I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1297 

To establish the Hawai’i Capital National Heritage Area, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 4, 2009 

Mr. ABERCROMBIE (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Hawai’i Capital National Heritage Area, 

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 ‘‘Hawai’i Capital Na5 tional Heritage Area Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

9 Area’’ means the Hawai’i Capital National Heritage 

10 Area established by section 3(a). 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

4 section 3(d). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area required under section 5. 

8 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Hawai’i Capital National Heritage Area Pro10 posed Boundary’’, numbered T17/90,000B, and 

11 dated January 2009. 

12 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

15 of Hawai’i. 

16 SEC. 3. HAWAI’I CAPITAL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

18 State the Hawai’i Capital National Heritage Area. 

19 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall consist 

20 of portions of Honolulu and the Honolulu Ahupua’a, as 

21 depicted on the map. 

22 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

23 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of24 fices of the National Park Service and the Hawai’i Capital 

25 Cultural Coalition. 


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1 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Hawai’i 

2 Capital Cultural Coalition shall be the local coordinating 

3 entity for the Heritage Area. 

4 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE LOCAL COORDI5 NATING ENTITY. 

6 (a) DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI7 TY.—To further the purposes of the Heritage Area, the 

8 local coordinating entity shall— 

9 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

10 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

11 with section 5; 

12 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

13 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

14 in implementing the approved management plan 

15 by— 

16 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

17 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

18 resource values in the Heritage Area; 

19 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre20 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

21 Area; 

22 (C) developing recreational and educational 

23 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 


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1 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

2 appreciation for, natural, historic, scenic, and 

3 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

4 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

5 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

6 consistent with the themes of the Heritage 

7 Area; 

8 (F) ensuring that signs identifying points 

9 of public access and sites of interest are posted 

10 throughout the Heritage Area; and 

11 (G) promoting a wide range of partner12 ships among governments, organizations, and 

13 individuals to further the purposes of the Herit14 age Area; 

15 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

16 government, businesses, organizations, and individ17 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im18 plementation of the management plan; 

19 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

20 semiannually regarding the development and imple21 mentation of the management plan; 

22 (5) for any fiscal year for which the local co23 ordinating entity receives Federal funds under this 

24 Act— 


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1 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re2 port that describes, for the fiscal year— 

3 (i) the accomplishments, expenses, in4 come, amounts, and sources of matching 

5 funds; 

6 (ii) the amounts leveraged with Fed7 eral funds and sources of the leveraged 

8 funds; and 

9 (iii) grants made to any other entities; 

10 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

11 audit all information relating to the expenditure 

12 of Federal funds and any matching funds for 

13 the fiscal year; and 

14 (C) require, in all agreements authorizing 

15 the expenditure of Federal funds by other orga16 nizations, that the organizations receiving the 

17 Federal funds make available to the Secretary 

18 for audit all records and other information re19 lating to the expenditure of the funds; and 

20 (6) encourage, by appropriate means, economic 

21 development that is consistent with the purposes of 

22 the Heritage Area. 

23 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The local coordinating entity 

24 may, subject to the prior approval of the Secretary, for 

25 the purposes of preparing and implementing the manageVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:40 Mar 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1297.IH H1297

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1 ment plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal funds made 

2 available under this Act to— 

3 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub4 division of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

5 other persons; 

6 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 

7 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit8 ical subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, 

9 Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 

10 (3) hire and compensate staff; 

11 (4) obtain money or services from any source, 

12 including under any other Federal law or program; 

13 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

14 (6) support activities of partners and any other 

15 activities that— 

16 (A) further the purposes of the Heritage 

17 Area; and 

18 (B) are consistent with the approved man19 agement plan. 

20 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

21 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity shall not use 

22 Federal funds made available under this Act to acquire 

23 real property or any interest in real property. 


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1 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

3 date on which funds are made available to carry out this 

4 Act, the local coordinating entity shall submit to the Sec5 retary for approval a management plan for the Heritage 

6 Area. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

8 (1) describe comprehensive policies, goals, strat9 egies, and recommendations for— 

10 (A) conveying the heritage of the region; 

11 and 

12 (B) encouraging long-term resource protec13 tion, enhancement, interpretation, funding, 

14 management, and development of the Heritage 

15 Area; 

16 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun17 ty, and local plans in the development and imple18 mentation of the management plan; 

19 (3) include a description of actions and commit20 ments that governments, private organizations, and 

21 individuals have agreed to take to protect, enhance, 

22 and interpret the natural, historic, scenic, and cul23 tural resources of the Heritage Area; 

24 (4) specify existing and potential sources of 

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1 tect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and develop 

2 the Heritage Area; 

3 (5) include an inventory of the natural, historic, 

4 cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational re5 sources of the Heritage Area related to the stories 

6 and themes of the region that should be protected, 

7 enhanced, managed, or developed; 

8 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re9 source management, including the development of 

10 intergovernmental and interagency agreements to 

11 protect the natural, historic, cultural, educational, 

12 scenic, and recreational resources of the Heritage 

13 Area; 

14 (7) describe a program of implementation for 

15 the management plan, including— 

16 (A) performance goals; 

17 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance18 ment, and interpretation; and 

19 (C) specific commitments for implementa20 tion of the management plan that have been 

21 made by the local coordinating entity or any 

22 government, organization, business, or indi23 vidual; 

24 (8) include an analysis of, and recommenda25 tions for, ways in which Federal, tribal, State, and 


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1 local programs may best be coordinated to carry out 

2 the purposes of this Act, including recommendations 

3 for the role of the National Park Service and other 

4 Federal agencies associated with the Heritage Area; 

5 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

6 Area; and 

7 (10) include a business plan that— 

8 (A) describes the role, operation, financing, 

9 and functions of— 

10 (i) the local coordinating entity; and 

11 (ii) each of the major activities con12 tained in the management plan; and 

13 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

14 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

15 and financial and other resources necessary to 

16 implement the management plan for the Herit17 age Area. 

18 (c) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the management 

19 plan is not submitted to the Secretary in accordance with 

20 this Act, the local coordinating entity shall be ineligible 

21 to receive additional funding under this Act until the date 

22 on which the Secretary approves the management plan. 

23 (d) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of receipt of the management plan 


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1 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 

2 with the Governor of the State and any applicable 

3 tribal government, shall approve or disapprove the 

4 management plan. 

5 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

6 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec7 retary shall consider whether— 

8 (A) the local coordinating entity represents 

9 the diverse interests of the Heritage Area, in10 cluding governments, natural and historical re11 source protection organizations, educational in12 stitutions, businesses, community residents, and 

13 recreational organizations; 

14 (B) the local coordinating entity has af15 forded adequate opportunity for public and gov16 ernmental involvement, including workshops 

17 and public meetings, in the preparation of the 

18 management plan; 

19 (C) the resource protection and interpreta20 tion strategies contained in the management 

21 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

22 the natural, historic, and cultural resources of 

23 the Heritage Area; 

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1 eral or tribal land under applicable laws or land 

2 use plans; 

3 (E) the Secretary has received adequate 

4 assurances from the appropriate State, tribal, 

5 and local officials, the support of which is nec6 essary to ensure the effective implementation of 

7 the State, tribal, and local aspects of the man8 agement plan; and 

9 (F) the local coordinating entity has dem10 onstrated the financial capability, in partner11 ship with others, to carry out the plan. 

12 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

13 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

14 paragraph (1), the Secretary— 

15 (A) shall advise the local coordinating enti16 ty in writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

17 (B) may make recommendations to the 

18 local coordinating entity for revisions to the 

19 management plan; and 

20 (C) not later than 180 days after the re21 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage22 ment plan from the local coordinating entity, 

23 shall approve or disapprove the proposed re24 vised management plan. 


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1 (4) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall ap2 prove or disapprove each amendment to the manage3 ment plan that the Secretary determines would 

4 make a substantial change to the management plan 

5 in accordance with this subsection. 

6 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—The local coordinating en7 tity shall not use Federal funds authorized by this 

8 Act to carry out any amendments to the manage9 ment plan until the Secretary has approved the 

10 amendments. 

