Sponsors (10)
The bill gives ski areas and local managers quicker, more-targeted funding and safety resources for visitors, at the cost of reduced congressional appropriation oversight, restricted use for wildfire suppression/land acquisition, and some risk of funding unpredictability for certain units.
Local ski area visitors, recreation users, and rural communities will get more direct funding for on-site services (maintenance, staffing, and visitor facilities) because 60–80% of permit fees are directed to the managing unit.
The Forest Service can obligate and spend collected ski-area permit fees without awaiting annual appropriations, allowing faster local project funding and maintenance delivery.
Recreation users and nearby communities benefit from increased funding for wildfire planning/mitigation (non-hazardous fuels) and search-and-rescue activities, improving on-site safety in ski areas.
Taxpayers and Congress lose some annual appropriations oversight because permit fee revenues can be spent without further appropriation, reducing congressional control over these funds.
Rural communities and recreation users may face reduced flexibility to respond to large wildfires or secure key lands because fees are barred from being used for wildfire suppression or land acquisition.
Some units could see less predictable year-to-year funding if their local share is reduced when needs are judged met and funds are redirected elsewhere, creating budget instability for certain rural communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Treasury Ski Area Fee Retention Account letting the Forest Service retain and spend permit fees (mostly at the collecting unit) for administration, facilities, visitor services, and safety.
Creates a new Ski Area Fee Retention Account in the Treasury to receive ski area permit rental charges collected under existing Forest Service authorities and allows the Secretary of Agriculture to spend those fees without further appropriation. Most of the money (generally 80%) must be spent at the specific unit where collected (with a minimum 60% if local needs are exceeded) for administration and visitor-facility/access purposes; the remainder (20%) is available for agency-wide use. Defines eligible local and agency-wide uses (administration, staffing, training, signage, fee collection, wildfire planning/mitigation, visitor facilities and services, law enforcement, parking, special-use processing, avalanche and search-and-rescue, and certain lease administration), prohibits use for wildfire suppression and land acquisition, preserves existing cost-recovery and Granger-Thye authorities, requires funds to supplement (not supplant) appropriations, and becomes effective 60 days after enactment.
Official title: To amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to provide for the establishment of a Ski Area Fee Retention Account, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 6, 2025 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress February 6, 2025