Cabin Fee Act of 2014
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 538.
Cabin Fee Act of 2014 - (Sec. 2) Establishes a new process for the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to set annual fees for the issuance of special use permits for the use and occupancy of National Forest System land for recreational residences commonly referred to as cabins.
Replaces the current process under which annual user fees are adjusted annually based on changes in land values, which are subject to reappraisals and appeals, with a new tiered system in which fees based on the current appraisal cycle are capped at a specified amount and adjusted annually for inflation only.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) complete the current appraisal cycle, including receipt of timely second appraisals, for such residences within one year after enactment of this Act; and (2) assess an interim annual fee for them according to a specified formula.
Specifies the annual fee for each of 11 fee tiers that are adjusted annually for inflation.
Requires the Secretary to report after 10 years on these annual fees in order to ensure that they reflect fair value for the use of System land, and on any recommendations to modify the fee system.
(Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to establish a transfer fee of $1,200 for the issuance of a new recreational residence permit due to a change in ownership of the recreational residence.
(Sec. 5) Permits the Secretary, beginning 10 years after enactment of this Act, to: (1) retain and expend any fees collected under this Act, without further appropriation; and (2) use them to administer the recreational residence program and other recreation programs carried out on System land.
(Sec. 6) Repeals the Cabin User Fee Fairness Act of 2000, effective on the date the annual permit fees are first assessed under this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on December 22, 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 December 22, 2014: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 538.
- 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?
DOC HASTINGS (R-WA) introduced it on September 16, 2014, 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 September 16, 2014, 4377 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4280 days ago, on December 22, 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