11 SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

12 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the request of the local 

14 coordinating entity, the Secretary may provide to the 

15 local coordinating entity technical and financial as16 sistance on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, 

17 as determined by the Secretary, to develop and im18 plement the management plan. 

19 (2) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—In providing assist20 ance under this subsection, the Secretary shall give 

21 priority to actions that assist in— 

22 (A) conserving the significant natural, his23 toric, cultural, and scenic resources of the Her24 itage Area; and 


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1 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 

2 recreational opportunities consistent with the 

3 purposes of the Heritage Area. 

4 (3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec5 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with 

6 the local coordinating entity and other public or pri7 vate entities for the purposes of carrying out this 

8 subsection. 

9 (b) EVALUATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be11 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 

12 terminates for the Heritage Area under section 10, 

13 the Secretary shall— 

14 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom15 plishments of the Heritage Area; and 

16 (B) prepare a report with recommenda17 tions for the future role of the National Park 

18 Service, if any, with respect to the Heritage 

19 Area. 

20 (2) EVALUATION COMPONENTS.—An evaluation 

21 conducted under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

22 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi23 nating entity with respect to— 

24 (i) accomplishing the purposes of this 

25 Act for the Heritage Area; and 


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1 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

2 of the approved management plan for the 

3 Heritage Area; 

4 (B) analyze the Federal, State, local, and 

5 private investments in the Heritage Area to de6 termine the leverage and impact of the invest7 ments; and 

8 (C) review the management structure, 

9 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

10 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

11 critical components for sustainability of the 

12 Heritage Area. 

13 (3) REPORT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evalua15 tion conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the 

16 Secretary shall prepare a report with rec17 ommendations for the future role of the Na18 tional Park Service, if any, with respect to the 

19 Heritage Area. 

20 (B) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report 

21 prepared under subparagraph (A) recommends 

22 that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be 

23 reauthorized, the report shall include an anal24 ysis of— 


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1 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 

2 the Heritage Area may be reduced or 

3 eliminated; and 

4 (ii) the appropriate time period nec5 essary to achieve the recommended reduc6 tion or elimination. 

7 (C) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On com8 pletion of the report, the Secretary shall submit 

9 the report to— 

10 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

11 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

12 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives. 

14 SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au16 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan17 cial assistance under any other law. 

18 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—To the 

19 maximum extent practicable, the head of any Federal 

20 agency planning to conduct activities that may have an 

21 impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged to consult and 

22 coordinate the activities with the Secretary and the local 

23 coordinating entity. 

24 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

25 Act— 


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1 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any laws (in2 cluding regulations) authorizing a Federal agency to 

3 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 

4 Federal agency; 

5 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man6 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

7 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

8 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

9 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed10 eral agency. 

11 SEC. 8. PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS AND REGULATORY 

12 PROTECTIONS. 

13 Nothing in this Act— 

14 (1) abridges the rights of any owner of public 

15 or private property, including the right to refrain 

16 from participating in any plan, project, program, or 

17 activity conducted within the Heritage Area; 

18 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub19 lic access (including access by any Federal, tribal, 

20 State, or local agency) to the property; 

21 (3) modifies any provisions of Federal, tribal, 

22 State, or local law with regard to public access to, 

23 or use of, private land; 


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1 (4) alters any land use regulation, approved 

2 land use plan, or other regulatory authority of any 

3 Federal, tribal, State, or local agency; 

4 (5) conveys any land use or other regulatory 

5 authority to the local coordinating entity; 

6 (6) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap7 propriation of water or water rights; 

8 (7) diminishes the authority of the State to 

9 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

10 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

11 (8) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

12 under any other law, of any private property owner 

13 with respect to any person injured on the private 

14 property. 

15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro17 priated to carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not 

18 more than $1,000,000 may be made available for any fis19 cal year. 

20 (b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

22 cost of any activity provided assistance or a grant 

23 under this Act shall not exceed 50 percent of the 

24 total cost of the activity. 


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1 (2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non2 Federal share— 

3 (A) shall be from non-Federal sources; and 

4 (B) may be in the form of in-kind con5 tributions of goods and services fairly valued. 

6 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

7 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

8 assistance under this Act terminates on the date that is 

9 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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