PARK Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The PARK Act limits fee-free commemorations at federal parks and refuges. For any National Park System unit or National Wildlife Refuge System unit that charges an entrance fee under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the entrance fee may not be waived or reduced to commemorate the birthday of a sitting President unless that birthday coincides with an existing federal holiday listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103. The bill does not affect fee-free days tied to federal holidays or other authorized fee policies unrelated to a sitting President's birthday.
Who Benefits and How
National Park Service fee managers, Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers, federal taxpayers, and visitors who prefer fee policy tied to existing public holidays benefit from a clear restriction on presidential birthday fee waivers. Congress benefits from preserving fee revenue unless the commemoration overlaps a statutory federal holiday.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Visitors seeking a free or reduced entrance day for a sitting President's birthday may lose that discount. National Park Service staff, Fish and Wildlife Service staff, concessioners, and public-information teams must update calendars, signs, websites, and fee guidance if a presidential birthday waiver had otherwise been planned.
Key Provisions
- Bars entrance-fee waivers or reductions at fee-charging National Park System units for a sitting President's birthday.
- Bars the same type of birthday fee waiver at fee-charging National Wildlife Refuge System units.
- Allows the waiver or reduction only when the birthday coincides with a federal holiday listed in title 5.
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
Prohibits National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System entrance-fee waivers or reductions commemorating the birthday of a sitting President unless the birthday is already a federal holiday.
Key Policy Areas
Environment, Government, Tourism
Primary Purpose
Prohibits National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System entrance-fee waivers or reductions commemorating the birthday of a sitting President unless the birthday is already a federal holiday.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- National Park Service fee managers
- Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers
- Federal taxpayers
- Congressional oversight staff
Identified Costs
- Park visitors seeking birthday discounts
- National Park Service public information staff
- Fish and Wildlife Service public information staff
- Park concessioners
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Amo (for himself, Ms. Velázquez, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Cohen, …
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal recreation fee collections, Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers, National Park Service fee managers
Positive-direction: Federal recreation fee collections
Negative-direction: Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers, National Park Service fee managers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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