104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

AN ACT

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters

for other purposes.of land management agency field employees, and
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

AN ACT

To improve the quantity and quality of the quarters of land

management agency field employees, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘National Park Service Administrative Reform Act of

4 1996’’.

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

6 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. National Park Service Housing Improvement Act.

Sec. 3. Minor boundary revision authority.

Sec. 4. Authorization for certain park facilities to be located outside of units

of the National Park System.

Sec. 5. Elimination of unnecessary congressional reporting requirements.

Sec. 6. Senate confirmation of the Director of the National Park Service.

Sec. 7. National Park System Advisory Board authorization.

Sec. 8. Challenge cost-share agreement authority.

Sec. 9. Cost recovery for damage to national park resources.

7 SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HOUSING IMPROVEMENT

8 ACT.

9 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

10 (1) to develop where necessary an adequate

11 supply of quality housing units for field employees of

12 the National Park Service within a reasonable time

13 frame;

14 (2) to expand the alternatives available for con15 struction and repair of essential government hous16 ing;

17 (3) to rely on the private sector to finance or

18 supply housing in carrying out this section, to the

19 maximum extent possible, in order to reduce the

20 need for Federal appropriations;
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1 (4) to provide increased opportunities for the

2 ownership of housing by field employees, together

3 with the equity and tax benefits associated with

4 home ownership;

5 (5) to ensure that adequate funds are available

6 to provide for long-term maintenance needs of field

7 employee housing; and

8 (6) to eliminate unnecessary government hous9 ing and locate such housing as is required in a man10 ner such that primary resource values are not im11 paired.

12 (b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—To enhance the ability

13 of the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this section

14 referred to as ‘‘the Secretary’’), acting through the Direc15 tor of the National Park Service, to effectively manage

16 units of the National Park System, the Secretary is au17 thorized where necessary and justified to make available

18 employee housing, on or off the lands under the adminis19 trative jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and to

20 rent or lease such housing to field employees of the Na21 tional Park Service at rates based on the reasonable value

22 of the housing in accordance with requirements applicable

23 under section 5911 of title 5, United States Code.

24 (c) REVIEW AND REVISION OF HOUSING CRI25 TERIA.—Upon the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
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1 shall review and revise the existing criteria under which

2 housing is provided to employees of the National Park

3 Service. The review and revision shall include consider4 ation of the following criteria:

5 (1) Required occupancy (whether and under

6 what circumstances the National Park Service re7 quires, as a condition of employment, that an em8 ployee live at a particular site or in a specific geo9 graphic area). For each instance in which occupancy

10 is required, full consideration shall be given to the

11 concept of adequate response time.

12 (2) Availability and adequacy of non-Federal

13 housing in the geographic area, including consider14 ation of the degree of isolation (the time and dis15 tance that separate other potential housing from the

16 workplace of a National Park Service employee).

17 (3) Category of employment (seasonal or per18 manent).

19 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—A report detailing the

20 results of the revisions required by subsection (c) shall be

21 submitted to the Committee on Resources of the House

22 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and

23 Natural Resources of the Senate not later than 180 days

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act. The report

25 shall include justifications for keeping, or for changing,
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1 each of the criteria or factors used by the Department of

2 the Interior with regard to the provision of housing to em3 ployees of the National Park Service.

4 (e) REVIEW OF CONDITION OF AND COSTS RELATING

5 TO HOUSING.—Using the revised criteria developed under

6 subsection (c), the Secretary shall undertake a review, for

7 each unit of the National Park System, of existing govern8 ment-owned housing provided to employees of the National

9 Park Service. The review shall include an assessment of

10 the physical condition of such housing and the suitability

11 of such housing to effectively carry out the missions of

12 the Department of the Interior and the National Park

13 Service. For each unit of such housing, the Secretary shall

14 determine whether the unit is needed and justified. The

15 review shall include estimates of the cost of bringing each

16 such unit that is needed and justified into usable condition

17 that meets all applicable legal housing requirements or,

18 if the unit is determined to be obsolete but is still war19 ranted to carry out the missions of the Department of the

20 Interior and the National Park Service, the cost of replac21 ing the unit.

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION FOR HOUSING AGREEMENTS.—

23 For those units of the National Park System for which

24 the review required by subsections (c) and (e) has been

25 completed, the Secretary is authorized, pursuant to the
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1 authorities contained in this Act and subject to the appro2 priation of necessary funds in advance, to enter into hous3 ing agreements with housing entities under which such

4 housing entities may develop, construct, rehabilitate, or

5 manage housing, located on or off public lands, for rent

6 or lease to National Park Service employees who meet the

7 housing eligibility criteria developed by the Secretary pur8 suant to this Act.

