Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984
Latest action. Committee on Agriculture. Ordered favorably reported H.R. 5076 in lieu of this measure.
Pennsylvania Wilderness Act of 1984 - Designates certain lands in Pennsylvania as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, including Allegheny Islands Wilderness-Proposed and Hickory Creek Wilderness-Proposed. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to administer such lands in accordance with the Wilderness Act. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands or interests in lands within the Hickory Creek Wilderness, including oil, gas, mineral interests and scenic easements. Requires the owner's consent for such acquisition. Limits the appropriation for such acquisitions to $2,000,000. Designates certain lands in the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, as the Allegheny National Recreation Area. Identifies the lands composing such area as the Allegheny Front, Cornplanter, and Tracy Ridge, including the Allegheny Reservoir. Directs the Secretary to administer the national recreation area in accordance with the following objectives: (1) minimizing the environmental impacts of mineral exploration and development, including privately owned oil and gas; (2) maximizing recreational opportunities on the Allegheny Reservoir, including motorized and non-motorized boating; (3) protection of fish and wildlife habitat; and (4) protection of watershed and free flowing streams. Directs the Secretary to publish a management plan accompanied by an environmental impact statement for the national recreation area. Presents guidelines for the plan. Provides for public participation in preparing the comprehensive management plan. Permits hunting and fishing in accordance with Federal and State laws within the boundaries of the national recreation area. Requires the Secretary to consult with the appropriate State fish and game department before implementing any regulations. Withdraws the minerals in all federally-owned lands within the national recreation area from all forms of appropriation and disposition under either mining laws or mineral leasing laws. Requires special use permit applicants to submit a plan of operations consistent with the objectives of the national recreation area, including a reclamation plan. Directs the Secretary to file maps and legal descriptions of the wilderness and national recreation areas with specified congressional committees. States that the RARE II final environmental statement shall not be subject to judicial review concerning the national forest system lands in Pennsylvania. States that the wilderness designation under this Act is not a congressional intent to create buffer zones around such wilderness area.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 10, 1984. 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 September 13, 1984: Committee on Agriculture. Ordered favorably reported H.R. 5076 in lieu of this measure.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 98th Congress (1983-84), 623 of the 10,560 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.9 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?
HENRY HEINZ (R-PA) introduced it on April 10, 1984, 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 10, 1984, 15494 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 15338 days ago, on September 13, 1984.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 98th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1985 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers