II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 568

To allow the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture

to establish a fee system for commercial filming activities in a site

or resource under their jurisdictions.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 9, 1999

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To allow the Department of the Interior and the Department

of Agriculture to establish a fee system for commercial

filming activities in a site or resource under their jurisdictions.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. COMMERCIAL FILMING ACTIVITIES.

4 (a) COMMERCIAL FILMING.—The Secretary of the

5 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, hereinafter re6 ferred to as ‘‘the Secretaries’’, shall require a permit and

7 shall establish a reasonable fee for commercial filming ac8 tivities in a site or resource under their respective jurisdic-
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S 568 IS

1 tions. Such fee shall provide a fair return to the United

2 States and shall be based upon the following criteria, in

3 addition to such other factors as the Secretaries deem nec4 essary: the number of days the filming takes place within

5 a site or resource, the size of the film crew, the amount

6 and type of equipment present, and any potential impact

7 on park resources. The Secretaries are also directed to re8 cover any costs incurred as a result of filming activities,

9 including but not limited to administration and personnel

10 costs. All costs recovered are in addition to the assessed

11 fee.

12 (b) STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.—(1) Except as provided

13 in paragraph (2), the Secretaries shall not require a per14 mit or assess a fee for commercial or noncommercial still

15 photography of sites, lands, or resources under their re16 spective jurisdictions in any part of a site or resource

17 where members of the public are generally allowed. In

18 other locations, the Secretaries may require a permit, fee,

19 or both, if the Secretaries determine that there is a likeli20 hood of resource impact, disruption of the public’s use and

21 enjoyment of the site or resource, or if the activity poses

22 health or safety risks.

23 (2) The Secretaries shall require the issuance of a

24 permit and the payment of a reasonable fee for still pho25 tography that utilizes models or props which are not a
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S 568 IS

1 part of a site or resource’s natural or cultural features

2 or administrative facilities.

3 (c) PROCEEDS.—(1) Fees collected within lands or

4 sites under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries under this

5 section shall be deposited in a special account in the

6 Treasury of the United States and shall be available to

7 the Secretaries, without further appropriation for high8 priority visitor service or resource management projects

9 and programs for the unit or site in which the fee is col10 lected.

11 (2) All costs recovered under this section shall be re12 tained by the Secretaries and shall remain available for

13 expenditure in the site or resource where collected, without

14 further appropriation.

15 (d) PERMITS.—The Secretaries shall establish sys16 tems to insure that requests for permits are responded to

17 in a timely manner.

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