Sponsors (10)
This bill directs most ski-area permit fees to local units so visitors and nearby communities get better, faster-funded services and safety improvements, but it reduces congressional appropriation oversight and limits flexibility for wildfire suppression, land acquisition, and predictable local funding.
Ski area visitors and local recreation users in rural communities will get improved on-site services (staffing, maintenance, visitor facilities) because 60–80% of permit fees are directed to the local unit.
Local Forest Service units and the public benefit from faster, more responsive funding for local projects because collected ski-area permit fees can be spent without waiting for annual appropriations.
Recreation users and nearby communities will have improved safety because retained fees may be used for wildfire planning/mitigation (non-hazardous fuels) and search-and-rescue in ski areas.
Taxpayers and Congress lose some annual appropriations oversight because permit fee revenues are available for spending without further appropriation, reducing yearly congressional control over those funds.
Rural communities and the environment could face reduced flexibility in responding to large wildfires or securing key lands because retained fees are prohibited from being used for wildfire suppression or land acquisition.
Local units may see less predictable year-to-year funding if a unit's local share is reduced when needs are met and funds are redirected elsewhere, creating financial instability for some communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the Forest Service to keep and spend ski area permit fees in a new Treasury account, with most revenue required to be used locally for administration and visitor facilities and a portion available agency-wide.
Introduced February 6, 2025 by Joseph Neguse · Last progress February 6, 2025
Creates a dedicated Treasury account to collect and retain ski area permit rental charges paid to the Forest Service and lets the Secretary of Agriculture spend those fees without further appropriation. Most fee revenue (normally 80%) must be spent at the specific ski area where it was collected (with a floor of 60% if local needs are exceeded), split between program administration (75% of the local share) and facility/access/visitor services (25% of the local share); the remaining 20% is available for agency-wide use. The bill lists eligible local and agency-wide uses (staffing, training, signage, fee collection, wildfire planning/mitigation (not hazardous fuels removal/suppression), visitor facilities and services, law enforcement support, parking, certain lease and special-use processing, avalanche and search-and-rescue operations), bars use for wildfire suppression and land acquisition, requires funds to supplement (not supplant) appropriations, preserves existing cost-recovery and Granger-Thye authorities, and makes the change effective 60 days after enactment. Funds remain available for four fiscal years beginning the fiscal year after deposit.