118 HR 5203 IH: Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-08-11
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5203
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.
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”.
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.
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:
“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.”.