Sponsors (2)
The bill expands tribal participation and extends the length and clarity of Good Neighbor agreements to accelerate and stabilize forest restoration and recreation work, at the cost of longer-term policy commitments, potential budget pressures, and added administrative complexity.
Indigenous tribes can directly enter Good Neighbor agreements, enabling them to partner on forest restoration and recreation projects on federal lands.
Local governments, rural communities, and tribal lands receive up to 20 years of planning and investment certainty for restoration and recreation projects through longer agreements.
State and local agencies and tribes face reduced legal ambiguity from clarified citations and technical edits, which can speed agreement implementation.
Taxpayers and the public could see federal land management priorities locked in for up to 20 years, reducing future policymakers' flexibility to change course.
Taxpayers and local governments may face sustained funding commitments or unfunded obligations from long-term agreements, creating potential budget pressures.
State and local governments and tribal partners may encounter increased administrative complexity and longer negotiation times as more stakeholders are eligible to enter agreements.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Explicitly allows Indian tribes to enter Good Neighbor Authority restoration and recreation agreements and extends maximum agreement terms to 20 years.
Introduced March 16, 2026 by David G. Valadao · Last progress March 16, 2026
Adds Indian tribes as explicitly eligible partners under the federal Good Neighbor Authority for both restoration and recreation projects, and lets Good Neighbor agreements run for up to 20 years. Makes small wording and cross‑reference updates to the existing statutory provisions governing these agreements. The change lets tribes sign multi‑year cooperative agreements with the Departments that manage national forests and public lands, aligning tribes with governors and counties already able to enter such agreements and enabling longer‑term planning and investments without creating new direct spending authorizations in the text provided.