I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1834 

To establish a bipartisan 21st Century Great Outdoors Commission to assess 

the use, value, job creation, and economic opportunities associated with 

the outdoor resources of the public lands and other land and water 

areas of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2013 

Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a bipartisan 21st Century Great Outdoors Commission to assess the use, value, job creation, and economic opportunities associated with the outdoor resources of the public lands and other land and water 

areas of the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Great 

5 Outdoors Commission Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 There is established in the legislative branch a bipar3 tisan 21st Century Great Outdoors Commission to assess 

4 the use, value, job creation, and economic opportunities 

5 associated with the outdoor resources of the public lands 

6 and other land and water areas of the United States, and 

7 for other purposes. The outdoor resources of the public 

8 lands and other land and water areas of the United States 

9 confer enormous benefits on the people of the United 

10 States including providing clean water as well as economic 

11 benefits. 

12 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

13 The Congress finds the following: 

14 (1) Current research indicates that changing 

15 demographics, impacts of climate change, lack of 

16 public access, and funding shortfalls create chal17 lenges for land and recreation managers. The re18 search also affirms that outdoor resources present 

19 opportunities for job creation and economic develop20 ment. 

21 (2) Outdoor recreation is responsible for more 

22 than $646,000,000,000 in direct consumer spending, 

23 generates more than $80,000,000,000 in Federal, 

24 State, and local taxes and supports more than 

25 6,100,000 American jobs. 

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1 (3) Outdoor recreation opportunities are critical 

2 to the Nation’s 46,800,000 hunters and anglers who 

3 generate at least 33,700,000,000 in economic activ4 ity nationwide. 

5 (4) Outdoor recreation promotes better mental 

6 and physical health for children. Research shows 

7 that spending time outside enhances fitness and im8 proves academic achievement. 

9 (5) Therapeutic and adaptive recreation pro10 grams provide invaluable benefits to disabled and in11 jured veterans. These programs not only aid in phys12 ical recovery but also help to address mental health 

13 issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and 

14 other afflictions suffered by wounded warriors. 

15 (6) It has been increasingly clear that land and 

16 water available for outdoor recreation also has other 

17 benefits to society including the protection of water 

18 resources, the conservation of fish and wildlife habi19 tat, protection of communities from natural hazards 

20 such as flooding and storms, reduction in air pollu21 tion and sustaining rural land uses such ranching, 

22 farming, and forest management. 

23 (7) The 2010 Census reports that four out of 

24 five Americans now live in urban or metropolitan 

25 areas, making the need for safe and accessible 

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1 ‘‘close-to-home’’ outdoor recreation opportunities 

2 more important than ever. 

3 (8) The American people have benefitted from 

4 two federally initiated national reviews of outdoor 

5 recreation resources in the latter half of the twen6 tieth century. The Outdoor Recreation Resources 

7 Review Commission, established by legislation and 

8 signed by President Eisenhower in 1958, issued its 

9 report in 1962, which led to the passage of several 

10 landmark conservation and outdoor recreation laws. 

11 The President’s Commission on Outdoor Recreation, 

12 established by Executive order by President Reagan 

13 and Chaired by then Governor Lamar Alexander, 

14 issued its report in 1987, the findings of which so15 lidified the importance of our Nation’s outdoor 

16 recreation laws and further recognized the value of 

17 partnerships and cooperation in ensuring outdoor 

18 recreation opportunities for all Americans. The 21st 

19 Century Great Outdoors Commission established in 

20 this Act will build upon this foundation of existing 

21 conservation and recreation programs that were cre22 ated from the previous commissions and will address 

23 recreation and conservation needs in 21st century 

24 America. Further, it will help guide policies to help 

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1 meet the demands for outdoor recreation and con2 servation throughout the Nation. 

3 (9) The bipartisan Outdoor Resources Review 

4 Group, through Resources for the Future, reported 

5 on the State of the Great Outdoors in 2009 identi6 fying issues with the supply and financing of out7 door recreation opportunities. 

8 (10) The Obama Administration launched the 

9 America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to develop a 

10 21st century conservation and recreation agenda. 

11 The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative led to the 

12 Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation, 

13 which strives to support and enhance outdoor recre14 ation access and opportunities on Federal public 

15 lands, waters, and shores. 

16 (11) The bipartisan Western Governors’ Asso17 ciation released a report in 2012 identifying chal18 lenges and recommending strategies for providing 

19 outdoor recreation experiences in the Western 

20 United States. 

21 (12) It has been over 25 years since the last 

22 presidentially directed review of America’s conserva23 tion and outdoor recreation needs. The people of the 

24 United States would benefit from a new federally 

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1 sources and from policy recommendations including 

2 how to maximize the economic opportunities associ3 ated with changing use patterns, how differing re4 gions can access American outdoor resources, and 

5 how Federal, State, local, and private interests can 

6 address existing challenges. 

