Proposed Legislation to Avoid Future Closures Of NPS Units

A bill was recently introduced in the Senate that would require the National Park Service to reimburse states for funds paid to the National Park Service to temporarily reopen areas which had been closed down by the National Park Service during the 2013 partial government shutdown.  Because Congress subsequently fully-funded the National Park Service, the proponents of the bill assert that the $2 million is a windfall that should be returned to the states.  A related bill was also introduced that would require the federal government to enter into an agreement to accept funding in the future if needed to keep open areas administered by the National Park Service if necessary, and to refund any such funding if Congress retroactively provides funds that would have been used for that purpose.