To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8401 To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Ms. MENG, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8401.IH H8401 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8401 IH SECTION 1. INTERAGENCY REPORT ON SPECIAL RECRE- 1 ATION PERMITS BENEFITS TO ENVIRON- 2 MENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years following 4 the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a 5 report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 7 and Natural Resources of the Senate on the following: 8 (1) Estimated use of special recreation permits 9 by recreation service providers serving environmental 10 justice communities. 11 (2) Any national, regional, State, local, or site- 12 specific policies, including those required under the 13 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 14 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) that facilitate public lands ac- 15 cess for recreational service providers serving envi- 16 ronmental justice communities. 17 (3) Any case studies that may provide illus- 18 trative examples of how special recreation permits, 19 partnerships, or cooperative agreements are being ef- 20 fectively used by land managers for the purposes of 21 providing public lands access to recreation service 22 providers serving environmental justice communities. 23 (4) Identification of any barriers to public lands 24 access for recreation service providers serving envi- 25 ronmental justice communities. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8401.IH H8401 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8401 IH (5) Any recommendations for agency policy, or 1 if necessary, action by Congress to encourage and 2 simplify public lands access for recreational service 3 providers serving environmental justice communities. 4 (b) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION BY SPECIAL RECRE- 5 ATION PROVIDERS.—The Secretaries— 6 (1) shall contact all current or prospective spe- 7 cial recreation providers to request a voluntary esti- 8 mation of how many user days are used by individ- 9 uals from environmental justice communities; 10 (2) shall request from recreational service pro- 11 viders and interested members of the public any 12 other information that supports the reporting re- 13 quirements in subsection (a); and 14 (3) shall not use participation or information 15 provided as a condition in approving or rejecting a 16 special recreation permit. 17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 18 (1) The term ‘‘environmental justice commu- 19 nity’’ means a community with significant represen- 20 tation of communities of color, low-income commu- 21 nities, or Tribal and indigenous communities, that 22 experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or 23 more adverse human health or environmental effects 24 than other communities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8401.IH H8401 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8401 IH (2) The terms ‘‘recreation service provider’’, 1 ‘‘special recreation permit’’, ‘‘Secretaries’’, and 2 ‘‘Secretary’’ have the same meaning as defined in 3 section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation En- 4 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8401.IH H8401 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS