Recreation Not Red Tape 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 Conservation and Forestry.
Recreation Not Red-Tape Act
This bill revises and sets forth provisions related to recreation areas and special recreation permits issued by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for individual or group use of federal recreational lands and waters.
The bill makes permanent certain authorizations, including regarding such permits and the fees charged for them and for related administration, overhead, and indirect costs.
Interior and USDA shall
evaluate the special recreation permitting process and identify opportunities for eliminating duplicative processes, reducing costs, and decreasing processing times;
establish categorical exclusions from environmental review requirements for special recreation permits if it would reduce processing times or costs without significantly affecting the human environment;
authorize the issuance of temporary permits for new or additional recreational uses of federal lands and waters managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management;
allow online payment of certain federal passes and fees;
develop initiatives to promote private-sector volunteer opportunities; and
establish an interagency trail management plan.
Permittees issued a special recreation permit may voluntarily and temporarily return one or more of their service days.
The bill sets forth requirements for review by USDA of the renewal or adjustment of the allocations for the use of a special recreation permit.
Interior and USDA may enter into agreements with states to allow the purchase of federal and state recreation passes in the same transaction.
The bill establishes a National Recreation Area System.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 25, 2021. 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 7, 2021: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation 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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced it on May 25, 2021, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 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 May 25, 2021, 1934 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1891 days ago, on July 7, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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