S. 199, Root and Stem Project Authorization Act of 2023
As reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 11, 2023
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars
2024
2024-2029
2024-2034
Direct Spending (Outlays)
0
*
*
Revenues
0
0
0
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit
0
*
*
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)
0
*
not estimated
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2035?
No
Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?
Yes
Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2035?
No
Contains intergovernmental mandate?
No
Contains private-sector mandate?
No
* = between -$500,000 and $500,000.
Summary
S. 199 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to enter into agreements with private entities for environmental analyses of conservation and preservation projects on federal land that are required before a project can be undertaken. Private entities could cover some or all of the costs of the environmental analyses and would be reimbursed, to the extent practicable, with receipts generated by the project that otherwise would be deposited in the Treasury. The bill also would require the agencies to compile and maintain a list of contractors to conduct the environmental analyses.
Any receipts generated by those projects, such as from timber sales, would be recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts, that is, as reductions in direct spending. Based on information from the agencies, CBO expects that few such projects would take place under the bill because of the financial risk the private entities would have to bear. Accordingly, CBO estimates that, on net, enacting S. 199 would have a negligible effect on direct spending over the 2024-2034 period.
CBO also estimates that the cost of compiling and maintaining a list of contractors would be insignificant over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.