Description:
H.R. 974 would nullify, within three years of the bill’s enactment, existing regulations prohibiting hand-propelled vessels on various streams and rivers in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as well as the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway in the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Hand propelled vehicles include canoes, kayaks, and rafts propelled by paddles. The legislation also would direct the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service (NPS) to coordinate policies allowing the use of hand-propelled vessels on waterways in those areas. Under existing regulations, NPS has prohibited boating on certain waterways within the parks. The bill would require NPS to promulgate new regulations concerning the affected streams and rivers and conduct environmental and feasibility studies.
Based on information provided by NPS, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 974 would cost about $4 million over the 2016-2020 period, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Because the legislation would allow NPS to recover increased operating costs through special permits, H.R. 974 would increase collections from permit fees and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect on direct spending would be insignificant in any given year. The legislation would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 974 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
H.R. 974 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