9 (g) JOINT PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING PRO10 GRAMS.—

11 (1) LEASE TO BUILD PROGRAM.—Subject to the

12 appropriation of necessary funds in advance, the

13 Secretary may—

14 (A) lease Federal land and interests in

15 land to qualified persons for the construction of

16 field employee quarters for any period not to

17 exceed 50 years; and

18 (B) lease developed and undeveloped non19 Federal land for providing field employee quar20 ters.

21 (2) COMPETITIVE LEASING.—Each lease under

22 paragraph (1)(A) shall be awarded through the use

23 of publicly advertised, competitively bid, or competi24 tively negotiated contracting procedures, except that

25 a lease to a field employee housing cooperative may
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1 be awarded noncompetitively if construction on the

2 leased land is then competitively bid or competitively

3 negotiated.

4 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each lease

5 under paragraph (1)(A)—

6 (A) shall stipulate whether operation and

7 maintenance of field employee quarters is to be

8 provided by the lessee, field employees or the

9 Federal Government;

10 (B) shall require that the construction and

11 rehabilitation of field employee quarters be done

12 in accordance with the requirements of the Na13 tional Park Service and local applicable building

14 codes and industry standards;

15 (C) shall contain such additional terms and

16 conditions as may be appropriate to protect the

17 Federal interest, including limits on rents the

18 lessee may charge field employees for the occu19 pancy of quarters, conditions on maintenance

20 and repairs, and agreements on the provision of

21 charges for utilities and other infrastructure;

22 and

23 (D) may be granted at less than fair mar24 ket value if the Secretary determines that such
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1 lease will improve the quality and availability of

2 field employee quarters available.

3 (4) CONTRIBUTIONS BY UNITED STATES.—The

4 Secretary may make payments, subject to appropria5 tions, or contributions in kind either in advance of

6 or on a continuing basis to reduce the costs of plan7 ning, construction, or rehabilitation of quarters on

8 or off Federal lands under a lease under this sub9 section.

10 (5) THIRD PARTY PARTICIPATION.—A lease

11 under this subsection may include provision for par12 ticipation by a third party, when third party pres13 ence is needed or required, and approved by the Sec14 retary.

15 (h) RENTAL GUARANTEE PROGRAM.—

16 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the ap17 propriation of necessary funds in advance, the Sec18 retary may enter into a lease to build arrangement

19 as set forth in subsection (g) with further agreement

20 to guarantee the occupancy of field employee quar21 ters constructed or rehabilitated under such lease. A

22 guarantee made under this subsection shall be in

23 writing.

24 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not

25 guarantee—
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1 (A) the occupancy of more than 75 percent

2 of the units constructed or rehabilitated under

3 such lease; and

4 (B) at a rental rate that exceeds the rate

5 based on the reasonable value of the housing in

6 accordance with requirements applicable under

7 section 5911 of title 5, United States Code.

8 In no event shall outstanding guarantees be in ex9 cess of $3,000,000.

10 (3) RENTAL TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A

11 guarantee may be made under this subsection only

12 if the lessee agrees to permit the Secretary to utilize

13 for housing purposes any units for which the guar14 antee is made.

15 (4) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A SATISFACTORY

16 LEVEL OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The

17 lease shall be null and void if the lessee fails to

18 maintain a satisfactory level of operation and main19 tenance.

20 (i) JOINT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.—The Sec21 retary may use authorities granted by statute in combina22 tion with one another in the furtherance of providing

23 where necessary and justified affordable field employee

24 housing.
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1 (j) CONTRACTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF FIELD

2 EMPLOYEE QUARTERS.—

3 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the ap4 propriation of necessary funds in advance, the Sec5 retary may enter into contracts of any duration for

6 the management, repair, and maintenance of field

7 employee quarters.

8 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any such con9 tract shall contain such terms and conditions as the

10 Secretary deems necessary or appropriate to protect

11 the interests of the United States and assure that

12 necessary quarters are available to field employees.

13 (k) JOINT EMPLOYEE-AGENCY HOUSING PRO14 GRAMS.—

15 (1) SALE OF QUARTERS.—

16 (A) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstand17 ing any other provision of law, the Secretary

18 may sell field employee quarters to field employ19 ees of the agency or a cooperative whose mem20 bership is made up exclusively of field employ21 ees of the agency.

22 (B) INTEREST IN LANDS.—The Secretary

23 may only sell a leasehold interest in lands at24 tendant to the sale of any quarters under sub25 paragraph (A).
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1 (2) LEASE OF QUARTERS.—The Secretary may

2 lease Federal land to field employees of the National

3 Park Service or a cooperative made up of field em4 ployees of the National Park Service for purposes of

5 constructing employee housing.

6 (3) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—The Secretary

7 shall have right of first refusal when any property

8 transferred under this subsection is for sale.

9 (4) COVENANTS.—The Secretary may establish

10 and enforce such covenants as may be appropriate to

11 the property, upon its sale by the Secretary under

12 this subsection.

13 (5) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The Secretary may

14 sell or transfer employee quarters under this sub15 section for less than fair market value if the Sec16 retary determines that such a sale or transfer will

17 improve the quality of field employee quarters avail18 able and keep the quarters affordable at the salary

19 ranges of field employees normally occupying them.

20 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Disposal of em21 ployee quarters under this subsection to field em22 ployees and cooperatives whose membership is made

23 up exclusively of field employees shall not be consid24 ered disposal of excess Federal real property under
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1 the Federal Property and Administrative Services

2 Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.).

3 (7) CONTINUING EMPLOYMENT REQUIRE4 MENT.—An individual may occupy employee quar5 ters under this subsection only if the individual or

6 a member of the family of the individual is employed

7 at the National Park System unit with respect to

8 which the quarters are made available.

9 (8) NOTICE.—The Secretary may not take any

10 action authorized pursuant to this section until 180

11 days after the Secretary submits a report to the ap12 propriate congressional committees respecting the

13 authority of this subsection.

14 (l) LEASING OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEE QUARTERS.—

15 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to para16 graph (2), the Secretary may lease quarters at or

17 near a unit of the national park system for use as

18 seasonal quarters for field employees. The rent

19 charged to field employees under such a lease shall

20 be a rate based on the reasonable value of the quar21 ters in accordance with requirements applicable

22 under section 5911 of title 5, United States Code.

23 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may only

24 issue a lease under paragraph (1) if the Secretary

25 finds that there is a shortage of adequate and af-
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1 fordable seasonal quarters at or near such unit and

2 that—

3 (A) the requirement for such seasonal field

4 employee quarters is temporary; or

5 (B) leasing would be more cost effective

6 than construction of new seasonal field em7 ployee quarters.

8 (3) UNRECOVERED COSTS.—The Secretary may

9 pay the unrecovered costs of leasing seasonal quar10 ters under this subsection from annual appropria11 tions for the year in which such lease is made.

12 (m) SURVEY OF EXISTING FACILITIES.—The Sec13 retary shall—

14 (1) complete a condition assessment for all field

15 employee housing, including the physical condition of

16 such housing and the necessity and suitability of

17 such housing for the effective prosecution of the

18 agency mission, using existing information; and

19 (2) develop a agency-wide priority listing, by

20 structure, identifying those units in greatest need

21 for repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or initial con22 struction.

23 (n) USE OF HOUSING-RELATED FUNDS.—Expendi24 ture of any funds authorized and appropriated for new

25 construction, repair, or rehabilitation of housing under
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1 this section shall follow the housing priority listing estab2 lished by the agency under subsection (m), in sequential

3 order, to the maximum extent practicable.

4 (o) ANNUAL BUDGET SUBMITTAL.—The President’s

5 proposed budget to Congress for the first fiscal year begin6 ning after enactment of this Act, and for each subsequent

7 fiscal year, shall include identification of nonconstruction

8 funds to be spent for National Park Service housing main9 tenance and operations which are in addition to rental re10 ceipts collected.

