I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3956

To establish the Freedom National Park in the State of Georgia, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 3, 1994

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. LINDER, Mr. DARDEN, and Mr. GINGRICH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Freedom National Park in the State of

Georgia, 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. FREEDOM NATIONAL PARK.

4 (a) PURPOSE; ESTABLISHMENT.—In order to—

5 (1) preserve for the benefit of the American

6 people certain historic sites, structures, and prop7 erties of outstanding national significance associated

8 with the struggle for civil rights by Americans of Af9 rican descent and the effort to promote international

10 human rights associated with the Jimmy Carter Li-
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1 brary and Museum and the Carter Presidential

2 Center;

3 (2) establish a historic and recreational corridor

4 in the form of a roadside park surrounding the State

5 roadway known as the Freedom Parkway, connect6 ing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District

7 with the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, the

8 Carter Presidential Center, and various Civil War

9 battle sites associated with the Battle of Atlanta, in10 cluding Copen Hill; and

11 (3) provide educational, interpretive, and rec12 reational facilities to enhance the enjoyment of visi13 tors to these sites,

14 there is established Freedom National Park (hereinafter

15 in this Act referred to as the ‘‘park’’).

16 (b) DESCRIPTION OF AREA.—The park shall consist

17 of approximately 165 acres of lands and interests in lands

18 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Freedom Na19 tional Park Boundary Concept’’, numbered lll and

20 dated lll and shall include the area surrounding the

21 Jimmy Carter Library and Museum and Carter Presi22 dential Center and the corridor immediately adjacent to

23 the right-of-way of the roadway known as the Freedom

24 Parkway which connects the Carter Presidential Center

25 with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District. The
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1 map shall be on file and available in the offices of the

2 National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

3 (c) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY; AUTHORITY OF SEC4 RETARY; LEASING OF STATE-OWNED LANDS.—The Sec5 retary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act referred to

6 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is hereby authorized to acquire lands

7 and interests therein, including leasehold interests, within

8 the boundaries of the park as depicted on the map ref9 erenced in subsection (b), by donation, purchase with do10 nated or appropriated funds, or exchange. All property

11 owned by the State of Georgia or any political subdivision

12 thereof may be acquired only by donation or lease agree13 ment conditioned upon use of the land solely for purposes

14 of a roadside park.

15 SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

17 the park in accordance with the provisions of this Act and

18 the provisions of law generally applicable to the adminis19 tration of units of the National Park System, including

20 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a National Park

21 Service, and for other purposes’’, approved August 25,

22 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3, and 4), the Act

23 of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461–467),

24 and the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C.

25 470–470x–6).
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1 (b) ROAD CONSTRUCTION OR USE RESTRICTIONS.—

2 The Secretary shall not permit the construction or use of

3 any road within the park which would provide vehicular

4 access for through traffic, other than the Freedom Park5 way and streets existing on the date of enactment of this

6 Act nor shall the Secretary permit construction of any

7 roadways which would have the effect of altering the de8 sign of the Freedom Parkway, except for construction of

9 such cul-de-sac driveways as may be reasonably necessary

10 to provide access between the Freedom Parkway and road11 side recreation facilities.

12 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—In furtherance of the

14 purposes of this Act, the Secretary is author15 ized to enter into cooperative agreements with

16 State and local governments and with private

17 owners of properties of natural, historical, or

18 cultural significance within or in the immediate

19 vicinity of the park, including (but not limited

20 to) the resources described in section 1(b), pur21 suant to which the Secretary may—

22 (A) mark, interpret, restore, or pro23 vide technical assistance for the preserva24 tion and interpretation of such properties;

25 and
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1 (B) provide assistance, including man2 agement services, program implementation,

3 and financial assistance consistent with

4 subsection (a).

5 (2) ACCESS AND PROPERTY ALTER6 ATIONS.—Such agreements may contain (but

7 need not be limited to) provisions that—

8 (A) the Secretary, through the Na9 tional Park Service, shall have the right of

10 access at all reasonable times to all public

11 portions of the property covered by such

12 agreement for the purpose of conducting

13 visitors through such properties and inter14 preting them to the public; and

15 (B) no changes or alterations may be

16 made to the properties except by mutual

17 agreement between the Secretary and the

18 other parties to such agreements.

19 (3) SPECIFIC PROVISIONS.—An agreement

20 entered into under this subsection may contain

21 specific provisions which outline in detail the

22 extent of the participation by the Secretary in

23 the restoration, preservation, interpretation,

24 and maintenance of such properties not specifi25 cally provided for in paragraph (1).
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1 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

2 Within one year after the date on which funds are

3 first made available for the purposes of preparing a gen4 eral management plan, the Secretary, in consultation with

5 the State of Georgia and the city of Atlanta, shall develop

6 and transmit to the Committee on Energy and Natural

7 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural

8 Resources of the House of Representatives, a general man9 agement plan for the park consistent with the purposes

10 of this Act, including (but not limited to)—

11 (1) a general visitor use and interpretive pro12 gram which fully considers the historic and cultural

13 aspects of the park, including the themes of individ14 ual freedom, civil rights, and human rights;

15 (2) a statement on the number of visitors and

16 types of public uses within the park which can be

17 reasonably accommodated in accordance with the

18 protection of its resources; and

19 (3) a general development plan for the park, in20 cluding the estimated cost thereof.

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

23 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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