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Government Affairs Update: FILM Act Passes House of Representatives
Recently, the Federal Interior Lands Media Act (the FILM Act) has made a significant stride toward its passage into law. On April 9th at 4:59 PM, the FILM Act was passed by unanimous consent in the House of Representatives as part of the larger Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (EXPLORE Act). This bipartisan package contained many housekeeping measures that will increase access to federal lands, promote greater visitation of the parks, increase safety, and critical to photographers – it will standardize photography and filming regulations across federal lands.
PPA first lobbied for this bill over two years ago after discovering the predatory measures that were proposed for Grand Teton National Park the full story which we covered in the June 2022 issue of Professional Photographer magazine. Since then, we’ve made close to 20 trips to Capitol Hill to meet with legislators such as Senator John Barrasso, the lead sponsor of the FILM Act and Representative Russ Fulcher the lead sponsor in the House. Senator Joe Manchin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, has been a great ally in our effort to advance this bill as well. We are very thankful for the support that these men and their teams have provided for this legislation.
The next step for the FILM Act is its passage in the Senate before advancing to the President’s desk for signature to become law. PPA’s Government Affairs Team will be on Capitol Hill in mid-May to shore up support for this necessary legislation and ensure its passage into law. Stay tuned for more details regarding the FILM Act!