Sponsors (54)
The bill speeds maintenance and increases private support and transparency for public lands by prioritizing projects with donations and allowing flexible fund use, but it risks favoring donor-attractive projects, disadvantaging low‑income or low‑traffic sites, and reducing congressional oversight of spending.
Public land users (urban and rural communities) will see faster repairs and maintenance on parks and refuges because projects with private donations covering at least 15% of costs are prioritized.
Agencies must report on non‑Fund maintenance actions and produce a preventive-maintenance plan within a year, which should lead to more routine upkeep and fewer costly emergency repairs for local communities.
Donors (individuals and businesses) get clear, convenient ways to contribute (onsite points, online options, checkout prompts), likely increasing private funding available for maintenance work.
Low-income and low‑traffic sites (often rural or disadvantaged communities) could be deprioritized and face delayed repairs because projects that attract donations get preference.
Maintenance funding could shift toward projects that are more marketable to donors rather than those that are most urgent, skewing public-investment priorities away from need-based decisions.
Allowing the President to allocate previously approved funds when appropriations lapse may reduce Congressional control over spending timing and priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates new donation solicitation and crediting rules, prioritizes projects with ≥15% donor funding, adds an alternate allocation rule if appropriations lapse, and requires an asset-disposal authority and a one-year maintenance report.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Steve Daines · Last progress May 1, 2025
Modifies how federal land-management agencies accept, credit, prioritize, and report on donations and project funding for conservation and maintenance. It requires agencies to solicit donations publicly (including onsite/online options and checkout prompts), gives cash donations dual crediting to a central fund and the agency, prioritizes projects that have at least 15% of costs covered by donations, creates an alternate allocation rule if annual appropriations are not enacted, adds limited authority to dispose of assets, and requires a one-year report on deferred-maintenance actions and a plan to increase preventive maintenance.