[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5203 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5203

To establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office of Agritourism, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 11, 2023

    Ms. Wexton (for herself, Mr. Newhouse, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. 
    Panetta, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Harder of California, and Mr. Rouzer) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office of Agritourism, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating the Growth of Rural 
Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and 
Sustainable Marketplaces Act'' or the ``AGRITOURISM Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) agritourism provides a range of unique experiences to 
        the public, including--
                    (A) education, such as school tours, garden and 
                nursery tours, winery tours, historical agricultural 
                exhibits, hops and microbrewery tours, and distillery 
                tours;
                    (B) outdoor recreation, such as river activities, 
                mountain biking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing and 
                photography, fee fishing and hunting, wagon and sleigh 
                rides, cross-country skiing, game preserves, and clay 
                bird shooting;
                    (C) entertainment, such as concerts and special 
                events, culinary experiences, festivals, fairs, 
                interaction with farm animals, and weddings;
                    (D) direct sales, such as on-farm sales, farm 
                stands, agriculture-related crafts and gifts, u-pick 
                operations, u-cut tree farms, wineries, breweries, 
                cideries, distilleries, and cut flowers;
                    (E) accommodations, such as bed-and-breakfast inns, 
                farm and ranch vacations, yurts, sheep wagons, and 
                guest ranches; and
                    (F) dining on a farm;
            (2) agritourism has financial, educational, and social 
        benefits to communities; and
            (3) agritourism continues--
                    (A) to offer educational opportunities for children 
                and families;
                    (B) to generate supplemental income for owners of 
                agricultural enterprises, which are often small or 
                family-run businesses;
                    (C) to spur economic development in rural 
                communities;
                    (D) to preserve agricultural heritage; and
                    (E) to help farms diversify.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, to 
further realize the benefits of agritourism to communities, the 
Secretary of Agriculture should incorporate agritourism into the 
Department of Agriculture comprehensively.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM.

    (a) In General.--The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 
of 1994 is amended by inserting after section 216 (7 U.S.C. 6916) the 
following:

``SEC. 217. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the Office of Agritourism described in subsection (c).
            ``(2) State.--The term `State' means--
                    ``(A) each of the several States of the United 
                States;
                    ``(B) the District of Columbia; and
                    ``(C) any territory of the United States.
    ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish in the 
Department an Office of Agritourism.
    ``(c) Director.--The Secretary shall appoint a senior official to 
serve as the Director of the Office of Agritourism.
    ``(d) Duties.--The Director shall encourage and promote, in each 
State, agritourism activities and agritourism businesses, including--
            ``(1) educational experiences;
            ``(2) outdoor recreation;
            ``(3) entertainment and special events;
            ``(4) direct sales;
            ``(5) accommodations; and
            ``(6) any other activity or business relating to 
        agritourism, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(e) Means of Achieving.--In carrying out subsection (d), the 
Director shall--
            ``(1) coordinate with the agencies and officials of the 
        Department;
            ``(2) advise the Secretary on issues relating to 
        agritourism;
            ``(3) ensure that the programs of the Department are 
        updated to address best agritourism practices;
            ``(4) conduct outreach to stakeholders and coordinate 
        external partnerships to share best practices, provide 
        mentorship, and offer technical assistance to agritourism 
        businesses;
            ``(5) facilitate interagency program coordination and 
        develop interagency tools for the promotion of agritourism 
        programs and resources;
            ``(6) review and improve farm enterprise development 
        programs that provide information about financial literacy, 
        business planning, and marketing for agritourism;
            ``(7) coordinate networks of agritourism businesses; and
            ``(8) collaborate with other Federal agencies, as 
        needed.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating the first 
section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relating to the Food Access Liaison) as 
section 224A.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b) of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 
        217.''.
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