I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2107

To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to improve

the quality of visitor services provided by Federal land management

agencies through an incentive-based recreation fee program, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 25, 1995

Mr. HANSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of

1965 to improve the quality of visitor services provided

by Federal land management agencies through an

incentive-based recreation fee program, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Visitor Services Im5 provement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995’’.
2

•HR 2107 IH

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this Act is to improve the overall qual3 ity of the visitor recreation experience on Federal lands

4 through an innovative and incentive-based recreation fee

5 program combined with an appropriation targeted to meet

6 the increasing demand for recreational use of the Federal

7 lands.

8 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXISTING RECREATION FEE PROGRAM

9 AND ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW RECREATION

10 FEE PROGRAM.

11 Section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund

12 Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a) is amended to read as

13 follows:

14 ‘‘RECREATION FEE PROGRAM

15 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) PROGRAM GOALS AND POLICIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) CONGRESSIONAL GOALS.—It is the policy

17 of Congress that the Federal land management

18 agencies develop and implement high quality recre19 ation programs adequate to meet the needs of the

20 American people. In order to accomplish this goal,

21 the agencies shall establish recreation fee programs

22 designed to generate 75 percent of the annual cost

23 of providing visitor recreational programs for each

24 agency.

25 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES.—The admin26 istering Secretaries jointly shall issue an integrated
3

•HR 2107 IH

1 and coherent policy for the establishment and collec2 tion of recreation fees under this section. Such pol3 icy shall—

4 ‘‘(A) permit flexibility with regard to the

5 amounts charged;

6 ‘‘(B) provide for maximization of the num7 ber of persons who pay fees to ensure that fees

8 remain at the lowest possible level;

9 ‘‘(C) provide that comparable fees be

10 charged by the several Federal agencies for

11 comparable services and facilities;

12 ‘‘(D) provide for the establishment of fees

13 in a manner which is equitable among user

14 groups and accounts for other non-Federal

15 nonrecreational fees (if any) which are paid by

16 user groups and which are used on Federal

17 lands;

18 ‘‘(E) define administrative overhead and

19 specify accounting procedures to ensure that

20 administrative overhead is not included in the

21 cost of recreational services provided; and

22 ‘‘(F) provide for a uniform procedure for

23 accounting for fees collected under this section.

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section:
4

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTERING SECRETARIES.—The term

2 ‘administering Secretaries’ means—

3 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture with re4 spect to the Forest Service; and

5 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Interior with re6 spect to the National Park Service, Bureau of

7 Land Management, United States Fish and

8 Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation.

9 ‘‘(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means an

10 agency referred to in paragraph (1) (A) or (B).

11 ‘‘(3) AREA.—The term ‘area’ means an admin12 istrative area managed by an agency, such as a unit

13 of the National Park System, a national forest, a

14 national wildlife refuge, and a project area with re15 spect to the Bureau of Reclamation.

16 ‘‘(4) AREA OF CONCENTRATED PUBLIC USE.—

17 The term ‘area of concentrated public use’ means an

18 area which—

19 ‘‘(A) provides developed facilities and serv20 ices necessary to accommodate public use;

21 ‘‘(B) contains at least one major visitor at22 traction including (but not limited to) a lake,

23 river, historical site, or geologic feature; and

24 ‘‘(C) provides public access such that ad25 mission fees can be cost-effectively collected.
5

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(5) RECREATION FEES.—The term ‘recreation

2 fees’ means admission fees, recreational services

3 fees, and concession fees.

4 ‘‘(6) RECREATIONAL SERVICES.—The term

5 ‘recreational services’ means services directly associ6 ated with management of recreation visitors to Fed7 eral lands, including (but not limited to) such pro8 grams as maintenance of facilities which serve pri9 marily visitor recreation use such as campgrounds,

10 scenic roads, trails, visitor centers and picnic areas,

11 public information and interpretation, wildlife habi12 tat enhancement directly related to public use such

13 as stream improvement to improve fishing or activi14 ties to facilitate watchable wildlife programs, and

15 public safety programs related to visitor use, but not

16 including administrative overhead.

17 ‘‘(7) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The term ‘transi18 tion period’ means the period beginning on the date

19 of the enactment of this section and terminating at

20 the end of the sixth complete fiscal year beginning

21 after such date.

22 ‘‘(8) PRE-1995 AUTHORIZED RECREATION RE23 CEIPTS.—The term ‘pre-1995 authorized recreation

24 receipts’ means the receipts that would have been re25 ceived for a fiscal year from fees collected under sec-
6

•HR 2107 IH

1 tion 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund

2 Act of 1965 as such section was in effect on the day

3 before the date of the enactment of the Visitor Serv4 ices Improvement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.

5 ‘‘(9) INCENTIVE-BASED FEE RECEIPTS.—The

6 term ‘incentive-based fee receipts’ means receipts for

7 a fiscal year from recreation fees collected under this

8 section.

9 ‘‘(10) TRANSITION RECREATION FEE RE10 CEIPTS.—The term ‘transition recreation fee re11 ceipts’ means incentive-based fee receipts less pre12 1995 authorized recreation receipts.

13 ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to improve the

15 quality of the recreation experience on Federal

16 lands, the administering Secretaries shall establish

17 and implement a fee program in accordance with

18 this section which provides for substantial recovery

19 of the costs of recreational services provided through

20 fees paid by the public, including admission fees,

21 recreation use fees, and concession fees. In carrying

22 out such program, the administering Secretaries are

23 authorized and directed to collect admission fees in

24 accordance with this section at areas of concentrated

25 public use and at other areas designated by Act of
7

•HR 2107 IH

1 Congress, including (but not limited to) wilderness

2 areas, areas designated as components of the wild

3 and scenic rivers system, and national conservation

4 areas. In addition, the administering Secretaries

5 shall collect fees under this section for recreational

6 services. The administering Secretary shall consider

7 the effectiveness of the manager of areas in carrying

8 out this section in conducting annual performance

9 review of the manager.

10 ‘‘(2) FACTORS IN ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF

11 FEES.—All fees established pursuant to this section

12 shall be fair and equitable, taking into consideration

13 the direct and indirect cost to the Government, the

14 benefits to the recipient, the public policy or interest

15 served, the comparable recreation fees charged by

16 other public and private entities, the economic and

17 administrative feasibility of fee collection, conven18 ience to the recreation user and other pertinent fac19 tors.

20 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF FEES.—Clear notice that a fee

21 has been established pursuant to this section, and

22 the amount thereof, shall be prominently posted at

23 appropriate locations in each area and shall be in24 cluded in agency publications distributed with re25 spect to such areas.
8

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENTS.—The administering Sec2 retaries are authorized to make adjustments in the

3 fees authorized in subsection (d), taking into ac4 count the factors specified in paragraph (2). No

5 such adjustment shall become effective prior to 60

6 days from the date notification of such proposed ad7 justment is received by the appropriate congressional

8 committees. All proposals for adjustments in fees or

9 establishment of new fee collection sites (other than

10 demonstration areas under subsection (m)) devel11 oped subsequent to the date of enactment of this

12 section shall be included in the annual report re13 quired by subsection (l).

14 ‘‘(5) TARGET RECREATION REVENUE GOALS.—

15 After the transition period, the administering Sec16 retary shall annually develop a target recreation rev17 enue goal for each area administered by the Sec18 retary which reflects the estimated ability for such

19 area to collect recreation fees. The administering

20 Secretary shall develop that target based on histori21 cal data, projected visitation, and such other data as

22 are available to the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(d) RECREATION FEES.—

24 ‘‘(1) SINGLE ADMISSION VISITS.—Reasonable

25 admission fees for a single visit to any designated
9

•HR 2107 IH

1 area shall be established by the administering Sec2 retary. A ‘single visit’ means a more or less continu3 ous stay within a designated area. Payment of a sin4 gle visit admission fee shall authorize exits from and

5 reentries to a single designated area for a period of

6 from one to fifteen days, such period to be defined

7 for each designated area by the administering Sec8 retary based upon a determination of the period of

9 time reasonably and ordinarily necessary for such a

10 single visit. The single visit entrance fee for private

11 parties and commercial tours shall be set by the ad12 ministering Secretaries and may be adjusted, taking

13 into account the factors specified in subsection

14 (c)(2). The Secretaries shall ensure that the admis15 sion fee schedule developed provides economic incen16 tives for use of alternative modes of mass transpor17 tation at areas experiencing high levels of automobile

18 traffic.

19 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL ADMISSION PERMITS: GOLDEN

20 EAGLE PASSPORT.—(A) For admission into any area

21 at which fees are charged pursuant to this section,

22 an admission permit, to be known as the ‘Golden

23 Eagle Passport’, valid for the 12-month period be24 ginning on the date of sale, shall be available. The

25 fee for the passport shall be set jointly by the ad-
10

•HR 2107 IH

1 ministering Secretaries, taking into account the fac2 tors specified in subsection (c)(2). The permittee

3 and all persons accompanying the permittee in a sin4 gle, private, noncommercial vehicle, or alternatively,

5 the permittee and the permittee’s spouse, children,

6 and parents accompanying the permittee where

7 entry to the area is by any means other than a pri8 vate noncommercial vehicle, shall be entitled to gen9 eral admission into any area designated pursuant to

10 this section. The permit shall be nontransferable,

11 and the unlawful use thereof shall be punishable in

12 accordance with regulations established pursuant to

13 subsection (g). The permit shall be available for pur14 chase at any such designated area.

15 ‘‘(B) The administering Secretaries may au16 thorize units of State or local government, organiza17 tions, businesses, and nonprofit entities to sell and

18 collect fees for the Golden Eagle Passport, subject to

19 such conditions as the Secretaries may jointly pre20 scribe. The Secretaries shall develop detailed guide21 lines for promotional advertising of non-Federal

22 passport sales and monitor compliance with those

23 guidelines. The Secretaries may authorize the seller

24 or sellers to maintain an inventory of Golden Eagle

25 Passports for periods not to exceed six months and
11

•HR 2107 IH

1 to withhold amounts up to, but not exceeding, eight

2 percent of the gross fees collected from Golden

3 Eagle Passport sales as reimbursement for actual

4 expenses of the sales.

5 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL GEOGRAPHIC ADMISSION PER6 MITS.—For admission into a specific designated unit

7 or into several specific units located in a particular

8 geographic area at which fees are charged pursuant

9 to this section, the administering Secretary or Sec10 retaries are authorized to make available an annual

11 admission permit. The permit shall convey the privi12 leges of, and shall be subject to the same terms and

13 conditions as, the Golden Eagle Passport, except

14 that it shall be valid only for admission into the spe15 cific units indicated at the time of purchase.

16 ‘‘(4) RECREATION USE FEES.—Each agency de17 veloping, administering, providing, or furnishing at

18 Federal expense services for such activities as camp19 ing, including back country camping under permit,

20 swimming sites, boat launch facilities, managed

21 parking lots, motorized recreation use and other

22 recreation uses, shall, in accordance with this section

23 provide for the collection of recreation use fees at

24 the place of use or any reasonably convenient loca25 tion.
12

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND DEPOSIT

2 OF RECREATION FEES.—

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The administering

4 Secretary shall establish a special account in the

5 Treasury for each agency which collects recreation

6 fees under this section. Within each such account,

7 the administering Secretary shall separately account

8 for receipts and disbursements of funds for each

9 area.

10 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—(A) The administering Sec11 retary shall deposit in each agency account—

12 ‘‘(i) during each fiscal year of the transi13 tion period an amount equal to the transition

14 recreation fee receipts collected and amounts

15 appropriated under subsection (o)(2) (relating

16 to pre-1995 recreation fee receipts); and

17 ‘‘(ii) after the transition period, an amount

18 equal to all incentive-based fee receipts col19 lected.

20 ‘‘(B) During the transition period, the admin21 istering Secretary shall allocate to an area the

22 amount of transition recreation fee receipts collected

23 with respect to the area and amounts appropriated

24 for the area under subsection (o)(2) (relating to pre25 1995 recreation fee receipts).
13

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(C) Within such agency account for fiscal

2 years following the transition period, the administer3 ing Secretary shall credit to an area—

4 ‘‘(i) an amount up to 75 percent of the

5 total Federal costs of providing recreational

6 services at that area; and

7 ‘‘(ii) one-third of the amount of recreation

8 fees collected from the area which exceeds the

9 target recreation revenue goal specified in sub10 section (c)(5) for that area.

11 ‘‘(D) All funds from the sale of the Golden

12 Eagle Passport shall be divided among the agencies

13 based on a formula to be developed by the admin14 istering Secretaries. Such formula shall consider

15 such factors as total recreation fees collected by the

16 agency and total recreation use provided by the

17 agency. Funds from the sale of the Golden Eagle

18 Passport shall be deposited as recreation fees col19 lected into the appropriate agency account.

20 ‘‘(E) All funds from the sale of geographic ad21 mission permits under subsection (d)(3) shall be di22 vided among the areas for which such permits were

23 issued on the basis of visitor use and shall be depos24 ited as recreation fees collected from areas into the

25 appropriate agency account.
14

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds deposited into ac2 counts under this subsection may only be used to

3 fund programs in direct support of recreational serv4 ices on Federal lands.

5 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Funds deposited into ac6 counts established pursuant to this section shall be

7 available without further appropriation and shall be

8 expended in the same manner as funds allocated by

9 Congress to that agency for similar purposes.

10 ‘‘(f) ACCOUNTABILITY OF FUNDING.—The Comptrol11 ler General of the United States shall conduct periodic au12 dits to ensure that amounts received under this section

13 are fully accounted for and not diverted to administrative

14 overhead or other programs not directly related to visitor

15 recreational services.

16 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT OF FEE COLLECTION POLI17 CIES.—In accordance with the provisions of this section,

18 the administering Secretaries may prescribe rules and reg19 ulations for areas under their administration for the col20 lection of any fee established pursuant to this section. Per21 sons authorized by the administering Secretaries to en22 force any such rules or regulations issued under this sec23 tion may, within areas under the administration or author24 ity of such administering Secretary and with or, if the of25 fense is committed in his presence, without a warrant, ar-
15

•HR 2107 IH

1 rest any person who violates such rules and regulations.

2 Any person so arrested may be tried and sentenced by the

3 United States magistrate specifically designated for that

4 purpose by the court by which he was appointed, in the

5 same manner and subject to the same conditions as pro6 vided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 3401

7 of title 18, United States Code. Any violations of the rules

8 and regulations issued under this subsection shall be pun9 ishable by a fine as provided by law.

10 ‘‘(h) NON-FEDERAL RESERVATIONS.—The admin11 istering Secretary, under such terms and conditions as he

12 deems appropriate, may contract with any public or pri13 vate entity to provide visitor reservation services. Any such

14 contract may provide that the contractor shall be per15 mitted to deduct a commission to be fixed by the agency

16 head from the amount charged the public for providing

17 such services and to remit the net proceeds therefrom to

18 the contracting agency.

19 ‘‘(i) USE OF VOLUNTEERS FOR FEE COLLECTION.—

20 When authorized by the administering Secretary, volun21 teers at designated areas may collect fees authorized or

22 established pursuant to this section. The administering

23 Secretary shall ensure that such volunteers have adequate

24 training for this purpose. The administering Secretary

25 shall require a surety bond for any such volunteer per-
16

•HR 2107 IH

1 forming services under this subsection. Funds available to

2 the collecting agency may be used to cover the cost of any

3 such surety bond.

4 ‘‘(j) IMPACT OF RECREATIONAL FEES ON LOW-IN5 COME INDIVIDUALS.—The administering Secretaries shall

6 jointly conduct a study to determine the effect on low-in7 come individuals of user and admission fees imposed pur8 suant to this section by the respective Secretary and shall

9 jointly submit recommendations to the Congress regarding

10 actions to be taken to resolve adverse impacts, if any, on

11 such individuals. Such recommendations shall be included

12 as part of the four-year report required to be submitted

13 under subsection (m)(1).

14 ‘‘(k) LIMITATIONS ON FEES.—

15 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES NOT SUBJECT TO FEES.—

16 Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

17 ‘‘(A) authorize Federal hunting or fishing

18 licenses or fees or charges for commercial or

19 other activities not related to recreation;

20 ‘‘(B) affect any rights or authority of the

21 States with respect to fish and wildlife; or

22 ‘‘(C) authorize the collection of fees from

23 any person who has a right of access for hunt24 ing or fishing privileges under a specific provi25 sion of law or treaty.
17

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(2) THROUGH TRAVEL.—No admission fee

2 shall be charged for travel by private, noncommercial

3 vehicle over any national parkway or any road or

4 highway established as a part of the National Fed5 eral Aid System, as defined in section 101, title 23,

6 United States Code, which is commonly used by the

7 public as a means of travel between two places either

8 or both of which are outside the area. Nor shall any

9 fee be charged for travel by private, noncommercial

10 vehicle over any road or highway to any land in

11 which such person has any property right if such

12 land is within any such designated area.

13 ‘‘(3) PERSONS CONDUCTING GOVERNMENTAL

14 BUSINESS.—No admission fee shall be charged to

15 persons engaged in the conduct of official Federal,

16 State or local government business or to others au17 thorized by the administering Secretary to conduct

18 administrative duties within the area.

19 ‘‘(4) LIFETIME ADMISSION PERMITS.—No ad20 mission fee shall be charged under this section to

21 any person who possesses a lifetime admission per22 mit issued under section 4(a) (4) or (5) of this Act

23 as in effect on the day before the date of the enact24 ment of the Visitor Services Improvement and Out25 door Legacy Act of 1995.
18

•HR 2107 IH

1 ‘‘(l) ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Reports

2 indicating the number and location of fee collection areas,

3 visitation information, fees collected, and other pertinent

4 data, shall be coordinated and compiled by the administer5 ing Secretaries and transmitted to the Committee on Re6 sources of the United States House of Representatives and

7 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

8 United States Senate. These reports shall be transmitted

9 annually not later than the submission of the President’s

10 budget under section 1105 of title 31, United States Code,

11 and shall include any recommendations which the Sec12 retaries may have with respect to improving the recreation

13 fee program.

14 ‘‘(m) TRANSITION TO FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—

15 ‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATION AREAS.—In implement16 ing the recreation fee program under this section,

17 the administering Secretaries shall initially imple18 ment demonstration programs at no fewer than 10,

19 but no greater than 30 areas managed by each agen20 cy. At these demonstration areas, the administering

21 Secretaries are encouraged to examine a full range

22 of recreation fees and fee collection strategies such

23 as vendor sales. Within four years after the date of

24 enactment of this section, the administering Sec25 retaries shall submit a report to Congress on the re-
19

•HR 2107 IH

1 sult of these demonstration projects. In addition, the

2 administering Secretary shall report on the ability of

3 each agency to meet the 75 percent cost recovery

4 goal. If the administering Secretary determines that

5 he cannot meet the overall cost recovery goals of this

6 section for a particular agency, he shall report the

7 likely level of potential cost recovery from the recre8 ation fee program for that agency.

9 ‘‘(2) NEW INTERIM FEE SCHEDULE.—Not later

10 than one year after the date of the enactment of this

11 section, the administering Secretaries shall submit to

12 Congress an interim schedule of recreation fees for

13 areas not included in a demonstration program

14 under paragraph (1). Such fee schedule may not

15 take effect until 60 days after the date on which it

16 is submitted to Congress. Before such schedule takes

17 effect, recreation fees at areas administered by the

18 agencies shall be determined in accordance section 4

19 of this Act as in effect on the day before the date

20 of the enactment of the Visitor Services Improve21 ment and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.

22 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later

23 than 180 days before the end of the transition pe24 riod, the administering Secretaries shall jointly sub25 mit a report to Congress on the implementation of
20

•HR 2107 IH

1 this section. Such report shall include the policy

2 statement developed under subsection (a)(2), the

3 fees to be charged under this section, and the target

4 recreation revenue goals for each area subject to this

5 section. Such fees and target recreation revenue

6 goals shall be effective beginning with the fiscal year

7 beginning after the transition period unless Congress

8 enacts a joint resolution before the beginning of

9 such fiscal year specifying otherwise.

10 ‘‘(n) EXEMPTION OF FEES.—Amounts collected

11 under this section shall not be taken into account for the

12 purposes of the Act of May 23, 1908, and the Act of

13 March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500), the Act of March 4, 1913

14 (16 U.S.C. 501), the Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C.

15 1012), the Act of August 8, 1937, and the Act of May

16 24, 1939 (43 U.S.C. 1181f et seq.), the Act of June 14,

17 1926 (43 U.S.C. 869–4), chapter 69 of title 31, United

18 States Code, section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935 (16

19 U.S.C. 715s), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

20 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–1—4—460l–11), and any other

21 provision of law relating to revenue allocation.

22 ‘‘(o) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After the transition period,

24 for each $3 in recreation fees collected by an agency

25 pursuant to this section during a fiscal year, there
21

•HR 2107 IH

1 is appropriated $2 to that agency for the succeeding

2 fiscal year, of which not less than 25 percent or

3 more than 50 percent shall be available to fund the

4 construction or rehabilitation of visitor facilities and

5 the remaining amount shall be available to provide

6 the balance of funding for annual visitor recreational

7 services.

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSITION PERIOD.—During the transi9 tion period, there is authorized to be appropriated

10 for a fiscal year amounts which would have been ap11 propriated for that fiscal year under section 4 of the

12 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, as

13 such section was in effect on the day before the date

14 of the enactment of the Visitor Services Improve15 ment and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.’’.

16 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

17 The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies

18 Appropriations Act, 1993 is amended by striking out the

19 second proviso under the heading ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE PRO20 VISIONS’’ which is under the heading ‘‘NATIONAL PARK

21 SERVICE’’ (related to recovery of costs associated with spe22 cial use permits).

Æ

HR 2107 IH——2