H.R. 1482, a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes

H.R. 1482 would authorize the Forest Service to allow three providers of commercial recreation services in the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho to construct or improve certain facilities. Those recreation services currently operate under special use permits that do not allow those types of projects. Under the bill, if the operators of those recreation services request authorization to undertake those projects, the agency would be required to conduct environmental reviews. Any costs to carry out those reviews would be covered by cost-recovery fees assessed on the recreation services.

Using information provided by the Forest Service, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase offsetting receipts from cost-recovery fees and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effect on direct spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1482 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.

H.R. 1482 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 590, a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 30, 2017. The two bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates of the budgetary effects are the same.