Legislative Activity

This bill nullifies the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that designated the San Francisco Bay-Delta population of Longfin Smelt as an endangered species. By disapproving the rule, the bill removes the protections and regulations associated with the endangered species status for this specific population of Longfin Smelt.

The Pit River Land Transfer Act of 2025 transfers approximately 583.79 acres of federal land, excluding roads and rights-of-way, into trust for the Pit River Tribe, designating it as part of their reservation. Additionally, it allows the Secretary of Agriculture to accept and take into trust approximately 40.18 acres of fee land at the Tribe's request. The land cannot be used for Class II or Class III gaming.

The "Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2025" repeals the federal excise tax on heavy trucks and trailers to encourage the adoption of newer, cleaner, and safer vehicles. This aims to reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency, and support jobs in the heavy-duty trucking industry. The Act also includes updates to related sections of the Internal Revenue Code to reflect these changes, which take effect from the date the Act was introduced.

The "End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act of 2025" prohibits the use of federal funds for gender transition procedures and health plans that cover them, extending this prohibition to premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It defines key terms like "gender transition procedure" and clarifies exceptions, such as treatments for medically verifiable disorders of sex development. The bill allows individuals and employers to purchase separate coverage for gender transition procedures using non-federal funds, ensuring no federal subsidies are applied to such coverage. These changes would apply to taxable years ending one year after the law's enactment, but only for plan years starting after that date.

The Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act of 2025 allows individuals to exclude from their gross income any payments or benefits they receive from state-based catastrophe loss mitigation programs designed to help homeowners protect their properties from disasters such as windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires. These payments will not affect the property's basis, and the exclusion is applicable retroactively for taxable years starting after December 31, 2020, allowing individuals to claim the exclusion retroactively.

The Pacific Flyway Habitat Enhancement Act allows the Secretary of Agriculture to enroll additional agricultural land in conservation agreements, even if the land is not typically eligible. This is to improve wetland wildlife habitats. It also allows for seasonally flooded agricultural uses on working cropland if it helps maintain habitat for wetland-dependent species and at least one best management practice is adopted.

The "Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025" extends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, providing continued financial support to states and counties with federal lands through 2026. It extends secure payments, distribution of payments, and the authority for special projects on federal land. Additionally, it extends the Resource Advisory Committee pilot program and makes several technical corrections to the original Act.

The "Grazing for Wildfire Risk Reduction Act" aims to reduce wildfire risks by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to expand the use of livestock grazing on Forest Service land. The plan includes strategies such as expediting environmental reviews for grazing permits, employing targeted grazing, and increasing the use of temporary permits for fuels reduction and invasive species control. It also promotes grazing as a post-fire recovery tool and utilizes all available legal authorities to achieve these goals.

This bill aims to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires by streamlining forest management activities, such as hazardous fuel reduction and vegetation management near power lines. It expands the use of timber sales and grazing for risk reduction, increases the size of wildfire mitigation projects, and reforms administrative requirements related to land management and species protection. The bill also includes provisions to facilitate collaborative forest restoration projects between states, counties, Indian tribes, and the federal government. These changes are intended to expedite wildfire mitigation efforts and protect communities and ecosystems.