S3735-119

In Committee

Prohibit Partisan Park Passes Act

119th Congress Introduced Jan 29, 2026

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to prohibit featuring images of living political figures on the America the Beautiful Pass (formerly known as the National Parks Pass). This annual pass provides access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges.

Who Benefits and How

  • The general public: Ensures that the national parks pass remains a non-partisan symbol of public lands access rather than a political endorsement.
  • National Park Service: Provides clear guidance on pass design, preventing potential controversies over imagery selection.
  • Future administrations: Prevents any administration from using the pass as a promotional tool for current officials.

Who Bears the Burden and How

  • Pass designers: Limited design options by excluding images of living political figures.
  • Federal agencies: Must ensure compliance when designing new passes.

Key Provisions

  • Amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
  • Explicitly prohibits images of living political figures on the America the Beautiful Pass
  • Preserves the non-political nature of federal recreation access passes

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for primary purpose and policy domains.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Prohibits the use of images of living political figures on the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass

Key Policy Areas

National Parks, Federal Recreation, Government Ethics

Primary Purpose

Prohibits the use of images of living political figures on the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass

Policy Domains

National Parks Federal Recreation Government Ethics

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Jan 29, 2026

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …

Jan 29, 2026

Introduced in Senate

Jan 29, 2026

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Padilla, Ms. …

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