II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 532

To provide increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund

and Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Programs, to resume the

funding of the State grants program of the Land and Water Conservation

Fund, and to provide for the acquisition and development of conservation

and recreation facilities and programs in urban areas, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 4, 1999

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Programs, to resume the funding of the State grants

program of the Land and Water Conservation Fund,

and to provide for the acquisition and development of

conservation and recreation facilities and programs in

urban areas, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Land and

3 Recreation Investment Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

7 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.) has been critical

8 in acquiring land to protect America’s national

9 parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and public land in all

10 50 States from potential development and in improv11 ing recreational opportunities for all Americans;

12 (2) the Land and Water Conservation Fund has

13 helped to preserve nearly 7,000,000 acres of Ameri14 ca’s most special places, from the California Desert

15 to the Everglades, in part by providing grants that

16 have helped States purchase over 2,000,000 acres of

17 parkland and open space;

18 (3) although amounts in the Land and Water

19 Conservation Fund are meant to be used only for

20 conservation and recreation purposes, since 1980

21 Congress and the President have diverted much of

22 this vital funding for deficit reduction and other

23 budgetary purposes;

24 (4) because of chronic shortages in funding for

25 the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the backlog

26 of Federal acquisition needs now totals over
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1 $10,000,000,000; the backlog includes key wetlands,

2 watersheds, wilderness, and wildlife habitat and im3 portant historic, cultural, and recreational sites;

4 (5) the findings of the 1995 National Biological

5 Service study entitled ‘‘Endangered Ecosystems of

6 the United States: A Preliminary Assessment of

7 Loss and Degradation’’ demonstrate the need to es8 calate conservation measures that protect the Na9 tion’s wildlands and wildlife habitats;

10 (6) lack of funding for the State grants portion

11 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund has ham12 pered State and local efforts to protect parklands,

13 coastlines, habitat areas, and open space from devel14 opment;

15 (7) recreation needs in America’s cities have

16 been neglected, in part because the Urban Park and

17 Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2501

18 et seq.) has not been funded since 1995;

19 (8) at the same time that Federal investment in

20 conservation and recreation has shrunk, demand for

21 outdoor recreation has skyrocketed: visits to our

22 public lands have increased dramatically in recent

23 years, and the national survey on recreation and the

24 environment conducted by the Forest Service indi-
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1 cates substantial growth in most outdoor activities;

2 and

3 (9) increased investment in conservation and

4 recreation is essential to maintaining America’s envi5 ronmental quality and high quality of life.

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to ensure that funding is available without

9 further Act of appropriation to the Land and Water

10 Conservation Fund and the Urban Park and Recre11 ation Recovery Program;

12 (2) to protect the Nation’s parklands, wildlife

13 habitat, and recreational resources;

14 (3) to revive the State grants portion of the

15 Land and Water Conservation Fund; and

16 (4) to ensure that local governments and Indian

17 tribes receive a fair share of proceeds from the Land

18 and Water Conservation Fund.

19 SEC. 4. LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND.

20 (a) APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 3 of the Land and

21 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

22 6) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.—

24 Moneys’’ and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Moneys’’;

3 (2) by striking the third sentence; and

4 (3) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(b) PERMANENT APPROPRIATION.—There is appro6 priated out of the fund to carry out this Act $900,000,000

7 for each fiscal year, to remain available until expended.’’.

8 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUND.—Section 5 of the Land

9 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

10 460l–7) is amended—

11 (1) by striking the first, second, and third sen12 tences and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts annually available to

14 carry out this Act for any fiscal year—

15 ‘‘(1) 40 percent shall be allocated for financial

16 assistance to States under section 6, of which not

17 less than 50 percent shall be directed to local gov18 ernments to provide natural areas, open space, park19 land, wildlife habitat, and recreation areas;

20 ‘‘(2) 50 percent shall be allocated for Federal

21 purposes under section 7; and

22 ‘‘(3) 10 percent shall be allocated for grants to

23 local governments under the Urban Park and Recre24 ation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2501 et

25 seq.).’’; and
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘There shall be’’ and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—There shall be’’.

4 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Land and

6 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

7 460l–8) is amended—

8 (A) in subsection (b)—

9 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking

10 ‘‘forty per centum’’ and all that follows

11 through ‘‘twenty per centum’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘30 percent of the first $225,000,000

13 and 20 percent’’; and

14 (ii) by adding at the end the follow15 ing:

16 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBES.—

17 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

18 term ‘Indian tribe’ means an Indian or Alaska

19 Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or

20 community that the Secretary of the Interior

21 recognizes as an Indian tribe under section 104

22 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List

23 Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1).

