation services; 4 ‘‘(B) for recreation or competitive events, 5 which may include incidental sales; 6 ‘‘(C) for the use of— 7 ‘‘(i) a special area; or 8 ‘‘(ii) an area in which use is allocated; 9 ‘‘(D) for motorized recreational vehicle use 10 in compliance with an applicable travel manage- 11 ment plan or other regulation; and 12 ‘‘(E) for a group activity or event.’’. 13 (b) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.—Section 14 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 15 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3879 RH reational lands and waters as defined in section 1 802(13) of this Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 2 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 4 charge a special recreation permit fee in connec- 5 tion with the issuance of a special recreation 6 permit under paragraph (1). 7 ‘‘(B) FEES FOR CERTAIN LANDS.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 9 (ii) and (iii), a special recreation permit 10 fee under subparagraph (A) for use of Fed- 11 eral recreational lands and waters managed 12 by the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land 13 Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, or 14 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 15 shall not exceed the difference between— 16 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 17 ‘‘(aa) 3 percent of the annual 18 gross revenue of the recreation 19 service provider for all activities 20 authorized by the special recre- 21 ation permit; and 22 ‘‘(bb) any applicable revenue 23 addition; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3879 RH ‘‘(II) any applicable revenue ex- 1 clusion. 2 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVE- 3 NUES AND PAYMENTS.—In calculating the 4 amount of a fee for a special recreation per- 5 mit under clause (i), the Secretary con- 6 cerned shall exclude— 7 ‘‘(I) revenue from goods, services, 8 souvenirs, merchandise, gear, food, and 9 activities provided or sold by a special 10 recreation permit holder in a location 11 other than the Federal recreational 12 lands and waters covered by the per- 13 mit, including transportation costs, 14 lodging, and any other service before or 15 after a trip; and 16 ‘‘(II) revenue from any rec- 17 reational services provided by a special 18 recreation permit holder for activities 19 on Federal recreational lands and 20 waters for which a separate permit is 21 issued. 22 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE PER-PERSON 23 FEE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:02 Dec 18, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3879.RH H3879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3879 RH ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For Federal 1 recreational lands and waters managed 2 by the Forest Service, the Bureau of 3 Land Management, the Bureau of Rec- 4 lamation, or the United States Fish 5 and Wildlife Service, the Secretary 6 may charge a per-person fee in connec- 7 tion with the issuance of a special 8 recreation permit under paragraph 9 (1). 10 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The total 11 amount charged by the Secretary in 12 connection with the issuance of a spe- 13 cial re [Text truncated for display. 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