2006 Legislation
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HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 14 – Federal land recreatn enhancmnt act

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 14

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Bill Status



HJM014........................................by RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
FEDERAL LANDS RECREATION ENHANCEMENT ACT - Stating findings of the
Legislature and demanding that the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
be repealed and that no recreational fees authorized under the Federal
Lands Recreation Enhancement Act be imposed to use federal public lands in
the state.
                                                                        
02/10    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13    Rpt prt - to Res/Con
02/22    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/23    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/07    3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote
    Floor Sponsor - Eskridge
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/08    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Res/Env
03/14    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/15    10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
    Floor Sponsor - Langhorst
    Title apvd - to House
03/16    To enrol
03/17    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/20    Pres signed
03/21    To Secretary of State

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2006
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 14
                                                                        
                          BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                   A JOINT MEMORIAL
  2    TO THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE SECRETARY  OF
  3        THE  UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT  OF INTERIOR, TO THE MAJORITY AND MINORITY
  4        LEADERSHIP OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  UNITED
  5        STATES  IN  CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRE-
  6        SENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
                                                                        
  7        We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of  the
  8    State  of  Idaho  assembled  in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth
  9    Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:
                                                                        
 10        WHEREAS, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act,  H.R.  3283,  108th
 11    United States Congress, was introduced in the United States House of Represen-
 12    tatives and would have authorized the United States Forest Service, the United
 13    States Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
 14    the  National  Park  Service,  and  the United States Bureau of Reclamation to
 15    charge visitor fees for recreation on publicly owned lands; and
 16        WHEREAS, H.R. 3283 was not voted on separately in the United States  House
 17    of  Representatives  and  was not introduced in, did not have hearings in, and
 18    was not approved by the United States Senate, but instead was attached to  the
 19    omnibus  spending  bill, H.R. 4818, by the 108th United States Congress, as an
 20    appropriation rider; and
 21        WHEREAS, the 108th United States Congress enacted H.R. 4818, and the  Fed-
 22    eral  Lands  Recreation  Enhancement Act is now codified as 16 U.S.C. sections
 23    6801 through 6814; and
 24        WHEREAS, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement  Act  includes  criminal
 25    penalties  and  is  substantive legislation that fundamentally changes the way
 26    public land in the state is funded and managed; and
 27        WHEREAS, the concept of paying fees to use public land is contrary to  the
 28    idea  that  public  land  belongs to the people of the state and is land where
 29    every person is granted access and is welcome, a concept  that  has  been  and
 30    should remain in place; and
 31        WHEREAS,  recreational  fees  constitute double taxation and bear no rela-
 32    tionship to the actual costs associated with recreational use such as  hiking,
 33    picnicking,  observing  wildlife,  or scenic driving on state roads and public
 34    rights-of-way; and
 35        WHEREAS, the fees imposed by the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement  Act
 36    are a regressive tax that places an undue burden on the people living in rural
 37    areas  adjacent  to or surrounded by large areas of federal land and discrimi-
 38    nates against lower-income and working Idahoans by placing financial obstacles
 39    in the way of their enjoyment of public land; and
 40        WHEREAS, the public land access  fees  in  the  Federal  Lands  Recreation
 41    Enhancement  Act  are  controversial  and are opposed by hundreds of organiza-
 42    tions, several state legislatures and millions of rural Americans; and
 43        WHEREAS, the Federal  Lands  Recreation  Enhancement  Act  establishes  an
 44    interagency pass that may be used to cover entrance fees and recreational ame-
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    nity  fees  for  federal public land and water, disregarding the substantially
  2    different ways in which national parks and other federal public land are  man-
  3    aged and funded; and
  4        WHEREAS,  the  limited  means  of expressing opposition to and the lack of
  5    public debate in the implementation of the fee program raises the concern that
  6    some citizens may be deterred from visiting and enjoying public  land  in  the
  7    state and throughout the United States; and
  8        WHEREAS, tourism is an important industry to the state, and the imposition
  9    of recreational use fees will have a negative effect on state and local econo-
 10    mies.
 11        NOW,  THEREFORE,  BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
 12    sion of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of  Representatives  and
 13    the  Senate  concurring  therein,  that  the Legislature of the State of Idaho
 14    demands that the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which  was  enacted
 15    on  December  8,  2004,  be  repealed and that no recreational fees authorized
 16    under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act be imposed to  use  federal
 17    public land in the state.
 18        BE  IT  FURTHER  RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
 19    tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of  this
 20    Memorial  to  be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United
 21    States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the  United  States
 22    and  President  of  the  U.S. Senate; the Honorable Gale Norton, United States
 23    Secretary of the Interior; the Honorable J. Dennis  Hastert,  Speaker  of  the
 24    U.S.  House  of Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens, President Pro Tem-
 25    pore of the U.S. Senate, the Honorable William H. Frist,  Majority  Leader  of
 26    the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate;
 27    the  Honorable  John Boehner, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representa-
 28    tives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Repre-
 29    sentatives; and the congressional delegation representing the State  of  Idaho
 30    in the Congress of the United States.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                             RS 15931

This legislation is a House Joint Memorial asking for repeal of
the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.


                           FISCAL NOTE

There is no fiscal impact associated with the Memorial.






Contact
Name: Representative George Eskridge 
Phone: (208) 332-1000
Representative Eric Anderson
Representative Dick Harwood
Senator David Langhorst
Senator Clint Stennett


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                        HJM 14