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S3123FEDERALFederal Billfiled

Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act (S. 3123)

Original title: Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act

Record date · December 19, 2024

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Would Do

This bill requires federal agencies to standardize and publish online, easy-to-access digital maps and data regarding public access, navigation rules, and fishing restrictions on federal waterways. It mandates that this information be updated regularly and provides funding to help agencies digitize their records.

Why it matters

This legislation aims to consolidate fragmented information across five federal agencies, potentially simplifying trip planning for boaters and anglers by providing a single, centralized source for waterway rules and access points.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Recreational boaters and anglers

These groups will have access to centralized, digitized, and regularly updated information regarding waterway access and restrictions.

Directly affected

Federal land or water management agencies

These agencies are required to standardize, digitize, and publish their waterway data and submit annual progress reports.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this change existing fishing or boating laws?
No. The bill explicitly states that it does not modify or alter the authority or jurisdiction of federal or state agencies to regulate navigable waters or manage fisheries.
What kind of information will be available online?
The data will include boat ramp locations, portages, fishing access sites, depth charts, and specific rules regarding watercraft types, speed limits, no-wake zones, and fishing equipment restrictions.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

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Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Interagency Data Standardization

The bill forces a shift from siloed agency data to a unified, interoperable federal standard for outdoor recreation data.

Bureau of ReclamationNational Park ServiceBureau of Land ManagementUnited States Fish and Wildlife ServiceForest Service

Connected Entities

Congress, Forest Service, Secretary of Agriculture and 7 more
OrganizationCongress“The legislative body in which the 118th Congress operates.”Map →
OrganizationForest Service“One of the Federal land or water management agencies covered by the bill.”Map →
PersonSecretary of Agriculture“As the head of the Forest Service.”Map →
OrganizationHouse of Representatives“The legislative body that will need to pass the bill.”Map →
OrganizationBureau of Reclamation“One of the Federal land or water management agencies covered by the bill.”Map →
PersonSecretary of the Interior“As the head of the National Park Service.”Map →
OrganizationSenate“The legislative body where the bill was introduced.”Map →
OrganizationBureau of Land Management“One of the Federal land or water management agencies covered by the bill.”Map →
OrganizationUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service“One of the Federal land or water management agencies covered by the bill.”Map →
OrganizationNational Park Service“One of the Federal land or water management agencies covered by the bill.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy10
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

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