Congress mandates six free-admission days at national parks annually
S. 3429 — Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Land Act · Filed by Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal law to require that entrance fees be waived on six specific days each year at national parks and federal recreational lands—MLK Day, the first day of National Park Week, Juneteenth, Great American Outdoors Day, National Public Lands Day, and Veterans Day. Currently, the Secretary of Interior has discretion to offer fee-free days; this bill makes six days mandatory while preserving the Secretary's authority to add more.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward mandate to provide free admission on six named days, converting discretionary authority into a binding requirement. It is a public-benefit measure with no hidden riders or narrow carve-outs.
What the text implies
- The bill ties fee waivers to specific dates (MLK Day, Juneteenth, Veterans Day, etc.), effectively using park access as a vehicle for national commemoration and civic messaging around those holidays.
- By mandating six fee-free days, the bill reduces discretionary revenue for park operations and maintenance; the fiscal impact depends on appropriations and whether Congress backfills lost entrance-fee revenue.
- The phrase 'for other purposes' in the title is standard boilerplate and does not signal hidden provisions; the operative text is complete and limited to Section 805(e) amendment.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens gain guaranteed free access to federal parks and lands on six significant days per year, removing a financial barrier to recreation and civic participation. The bill expands a public benefit (fee-free access) without imposing new costs on the public.
Named in the bill
National Park System, Federal recreational lands and waters, Secretary of Interior, Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), Section 805(e)
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Democrats.
- Dec 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Dec 10, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $376,600 in lobbying spend. A filing names 82 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Catherine Cortez Masto, the sponsor, reported $298,634 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Earthjustice Action — $376,600 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,553 characters) on Aug 20, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress mandates six free-admission days at national parks annually” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s3429 Report an error
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