I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 316 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

to issue permits for recreation services on lands managed by Federal 

agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. LAMALFA (for himself, Mr. O’HALLERAN, and Mr. SIMPSON) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to issue permits for recreation services 

on lands managed by Federal agencies, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS; DEFINI4 TIONS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Guides and Outfitters Act’’ or the ‘‘GO Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definitions. 

Sec. 2. Special recreation permit and fee. 

Sec. 3. Permit across multiple jurisdictions. 

Sec. 4. Guidelines and permit fee calculation. 

Sec. 5. Use of permit fees for permit administration. 

Sec. 6. Adjustment to permit use reviews. 

Sec. 7. Authorization of temporary permits for new uses for the Forest Service 

and BLM. 

Sec. 8. Indemnification requirements. 

Sec. 9. Streamlining of permitting process. 

Sec. 10. Cost recovery reform. 

Sec. 11. Extension of Forest Service recreation priority use permits. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

4 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means— 

6 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re7 spect to a Federal land management agency 

8 (other than the Forest Service); and 

9 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re10 spect to the Forest Service. 

11 (2) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

12 means the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec13 retary of Agriculture acting jointly. 

14 SEC. 2. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 

15 Subsection (h) of section 803 of the Federal Lands 

16 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amend17 ed to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) issue a special recreation permit for 

2 Federal recreational lands and waters; and 

3 ‘‘(B) charge a special recreation permit fee 

4 in connection with the issuance of the permit. 

5 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMITS.—The 

6 Secretary may issue special recreation permits in the 

7 following circumstances: 

8 ‘‘(A) For specialized individual and group 

9 use of Federal facilities and Federal rec10 reational lands and waters, such as, but not 

11 limited to, use of special areas or areas where 

12 use is allocated, motorized recreational vehicle 

13 use, and group activities or events. 

14 ‘‘(B) To recreation service providers who 

15 conduct outfitting, guiding, and other recre16 ation services on Federal recreational lands and 

17 waters managed by the Forest Service, Bureau 

18 of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, 

19 or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

20 ‘‘(C) To recreation service providers who 

21 conduct recreation or competitive events, which 

22 may involve incidental sales on Federal rec23 reational lands and waters managed by the For24 est Service, Bureau of Land Management, BuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H316.IH H316

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1 reau of Reclamation, or the United States Fish 

2 and Wildlife Service. 

3 ‘‘(3) REDUCTION IN FEDERAL COSTS AND DU4 PLICATION OF ANALYSIS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The issuance of a new 

6 special recreation permit for activities under 

7 paragraph (2) shall be categorically excluded 

8 from further analysis and documentation under 

9 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

10 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), if the proposed use is 

11 the same as or similar to a previously author12 ized use and the Secretary determines that such 

13 issuance does not have significant environ14 mental effects based upon application of the ex15 traordinary circumstances procedures estab16 lished by the Secretary under the National En17 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

18 4321 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of 

20 this paragraph, the term ‘similar’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) substantially similar in type, na22 ture, and scope; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) will not result in significant new 

24 impacts. 


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1 ‘‘(4) RELATION TO FEES FOR USE OF HIGH2 WAYS OR ROADS.—An entity that pays a special 

3 recreation permit fee shall not be subject to a road 

4 cost-sharing fee or a fee for the use of highways or 

5 roads that are open to private, noncommercial use 

6 within the boundaries of any Federal recreational 

7 lands or waters, as authorized under section 6 of 

8 Public Law 88–657 (16 U.S.C. 537).’’. 

9 SEC. 3. PERMIT ACROSS MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an activity requir11 ing permits pursuant to subsection (h) of section 803 of 

12 the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 6802) for use of lands managed by both the Forest 

14 Service and the Bureau of Land Management— 

15 (1) the Secretaries may issue a joint permit 

16 based upon a single application to both agencies 

17 when issuance of a joint permit based upon a single 

18 application will lower processing and other adminis19 tration costs for the permittee, provided that the 

20 permit applicant shall have the option to apply for 

21 separate permits rather than a joint permit; and 

22 (2) the permit application required under para23 graph (1) shall be— 

24 (A) the application required by the lead 

25 agency; and 


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1 (B) submitted to the lead agency. 

