HR6802-119

What This Bill Does

The CLEAR Act is a narrow disapproval-style bill aimed at a specific Forest Service rule published at 89 Fed. Reg. 92808 on November 25, 2024. The rule relates to law enforcement criminal prohibitions on National Forest System lands. The bill prohibits the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture from administering, implementing, or enforcing that rule and states that the rule has no force or effect. Because the local clause table has no DiffEvent rows for this bill, this repair can only update the bill-level analysis, not clause-level targets.

Who Benefits and How

National Forest users, recreation groups, ranchers, timber operators, and permit holders benefit if they avoid new or expanded federal criminal-prohibition exposure under the 2024 rule. State and local law enforcement agencies benefit if the bill preserves a larger role for nonfederal enforcement on National Forest lands. Rural communities near National Forest lands benefit from maintaining the pre-rule enforcement framework.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Forest Service law enforcement staff lose the authority and procedures that would have flowed from the 2024 rule and must continue under prior enforcement practice. Federal land managers may have fewer federal criminal tools for conduct on National Forest System lands. Communities that supported the rule for safety or resource-protection reasons may bear the burden of less federal enforcement capacity. USDA legal and field staff must unwind or avoid any implementation work tied to the rule.

Key Provisions

• Blocks Forest Service administration, implementation, and enforcement of the November 25, 2024 criminal-prohibitions rule.
• Repeals the practical effect of the rule by declaring it has no force or effect.
• Preserves the pre-rule enforcement framework for National Forest System lands.
• Limits Forest Service law enforcement expansion without creating a replacement rule.