United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 1 R cosponsors

HR 1261 — Land and Water Conservation Fund Water Amendments Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 12, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-124).

Land and water conservation fund · 54 U.S.C. ch. 2003 1 section
  • § 200305 Financial assistance to States Amends

    54 U.S.C. § 200305

    The law today

    (a) Authority of Secretary To Make Payments.— The Secretary may provide financial assistance to the States from amounts available for State purposes. Payments may be made to the States by the Secretary as provided in this section, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate and in the public interest to carry out the purposes of this chapter, for outdoor recreation: (1) Planning. (2) Acquisition of land, water, or interests in land or water. (3) Development. (b) Apportionment Among States.— Amounts appropriated and available for State purposes for each fiscal year shall be apportioned among the States by the Secretary, whose determination shall be final, in accordance with the following formula: (1) Forty percent of the 1st $225,000,000; 30 percent of the next $275,000,000; and 20 percent of all additional appropriations shall be apportioned equally among the States. (2) At any time, the remaining appropriation shall be apportioned on the basis of need to individual States by the Secretary in such amounts as in the Secretary’s judgment will best accomplish the purposes of this chapter. The determination of need shall include consideration of— (A) the proportion that the population of each State bears to the total population of the United States; (B) the use of outdoor recreation resources of each State by persons from outside the State; and (C) the Federal resources and programs in each State. (3) The total allocation to a State under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not exceed 10 percent of the total amount allocated to all of the States in any one year. (4) The Secretary shall notify each State of its apportionments. The amounts shall be available for payment to the State for planning, acquisition, or development projects as prescribed. Any amount of any apportionment that has not been paid or obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which the notification is given and for 2 fiscal years thereafter shall be reapportioned by the Secretary in accordance with paragraph (2) without regard to the 10 percent limitation to an individual State specified in this subsection. (c) Matching Requirements.— Payments to any State shall cover not more than 50 percent of the cost of planning, acquisition, or development projects that are undertaken by the State. The remaining share of the cost shall be borne by the State in a manner and with funds or services as shall be satisfactory to the Secretary. (d) Comprehensive State Plan.— (1) Required for consideration of financial assistance.— A comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan shall be required prior to the consideration by the Secretary of financial assistance for acquisition or development projects. The plan shall be adequate if, in the judgment of the Secretary, it encompasses and will promote the purposes of this chapter. No plan shall be approved unless the chief executive official of the State certifies that ample opportunity for public participation in plan development and revision has been accorded. The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with others, criteria for public participation, which criteria shall constitute the basis for the certification by the chief executive official. The plan shall contain— (A) the name of the State agency that will have authority to represent and act for the State in dealing with the Secretary for purposes of this chapter; (B) an evaluation of the demand for and supply of outdoor recreation resources and facilities in the State; (C) a program for the implementation of the plan; and (D) other necessary information, as determined by the Secretary. (2) Factors to be considered.— The plan shall take into account relevant Federal resources and programs and shall be correlated so far as practicable with other State, regional, and local plans. Where there exists or is in preparation for any particular State a comprehensive plan financed in part with funds supplied by the Secretary of Housing and Urban D...

    12 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

Also cites: 33 U.S.C. § 1313

How this bill changes current law

5 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill expands the Secretary of the Interior's authority to include water quality projects under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

  • 54 U.S.C. § 200305

    and water quality improvement

    The bill allows financial assistance for both outdoor recreation and water quality improvement projects.

  • 54 U.S.C. § 200305(d)

    (5) Water quality.--A comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan shall identify--\n(A) any body of water within the boundaries of the State for which a State water quality control plan has been developed pursuant to section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)); and\n(B) any proposed water quality project (as defined in subsection (e)(4)(A)) to be conducted with respect to a body of water that is identified under subparagraph (A).

    States must identify waters under their control plans and proposed projects relating to those waters in their outdoor recreation plans.

  • 54 U.S.C. § 200305(e)

    and Development of Basic Outdoor Recreation Facilities → , Development of Basic Outdoor Recreation Facilities, and Conduct of Water Quality Projects

    The scope of the Secretary's assistance now includes conducting water quality projects alongside outdoor recreation projects.

  • 54 U.S.C. § 200305(e)(1)

    (3) → , (3), and (4)

    The paragraph now accommodates the addition of water quality projects in the financial assistance framework.

  • 54 U.S.C. § 200305(e)

    (4) Water quality projects.--\n(A) Definition of water quality project.--In this paragraph, the term 'water quality project' means any project identified in a State water quality control plan developed for the purpose of restoring any body of water that is identified by the State under section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)) as being impaired.\n(B) Financial assistance.--Under paragraph (1), the Secretary may provide financial assistance for the conduct of water quality projects.\n(C) Non-federal share credit.--The Secretary may credit toward the non-Federal share required under subsection (c) funds allocated by a State for the conduct of a water quality project.\n(D) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in carrying out this paragraph.\n(E) Limitations.--\n(i) In general.--In providing financial assistance to water quality projects under this paragraph, the Secretary shall only provide financial assistance to water quality projects that seek to improve water quality by improving, restoring, remediating, or developing natural hydrological systems, such as--\n(I) wetlands;\n(II) marshes;\n(III) living shorelines;\n(IV) near-shore estuarine waters;\n(V) any other naturally occurring hydrological features the Secretary determines to be necessary for the purpose of reducing nutrient loads.\n(ii) No reimbursement.--Funds made available for a water quality project under this paragraph may not be used to reimburse the cost of any water quality project that has already been completed or is otherwise fully funded.\n(iii) Effect.--Nothing in this paragraph--\n(I) expands the authority of the Federal Government over nonnavigable waters; or\n(II) authorizes the Secretary to regulate the conduct of water quality projects.

    Defines water quality projects and establishes the procedure and limitations for their funding.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 546 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (546)

546 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 546 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

environment agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HR 1261?
HR 1261 is sponsored by Mast, Brian J. (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 1261?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 12, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 1261?
Track HR 1261 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HR 1261

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HR 1261

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →