H.R. 4924

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4924 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4924

To provide for certain requirements of the Surface Transportation Board 
and any State, political subdivision, or qualified private organization 
requesting interim recreational use of an abandoned railway right-of-
way, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 8, 2025

Mr. Graves (for himself, Ms. Foxx, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Alford, Ms. 
Hageman, and Mr. Onder) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To provide for certain requirements of the Surface Transportation Board 
and any State, political subdivision, or qualified private organization 
requesting interim recreational use of an abandoned railway right-of-
way, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Rails to Trails Landowner Rights 
Act''.

SEC. 2. INTERIM USE OF RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

Section 8 of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1247) is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary of Transportation'' 
and inserting ``(1) The Secretary of Transportation''; 
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) To be eligible for the treatment described in this 
subsection, a State, political subdivision, or qualified private 
organization shall--
``(A) provide notice to--
``(i) the owners of any property upon which the 
railroad right-of-way crosses, or is adjacent to the 
land subject to the right-of-way; and
``(ii) any unit of local government with 
jurisdiction over any property upon which the railroad 
right-of-way crosses;
``(B) not later than 30 days after intervening in an 
abandonment proceeding under this subsection, receive signed 
approval from each owner described in subparagraph (A)(i) for 
the proposed interim use;
``(C) disclose the legal status of the occupancy for the 
right-of-way;
``(D) with respect to any proposed agreement under this 
subsection--
``(i) ensure that any agreement reached under this 
subsection requires the State, political subdivision, 
or qualified private organization party to such 
agreement to compensate the owners of property upon 
which such right-of-way crosses for any additional cost 
attributed to the interim use, with a minimum 
compensation level at fair market value of such 
property, including costs imposed on affected 
landowners due to the required movement of existing 
infrastructure and lost development opportunities;
``(ii) provide to the Board such assurances as the 
Board may require, that the State, political 
subdivision, or qualified private organization has the 
financial resources to provide compensation as 
described under clause (i); and
``(iii) ensure that any agreement reached under 
this subsection requires the trail sponsor to continue 
all right-of-way maintenance responsibilities in 
perpetuity or until the right-of-way returns to active 
rail service; and
``(E) create an online publicly accessible portal to 
disclose the information described in subparagraph (A) through 
(D).
``(3) Before issuing a notice for interim trail use described in 
this subsection, and after the approval has been provided under 
paragraph (2)(B), the Board shall--
``(A) provide for a public notice and comment period 
beginning not less than 90 days before a certification is 
awarded under this subsection;
``(B) review the width of any applicable easement and 
consider narrowing an easement if it such width is not 
necessary for the corridor to potentially be returned to 
service as a rail corridor;
``(C) not later than 10 days after the completion of the 
requirements under subparagraph (A), carry out a cost-benefit 
analysis of the full impact of the interim use of the railway 
that considers--
``(i) the impact on--
``(I) safety;
``(II) health;
``(III) security;
``(IV) privacy;
``(V) biosecurity;
``(VI) food security; and
``(VII) economic impact on owners described 
in paragraph (2)(A)(i) and other local 
communities; and
``(ii) the likelihood that the corridor will return 
to use as rail service if such a consideration was not 
taken into account in such analysis.
``(4) Any cost incurred carrying out the requirements of paragraph 
(3)(B) shall be borne by the State, political subdivision, or qualified 
private organization proposing the interim railway use and the Board 
shall not incur any such expenses until funding for carrying out such 
activities is received from the trail sponsor.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the 
Board may contract with an independent third party to conduct a cost-
benefit analysis required to be carried out under subsection 
(d)(3)(B).''.

SEC. 3. PERIODIC REVIEW OF RAILS-TO-TRAILS CORRIDORS.

The Surface Transportation Board shall--
(1) periodically review rails-to-trails corridors described 
in section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
1247(d)); and
(2) make recommendations to relevant congressional 
committees on maintenance requirements of the trail sponsor and 
consider requests of landowners and trail sponsors to narrow 
the width of the easement for a corridor.

SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior shall establish 
an advisory committee to recommend maintenance requirements for trail 
sponsors under the program described in section 8(d) of the National 
Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)) and any agreement reached under 
such program.
(b) Membership.--The advisory committee established under 
subsection (a) shall be composed of 11 members appointed by the 
Secretary not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(1) 6 members selected from landowners along existing 
trails created under such program.
(2) 3 members representing rail carriers.
(3) 2 members that are trail sponsors under such program.
(c) Compensation; Travel Expenses.--
(1) Compensation.--Members of the committee established 
under subsection (a) shall not receive compensation from the 
Secretary in carrying out the duties of the committee under 
this section.
(2) Travel expenses.--Travel expenses incurred by a member 
of the committee in carrying out the duties of the committee 
under this section shall not be eligible for Federal 
reimbursement.
(d) Report to Secretary.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the committee established under subsection (a) 
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives a report containing the recommendations described under 
subsection (a).
<all>