7 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

8 For the purposes of this Act: 

9 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

10 means the 21st Century Great Outdoors Commis11 sion. 

12 (2) OUTDOOR RESOURCES.—The term ‘‘outdoor 

13 resources’’ means the land and water areas and as14 sociated resources of such areas in the United States 

15 and its territories and possessions, which provide or 

16 may in the future provide opportunities for outdoor 

17 recreation and enjoyment. 

18 (3) OUTDOOR RECREATION.—The term ‘‘out19 door recreation’’ means use of outdoor resources, 

20 both developed and undeveloped, in urban, suburban, 

21 and rural areas, including backcountry and dis22 persed recreation on public lands. 

23 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

2 composed of 11 members, appointed not later than 

3 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

4 as follows: 

5 (A) Two members who shall be appointed 

6 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

7 (B) One member who shall be appointed 

8 by the minority leader of the House of Rep9 resentatives. 

10 (C) Two members who shall be appointed 

11 by the majority leader of the Senate. 

12 (D) One member who shall be appointed 

13 by the minority leader of the Senate. 

14 (E) Five members who shall be appointed 

15 by the President from among persons who are 

16 broadly representative of the people of the 

17 United States, only two of which shall be from 

18 the President’s political party. 

19 (2) TERM.—Each member shall be appointed 

20 for the life of the Commission. 

21 (3) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the Commission 

22 shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the 

23 manner in which the original appointment was 

24 made. 

25 (b) COMPENSATION.— 

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1 (1) PER DIEM.—Each member of the Commis2 sion may be compensated at an amount not to ex3 ceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

4 pay in effect for a position at level IV of the Execu5 tive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, for each day during which that member 

7 is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 

8 of the Commission. 

9 (2) EXPENSES.—While away from their homes 

10 or regular places of business in the performance of 

11 services for the Commission, members of the Com12 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including 

13 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner 

14 as persons employed intermittently in the Govern15 ment service are allowed expenses under section 

16 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (c) MEETINGS; QUORUM; RULES OF PROCEDURE.— 

18 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

19 after the date on which all members of the Commis20 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

21 its first meeting. At the first meeting, the Commis22 sion shall designate a chair. 

23 (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—Subsequent 

24 meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair. 

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1 (3) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis2 sion shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 

3 may hold hearings. 

4 (4) RULES.—The Commission may establish 

5 rules of procedure for the conduct of the Commis6 sion’s business, if such rules are not inconsistent 

7 with this Act or other applicable law. 

8 (d) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Commission shall es9 tablish an advisory council to assist the Commission in 

10 carrying out its duties. The Advisory Council shall consist 

11 of the liaison officers involved with the Federal Inter12 agency Council on Outdoor Recreation, together with 20 

13 additional members appointed by the Commission. The 

14 Commission shall consider broad-based geographical and 

15 interest representation, including citizens involved with 

16 local parks and recreation centers, outdoor recreation at 

17 the local, State, and Federal levels, public health, local 

18 recreation businesses, hunting and fishing activities, other 

19 wildlife interests, land conservation, historic, and cultural 

20 preservation, and other natural resource-based activities. 

21 SEC. 6. DUTIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in its inquiries, 

23 findings, and recommendations, shall recognize that— 

24 (1) present and future solutions to problems of 

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1 ities at all levels of government, from local to Fed2 eral, and of individuals and private organizations; 

3 (2) lands, waters, forest, rangelands, wetlands, 

4 wildlife, and such other natural resources serve mul5 tiple purposes; and 

6 (3) sound planning of resource use for the full 

7 future welfare of the Nation must include coordina8 tion and integration of multiple uses such as eco9 nomic development, energy development, recreation, 

10 historic preservation, and conservation. 

11 (b) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The duties of the Commis12 sion are as follows: 

13 (1) Review and augment existing contemporary 

14 research on outdoor resources, including numerous 

15 economic studies, and identify areas that have not 

16 been thoroughly researched. 

17 (2) Use existing research to better determine 

18 use patterns, expectations, and resource needs. 

19 (3) Conduct detailed case studies of use, chal20 lenges, and successes associated with outdoor re21 sources in every region of the United States to bet22 ter understand regional opportunities and challenges 

23 in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Commis24 sion, working with the Advisory Council, shall deter25 mine regional boundaries and case study locations. 

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1 (4) Evaluate existing Federal funding programs 

2 to determine how well they can work better to ac3 complish more conservation and recreation objec4 tives. 

5 (5) Evaluate the role that the Federal Govern6 ment plays in preserving and enhancing recreational 

7 opportunities and associated regional economies vis8 `a-vis States, localities, and the private sector. 

9 (6) Evaluate and identify opportunities, prac10 tices, and investment strategies where the conserva11 tion of land for outdoor recreation can also serve 

12 other needs such as— 

13 (A) the responsible and effective reuse of 

14 relinquished military property for public benefit; 

15 (B) protection of water resources; 

16 (C) the conservation of fish and wildlife 

17 habitat; 

18 (D) providing buffers from natural hazards 

19 such as storms and floods; and 

20 (E) sustaining traditional uses of rural 

21 land such farming, ranching, and forest man22 agement. 

23 (7) Provide policy recommendations, including 

24 recommendations on how to— 

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1 (A) address key challenges such as climate 

2 change; 

3 (B) use outdoor resources to improve 

4 health; 

5 (C) account for the effects of increasing 

6 urbanization on outdoor resources and recre7 ation; 

8 (D) maximize access to recreation for un9 derserved communities, including outdoor pro10 grams for youth; 

11 (E) maximize access to adaptive and thera12 peutic recreation programs for disabled and in13 jured veterans; 

14 (F) use recreation to strengthen regional 

15 economies; 

16 (G) preserve regional recreation economies; 

17 and 

18 (H) improve the use of existing funding 

19 and programs for conservation and recreation. 

20 (c) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) INTERIM AND PROGRESS REPORTS.—The 

22 Commission, on its own initiative or on request of 

23 the President or the Congress, shall prepare interim 

24 or progress reports on particular phases of its re25 view. 

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1 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

2 after the date on which all members of the Commis3 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall 

4 present a report of its review and its recommenda5 tions to the President, Congress, and State Gov6 ernors. The report and recommendations shall— 

7 (A) be presented in such form as to make 

8 them of maximum value to State, local, and re9 gional entities; 

10 (B) include recommendations as to means 

11 whereby the review may effectively be kept cur12 rent in the future; and 

13 (C) include recommendations for the near 

14 future and for further action in 2020 and 2040. 

15 SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to such 

17 extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance 

18 in Acts of appropriation, enter into contracts to enable the 

19 Commission to discharge its duties under this Act. 

20 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is author22 ized to secure directly from any executive depart23 ment, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, 

24 independent establishment, or instrumentality of the 

25 Federal Government, information, suggestions, estimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mates, and statistics for the purposes of this Act. 

2 Each department, bureau, agency, board, commis3 sion, office, independent establishment, or instru4 mentality shall, to the extent authorized by law, fur5 nish such information, suggestions, estimates, and 

6 statistics directly to the Commission, upon request 

7 made by the chairman, the chairman of any sub8 committee created by a majority of the Commission, 

9 or any member designated by a majority of the 

10 Commission. 

11 (2) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND DIS12 SEMINATION.—Information shall only be received, 

13 handled, stored, and disseminated by members of 

14 the Commission and its staff consistent with all ap15 plicable statutes, regulations, and Executive orders. 

16 (c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

17 (1) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.— 

18 The Administrator of General Services shall provide 

19 to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, admin20 istrative support and other services for the perform21 ance of the Commission’s functions. 

22 (2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 

23 addition to assistance under paragraph (1), depart24 ments and agencies of the United States may pro25 vide to the Commission such services, funds, facilimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ties, staff, and other support services as they deter2 mine advisable and as may be authorized by law. 

3 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

4 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

5 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

6 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

7 the same conditions as departments and agencies of the 

8 United States. 

9 SEC. 8. STAFF. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) COMPENSATION.—The chairman, in accord12 ance with rules agreed upon by the Commission, 

13 may appoint and fix the compensation of a staff di14 rector and such other personnel as may be necessary 

15 to enable the Commission to carry out its functions, 

16 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United 

17 States Code, governing appointments in the competi18 tive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

19 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such 

20 title relating to classification and General Schedule 

21 pay rates, except that no rate of pay fixed under this 

22 subsection may exceed the equivalent of that payable 

23 for a position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

24 under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

25 (2) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

2 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

3 employees shall be employees under section 

4 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur5 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

6 and 90 of that title. 

7 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara8 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

9 members of the Commission. 

10 (b) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

11 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

12 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

13 rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employ14 ment without interruption. 

15 (c) EXPERT AND CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The 

16 Commission is authorized to procure the services of ex17 perts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of 

18 title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the 

19 daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level IV 

20 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (d) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding sec23 tion 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Commission 

24 may accept and use voluntary and uncompensated services 

25 as the Commission determines necessary. 

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1 SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Committee 

4 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Commission. 

5 (b) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC

6 VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Commission shall— 

7 (1) hold public hearings and meetings to the ex8 tent appropriate; and 

9 (2) release public versions of the reports re10 quired under section 6(c). 

11 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of the 

12 Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 

13 with the protection of information provided to or developed 

14 for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 

15 statute, regulation, or Executive order. 

16 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the au18 thorities of this Act, shall terminate 60 days after the date 

19 on which the final report is submitted under section 6(c). 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI21 NATION.—The Commission may use the 60-day period re22 ferred to in subsection (a) for the purpose of concluding 

23 its activities, including providing testimony to committees 

24 of Congress concerning its reports and disseminating the 

25 final report. 

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