Backcountry Landing Strip Access Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Department Operations, oversightCongress's review of how the executive branch carries out the laws it passed: hearings, document demands, investigations, and the spending power behind them.Read the full definition (opens a new tab), Nutrition and Forestry.
Backcountry Landing Strip Access Act - Prohibits the Secretaries of the Interior or Agriculture from taking any action that would permanently close, restrict, or render or declare unserviceable any aircraft landing strip located on land under their jurisdiction unless: (1) the action has been approved by the head of the aviation department of the state in which the landing strip is located; (2) the Secretary publishes notice of the proposed action and provides for a 90-day public comment thereafter; and (3) the Secretary and appropriate state aviation department head have taken into consideration any comments received.
Requires the Secretaries to: (1) establish a nationwide policy for governing backcountry aviation issues relating to the management of federal land under the jurisdiction of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture; and (2) require officials with jurisdiction over such land to adhere to such policy.
Requires private and publicly-owned aircraft landing strips acquired by the government to be made available to the public for unrestricted use.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 22, 2009. 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 June 22, 2010: Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
- 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 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 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?
Walter Minnick (D-ID) introduced it on April 22, 2009, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 April 22, 2009, 6350 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5924 days ago, on June 22, 2010.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 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