S. 1724 would authorize appropriations totaling $415 million to restore the ecological health of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Those funds would be available to the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and several other agencies for projects to reduce the risk of fire, manage storm water, restore various watersheds, and protect against invasive species. The bill also would authorize the Forest Service to convey certain federal lands to California and Nevada.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1724 would cost $193 million over the 2017-2021 period and $222 million after 2021. Enacting the legislation could increase offsetting receipts (from inspection fees) and associated direct spending, as well as revenues (from civil penalties); therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects of new offsetting receipts, direct spending, and revenues would be negligible each year.
CBO also estimates that enacting S. 1724 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
S. 1724 would impose an intergovernmental and private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on owners and operators of watercraft launched in the waters of the Lake Tahoe Basin. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandates would fall below the annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($77 million and $154 million in 2016, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).