11 (p) EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION.—The Secretary

12 may use applicable appropriations of the National Park

13 System for transportation to and from work, outside of

14 regular working hours, of field employees, residing in or

15 near a national park system unit, such transportation to

16 be between the unit and the city, or intervening points,

17 at reasonable rates to be determined by the Secretary tak18 ing into consideration, among other factors, comparable

19 rates charged by transportation companies in the locality

20 for similar services, the amounts collected for such trans21 portation to be credited to the current appropriation ac22 count available for administration of the national park

23 system unit concerned and shall be available to the Sec24 retary for obligation or expenditure. Any surplus proceeds

25 shall be retained by the agency for those purposes until
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1 expended. If adequate transportation facilities are avail2 able, or shall be available by any common carrier, at rea3 sonable rates, then and in that event the services con4 templated by this subsection shall not be offered.

5 (q) STUDY OF HOUSING ALLOWANCES.—Within 12

6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility

8 of providing eligible employees of the National Park Serv9 ice with housing allowances rather than government hous10 ing. The study shall specifically examine the feasibility of

11 providing rental allowances to temporary and lower paid

12 permanent employees. Whenever the Secretary submits a

13 copy of such study to the Office of Management and

14 Budget, he shall concurrently transmit copies of the report

15 to the Resources Committee of the United States House

16 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and

17 Natural Resources of the United States Senate.

18 (r) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—

19 (1) CONSTRUCTION LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL

20 LANDS.—The Secretary may not utilize any lands

21 for the purposes of providing field employee housing

22 under this section which could impact primary re23 source values of the area or adversely affect the mis24 sion of the agency. Any construction carried out
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1 under this section shall be fully consistent with ap2 proved land management agency plans.

3 (2) RENTAL RATES.—The Secretary shall es4 tablish rental rates for all quarters occupied by field

5 employees of the National Park Service that are

6 based on the reasonable value of the quarters in ac7 cordance with requirements applicable under section

8 5911 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (3) EXEMPTION FROM LEASING REQUIRE10 MENTS.—The provisions of section 5 of the Act of

11 July 15, 1968 (82 Stat. 354, 356; 16 U.S.C. 460l12 22), and section 321 of the Act of June 30, 1932

13 (40 U.S.C. 303b; 47 Stat. 412), shall not apply to

14 leases issued by the Secretary under this section.

15 (s) PROCEEDS.—The proceeds from any lease under

16 subsection (g)(1)(A)(i), any lease under subsection (k)(2),

17 and any lease of seasonal quarters under subsection (l),

18 shall be retained by the National Park Service. Such pro19 ceeds shall be deposited into the special fund established

20 for maintenance and operation of quarters.

21 (t) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

22 (1) The term ‘‘field employee’’ means—

23 (A) an employee of the National Park

24 Service who is exclusively assigned by the Na-
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1 tional Park Service to perform duties at a field

2 unit, and the members of their family; and

3 (B) other individuals who are authorized to

4 occupy Government quarters under section

5 5911 of title 5, United States Code, and for

6 whom there is no feasible alternative to the pro7 vision of Government housing, and the members

8 of their family.

9 (3) The term ‘‘land management agency’’

10 means the National Park Service, Department of the

11 Interior.

12 (4) The term ‘‘primary resource values’’ means

13 resources which are specifically mentioned in the en14 abling legislation or identified in the general man15 agement plan for that field unit or other resource

16 value recognized under Federal statute.

17 (5) The term ‘‘quarters’’ means quarters owned

18 or leased by the Government.

19 (6) The term ‘‘seasonal quarters’’ means quar20 ters typically occupied by field employees who are

21 hired on assignments of 6 months or less.

22 SEC. 3. MINOR BOUNDARY REVISION AUTHORITY.

23 Section 7(c) of the Land and Water Conservation

24 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–9(c)) is amended as

25 follows:
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1 (1) In the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Commit2 tee on Natural’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee on’’.

3 (2) By striking ‘‘: Provided, however,’’ and all

4 that follows through ‘‘1965’’ and inserting the fol5 lowing after the first sentence: ‘‘In all cases except

6 the case of technical boundary revisions (resulting

7 from such causes as survey error or changed road

8 alignments), the authority of the Secretary under

9 clause (i) shall apply only if each of the following

10 conditions is met:

11 ‘‘(1) The sum of the total acreage of lands, wa12 ters, and interests therein to be added to the area

13 and the total such acreage to be deleted from the

14 area is not more than 5 percent of the total Federal

15 acreage authorized to be included in the area and is

16 less than 200 acres in size.

17 ‘‘(2) The acquisition, if any, is not a major

18 Federal action significantly affecting the quality of

19 the human environment, as determined by the Sec20 retary.

21 ‘‘(3) The sum of the total appraised value of

22 the lands, water, and interest therein to be added to

23 the area and the total appraised value of the lands,

24 waters, and interests therein to be deleted from the

25 area does not exceed $750,000.
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1 ‘‘(4) The proposed boundary revision is not an

2 element of a more comprehensive boundary modifica3 tion proposal.

4 ‘‘(5) The proposed boundary has been subject

5 to a public review and comment period.

6 ‘‘(6) The Director of the National Park Service

7 obtains written support for the boundary modifica8 tion from all property owners whose lands, water, or

9 interests therein, or a portion of whose lands, water,

10 or interests therein, will be added to or deleted from

11 the area by the boundary modification. Minor

12 boundary revisions involving only deletions of acre13 age owned by the Federal Government and adminis14 tered by the National Park Service may be made

15 only by Act of Congress.’’.

16 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN PARK FACILITIES

17 TO BE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF UNITS OF THE

18 NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

19 Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the

20 administration of the national park system by the Sec21 retary of the Interior, and to clarify the authorities appli22 cable to the system, and for other purposes’’ approved Au23 gust 18, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 et seq.), is amended to

24 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR PARK FACILITIES OUTSIDE

2 BOUNDARIES OF SYSTEM UNITS.

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—In order to facilitate the adminis4 tration of the national park system, the Secretary of the

5 Interior is authorized, under such terms and conditions

6 as he may deem advisable, to establish essential facilities

7 for park administration, visitor use, and park employee

8 residential housing outside the boundaries, but within the

9 vicinity, of units of the national park system for purposes

10 of assuring conservation, visitor use, and proper manage11 ment of such units. Such facilities, and the use thereof,

12 shall be in conformity with approved plans for the unit

13 concerned. The Secretary shall use existing facilities wher14 ever feasible. Such facilities may only be constructed by

15 the Secretary upon finding that location of such facilities

16 would—

17 ‘‘(1) avoid undue degradation of the primary

18 natural or cultural resources within the unit;

19 ‘‘(2) enhance service to the public; or

20 ‘‘(3) provide a cost saving to the Federal Gov21 ernment.

22 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS, LEASES, GUIDELINES, AND CON23 STRUCTION.—For the purpose of establishing facilities

24 under subsection (a):

25 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may enter into agreements

26 permitting the Secretary to use for such purposes
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1 those Federal lands that the head of a Federal agen2 cy having primary authority over the administration

3 of such land and the Secretary determine to be suit4 able for such use.

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, under such terms and con6 ditions as the Secretary determines are reasonable,

7 may, subject to the appropriation of necessary funds

8 in advance, lease or acquire (from willing sellers

9 only) by purchase or donation, real property (other

10 than Federal land), for the purposes specified in this

11 section.

12 ‘‘(3) For real property acquired pursuant to

13 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish written

14 guidelines setting forth criteria to be used in deter15 mining whether the acquisition would—

16 ‘‘(A) reflect unfavorably upon the ability of

17 the Department or an employee to carry out its

18 responsibilities or official duties in a fair and

19 objective manner; or

20 ‘‘(B) compromise the integrity, or the ap21 pearance of integrity, of the Department’s pro22 grams or of any official involved in those pro23 grams.

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may, subject to the appro25 priation of necessary funds in advance, construct,
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1 operate, and maintain such permanent and tem2 porary buildings and facilities as the Secretary

3 deems appropriate on land which is in the vicinity of

4 any unit of the national park system for which the

5 Secretary has acquired authority under this section,

6 except that the Secretary may not begin construc7 tion, operation, or maintenance of buildings or facili8 ties on land not owned by the United States until

9 the owner of such lands has entered into a binding

10 agreement with the Secretary, the terms of which

11 assure the continued use of such buildings and facili12 ties for a period of time commensurate with the level

13 of Federal investment.

