Sponsors (3)
The bill boosts funding flexibility and restoration capacity for parks by allowing local surcharge retention and new collection methods, but it raises visitor costs—especially for international tourists—adds administrative complexity, and creates risks of uneven, discretionary fee increases.
National Park units will retain surcharge revenue, allowing individual parks to fund maintenance, visitor services, and staffing locally.
Additional funds from pass surcharges will be deposited into the Legacy Restoration Fund to support park restoration projects nationwide.
Superintendents will be able to set surcharges tailored to local conditions, which can preserve visitor access while increasing revenue where needed.
International visitors will face higher costs to enter parks or buy passes, increasing travel expenses for tourists.
Higher fees could reduce visitation from international tourists, harming local businesses and rural communities that rely on park-driven spending.
Routing surcharge collection through third parties and introducing tiered pricing adds administrative complexity and could increase costs passed on to visitors.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows National Park units to charge an extra surcharge to international visitors and adds a surcharge on America the Beautiful pass sales to international visitors, with proceeds used for park maintenance and restoration.
Introduced July 22, 2025 by Riley M. Moore · Last progress July 22, 2025
Creates authority for National Park Service units that charge entrance fees to add a separate surcharge for international visitors (defined as persons admitted on B visitor visas or under the visa‑waiver program). The surcharge would be set by unit superintendents (with Secretary approval rules), collected by parks or third‑party vendors, and kept at the collecting unit for site maintenance, visitor services, staffing, and related needs. Also requires a surcharge on America the Beautiful passes when sold to international visitors, with those receipts deposited into the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. The bill includes limited exceptions (e.g., the Washington Monument and specified International Peace Parks) and allows rules for temporary suspensions, tiered pricing, and minimum percentage increases over time.