Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider legislation from the House Natural Resources Committee that will address the emergency drought in California by restoring some water supplies, protect the rights of sportsmen to hunt and fish, and remove red-tape to local land management and economic development.

“The bills the House will consider next week are extremely important to protecting jobs and local economies in communities across the country,” said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) "We’ll address emergency situations in California involving the drought worsened by federal regulations and Rim Fire timber salvage and restoration; ensure government roadblocks do not block access to hunting and fishing on certain public lands; and advance numerous local land projects that are vital to economic growth.”

H.R. 3964, Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act

H.R. 3964, introduced by the Republican California delegation, addresses the emergency drought in California by restoring some water supplies to provide job certainty to farmers and communities. The lack of rainfall has exacerbated the man-made drought caused by federal regulations and environmental lawsuits that put a three-inch fish over people. On January 17, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for California due to the drought. This bill is a comprehensive solution that would restore some water deliveries, ensure a reliable water supply, and save taxpayer money by ending unnecessary and dubious government projects.

H.R. 3590, the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act

H.R. 3590, the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act, is a bipartisan package of eight individual bills to protect the traditional right of American sportsmen to fish and hunt. It will remove government roadblocks to these activities on certain public lands and guard against new regulations that threaten to block or limit access to hunting and fishing. The bill will protect American jobs and economic growth by supporting recreational opportunities on these federal lands. Bills in the package include:

• H.R. 322, the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act (Miller-FL)
• H.R. 2463, Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act (Hunter)
• H.R. 2798, Public Lands Filming (Latta)
• H.R. 1818, Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act (Young-AK)
• H.R. 1206, Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act (Wittman)
• H.R. 2046, Recreational Lands Self Defense Act (Gibbs)
• H.R. 2799, Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee (Latta)
• H.R. 1825, Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (Benishek)

H.R. 2954, The Public Access and Lands Improvement Act

H.R. 2954 is a bipartisan package of 10 bills to protect and promote public access to lands; improve opportunities by removing red tape that stands in the way of responsible, local economic development and jobs; and encourage transparent, community-centered land management. Bills in the package include:

• H.R. 2954, Escambia County, FL Land Conveyance (Miller-FL)
• H.R. 585, Anchorage Land Conveyance (Young-AK)
• H.R. 1170, Fernley, NV Land Conveyance (Amodei)
• H.R. 2095, Land Disposal Transparency and Efficiency Act (Bishop)
• H.R. 819, Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act (Jones)
• H.R. 908, Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act (DelBene)
• H.R. 3492, River Paddling Protect Act (Lummis)
• H.R. 657, Grazing Improvement Act (Labrador)
• H.R. 3188, Rim Fire Emergency Salvage Act (McClintock)
• H.R. 739, Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act (Wittman)

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