America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023
Latest action. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-232.
America's Outdoor Recreation Act of 2023
This bill addresses issues regarding public recreation and access to recreation on federal lands and waters, including special recreation permits for outfitting and guiding.
Among other provisions, the bill requires
the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify long-distance bike trails and opportunities to develop or complete long-distance bike trails;
USDA to issue guidance relating to climbing management for National Forest System land;
Interior and USDA to identify and establish target shooting ranges within national forests and Bureau of Land Management districts; and
Interior and the Forest Service to enter into an agreement with the Department of Commerce to foster the installation or construction of broadband internet infrastructure at developed recreation sites on federal recreational lands and waters.
Interior and the Forest Service must conduct a single inventory and assessment of recreation resources for federal recreational lands and waters and publish the inventory and assessment for public comment.
Interior shall establish a Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation.
Interior and the Forest Service must (1) alert the public to closure or disruption of public campsites, trails, roads, and other public areas and access points; and (2) develop and make public a national strategy to increase the number of youth recreation visits to federal land.
The bill provides for online collection of recreation fees and for the establishment of a digital version of America the Beautiful--The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 16, 2023. 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 1, 2023: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-232.
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
Joseph Manchin (D-WV) introduced it on March 16, 2023, 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 March 16, 2023, 1274 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1044 days ago, on November 1, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 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