29–010 

Calendar No. 734 

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 108–375 

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS PRESERVATION ACT 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1446] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 1446) to support the efforts of the California 

Missions Foundation to restore and repair the Spanish colonial and 

mission-era missions in the State of California and to preserve the 

artworks and artifacts of these missions, and for other purposes, 

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 

amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘California Missions Preservation Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) CALIFORNIA MISSION.—The term ‘‘California mission’’ means each of the 21 

historic Spanish missions and 1 asistencia that— 

(A) are located in the State; 

(B) were built between 1769 and 1798; and 

(C) are designated as California Registered Historic Landmarks. 

(2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ means the California Missions 

Foundation, a nonsectarian charitable corporation that— 

(A) was established in the State in 1998 to fund the restoration and repair of the California missions; and 

(B) is operated exclusively for charitable purposes under section 501(c)(3) 

of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior. 

(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State of California. 

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SEC. 3. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with the 

Foundation to provide technical and financial assistance to the Foundation to restore and repair— 

(1) the California missions; and 

(2) the artwork and artifacts associated with the California missions. 

(b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The cooperative agreement may authorize the Secretary to 

make grants to the Foundation to carry out the purposes described in subsection (a). 

(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant or other form of financial 

assistance under this Act, a California mission must be listed on the National 

Register of Historic Places. 

(3) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant or other form of financial assistance 

under this Act, the Foundation shall submit to the Secretary an application 

that— 

(A) includes a status report on the condition of the infrastructure and associated artifacts of each of the California missions for which the Foundation is seeking financial assistance; and 

(B) describes a comprehensive program for the restoration, repair, and 

preservation of the infrastructure and artifacts referred to in subparagraph 

(A), including— 

(i) a description of the prioritized preservation activities to be conducted over a 5-year period; and 

(ii) an estimate of the costs of the preservation activities. 

(4) APPLICABLE LAW.—Consistent with section 101(e)(4) of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(e)(4)), the Secretary shall ensure that the 

purpose of any grant or other financial assistance provided by the Secretary to 

the Foundation under this Act— 

(A) is secular; 

(B) does not promote religion; and 

(C) seeks to protect qualities that are historically significant. 

(c) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit a proposed agreement to the Attorney General for review. 

(2) DETERMINATION.—A cooperative agreement entered into under subsection 

(a) shall not take effect until the Attorney General issues a finding that the proposed agreement submitted under paragraph (1) does not violate the establishment clause of the first amendment of the Constitution. 

(d) REPORT.—As a condition of receiving financial assistance under this Act, the 

Foundation shall annually submit to the Secretary and to the Committee on Energy 

and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House 

of Representatives a report that describes the status of the preservation activities 

carried out using amounts made available under this Act. 

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

$10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2004 through 2009. 

(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Any amounts made available to carry out this Act 

shall be matched on not less than a 1-to-1 basis by the Foundation. 

(c) OTHER AMOUNTS.—Any amounts made available to carry out this Act shall be 

in addition to any amounts made available for preservation activities in the State 

under the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of H.R. 1446 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to the California Missions Foundation to restore and repair the Spanish colonial and mission-era missions in 

the State of California and to preserve the artwork and artifacts 

of these missions. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The California missions were established by the Catholic Church 

as religious and cultural centers. Stretching from San Diego to as 

far north as Sonoma, 21 missions were constructed, marking the 

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steady march of the Spanish as they colonized the territory that 

eventually became California. 

The oldest mission, Mission San Diego de Alcala in San Diego, 

was founded by Father Junipero Serra in 1769. The last mission 

built was Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, completed in 

1823. With Mexico’s independence from Spain came secularization, 

followed by the American occupation. After the initial 65–year period of operation, the missions, built of adobe and wood, by and 

large fell into ruin. 

Since the late 1800s, groups and individuals who recognized the 

historical, sociological, and artistic importance of these settlements 

spearheaded efforts to restore and reconstruct them. In 1948, for 

instance, the Hearst Mission Restoration Fund was established 

with a grant of $500,000. Yet until now no single entity has looked 

after the missions’ long-term preservation and restoration needs. 