24 ‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.—For the purposes

25 of paragraph (1), the Indian tribes—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall be treated collectively as 1

2 State; and

3 ‘‘(ii) shall receive shares of their col4 lective apportionment under that para5 graph in amounts to be determined by the

6 Secretary of the Interior.

7 ‘‘(C) OTHER TREATMENT.—For all other

8 purposes of this title, each Indian tribe shall be

9 treated as a State, except that—

10 ‘‘(i) an Indian tribe shall not be re11 quired to direct 50 percent of the financial

12 assistance provided under this Act to local

13 governments; and

14 ‘‘(ii) an Indian tribe may use financial

15 assistance provided under this Act only if

16 the Indian tribe provides assurances, sub17 ject to the approval of the Secretary, that

18 the Indian tribe will maintain conservation

19 and recreation opportunities to the public

20 at large in perpetuity on land and facilities

21 funded under this Act.

22 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year, no

23 single Indian tribe shall receive more than 10

24 percent of the total amount made available
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1 under paragraph (1) to all Indian tribes, collec2 tively.’’;

3 (B) by striking subsection (d) and insert4 ing the following:

5 ‘‘(d) STATE ACTION AGENDAS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To qualify for financial as7 sistance under this section, a State, in consultation

8 with local subdivisions, nonprofit and other private

9 organizations, and interested citizens, shall prepare

10 and submit to the Secretary a State action agenda

11 for recreation, open space, and conservation that

12 identifies the State’s recreation, open space, and

13 conservation needs and priorities.

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A State action

15 agenda—

16 ‘‘(A) shall take into account long-term

17 recreation, open space, and conservation needs

18 (including preservation of habitat for threat19 ened and endangered species and other species

20 of conservation concern) but focus on actions

21 that can be funded over a 4-year period;

22 ‘‘(B) shall be updated every 4 years and

23 approved by the Governor;
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1 ‘‘(C) shall be considered in an active public

2 involvement process that includes public hear3 ings around the State;

4 ‘‘(D) shall take into account activities and

5 priorities of managers of conservation land,

6 open space, and recreation land in the State, in7 cluding Federal, regional, local, and nonprofit

8 agencies; and

9 ‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, shall be co10 ordinated with other State, regional, and local

11 plans for parks, recreation, open space, and

12 wetland conservation.

13 ‘‘(3) USE OF RECOVERY ACTION PLANS.—A

14 State shall use recovery action plans developed by

15 local governments under section 1007 of the Urban

16 Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16

17 U.S.C. 2506) as a guide in formulating the conclu18 sions and action items contained in the State action

19 agenda.’’; and

20 (C) by striking subsection (f)(3) and in21 serting the following:

22 ‘‘(3) CONVERSION OF USE OF PROPERTY.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No property acquired

24 or developed with assistance under this section

25 may be converted to a use other than use for
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1 recreation, open space, or conservation without

2 the approval of the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

5 may approve a conversion of use of prop6 erty under subparagraph (A) if the State

7 demonstrates that—

8 ‘‘(I) no prudent or feasible alter9 native to conversion of the use of the

10 property exists;

11 ‘‘(II) because of changes in de12 mographics, the property is no longer

13 viable for use for recreation, open

14 space, or conservation; or

15 ‘‘(III) the property must be

16 abandoned because of environmental

17 contamination that endangers public

18 health or safety.

19 ‘‘(ii) SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER PROP20 ERTY.—

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Conversion

22 of the use of property shall satisfy any

23 condition that the Secretary considers

24 necessary to ensure that—
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1 ‘‘(aa) the substituted prop2 erty is property in the State that

3 is of at least equal market value

4 and reasonably equivalent useful5 ness and location; and

6 ‘‘(bb) the use of the sub7 stituted property for recreation,

8 open space, or conservation is

9 consistent with the State action

10 agenda.

11 ‘‘(II) WETLAND AREAS.—A wet12 land area or interest in a wetland area

13 (as identified in the wetland provi14 sions of the State action agenda) that

15 is proposed to be acquired as a suit16 able substitute property and that is

17 otherwise acceptable to the Secretary

18 shall be considered to be of reasonably

19 equivalent usefulness to the property

20 proposed for conversion.’’.

21 (2) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Any comprehen22 sive statewide outdoor recreation plan developed by

23 a State under section 6(d) of the Land and Water

24 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

25 8(d)) before the date that is 5 years after the date
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1 of enactment of this Act shall remain in effect in the

2 State until a State action agenda has been adopted

3 in accordance with the amendment made by para4 graph (1), but not later than 5 years after the date

5 of enactment of this Act.