14 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND JOINT VEN15 TURES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES.—The Sec16 retary is authorized, subject to the appropriation of nec17 essary funds in advance, to enter into cooperative agree18 ments or joint ventures with local or State governmental

19 agencies, other Federal agencies, Indian Tribes, and pri20 vate entities either on or off the lands subject to the juris21 diction of the Secretary, to provide appropriate and nec22 essary utility and other infrastructure facilities in support

23 of park administration, visitor use, and park employee res24 idential housing.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY CONGRESSIONAL

2 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

3 (a) REPEALS.—The following provisions are hereby

4 repealed:

5 (1) Section 302(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act

6 to authorize the establishment of the Chattahoochee

7 River National Recreation Area in the State of

8 Georgia, and for other purposes (Public Law 95–

9 344; 92 Stat. 478; 16 U.S.C. 2302(c)).

10 (2) Section 503 of the Act of December 19,

11 1980 (Public Law 96–550; 94 Stat. 3228; 16 U.S.C.

12 410ii–2).

13 (3) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 4 of the

14 Act of October 15, 1982 (Public Law 97–335; 96

15 Stat. 1628; 16 U.S.C. 341 note).

16 (4) Section 7 of Public Law 89–671 (96 Stat.

17 1457; 16 U.S.C. 284f).

18 (5) Section 3(c) of the National Trails System

19 Act (Public Law 90–543; 82 Stat. 919; 16 U.S.C.

20 1242(c)).

21 (6) Section 4(b) of the Act of October 24, 1984

22 (Public Law 98–540; 98 Stat. 2720; 16 U.S.C. 1a–

23 8).

24 (7) Section 106(b) of the National Visitor Cen25 ter Facilities Act of 1968 (Public Law 90–264; 82

26 Stat. 44; 40 U.S.C. 805(b)).
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1 (8) Section 6(f)(7) of the Act of September 3,

2 1964 (Public Law 88–578; 78 Stat. 900; 16 U.S.C.

3 460l–8(f)(7)).

4 (9) Subsection (b) of section 8 of the Act of

5 August 18, 1970 (Public Law 91–383; 90 Stat.

6 1940; 16 U.S.C. 1a–5(b)).

7 (10) The last sentence of section 10(a)(2) of

8 the National Trails System Act (Public Law 90–

9 543; 82 Stat. 926; 16 U.S.C. 1249(a)(2)).

10 (11) Section 4 of the Act of October 31, 1988

11 (Public Law 100–573; 102 Stat. 2891; 16 U.S.C.

12 460o note).

13 (12) Section 104(b) of the Act of November 19,

14 1988 (Public Law 100–698; 102 Stat. 4621).

15 (13) Section 1015(b) of the Urban Park and

16 Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–

17 625; 92 Stat. 3544; 16 U.S.C. 2514(b)).

18 (14) Section 105 of the Act of August 13, 1970

19 (Public Law 91–378; 16 U.S.C. 1705).

20 (15) Section 307(b) of the National Historic

21 Preservation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16 U.S.C.

22 470w–6(b)).

23 (b) AMENDMENTS.—The following provisions are

24 amended:
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1 (1) Section 10 of the Archaeological Resources

2 Protection Act of 1979, by striking the last sentence

3 of subsection (c) (Public Law 96–95; 16 U.S.C.

4 470ii(c)).

5 (2) Section 5(c) of the Act of June 27, 1960

6 (Public Law 86–523; 16 U.S.C. 469a–3(c); 74 Stat.

7 220), by inserting a period after ‘‘Act’’ and striking

8 ‘‘and shall submit’’ and all that follows.

9 (3) Section 7(a)(3) of the Act of September 3,

10 1964 (Public Law 88–578; 78 Stat. 903; 16 U.S.C.

11 460l–9(a)(3)), by striking the last sentence.

12 (4) Section 111 of the Petroglyph National

13 Monument Establishment Act of 1990 (Public Law

14 101–313; 104 Stat. 278), by striking out the second

15 sentence.

16 (5) Section 307(a) of the National Historic

17 Preservation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16 U.S.C.

18 470w–6(a)) is amended by striking the first and sec19 ond sentences.

