II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 615 

To establish Coltsville National Historical Park in the State of Connecticut, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2013 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish Coltsville National Historical Park in the State 

of Connecticut, 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 ‘‘Coltsville National His5 torical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For the purposes of this Act: 

8 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘city’’ means the city of 

9 Hartford, Connecticut. 


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1 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Coltsville National Historical Park Advi3 sory Commission established by subsection 6(a). 

4 (3) HISTORIC DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘Historic 

5 District’’ means the Coltsville Historic District. 

6 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti7 tled ‘‘Coltsville National Historical Park—Proposed 

8 Boundary’’, numbered T25/102087, and dated May 

9 11, 2010. 

10 (5) PARK.—The term ‘‘park’’ means the 

11 Coltsville National Historical Park in the State of 

12 Connecticut. 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

16 of Connecticut. 

17 SEC. 3. COLTSVILLE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

20 there is established in the State a unit of the Na21 tional Park System to be known as the ‘‘Coltsville 

22 National Historical Park’’. 

23 (2) CONDITIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

24 park shall not be established until the date on which 

25 the Secretary determines that— 


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1 (A) the Secretary has acquired by donation 

2 sufficient land or an interest in land within the 

3 boundary of the park to constitute a manage4 able unit; 

5 (B) the State, city, or private property 

6 owner, as appropriate, has entered into a writ7 ten agreement with the Secretary to donate at 

8 least 10,000 square feet of space in the East 

9 Armory which would include facilities for park 

10 administration and visitor services; and 

11 (C) the Secretary has entered into a writ12 ten agreement with the State, city, or other 

13 public entity, as appropriate, providing that— 

14 (i) land owned by the State, city, or 

15 other public entity within the Coltsville 

16 Historic District shall be managed con17 sistent with this section; and 

18 (ii) future uses of land within the his19 toric district shall be compatible with the 

20 designation of the park and the city’s pres21 ervation ordinance. 

22 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The park shall include and pro23 vide appropriate interpretation and viewing of the fol24 lowing sites, as generally depicted on the map: 

25 (1) The East Armory. 


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1 (2) The Church of the Good Shepherd. 

2 (3) The Caldwell/Colt Memorial Parish House. 

3 (4) Colt Park. 

4 (5) The Potsdam Cottages. 

5 (6) Armsmear. 

6 (7) The James Colt House. 

7 (c) COLLECTIONS.—The Secretary shall enter into a 

8 written agreement with the State of Connecticut State Li9 brary, Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Colt Trust, or other 

10 public entities, as appropriate, to gain appropriate access 

11 to Colt-related artifacts for the purposes of having items 

12 routinely on display in the East Armory or within the park 

13 as determined by the Secretary as a major function of the 

14 visitor experience. 

15 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

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

17 the park in accordance with— 

18 (1) this Act; and 

19 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

20 National Park System, including— 

21 (A) the National Park Service Organic Act 

22 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

23 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

24 461 et seq.). 


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1 (b) STATE AND LOCAL JURISDICTION.—Nothing in 

2 this Act enlarges, diminishes, or modifies any authority 

3 of the State, or any political subdivision of the State (in4 cluding the city)— 

5 (1) to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction; or 

6 (2) to carry out State laws (including regula7 tions) and rules on non-Federal land located within 

8 the boundary of the park. 

9 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As the Secretary determines 

11 to be appropriate to carry out this Act, the Sec12 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with 

13 the owner of any property within the Coltsville His14 toric District or any nationally significant properties 

15 within the boundary of the park, under which the 

16 Secretary may identify, interpret, restore, rehabili17 tate, and provide technical assistance for the preser18 vation of the properties. 

19 (2) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—A cooperative agree20 ment entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide 

21 that the Secretary, acting through the Director of 

22 the National Park Service, shall have the right of 

23 access at all reasonable times to all public portions 

24 of the property covered by the agreement for the 

25 purposes of— 


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1 (A) conducting visitors through the prop2 erties; and 

3 (B) interpreting the properties for the pub4 lic. 

5 (3) CHANGES OR ALTERATIONS.—No changes 

6 or alterations shall be made to any properties cov7 ered by a cooperative agreement entered into under 

8 paragraph (1) unless the Secretary and the other 

9 party to the agreement agree to the changes or al10 terations. 

11 (4) CONVERSION, USE, OR DISPOSAL.—Any 

12 payment by the Secretary under this subsection shall 

13 be subject to an agreement that the conversion, use, 

14 or disposal of a project for purposes contrary to the 

15 purposes of this section, as determined by the Sec16 retary, shall entitle the United States to reimburse17 ment in an amount equal to the greater of— 

18 (A) the amounts made available to the 

19 project by the United States; or 

20 (B) the portion of the increased value of 

21 the project attributable to the amounts made 

22 available under this subsection, as determined 

23 at the time of the conversion, use, or disposal. 

24 (5) MATCHING FUNDS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the 

2 receipt of funds under this subsection, the Sec3 retary shall require that any Federal funds 

4 made available under a cooperative agreement 

5 shall be matched on a 1-to-1 basis by non-Fed6 eral funds. 

