Public Lands and Natural Resources Desk
Public Lands and Natural Resources Bills
14 bills in the Public Lands and Natural Resources desk, ordered for current relevance and readability.
Public Lands and Natural ResourcesHR-177-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
Yosemite National Park Equal Access and Fairness Act
Sponsored by Tom McClintock
The Act of December 19, 1913, granted the City of San Francisco rights to develop the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas within Yosemite National Park for water supply and hydroelectric power generation. Under that original grant, recreational access to these areas has been severely restricted. The city pays an annual rental fee of $30,000 to the federal government for these rights, a figure set over a century ago and never adjusted for inflation. Currently, the areas remain largely closed to public recreation, limiting visitor access to one of California's most significant water and power resources. This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service Director, to administer the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas for public recreation while preserving scenic and historic features. The bill authorizes swimming, non-motorized watercraft use, camping above the ordinary high-water marks, picnicking, and motorized vehicle access on roads needed to reach these areas—all subject to conditions the Secretary determines necessary. The bill also increases San Francisco's annual rental fee from $30,000 to $2,000,000 and requires annual adjustments for inflation. Critically, the bill prohibits the city from recovering these increased payments from its wholesale water and power customers. The National Park Service must submit a report within one year analyzing whether the 1913 Act's original recreational intent has been followed and recommending how to fund equitable public access through revenue collection and fee adjustments. The report must examine maintenance costs including trail upkeep, road improvements, and wildfire prevention. Implementation begins upon enactment, with the fee increase taking effect immediately. The higher rental payments will fund recreation infrastructure and management, while the prohibition on cost recovery from water and power customers means San Francisco absorbs the increased federal fees as an operational expense rather than passing them to ratepayers.
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Public Lands and Natural ResourcesHR-104-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20250 readersIn Committee
Protecting Arizona from Federal Land Grabs Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
The Antiquities Act of 1906 grants the President broad authority to designate national monuments on federal lands without congressional approval. Currently, the law already restricts presidential monument designation in Wyoming by requiring congressional authorization for any new monuments there. Arizona, by contrast, remains subject to the President's unilateral power to establish or expand monuments, a power that has been exercised multiple times in the state's history. This bill addresses concerns among Arizona stakeholders who believe federal monument designations should require explicit legislative approval rather than executive action alone. This bill amends title 54, United States Code, section 320301(d), to extend Wyoming's existing congressional-approval requirement to Arizona. Specifically, the amendment inserts "or Arizona" in the relevant subsections, meaning the President may no longer establish new national monuments in Arizona or expand existing ones without express authorization from Congress. The change applies the same procedural constraint that currently governs Wyoming to all future monument actions affecting Arizona lands, shifting decision-making authority from the executive branch to the legislative branch. The amendment takes effect upon enactment and applies prospectively to any monument designation or expansion proposed after the bill becomes law. It does not affect monuments already established in Arizona before the law's passage. The change requires no new federal funding and creates no new agency responsibilities—it simply restricts the President's existing authority under the Antiquities Act. The practical effect is that any future effort to designate or enlarge a national monument in Arizona must now proceed through the congressional legislative process, potentially slowing monument creation but giving Arizona's elected representatives formal veto power over such designations.
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Public Lands and Natural Resources