Sportsmen's Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 328.
Sportsmen's Act of 2015
TITLE I--NATIONAL POLICY
(Sec. 101) This bill states U.S. policy that federal departments and agencies must:
facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting, noncommercial fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities on federal land;
conserve and enhance aquatic systems and the management of game species and the habitat of those species on federal land; and
consider hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities as part of all federal plans for land, resource, and travel management.
TITLE II--SPORTSMEN'S ACCESS TO FEDERAL LAND
(Sec. 201) The bill applies to federal land managed by: (1) the U.S. Forest Service; and (2) the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), except for lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf or lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos.
(Sec. 202) Federal land must be open for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close the lands. The bill establishes procedures for closing the land, including reporting on the closures.
(Sec. 204) The Forest Service or the BLM may lease or permit the use of federal land for a shooting range, except land within:
a component of the National Landscape Conservation System;
a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System;
a primitive or semiprimitive area, an area that is designated as a wilderness study area, or an area administratively classified as wilderness-eligible or wilderness-suitable;
a national monument, national volcanic monument, or national scenic area; or
a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (including areas designated for study for potential addition to the system).
(Sec. 205) The bill amends the Equal Access to Justice Act and the federal judicial code by requiring the Administrative Conference of the United States to: (1) submit an annual report on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded under that Act; and (2) create and maintain a searchable, online database containing specified information with respect to each award. (The Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover costs and attorneys' fees against the United States in both administrative and judicial proceedings, if the position of the United States was not substantially justified.)
The summary continues for 15 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 "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 16, 2015. 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 16, 2015: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 328.
- 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced it on February 25, 2015. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 February 25, 2015, 4215 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3921 days ago, on December 16, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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