Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act
Latest action. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate 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 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), Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-382.
Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act
This bill provides for the conservation of specified lands in Colorado.
TITLE I--CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
(Sec. 102) This title designates specified federal lands in Colorado within the White River National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) may carry out activities in such a wilderness area that are necessary to control fire, insects, and diseases.
Livestock grazing, where it has already been established, shall be permitted to continue.
For the purposes of the administration of the Eagles Nest Wilderness Additions, USDA must coordinate with interested state and local agencies, including operations using aircraft or mechanical equipment, for the protection of watersheds and the coordination of USDA activities in response to fires and flooding events.
(Sec. 103) The title designates approximately 8,036 acres identified as the Proposed Williams Fork Mountains Wilderness in the White River National Forest as a potential wilderness area.
USDA must publish a determination regarding whether to authorize livestock grazing or other use by livestock on the vacant allotments known as the Big Hole and the Blue Ridge Allotment.
By one year after the publication of such determination, USDA shall grant a permit or other authorization for such livestock grazing or other use.
If USDA permits livestock grazing or other use by livestock in the potential wilderness area, USDA may construct or rehabilitate such range improvements as are necessary to obtain livestock management objectives.
(Sec. 104) The title designates approximately 17,122 acres of federal land as the Tenmile Recreation Management Area.
With specified exceptions, the use of motorized vehicles in the management area must be limited to the roads, vehicle classes, and periods authorized for motorized vehicle use.
No projects shall be carried out in the recreation management area for the harvesting of commercial timber.
USDA may carry out activities that are necessary to prevent, control, or mitigate fire, insects, or disease in the management area.
The summary continues for 104 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 "Passed House" stage on October 31, 2019. 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 November 18, 2020: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-382.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 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?
Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced it on January 28, 2019, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Democrats.
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 January 28, 2019, 2782 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2122 days ago, on November 18, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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