Highlands Stewardship Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S5776-5777)
Highlands Stewardship Act - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to establish the Highlands Stewardship Area in the Highlands region (an area encompassing nearly 2,000,000 acres extending from eastern Pennsylvania through New Jersey and New York to northwestern Connecticut (the Highlands States)).
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish: (1) within the Department of Agriculture the Office of Highlands Stewardship to advise the Secretaries and the Governors of the Highlands States on priorities for projects carried out with financial or technical assistance under this Act, land conservation partnership projects, Highlands region research, policy and education initiatives necessary to implement the findings of the Highlands Regional Study (conducted by the Forest Service in 1990) and the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Assessment Update (conducted by the Service in 2001), and to implement the strategies of the study, the update, and other studies in consultation with the Highlands States; and (2) the Highlands Stewardship Area Work Group to assist with such implementation. Authorizes the Office to provide financial and technical assistance to an eligible entity to carry out a project to protect, restore, preserve, promote, or interpret natural, agricultural, historical, cultural, or recreational resources of the Area.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior, from among proposed land conservation partnership projects submitted by the Governors of the Highlands States, to annually designate those projects that are eligible to receive financial assistance under this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 6, 2003. 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 May 6, 2003: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5776-5777)
- 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 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 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?
JON CORZINE (D-NJ) introduced it on May 6, 2003, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 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 May 6, 2003, 8528 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8528 days ago, on May 6, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 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
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers