As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 7, 2012
H.R. 4094 would require the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina to be managed according to the Interim Protected Species Management Strategy/Environmental Assessment (Interim Strategy) issued by the National Park Service (NPS) on June 13, 2007, until the NPS issues a new final rule. Under the bill, that final rule cannot include additional restrictions on pedestrian or motorized access to the seashore beyond those in the Interim Strategy unless the restrictions are based on peer-reviewed science and the public has had the opportunity to review and comment on them.
H.R. 4094 would prohibit implementation of the existing final rule entitled “Special Regulations, Areas of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras National Seashore— Off-Road Vehicle Management” and would invalidate the consent decree concerning use of off-road vehicles at the seashore, which was filed on April 30, 2008.
Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates that the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget over the 2013-2017 period. Management of the seashore under the Interim Strategy would not require significant changes in NPS operations regarding the seashore.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4094 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Under the existing final rule, the NPS will charge fees (which are recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts) for off-road vehicle permits. Those fees would be available to be spent at the seashore without further appropriation. Those fees are not a part of the Interim Strategy; therefore, under the bill, the NPS would not collect or spend those fees. CBO estimates that the net impact of that change would not be significant. Enacting H.R. 4094 would not affect revenues.
H.R. 4094 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
