STARS Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The STARS Act creates a one-day public-lands access waiver for September 17, 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. The Secretary of the Interior must designate that date as an entrance-fee-free date for every National Park Service site that charges an entrance fee. The Secretary of the Interior also must waive standard amenity recreation fees that day for sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation when those sites charge standard amenity recreation fees. The Secretary of Agriculture must waive the same type of Forest Service standard amenity recreation fees on that date.
The bill uses existing Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act definitions for entrance fees and standard amenity recreation fees. It does not permanently repeal fees; it creates a symbolic, nationwide one-day waiver tied to the semiquincentennial.
Who Benefits and How
Visitors to National Park Service sites benefit by avoiding entrance fees on September 17, 2026. Visitors to BLM recreation sites, Fish and Wildlife Service recreation sites, Bureau of Reclamation recreation sites, and Forest Service recreation sites benefit when those sites normally charge standard amenity recreation fees. Tourism businesses near National Park Service sites, hospitality businesses near federal recreation sites, gateway communities, families planning semiquincentennial travel, and outdoor recreation groups benefit from a likely one-day increase in visitation and lower trip costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service, Interior fee-collection staff, Agriculture fee-collection staff, and federal taxpayers must comply with the one-day waiver, update fee systems or public notices, manage potential visitor surges, and lose one day of entrance-fee or standard-amenity-fee revenue.
Key Provisions
- Requires National Park Service sites to provide free entrance on September 17, 2026.
- Requires the Bureau of Land Management to waive standard amenity recreation fees on September 17, 2026.
- Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to waive standard amenity recreation fees on September 17, 2026.
- Requires the Bureau of Reclamation to waive standard amenity recreation fees on September 17, 2026.
- Requires the Forest Service to waive standard amenity recreation fees on September 17, 2026.
- Uses Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act definitions for entrance fees and standard amenity recreation fees.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a one-day fee waiver for September 17, 2026, in honor of the United States semiquincentennial by requiring free entrance at National Park Service sites and waiving standard amenity recreation fees at Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service sites that charge those fees.
Key Policy Areas
Public Lands, Recreation & Tourism, Federal Fees
Primary Purpose
Creates a one-day fee waiver for September 17, 2026, in honor of the United States semiquincentennial by requiring free entrance at National Park Service sites and waiving standard amenity recreation fees at Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service sites that charge those fees.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Visitors to National Park Service sites
- Visitors to BLM recreation sites
- Visitors to Fish and Wildlife Service recreation sites
- Visitors to Bureau of Reclamation recreation sites
- Visitors to Forest Service recreation sites
- Tourism businesses near National Park Service sites
- Hospitality businesses near federal recreation sites
- Gateway communities
- Families planning semiquincentennial travel
- Outdoor recreation groups
Identified Costs
- National Park Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Reclamation
- Forest Service
- Interior fee-collection staff
- Agriculture fee-collection staff
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5074-5075)
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 250.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Hospitality businesses near federal recreation sites, Tourism businesses near National Park Service sites, Visitors to BLM recreation sites
Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology