S. 199 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to enter into agreements with private entities for environmental analyses of conservation and preservation projects on federal land that are required before a project can be undertaken. Private entities could cover some or all of the costs of the environmental analyses and would be reimbursed, to the extent practicable, with receipts generated by the project that otherwise would be deposited in the Treasury. The bill also would require the agencies to compile and maintain a list of contractors to conduct the environmental analyses.

Any receipts generated by those projects, such as from timber sales, would be recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts, that is, as reductions in direct spending. Based on information from the agencies, CBO expects that few such projects would take place under the bill because of the financial risk the private entities would have to bear. Accordingly, CBO estimates that, on net, enacting S. 199 would have a negligible effect on direct spending over the 2024-2034 period.

CBO also estimates that the cost of compiling and maintaining a list of contractors would be insignificant over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.