There has been no major campaign on behalf of all the California 

missions for many decades. 

The missions are the most visited historical sites in the State 

with 5.5 million visitors per year and are a part of the Statewide 

fourth grade curricula. Of the 21 California missions, 19 do not receive support from any governmental agency. Most rely solely on 

nominal visitor fees, proceeds from gift shop sales and donations. 

H.R. 1446 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make 

grants to the California Missions Foundation to support the efforts 

of the Foundation to restore and repair the California missions and 

to preserve the artworks and artifacts associated with them. The 

grant program is for 5 years and totals $10 million. The legislation 

also contains a requirement for matching funds. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1446 was introduced by Representative Farr on March 26, 

2003 and passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on October 10, 2003. Companion legislation, S. 1306, was introduced by 

Senators Boxer and Feinstein on June 20, 2003. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 1446 and S. 1306 on March 

9, 2004. At the business meeting on September 15, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1446, as 

amended, favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 

business session on September 15, 2004, by a voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1446, if 

amended as described herein. Senator Thomas voted no. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of H.R. 1446, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. In addition to removing 

the section detailing congressional findings the amendment requires that the Attorney General review the proposed agreement 

between the California Missions Foundation and the Secretary of 

the Interior and issue a finding that the agreement does not violate 

the Establishment 

4 

Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. This requirement is similar to one that applies to the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas. The amendment also requires that 

a California mission must be on the National Register of Historic 

Places to be eligible to receive financial or other grant assistance 

under this Act. The amendment is described in detail in the section-by-section analysis below. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 entitles this bill the ‘‘California Missions Preservation 

Act.’’ 

Section 2 defines key terms used in this Act. 

Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into 

cooperative agreements with the California Missions Foundation to 

provide financial and technical assistance to repair and restore the 

mission buildings and the artwork and other artifacts associated 

with them. 

Subsection (b) allows the cooperative agreement to authorize the 

Secretary to make grants to the Foundation. To be eligible to receive a grant or other financial assistance under this Act, a mission 

must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 

Foundation must submit a grant application that includes a condition assessment and a comprehensive program for restoration, repair, and preservation of the infrastructure and artifacts of each 

California mission. The application must also contain a 5–year 

prioritized preservation plan for the mission and its artifacts and 

estimate the cost of the program . As provided in section 101(e)(4) 

of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a(e)(4)), the 

Secretary shall ensure that the purpose of a grant under this section is secular, does not promote religion, and seeks to protect 

those qualities that are historically significant. 

Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to submit a proposed agreement as described in subsection (b) to the Attorney General for review. The agreement shall not take effect until the Attorney General has issued a finding that the agreement does not violate the 

establishment clause of the first amendment of the Constitution. 

Subsection (d) directs the California Missions Foundation to submit to the Secretary an annual report on the status of the preservation efforts using grant funds. In addition, this section requires 

the Secretary to submit a copy of the report to Congress. Section 4 authorizes to be appropriated a total of $10 million for 

fiscal years 2004 through 2009. Any funds made available under 

this Act shall be matched on not less than a one to one basis by 

the Foundation. Funds appropriated under this section shall be in 

addition to any funds made available for preservation efforts in the 

State of California under the National Historic Preservation Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office. 

H.R. 1446—California Missions Preservation Act 

Summary: H.R. 1446 would authorize the appropriation of $10 

million over the 2004–2009 period to restore 21 historic Spanish 

missions in California. Most of this funding would be used by the 

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Department of the Interior to provide grants to the California Missions Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established for that purpose. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1446 would cost $10 million over the next five years, assuming appropriation of the authorized amount. Enacting H.R. 1446 would not affect revenues or direct spending. 

H.R. 1446 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 1446 over the 2005–2009 period is shown in 

the following table. For this estimate, CBO assumes that the $10 

million authorization will be appropriated evenly over the 2005– 

2009 period. Estimated outlays are based on historical spending 

patterns for similar programs. The costs of this legislation fall 

within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Estimated authorization level ....................................................................... 2 2 2 2 2 

Estimated outlays ......................................................................................... 2 2 2 2 2 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1446 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis; Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Leo Lex; and Impact on the 

Private Sector: Jean Talarico. 

Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 1446. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1446. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On February 25, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the 

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth 

Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 1446. These reports 

had not been received when this report was filed. The testimony 

provided by the Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee 

hearing on H.R. 1446 follows: 

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STATEMENT OF P. DANIEL SMITH, SPECIAL ASSISTANT, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 1306 and H.R. 1446 authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to make matching, 

historic preservation grants to the California Missions 

Foundation to restore and repair California’s historically 

significant Spanish mission buildings and their associated 

historic artworks and artifacts. Under this bill, grants up 

to $10 million over a 5-year period would be made through 

the authority of Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act. 

While the goal of this legislation is admirable, the Department opposes S. 1306 and H.R. 1446. We cannot support this new Federal funding commitment at a time when 

we are trying to focus our available resources on taking 

care of existing National Park Service responsibilities. Nor 

can we support legislative earmarks that would effectively 

take limited and critically needed historic preservation operations funding away and divert it to these specific purposes under the National Historic Preservation Act. The 

Department strongly supports the principle that States, 

tribes, and local governments—not the Federal government—are best suited to determine the highest priorities 

for awarding grants in each jurisdiction under the Historic 

Preservation Fund. This has been the guiding idea of the 

National Historic Preservation Act since its passage in the 

mid-1960s. Under the current process, the Department allocates blocks of funds to States and to Indian tribes who 

then, in turn, award funding to properties and projects 

that meet the most urgent needs within the individual jurisdiction. There are many and very worthy projects everywhere, including other individual and classes of historic 

building that are regrettably in need of assistance from the 

Historic Preservation Fund. 

The Department of the Interior does support efforts to 

preserve for this and future generations the story of Father Junipero Serra and the founding of California’s incomparable chain of colonial-era missions. Over a 54-year 

period beginning in 1769, Serra, and his fellow Jesuits, followed later by the Franciscans, built with native Indian 

labor a chain of mission complexes that today stretch along 

the coast for 600 miles from San Diego to Sonoma—north 

of San Francisco. It is a rich story of tenacity, bravery, cultural conflict, greed, mistrust, and, ultimately, hope. As a 

Nation, we are richer for Serra and his compatriot’s struggles and for the labors of California’s native peoples. We 

also are fortunate that so many of these remarkable historic places survive in California today. The Department 

recognizes that these missions are powerful tangible evidence of our Nation’s remarkable story and worthy of our 

care and attention. 

We believe, however, that there are other sources of 

funding available for the restoration at the California misVerDate Aug 04 2004 00:51 Oct 05, 2004 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR375.XXX SR375
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sions. One national example is the Save America’s Treasures program that awards grants for preservation and conservation work on nationally significant intellectual and 

cultural artifacts and nationally significant historic structures and sites. Each California Mission is a ‘‘national 

class property’’ and would, we believe, compete favorably 

in the Save America’s Treasures program as well in any 

other fundraising campaign. The Department would be 

more than happy to work with the California Missions 

Foundation to develop Save America’s Treasures applications as well as fundraising strategies to accomplish this 

important work. 

We note that Section 3(c) of S. 1306 and H.R. 1446 requires detailed professional condition assessments and 

scopes of work to ensure that preservation and conservation needs are fully assessed, that the highest priority and 

most critical work is undertaken, and that any work supported by these grants meets the highest professional 

standards. The California missions are historic properties 

significant to every American citizen and we must ensure 

that any work done there is of the highest caliber. 

Should S. 1306 or H.R. 1446 move to a committee markup, we would suggest requiring a formal partnership role 

for the appropriate Catholic Church archdioceses where 

the missions remain active churches and in church ownership. Without the full partnership and support of the 

Church, the most effective and best long-term preservation 

of these national treasures cannot be assured. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide 

our comments on S. 1306 and H.R. 1446. This concludes 

my prepared testimony. I would be glad to answer any 

questions that you or the members of the committee may 

have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 1446, as ordered reported. 

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