Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- S. 1083
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-03-14: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: S1779-1781)
- Last Updated
- 2026-03-24T12:48:03Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act of 2025 aims to enhance housing options and workforce support for employees of federal land management agencies. It addresses challenges like limited affordable housing in remote areas near public lands, which can hinder recruitment and retention of staff. The bill focuses on improving housing programs, expanding partnerships, streamlining hiring, and increasing oversight to better support these agencies' operations.
Key Provisions
The legislation is structured into four titles, each targeting specific aspects of housing and workforce development.
Title I: Expanding Authority
- Prioritizing National Park Service (NPS) Workforce Housing: Amends existing law to explicitly prioritize building and maintaining employee housing (quarters for field employees) in NPS funding allocations.
- Off-Park Housing Acquisition: Allows the Secretary of the Interior to acquire up to 20 acres of land near NPS units (but outside boundaries) for employee housing via donation, exchange, or federal transfer. This land is managed separately from the park itself, with options for leases, permits, and disposal if no longer needed, with proceeds funding more housing.
- Expanded Rental Options: Broadens NPS authority to use rental income from employee quarters for development, construction, maintenance, or operations, not just repairs.
- Leveraging Rental Receipts: Permits NPS to use a special fund (from rental fees) for broader employee housing needs across park units.
- Forest Service (FS) Empowerment: Extends special use permits for workforce housing and related infrastructure from 30 to up to 50 years; simplifies property conveyance processes by requiring at least two competitive bids instead of full competitive sales.
Title II: Expanding Partnership Capacity
- Engaging Partners for NPS Housing: Expands NPS cooperation with state, Tribal, and local entities, including philanthropic organizations and individuals, to fund or support employee housing projects.
- Public-Private Cooperative Management: Authorizes NPS to enter agreements with states, Tribes, or local governments for shared management of adjacent lands, including co-locating offices, exchanging goods/services on a reimbursable basis, and assigning employees across jurisdictions without transferring core NPS responsibilities.
- Philanthropic Support: Broadens allowable donations to NPS from cash and goods to include services, enhancing funding for housing initiatives.
Title III: Supporting Workforce
- Direct Appointments for Local Residents: Allows the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to directly hire qualified locals (who maintain permanent residence near agency sites) into competitive service positions up to GS-9 level (mid-level federal pay grade) or equivalent, bypassing some standard hiring steps if merit principles and public notice are followed. This authority expires September 30, 2030.
- Seasonal NPS Workforce Support: Removes restrictions on rehire eligibility for temporary seasonal employees, allowing easier noncompetitive rehires across NPS subdivisions without requiring the same local commuting area. This authority also expires September 30, 2030.
Title IV: Reports and Oversight
- Workforce Housing Needs Assessment: Requires a joint report from the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture within 18 months, analyzing agency-owned/leased housing conditions, employee occupancy (permanent vs. seasonal), and local private housing markets, including impacts from short-term rentals.
- Oversight Report on Housing Programs: Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report within 18 months on how federal guidelines (e.g., Office of Management and Budget Circulars A-45 and A-11) affect agency housing, with recommendations for improvements in tenant experience, supply, financing, partnerships, and commuting. Agencies must implement administrative changes within one year of the report.
- Justifying Emergency Spending: Updates rules for the Department of Agriculture to provide subsistence (e.g., food/housing aid) to employees in emergencies, requiring congressional reports within 30 days (with OMB approval) on justifications, costs, and duration, except for natural disasters or terrorism.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Amends Title 54 of the U.S. Code (National Park Service Organic Act) to expand NPS housing authorities, including off-park acquisitions and fund uses, which were previously limited to on-park or repair-focused activities.
- Modifies the Granger-Thye Act (16 U.S.C. 580d) to extend FS permit durations for housing, promoting long-term stability.
- Updates the Forest Service Facility Realignment and Enhancement Act to streamline property sales for administrative sites.
- Alters hiring rules under Title 5 of the U.S. Code to enable direct local appointments and flexible seasonal rehires, simplifying processes while maintaining merit-based standards.
- Enhances reporting under the Act of August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 2228) for emergency aid, adding transparency without new funding mandates.
These changes build on existing frameworks but introduce flexibilities for remote-area challenges, with temporary provisions (e.g., hiring authorities) set to end in 2030.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Covered agencies (NPS, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and FS) gain tools to improve employee housing and recruitment, potentially reducing turnover in hard-to-staff remote positions and enhancing land management efficiency. This could lower long-term costs through better retention and partnerships, though it requires new reports and implementations.
- Citizens: Improves access to public lands by supporting a stable workforce for maintenance and visitor services; locals near federal sites may benefit from direct hiring opportunities and reduced commuting burdens. Private housing markets could see indirect effects, like stabilized supply from agency actions countering short-term rental pressures.
- International Relations: No direct impacts, as the bill focuses on domestic federal land management.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Agencies and Employees: NPS, BLM, FWS, and FS staff (especially field, permanent, and seasonal workers) benefit from better housing and hiring ease; agency leaders gain expanded authorities.
- Local Communities and Tribes: Residents near federal lands, including Tribal nations, gain from partnerships, co-management, and local hiring preferences.
- Partners and Donors: States, local governments, private entities, and philanthropists can more easily collaborate on housing and operations.
- Congress and Oversight Bodies: Specified committees receive reports for accountability; GAO and OMB provide guidance on implementations.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Enhances administrative efficiencies under existing federal property and hiring laws without creating new entitlements; temporary hiring authorities (until 2030) allow testing without permanent changes, ensuring compliance with merit system principles (e.g., no favoritism). Off-park land rules clarify management to avoid conflicts with park protections.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's authority over federal lands and personnel (Article IV and Appropriations Clause); no apparent free speech, due process, or equal protection issues, as provisions emphasize public notice and merit.
- Political: Supports rural and Western-state priorities (introduced by Senators from Wyoming, Montana, and Maine) by addressing workforce shortages in public lands, potentially aiding bipartisan conservation efforts. It promotes public-private partnerships, which could reduce federal spending reliance, but requires congressional oversight to prevent misuse of funds or lands.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (2)
Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT], Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]
Recent Actions
- 2025-03-14: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text: S1779-1781)
- 2025-03-14: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act of 2025 — issued 2025-03-14 — PDF (18 pages)