Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 250.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act - Requires federal public land management officials to facilitate the use of, and access to, federal public lands, including National Monuments, Wilderness Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, or lands administratively classified as wilderness eligible or suitable and primitive or semi-primitive areas, for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, except as limited by: (1) statutory authority that authorizes or withholds action for reasons of national security, public safety, or resource conservation; (2) any other federal statute that specifically precludes recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting on specific federal public lands or waters; and (3) discretionary limitations on recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting determined to be necessary and reasonable as supported by the best scientific evidence and advanced through a transparent public process.
Requires the heads of federal public land management agencies to exercise their discretion in a manner that supports and facilitates recreational fishing, hunting, and shooting opportunities, to the extent authorized under applicable federal and state law.
Requires public land planning documents to include specific evaluations of their effects on opportunities to engage in recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting.
Prohibits any action taken under this Act or concerning the National Wildlife Refuge System under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, from being considered to be a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Declares that no additional identification, analysis, or consideration of environmental effects, including cumulative effects, is necessary or required.
Prohibits federal public land management officials from being required to consider the existence or availability of recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities on adjacent or nearby public or private lands in the planning for, or determination of, which federal public lands are open for such activities or in the setting of levels of use for such activities, unless the combination or coordination of such opportunities would enhance the recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities available to the public.
The summary continues for 7 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House without amendment, Part I" stage on January 31, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 31, 2014: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 250.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Dan Benishek (R-MI) introduced it on May 3, 2013, and 108 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 106 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 3, 2013, 4878 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4605 days ago, on January 31, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers