Sponsors (4)
The bill channels federal funds to preserve and promote historic battlefields and boost local heritage tourism while creating ongoing federal budget obligations and potential local impacts from land purchases and altered program oversight.
Residents, visitors, and local tourism businesses in Rockbridge, Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties gain improved preservation, visitor facilities, and maintenance funding for historic battlefields and related sites, enhancing recreation and cultural tourism.
The designated management entity and local economies receive stable federal funding ($1.25M/year indefinitely plus $2.5M/year in grants through 2033), supporting jobs, operations, and small businesses that rely on heritage tourism.
Landowners in the affected counties can voluntarily sell land or conservation easements to the District, creating opportunities for conservation payments without use of eminent domain.
Federal taxpayers face increased ongoing spending commitments — $1.25M per year indefinitely plus $2.5M per year in grants through 2033 — which raises the federal budgetary obligation.
Homeowners and local governments near purchased parcels could see changes in land use and a reduced local tax base if willing-seller federal land acquisitions remove privately taxed property from the community.
Limiting application of National Heritage Area funding formulas or altering standard program rules may reduce transparency or change oversight expectations compared with other NHAs, potentially complicating accountability for taxpayers and local partners.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District into parts of West Virginia and authorizes recurring federal funding for management, grants, and willing‑seller land acquisition.
Official title: Expand the boundaries of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, to recognize and enhance the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District partnership model, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 29, 2026 by James Conley Justice · Last progress July 29, 2026
Expands the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District to add specific counties in Virginia and West Virginia, updates administration and mapping language to reflect a two‑state district, and requires the local management entity to update its management plan to cover the newly added areas. It also sets guaranteed funding levels and annual authorization amounts for the management entity, creates a dedicated grant/acquisition account for FY2027–2033, exempts the district from some National Heritage Area administrative rules, and directs the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress on replicating the partnership model within two years.