Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area 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 National Parks, Recreation and public landsLand owned by the federal government, about a quarter of the country, managed by agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Park Service.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area Act - Establishes the Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area, which shall consist of specified land along the Rio Grande River in southern Colorado from the southern boundary of the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge to the Colorado-New Mexico State line, encompassing the River and its adjacent riparian areas.
Establishes the Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area Commission to assist Federal, State, and local authorities in the development and implementation of an integrated resource management plan for the Area, which shall coordinate existing Federal, State, and local plans. Directs the Commission, upon approval of the plan by the Secretary of the Interior, to assist the Secretary in implementing the plan by taking steps to preserve and interpret the natural resources of the Area and its surrounding area. Provides that the plan will be binding on private lands within the Area only if the landowner agrees. Permits the Secretary to acquire land within the Area from willing sellers only.
Terminates the Commission ten years and six months after the enactment of this Act.
Prohibits the Secretary or any other Federal agency from approving or issuing any permit or providing any assistance for construction of any new dam, reservoir, or impoundment on any segment of the Rio Grande River or its tributaries within the Area's exterior boundaries.
Revokes all reservations of public lands within the Area for Federal purposes that have been made by an Act of Congress or executive order and restores such lands to public land status. Withdraws all public lands within the Area from settlement, sale, location, entry, or disposal under public land laws.
Prohibits any Area land or water from being designated as a wild, scenic, or recreational river.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 25, 2003. 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 July 31, 2003: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands.
- 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 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 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?
SCOTT MCINNIS (R-CO) introduced it on July 25, 2003, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 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 July 25, 2003, 8495 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8489 days ago, on July 31, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 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