20 (6) Section 101(a)(1)(B) of the National His21 toric Preservation Act (Public Law 89–665; 16

22 U.S.C. 470a) by inserting a period after ‘‘Register’’

23 the last place such term appears and by striking

24 ‘‘and submitted’’ and all that follows.
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1 SEC. 6. SENATE CONFIRMATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE

2 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first section of the Act enti4 tled ‘‘An Act to establish a National Park Service, and

5 for other purposes’’, approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat.

6 535; 16 U.S.C. 1; commonly referred to as the ‘‘National

7 Park Service Organic Act’’), is amended in the first sen8 tence by striking ‘‘who shall be appointed by the Sec9 retary’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘who shall be

10 appointed by the President, by and with the advice and

11 consent of the Senate. The Director shall have substantial

12 experience and demonstrated competence in land manage13 ment and natural or cultural resource conservation. The

14 Director shall select two Deputy Directors. The first Dep15 uty Director shall have responsibility for National Park

16 Service operations, and the second Deputy Director shall

17 have responsibility for other programs assigned to the Na18 tional Park Service.’’.

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.—The

20 amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on

21 February 1, 1997, and shall apply with respect to the indi22 vidual (if any) serving as the Director of the National

23 Park Service on that date.
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1 SEC. 7. NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ADVISORY BOARD AU2 THORIZATION.

3 (a) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ADVISORY BOARD.—

4 Section 3 of the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 667;

5 16 U.S.C. 463) is amended as follows:

6 (1) In subsection (a) by striking the first 3 sen7 tences and inserting in lieu thereof: ‘‘There is hereby

8 established a National Park System Advisory Board,

9 whose purpose shall be to advise the Director of the

10 National Park Service on matters relating to the

11 National Park Service, the National Park System,

12 and programs administered by the National Park

13 Service. The Board shall advise the Director on mat14 ters submitted to the Board by the Director as well

15 as any other issues identified by the Board. Mem16 bers of the Board shall be appointed on a staggered

17 term basis by the Secretary for a term not to exceed

18 4 years and shall serve at the pleasure of the Sec19 retary. The Board shall be comprised of no more

20 than 12 persons, appointed from among citizens of

21 the United States having a demonstrated commit22 ment to the mission of the National Park Service.

23 Board members shall be selected to represent var24 ious geographic regions, including each of the ad25 ministrative regions of the National Park Service. At

26 least 6 of the members shall have outstanding exper-
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1 tise in 1 or more of the following fields: history, ar2 chaeology, anthropology, historical or landscape ar3 chitecture, biology, ecology, geology, marine science,

4 or social science. At least 4 of the members shall

5 have outstanding expertise and prior experience in

6 the management of national or State parks or pro7 tected areas, or national or cultural resources man8 agement. The remaining members shall have out9 standing expertise in 1 or more of the areas de10 scribed above or in another professional or scientific

11 discipline, such as financial management, recreation

12 use management, land use planning or business

13 management, important to the mission of the Na14 tional Park Service. At least 1 individual shall be a

15 locally elected official from an area adjacent to a

16 park. The Board shall hold its first meeting by no

17 later than 60 days after the date on which all mem18 bers of the Advisory Board who are to be appointed

19 have been appointed. Any vacancy in the Board shall

20 not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same

21 manner in which the original appointment was

22 made. The Board may adopt such rules as may be

23 necessary to establish its procedures and to govern

24 the manner of its operations, organization, and per25 sonnel. All members of the Board shall be reim-
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1 bursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence

2 expenses during the performance of duties of the

3 Board while away from home or their regular place

4 of business, in accordance with subchapter 1 of

5 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. With the

6 exception of travel and per diem as noted above, a

7 member of the Board who is otherwise an officer or

8 employee of the United States Government shall

9 serve on the Board without additional compensa10 tion.’’.

11 (2) By redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

12 (f) and (g) and by striking from the first sentence

13 of subsection (f), as so redesignated ‘‘1995’’ and in14 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘2006’’.

15 (3) By adding the following new subsections

16 after subsection (a):

17 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary is authorized to hire 2 full18 time staffers to meet the needs of the Advisory Board.