2 (b) REQUIREMENTS OF THE LEAD AGENCY.—The 

3 lead agency for a permit under subsection (a) shall— 

4 (1) coordinate with the associated agencies, 

5 consistent with the authority of the Secretaries 

6 under section 330 of the Department of the Interior 

7 and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (43 

8 U.S.C. 1703), to develop and issue the single, joint 

9 permit that covers the entirety of the trip; 

10 (2) in processing the joint permit application, 

11 incorporate the findings, interests, and needs of the 

12 associated agencies, provided that such coordination 

13 shall not be subject to cost recovery; and 

14 (3) complete the permitting process within a 

15 reasonable time after receiving the permit applica16 tion. 

17 (c) EFFECT ON REGULATIONS.—Nothing in this sec18 tion shall alter, expand, or limit the applicability of any 

19 Federal law (including regulations) to lands administered 

20 by the relevant Federal agencies. 

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associ23 ated agency’’ means an agency that manages the 

24 land on which the trip of the special recreation perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H316.IH H316

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1 mit applicant will enter after leaving the land man2 aged by the lead agency. 

3 (2) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 

4 means the agency that manages the land on which 

5 the trip of the special recreation permit applicant 

6 will begin. 

7 SEC. 4. GUIDELINES AND PERMIT FEE CALCULATION. 

8 (a) GUIDELINES AND EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REV9 ENUES.—The Secretary shall— 

10 (1) publish guidelines in the Federal Register 

11 for establishing recreation permit fees; and 

12 (2) provide appropriate deductions from gross 

13 revenues used as the basis for the fees established 

14 under paragraph (1) for— 

15 (A) revenue from goods, services, and ac16 tivities provided by a recreation service provider 

17 outside Federal recreational lands and waters, 

18 such as costs for transportation, lodging, and 

19 other services before or after a trip; and 

20 (B) fees to be paid by permit holder under 

21 applicable law to provide services on other Fed22 eral lands, if separate permits are issued to 

23 that permit holder for a single event or trip. 

24 (b) FEE CONDITIONS.—The fee charged by the Sec25 retary for a permit issued under section 803(h) of the 


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1 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

2 6802(h)) shall not exceed 3 percent of the recreational 

3 service provider’s annual gross revenue for activities au4 thorized by the permit on Federal lands, plus applicable 

5 revenue additions, minus applicable revenue exclusions or 

6 a similar flat per person fee. 

7 (c) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—A holder of a special 

8 recreation permit may inform its customers of the various 

9 fees charged by the Secretary under section 803(h) of the 

10 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 

11 6802(h)). 

12 SEC. 5. USE OF PERMIT FEES FOR PERMIT ADMINISTRA13 TION. 

14 (a) DEPOSITS.—Subject to subsection (b), revenues 

15 from special recreation permits issued to recreation service 

16 providers under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 

17 803(h)(2) of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

18 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802(h)(2)) shall be held in special ac19 counts established for each specific unit or area for which 

20 such revenues are collected, and shall remain available for 

21 expenditure, without further appropriation, until ex22 pended. 

23 (b) USE OF PERMIT FEES.—Revenues from special 

24 recreation permits issued to recreation service providers 

25 under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 803(h)(2) of 


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1 the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 6802(h)(2)) shall be used only— 

3 (1) to partially offset the Secretary’s direct cost 

4 of administering the permits; 

5 (2) to improve and streamline the permitting 

6 process; and 

7 (3) for related recreation infrastructure and 

8 other purposes specifically to support recreation ac9 tivities at the specific site for which use is author10 ized under the permit, after obtaining input from 

11 any related permittees; provided, however, that the 

12 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 

13 et seq.) shall not apply to any advisory committee or 

14 other group established to carry out this paragraph. 

15 (c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FEES.—The Secretary 

16 may not use any permit fees for biological monitoring on 

17 Federal recreational lands and waters under the Endan18 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) for 

19 listed or candidate species. 

20 SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENT TO PERMIT USE REVIEWS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Secretary 

22 utilizes permit use reviews, in reviewing and adjusting al23 locations of use for permits for special uses of Federal rec24 reational lands and waters managed by the Forest Service, 

25 and in renewing such permits, the Secretary of Agriculture 


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1 shall allocate to a permit holder a level of use that is no 

2 less than the highest amount of actual annual use over 

3 the reviewed period plus 25 percent, capped at the amount 

4 of use allocated when the permit was issued unless addi5 tional capacity is available. The Secretary may assign any 

6 use remaining after adjusting allocations on a temporary 

7 basis to qualified permit holders. 

8 (b) WAIVER.—Use reviews under subsection (a) may 

9 be waived for periods in which circumstances that pre10 vented use of assigned capacity, such as weather, fire, nat11 ural disasters, wildlife displacement, business interrup12 tions, insufficient availability of hunting and fishing li13 censes, or when allocations on permits include significant 

14 shoulder seasons. The authorizing office may approve non15 use without reducing the number of service days assigned 

16 to the permit in such circumstances at the request of the 

17 permit holder. Approved non-use may be temporarily as18 signed to other qualified permit holders when conditions 

19 warrant. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF TEMPORARY PERMITS FOR 

21 NEW USES FOR THE FOREST SERVICE AND 

22 BLM. 

23 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec25 retary of the Interior shall establish and implement a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H316.IH H316

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1 gram to authorize temporary permits for new recreational 

2 uses of Federal recreational lands and waters managed by 

3 the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management, 

4 respectively, and to provide for the conversions of such 

5 temporary permits to long-term permits after 2 years of 

6 satisfactory operation. The issuance and conversion of 

7 such permits shall be subject to subsection (h)(3) of sec8 tion 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802). 

10 SEC. 8. INDEMNIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. 

11 (a) INDEMNIFICATION.—A permit holder that is pro12 hibited by the State from providing indemnification to the 

13 Federal Government shall be considered to be in compli14 ance with indemnification requirements of the Department 

15 of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture if the 

16 permit holder carries the required minimum amount of li17 ability insurance coverage or is self-insured for the same 

18 minimum amount. 

19 (b) EXCULPATORY AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

20 shall not implement, administer or enforce any regulation 

21 or policy prohibiting the use of exculpatory agreements be22 tween recreation service providers and their customers for 

23 services provided under a special recreation permit. 


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1 SEC. 9. STREAMLINING OF PERMITTING PROCESS. 

2 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 Agriculture shall revise part 251, subpart B, of title 36 

5 Code of Federal Regulations, and the Secretary of the In6 terior shall revise subpart 2932, of title 43, Code of Fed7 eral Regulations, to streamline the processes for the 

8 issuance and renewal of outfitter and guide special use 

9 permits. Such amended regulations shall— 

10 (1) shorten application processing times and 

11 minimize application and administration costs; and 

12 (2) provide for the use of programmatic envi13 ronmental assessments and categorical exclusions for 

14 environmental reviews under the National Environ15 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

16 for the issuance or renewal of outfitter and guide 

17 and similar recreation special use permits when the 

18 Secretary determines that such compliance is re19 quired, to the maximum extent allowable under ap20 plicable law, including, but not limited to, use of a 

21 categorical exclusion as provided under section 

22 803(h)(3) of the Federal Lands Recreation En23 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802(h)(3)). 

24 (b) ONLINE APPLICATIONS.—To the maximum ex25 tent practicable, where feasible and efficient, the Secretary 


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1 shall make special recreation permit applications available 

2 to be filled out and submitted online. 

3 SEC. 10. COST RECOVERY REFORM. 

4 (a) REGULATORY PROCESS.—Not later than 180 

5 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of Agriculture shall revise section 251.58 of title 36, Code 

7 of Federal Regulations, and the Secretary of the Interior 

8 shall revise section 2932.31(e) and (f) of title 43, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations, to reduce costs and minimize the 

10 burden of cost recovery on small businesses and adverse 

11 impacts of cost recovery on jobs in the outfitting and guid12 ing industry and on rural economies provided, however, 

13 that nothing in the revised regulations shall further limit 

14 the Secretary’s authority to issue or renew recreation spe15 cial use permits. 

16 (b) DE MINIMIS EXEMPTION.— 

17 (1) COST RECOVERY LIMITATION.—Any regula18 tions issued by the Secretary of the Interior or the 

19 Secretary of Agriculture to establish fees to recover 

20 processing costs for recreation special use applica21 tions and monitoring costs for recreation special use 

22 authorizations shall include an exemption providing 

23 that at least the first 50 hours of work necessary in 

24 any one year to process and/or monitor such an ap25 plication shall not be subject to cost recovery. The 


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1 application of a 50-hour credit per permit shall also 

2 apply to any monitoring fees on a per annum basis 

3 during the term of each permit. 

4 (2) APPLICATION OF EXEMPTION.—An exemp5 tion under paragraph (1) shall apply to the proc6 essing of each recreation special use permit applica7 tion and monitoring of each recreation special use 

8 authorization for which cost recovery is required, in9 cluding any application or authorization requiring 

10 more than 50 hours (or such other greater number 

11 of hours specified for exemption) to process or mon12 itor. In the event that the amount of work required 

13 to process such an application or monitor such an 

14 authorization exceeds the specified exemption, the 

15 amount of work for which cost recovery is required 

16 shall be reduced by the amount of the exemption. 

17 (3) MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS.—In situations 

18 involving multiple recreation special use applications 

19 for similar services in the same unit or area that re20 quire more than 50 hours (or such other greater 

21 number of hours specified for exemption) in the ag22 gregate to process, the Secretary shall, regardless of 

23 whether the applications are solicited or unsolicited 

24 and whether there is competitive interest— 


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1 (A) determine the share of the aggregate 

2 amount to be allocated to each application, on 

3 an equal or prorated basis, as appropriate; and 

4 (B) for each application, apply a separate 

5 exemption of up to 50 hours (or such other 

6 greater number of hours specified for exemp7 tion) to the share allocated to such application. 

8 (4) COST REDUCTION.—The agency processing 

9 a recreation special use application shall utilize ex10 isting studies and analysis to the greatest extent 

11 practicable in order to reduce the amount of work 

12 and cost necessary to process the application. 

13 (5) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 

14 and the Secretary of Agriculture may not recover as 

15 processing costs for recreation special use applica16 tions and monitoring costs for recreation special use 

17 authorizations any costs for consultations conducted 

18 under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 

19 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) or for biological monitoring 

20 on Federal recreational lands and waters under such 

21 Act for listed, proposed, or candidate species. 

22 (6) WAIVER OF COST RECOVERY.—The Sec23 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri24 culture may waive the recovery of costs for proc25 essing recreation special use permit applications and 


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1 renewals, on a categorical or case-by-case basis as 

2 appropriate, if the Secretary determines that— 

3 (A) such costs would impose a significant 

4 economic burden on any small business or cat5 egory of small businesses; 

6 (B) such cost recovery could threaten the 

7 ability of an applicant or permittee to provide, 

8 in a particular area, a particular outdoor rec9 reational activity that is consistent with the 

10 public interest and with applicable resource 

11 management plans; or 

12 (C) prevailing economic conditions are un13 favorable, such as during economic recessions, 

14 or when drought, fire, or other natural disasters 

15 have depressed economic activity in the area of 

16 operation. 

17 SEC. 11. EXTENSION OF FOREST SERVICE RECREATION 

18 PRIORITY USE PERMITS. 

19 Where the holder of a special use permit for outfitting 

20 and guiding that authorizes priority use has submitted a 

21 request for renewal of such permit in accordance with ap22 plicable laws and regulations, the Secretary of Agriculture 

23 shall have the authority to grant the holder one or more 

24 extensions of the existing permit for additional items not 

25 to exceed 5 years in the aggregate, as necessary to allow 


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1 the Secretary to complete the renewal process and to avoid 

2 the interruption of services under such permit. Before 

3 granting an extension under this section, the Secretary 

4 shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to complete 

5 the renewal process before the expiration of the special 

6 use permit. 

Æ 


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