CLAIM Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Stansbury
Introduced
Summary
Creates a new tiered fee system for hardrock mining claims, charging more for claims closer to national parks and monuments. The bill would replace the current maintenance-fee rules with distance-based annual fees and new rules for how collected money is used.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Small‑miner exemption and casual use rules
This bill would exempt a "small miner" from the maintenance fee and assessment-work rules if you meet strict limits. To qualify you would hold no more than 10 claims/sites, use no more than 200 federal acres, and certify that aggregate annual gross income from mineral production for you and related parties was under $50,000 last year. Income is combined across related parties such as spouse, qualifying child, partners, and persons who control or are controlled by you. You would also have to certify that each claim is for "casual use." The bill defines casual use to allow handtools, hand panning, and nonmotorized sluicing, and it bars mechanized earth-moving, suction dredging, explosives, banned vehicle use, road or drill-pad construction, and toxic materials.
Higher mining claim fees and spending
If enacted, you would pay a new per-claim maintenance fee based on distance to parks and monuments. Fees would be $1,100 (inside a protected area), $1,000 (0–10 miles), $700 (10–20 miles), $500 (20–30 miles), and $300 (over 30 miles). Paying the fee would replace the old annual assessment-work and related filing requirement for those claims. The Secretary could also set extra administrative user fees and must update fees at least every five years to reflect CPI changes. If fee collections exceed administration costs, excess money would be split: 40% to an IIJA remediation program, 20% to Tribal Historic Preservation, 20% to States (by claim share), 10% to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and 10% to the National Parks legacy restoration fund.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Stansbury
NM • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/11/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov