The National Forest Adventure Pass is a recreation fee pass issued by the United States Forest Service that permits bearers in designated regions of four National Forests in Southern California to park their cars for the purpose of recreation. Though it was introduced during the "Recreation Fee Demonstration Program" (Fee-Demo) which ended on November 21, 2004, the Forest Service continues to administer the program, nearly unchanged, under the Federal Lands and Recreation Enhancement Act . This act, derisively dubbed by some as the "Recreation Access Tax" (RAT), was passed in December 2004 as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill . The four national forests it applies to are the Angeles National Forest , Cleveland National Forest , Los Padres National Forest and San Bernardino National Forest .
26-469: It is the local element of the controversial national Recreational Fee Demonstration Program system that imposes fees on the public to use public lands. The Legislative Counsel of California has determined that the Forest Service may not cite cars for parking on state highways within national forests unless there is evidence that the occupants have used the forest for recreational purposes (for example,
52-414: A "Notice of Noncompliance" and may clear the notice by purchasing a pass after the violation, paying online, or sending in a check or money order to the address in the envelope provided. Punishment of noncompliant individuals has been rare. In theory, use of the forests for non-recreational, First Amendment purposes does not require an Adventure Pass. In addition, using the restroom , stretching, or taking
78-603: A party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers specifically to political party connections rather than being the strict antonym of "partisan". In Canada, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut are the only bodies at the provincial/territorial level that are currently nonpartisan; they operate on a consensus government system. The autonomous Nunatsiavut Assembly operates similarly on
104-574: A picture is not a violation. After passage of the Recreational Enhancement Act in 2004, Adventure Passes are now only required at designated High Impact Recreational Areas. However, in fact most areas that previously required a parking pass still require one. To avoid a fine, a wise hiker will telephone a Forest Service office or check the maps of High Impact Recreational Areas online of the individual forests to determine in advance his or her permit needs, since adequate signage pertaining to
130-430: A restaurant-goer inspected his bill and noticed an unexpected charge. If told that the fee was for ten bottles of wine that the patron's group neither ordered nor drank, the patron would rightly be outraged. He would not find much solace in a waiter's explanation that the wine cellar contained ten bottles, which the patron could have ordered if he wished." The Court clarified the motive behind such reasoning: "By ignoring
156-467: A sub-provincial level. In India , the Jaago Re! One Billion Votes campaign was a non-partisan campaign initiated by Tata Tea , and Janaagraha to encourage citizens to vote in the 2009 Indian general election . The campaign was a non-partisan campaign initiated by Anal Saha . Historian Sean Wilentz argues that from the days of George Washington's farewell address, to Senator Barack Obama's speech at
182-475: Is possible for a visitor to do something more than park a car—take photos of a volcano, make a cell phone call, chew a piece of gum—and a visitor must use a facility or service to be subject to a subsection (g) fee. Therefore, the agency could simply say that its parking fee is also "for" those other activities. Because the REA has a plain meaning that does not lead to an absurd result, we have no need to afford deference to
208-757: Is separate from the California Legislative Analyst's Office , which is the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor. As of 2024 , the Legislative Counsel of California is Cara L. Jenkins, who first was appointed in 2020. The agency's main office, historically located within the State Capitol Building , moved with other legislative offices to an interim office building during the Capitol Annex project. This article about
234-471: Is the only territorial legislature that is officially nonpartisan. Although elections may be officially nonpartisan, in some elections (usually involving larger cities or counties, as well as the Nebraska unicameral) the party affiliations of candidates are generally known, most commonly by the groups endorsing a particular candidate (e.g., a candidate endorsed by a labor union would be generally affiliated with
260-532: The politics of California is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to law in the United States or its constituent jurisdictions is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Nonpartisanism Nonpartisanship , also known as nonpartisanism , is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party . While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of partisan includes adherents of
286-492: The "fee" sites must conform to the following requirements as listed below: The Forest Service "maintains that the latter part of § 6802(d)(1)(A), which prohibits fees "solely for . . . picnicking along roads or trailsides," clearly permits fees for road or trailside picnics that take place within a larger area (delineated by the Forest Service) if that larger area offers amenities". The Court rejected such an interpretation of
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#1732880763178312-574: The Democratic Party, while a candidate endorsed by a business coalition would be generally affiliated with the Republican Party). Churches and charities in the United States are mainly formed under US Internal Revenue Service tax code 501(c)(3) non-profit organization regulations. To maintain that tax-exempt status, and the ability for donors to take a tax deduction, they are required to remain nonpartisan. This has caused some to question
338-454: The Democratic national convention in 2004, politicians have called upon Americans to move beyond parties. Wilentz calls this the post-partisan style, and argues that "the antiparty current is by definition antidemocratic, as political parties have been the only reliable electoral vehicles for advancing the ideas and interests of ordinary voters". However, nonpartisan elections are quite common at
364-714: The Legislative Counsel The California Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) (referenced in statute by its original name, the Legislative Counsel Bureau ) was founded in 1913 and is a nonpartisan public agency that drafts legislative proposals, prepares legal opinions, and provides other confidential legal services to the Legislature and certain other California agencies and offices. The OLC also provides computer services, data networking, customer support, and related technology services to
390-617: The Legislature. This includes hosting the California Legislative Information Website where the official versions of legislative measures, statutes contained within the Codes of California , the California Constitution, various legislative publications, and other resources, are published. The head of the office, known as the Legislative Counsel of California, is appointed by a vote of the Legislature. The OLC
416-444: The REA statute stating: "Because this reading is so illogical, we will consider another interpretation of the agency's position. Perhaps the Forest Service is really saying that a fee is "[s]olely for parking" when imposed in a location where a visitor has no option to do something else, whether or not that "something else" is an amenity required by the statute." The Court further went on to illustrate: "Consider what would happen if
442-448: The ability of organizations that have the appearance of partisanship. The Brookings Institution is a Washington, D.C. think tank and 501(c)(3) non-profit, nonpartisan organization. Since its founding in 1916, it has had both identifiable Republicans and Democrats among its leadership. Owing to leadership changes such as this, some argue that it is a good example of a nonpartisan organization. The New York Times has at times listed
468-428: The agency's competing, nonsensical interpretation." The court then concluded: "...the REA unambiguously prohibits the Forest Service from charging fees... for recreational visitors who park a car, then camp at undeveloped sites, picnic along roads or trailsides, or hike through the area without using the facilities and services." In spite of this ruling the fees continue to be collected. California Office of
494-558: The authority under which the fee structure was enacted, "prohibits the United States Forest Service from charging fees "[s]olely for parking". In spite of this clear prohibition, what many consider to be "parking only" fees are still required at numerous locations in the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests as well as other National Forest Locations. The ruling stated that while fees are allowed in certain instances,
520-576: The forest, clean bathrooms, pick up trash, answer visitor questions, enforce regulations, and serve the public. The proceeds from these fees stay local and do not go back into a central, national fund. The continued collection of fees for use of the National Forest Lands remains controversial since the 9th circuit court of appeals ruled in February 2012 in the case Adams v. U.S. Forest Service, that "The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act ("REA")",
546-633: The ideology of the former Progressive Party of Canada . It went into decline and merged with the Democratic Party of North Dakota to form the North Dakota Democratic–;NPL Party in 1956. In the history of Milwaukee , the "Nonpartisans" were an unofficial but widely recognized coalition of Republicans and Democrats who cooperated in an effort to keep Milwaukee's Sewer Socialists out of as many offices as possible, including in elections which were officially non-partisan, but in which Socialists and "Nonpartisans" were clearly identified in
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#1732880763178572-439: The local level, primarily in an effort to keep national issues from being mixed up with local issues. Today, nonpartisan elections are generally held for municipal and county offices, especially school board , and are also common in the election of judges. The unicameral Legislature of Nebraska is the only state legislature that is entirely officially nonpartisan; additionally, the bicameral Fono of American Samoa
598-608: The need for an Adventure Pass is not yet common. Although supposedly many areas do not require the pass, most of these locations are less convenient to populated areas and can be accessed only from areas that do require a pass. Fees collected via purchases of the Adventure Pass/Notice of Required Fee help directly fund the recreation program on each of the forests involved which includes purchasing trash bags, toilet paper, paint, wood for picnic tables, campfire rings, stoves, etc as well as salary funding to hire rangers to care for
624-594: The occupants have been observed entering the forest). The Forest Service invites those who feel they have been cited unjustly to write to an address on the citation to appeal. This determination was made after a large number of incidents occurred where property owners were cited for parking on their own property, in communities completely contained in the San Bernardino National Forest. Passes may be purchased for annual or day use online or from visitor centers and local merchants. Violators usually receive
650-587: The organization as being liberal , liberal-centrist, centrist , and conservative . In 2008, The New York Times published an article where it referred to the "conservative Brookings Institution". In the Progressive Era , the Nonpartisan League was an influential socialist political movement, especially in the Upper Midwest , particularly during the 1910s and 1920s. It also contributed much to
676-426: The plain text, the Forest Service arrives at an interpretation that would enable an end-run around the clear statutory restrictions. If the REA gave the agency complete discretion to dictate a fee's so-called purpose, then the agency could entirely evade the prohibition on parking fees by simply declaring that its fees are "for" something else too. At any of the places where subsection (f) contemplates recreation fees, it
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