Bill Details
S.811 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-27 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced Date
2025-02-27
Policy Area
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill says Congress believes the recreational trails program is important and should be fully funded. It explains that the program helps build and maintain trails used for many activities, like hiking, biking, skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling, and off-road vehicle use. The bill says these trails help transportation, local economies, public health, and access to public lands. It also says the program is paid for by fuel taxes from nonhighway recreation, but the amount now set aside for the program is much lower than the amount collected from those users. The bill calls for a better estimate of those tax collections and says the program should be funded in a way that does not reduce money for other highway programs.
- It states that the trail program benefits a wide range of users and supports many public goals, including outdoor access and economic development.
- It says fuel taxes paid by nonhighway recreation users should be returned to the states at a level that matches those payments more closely.
- It asks the Federal Highway Administration to give Congress an accurate estimate of total fuel tax money collected from nonhighway recreation, and to do so at least one year before major transportation funding is set to expire.
- It says the trail program should continue through the Transportation Alternatives program, without taking money away from other federal highway programs.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 811 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 811
To express findings relating to the recreational trails program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Welch, Mr. Budd, Mr. Curtis,
and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To express findings relating to the recreational trails program, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``RTP Full Funding Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the recreational trails program under section 206 of
title 23, United States Code--
(A) funds development and maintenance of valuable
trail infrastructure across the United States;
(B) benefits millions of diverse trail users,
including users who participate in hiking, bicycling,
in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing,
snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain
vehicle riding, 4-wheel off-highway vehicle driving,
and other off-road motorized vehicle use;
(C)(i) embraces the user-pay-user-benefit model of
the Highway Trust Fund;
(ii) is funded by a Federal tax on fuel used for
nonhighway recreation;
(iii) is funded on an annual basis of approximately
$84,000,000; and
(iv) does not receive the amounts collected from
the average annual fuel tax, $281,000,000, that are
paid into the Highway Trust Fund by nonhighway
recreation vehicles;
(D) contributes significantly to national
transportation, economic development, health, public
land access and enjoyment, and other national
priorities; and
(E) should be funded at a level commensurate with
tax contributions from nonhighway vehicle recreation;
(2) to ensure that Federal taxes collected from nonhighway
recreation are appropriately returned to the States for the
recreational trails program described in paragraph (1), an
accurate estimate of the total amount of nonhighway fuel taxes
collected--
(A) is necessary; and
(B) should be provided to Congress by the Federal
Highway Administration at least 1 year before the date
on which funding for Federal-aid highways, highway
safety programs, and transit programs is anticipated to
expire; and
(3) the recreational trails program under section 206 of
title 23, United States Code, should be carried out through
funding made available under section 133(h) of that title
(commonly known as the ``Transportation Alternatives program'')
without affecting other Federal highway programs.
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