19 ‘‘(2) Service of an individual as a member of the

20 Board shall not be considered as service or employment

21 bringing such individual within the provisions of any Fed22 eral law relating to conflicts of interest or otherwise im23 posing restrictions, requirements, or penalties in relation

24 to the employment of persons, the performance of services,

25 or the payment or receipt of compensation in connection
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1 with claims, proceedings, or matters involving the United

2 States. Service as a member of the Board, or as an em3 ployee of the Board, shall not be considered service in an

4 appointive or elective position in the Government for pur5 poses of section 8344 of title 5, United States Code, or

6 comparable provisions of Federal law.

7 ‘‘(c)(1) Upon request of the Director, the Board is

8 authorized to—

9 ‘‘(A) hold such hearings and sit and act at such

10 times,

11 ‘‘(B) take such testimony,

12 ‘‘(C) have such printing and binding done,

13 ‘‘(D) enter into such contracts and other ar14 rangements,

15 ‘‘(E) make such expenditures, and

16 ‘‘(F) take such other actions,

17 as the Board may deem advisable. Any member of the

18 Board may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses

19 appearing before the Board.

20 ‘‘(2) The Board may establish committees or sub21 committees. Any such subcommittees or committees shall

22 be chaired by a voting member of the Board.

23 ‘‘(d) The provisions of the Federal Advisory Commit24 tee Act shall apply to the Board established under this

25 section with the exception of section 14(b).
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1 ‘‘(e)(1) The Board is authorized to secure directly

2 from any office, department, agency, establishment, or in3 strumentality of the Federal Government such information

4 as the Board may require for the purpose of this section,

5 and each such officer, department, agency, establishment,

6 or instrumentality is authorized and directed to furnish,

7 to the extent permitted by law, such information, sugges8 tions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Board, upon

9 request made by a member of the Board.

10 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of the Board, the head of any

11 Federal department, agency, or instrumentality is author12 ized to make any of the facilities and services of such de13 partment, agency, or instrumentality to the Board, on a

14 nonreimbursable basis, to assist the Board in carrying out

15 its duties under this section.

16 ‘‘(3) The Board may use the United States mails in

17 the same manner and under the same conditions as other

18 departments and agencies in the United States.’’.

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Park

21 System Advisory Board $200,000 per year to carry out

22 the provisions of section 3 of the Act of August 21, 1935

23 (49 Stat. 667; 16 U.S.C. 463).

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

25 on December 7, 1997.
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1 SEC. 8. CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

3 (1) The term ‘‘challenge cost-share agreement’’

4 means any agreement entered into between the Sec5 retary and any cooperator for the purpose of sharing

6 costs or services in carrying out authorized functions

7 and responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior

8 with respect to any unit or program of the National

9 Park System (as defined in section 2(a) of the Act

10 of August 8, 1953 (16 U.S.C. 1c(a))), any affiliated

11 area, or any designated National Scenic or Historic

12 Trail.

13 (2) The term ‘‘cooperator’’ means any State or

14 local government, public or private agency, organiza15 tion, institution, corporation, individual, or other en16 tity.

17 (b) CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.—The

18 Secretary of the Interior is authorized to negotiate and

19 enter into challenge cost-share agreements with coopera20 tors.

21 (c) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In carrying out chal22 lenge cost-share agreements, the Secretary of the Interior

23 is authorized to provide the Federal funding share from

24 any funds available to the National Park Service.
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1 SEC. 9. COST RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE TO NATIONAL PARK

2 RESOURCES.

3 Public Law 101–337 is amended as follows:

4 (1) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj), by amending

5 subsection (d) to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(d) ‘Park system resource’ means any living or non7 living resource that is located within the boundaries of a

8 unit of the National Park System, except for resources

9 owned by a non-Federal entity.’’.

10 (2) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj) by adding at

11 the end thereof the following:

12 ‘‘(g) ‘Marine or aquatic park system resource’ means

13 any living or non-living part of a marine or aquatic regi14 men within or is a living part of a marine or aquatic regi15 men within the boundaries of a unit of the National Park

16 System, except for resources owned by a non-Federal en17 tity.’’.

18 (3) In section 2(b) (16 U.S.C. 19jj–1(b)), by in19 serting ‘‘any marine or aquatic park resource’’ after

20 ‘‘any park system resource’’.

Passed the House of Representatives September 17,

1996.

Attest:

Clerk.