7 (B) FORM.—With the approval of the Sec8 retary, the non-Federal share required under 

9 subparagraph (A) may be in the form of do10 nated property, goods, or services from a non11 Federal source, fairly valued. 

12 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary is au13 thorized to acquire land and interests in land by donation, 

14 purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or ex15 change, except that land or interests in land owned by the 

16 State or any political subdivision of the State may be ac17 quired only by donation. 

18 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND PUBLIC INTERPRE19 TATION.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance 

20 and public interpretation of related historic and cultural 

21 resources within the boundary of the historic district. 

22 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 fiscal years after 

24 the date on which funds are made available to carry out 

25 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the CommisVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:14 Mar 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S615.IS S615

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1 sion, shall complete a management plan for the park in 

2 accordance with— 

3 (1) section 12(b) of Public Law 91–383 (com4 monly known as the National Park Service General 

5 Authorities Act) (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)); and 

6 (2) other applicable laws. 

7 (b) COST SHARE.—The management plan shall in8 clude provisions that identify costs to be shared by the 

9 Federal Government, the State, and the city, and other 

10 public or private entities or individuals for necessary cap11 ital improvements to, and maintenance and operations of, 

12 the park. 

13 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion of 

14 the management plan, the Secretary shall submit the man15 agement plan to— 

16 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

17 House of Representatives; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate. 

20 SEC. 6. COLTSVILLE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK ADVI21 SORY COMMISSION. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Com23 mission to be known as the Coltsville National Historical 

24 Park Advisory Commission. 


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1 (b) DUTY.—The Commission shall advise the Sec2 retary in the development and implementation of the man3 agement plan. 

4 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

5 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

6 composed of 11 members, to be appointed by the 

7 Secretary, of whom— 

8 (A) 2 members shall be appointed after 

9 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

10 the Governor of the State; 

11 (B) 1 member shall be appointed after con12 sideration of recommendations submitted by the 

13 State Senate President; 

14 (C) 1 member shall be appointed after con15 sideration of recommendations submitted by the 

16 Speaker of the State House of Representatives; 

17 (D) 2 members shall be appointed after 

18 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

19 the Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut; 

20 (E) 2 members shall be appointed after 

21 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

22 Connecticut’s 2 United States Senators; 

23 (F) 1 member shall be appointed after con24 sideration of recommendations submitted by 


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1 Connecticut’s First Congressional District Rep2 resentative; 

3 (G) 2 members shall have experience with 

4 national parks and historic preservation; 

5 (H) all appointments must have significant 

6 experience with and knowledge of the Coltsville 

7 Historic District; and 

8 (I) 1 member of the Commission must live 

9 in the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood with10 in the Coltsville Historic District. 

11 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary 

12 shall appoint the initial members of the Commission 

13 not later than the earlier of— 

14 (A) the date that is 30 days after the date 

15 on which the Secretary has received all of the 

16 recommendations for appointments under para17 graph (1); or 

18 (B) the date that is 30 days after the park 

19 is established. 

20 (d) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

21 (1) TERM.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member shall be ap23 pointed for a term of 3 years. 


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1 (B) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member may be 

2 reappointed for not more than 1 additional 

3 term. 

4 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

5 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap6 pointment was made. 

7 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

8 call of— 

9 (1) the Chairperson; or 

10 (2) a majority of the members of the Commis11 sion. 

12 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the Commission shall 

13 constitute a quorum. 

14 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall select 

16 a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the 

17 members of the Commission. 

18 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 

19 shall serve as Chairperson in the absence of the 

20 Chairperson. 

21 (3) TERM.—A member may serve as Chair22 person or Vice Chairperson for not more than 1 year 

23 in each office. 

24 (h) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

25 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com2 mission shall serve without compensation. 

3 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the 

4 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, in5 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 

6 authorized for an employee of an agency under 

7 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

8 States Code, while away from the home or reg9 ular place of business of the member in the per10 formance of the duty of the Commission. 

11 (2) STAFF.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 provide the Commission with any staff members 

14 and technical assistance that the Secretary, 

15 after consultation with the Commission, deter16 mines to be appropriate to enable the Commis17 sion to carry out the duty of the Commission. 

18 (B) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—The Sec19 retary may accept the services of personnel de20 tailed from the State or any political subdivi21 sion of the State. 

22 (i) FACA NONAPPLICABILITY.—Section 14(b) of the 

23 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

24 apply to the Commission. 

25 (j) TERMINATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Unless extended under para2 graph (2), the Commission shall terminate on the 

3 date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 (2) EXTENSION.—Eight years after the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

7 make a recommendation to the Secretary if a body 

8 of its nature is still necessary to advise on the devel9 opment of the park. If, based on a recommendation 

10 under this paragraph, the Secretary determines that 

11 the Commission is still necessary, the Secretary may 

12 extend the life of the Commission for not more than 

13 10 years. 

Æ 


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