6 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (A) Section 6 of the Land and Water Con8 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

9 8(e)) is amended—

10 (i) in subsection (e)—

11 (I) in the matter preceding para12 graph (1), by striking ‘‘State com13 prehensive plan’’ and inserting ‘‘State

14 action agenda’’; and

15 (II) in paragraph (1), by striking

16 ‘‘, or wetland areas and interests

17 therein as identified in the wetlands

18 provisions of the comprehensive plan’’;

19 and

20 (ii) in subsection (f)(3)—

21 (I) in the second sentence, by

22 striking ‘‘then existing comprehensive

23 statewide outdoor recreation plan’’

24 and inserting ‘‘State action agenda’’;

25 and
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1 (II) by striking ‘‘: Provided,’’ and

2 all that follows.

3 (B) Section 32(e) of the Bankhead-Jones

4 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(e)) is amend5 ed in the last proviso of the first paragraph by

6 striking ‘‘existing comprehensive statewide out7 door recreation plan found adequate for pur8 poses of the Land and Water Conservation

9 Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 897)’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘State action agenda required by section 6

11 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

12 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–8)’’.

13 (C) Section 102(a)(2) of the National His14 toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470b(a)(2))

15 is amended by striking ‘‘comprehensive state16 wide outdoor recreation plan prepared pursuant

17 to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

18 of 1965 (78 Stat. 897)’’ and inserting ‘‘State

19 action agenda required by section 6 of the Land

20 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

21 U.S.C. 460l–8)’’.

22 (D) Section 8(a) of the National Trails

23 System Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(a)) is amended in

24 the first sentence—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘comprehensive state2 wide outdoor recreation plans’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘State action agendas’’; and

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

5 460l–4 et seq.)’’ after ‘‘Fund Act’’.

6 (E) Section 11(a)(2) of the National Trails

7 System Act (16 U.S.C. 1250(a)(2)) is amended

8 by striking ‘‘(relating to the development of

9 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation

10 Plans)’’ and inserting ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 460l–8) (re11 lating to the development of State action agen12 das’’.

13 (F) Section 11 of the Wild and Scenic Riv14 ers Act (16 U.S.C. 1282) is amended—

15 (i) in subsection (a)—

16 (I) by striking ‘‘comprehensive

17 statewide outdoor recreation plans’’

18 and inserting ‘‘State action agendas’’;

19 and

20 (II) by striking ‘‘(78 Stat. 897)’’

21 and inserting ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et

22 seq.)’’; and

23 (ii) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by strik24 ing ‘‘(relating to the development of state25 wide comprehensive outdoor recreation
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1 plans)’’ and inserting ‘‘(16 U.S.C. 460l–8)

2 (relating to the development of State ac3 tion agendas’’.

4 (G) Section 1008 of the Urban Park and

5 Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C.

6 2507) is amended in the last sentence by strik7 ing ‘‘statewide comprehensive outdoor recre8 ation plans’’ and inserting ‘‘State action agen9 das required by section 6 of the Land and

10 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

11 U.S.C. 460l–8)’’.

12 (H) Section 206(d) of title 23, United

13 States Code, is amended—

14 (i) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking

15 ‘‘statewide comprehensive outdoor recre16 ation plan required by the Land and Water

17 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

18 460l–4 et seq.)’’ and inserting ‘‘State ac19 tion agenda required by section 6 of the

20 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of

21 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–8)’’; and

22 (ii) in paragraph (2)(D)(ii), by strik23 ing ‘‘statewide comprehensive outdoor

24 recreation plan that is required by the

25 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of
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1 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘State action agenda that is re3 quired by section 6 of the Land and Water

4 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

5 460l–8)’’.

6 (I) Section 202(c)(9) of the Federal Land

7 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

8 1712(c)(9)) is amended by striking ‘‘statewide

9 outdoor recreation plans developed under the

10 Act of September 3, 1964 (78 Stat. 897), as

11 amended’’ and inserting ‘‘State action agendas

12 required by section 6 of the Land and Water

13 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

14 460l–8)’’.

15 (d) FEDERAL PURPOSES.—Section 7 of the Land and

16 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

17 9) is amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY ACQUISITIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the annual

20 budget request under section 1105 of title 31,

21 United States Code, for each fiscal year, the Presi22 dent shall submit a list of priority acquisitions for

23 expenditure of the Federal allocation under this sec24 tion.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Federal priority list

2 shall be prepared in consultation with the Secretary

3 of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior.

4 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the pri5 ority list, the agency heads shall consider—

6 ‘‘(A) the potential adverse impacts that

7 might result if the acquisition were not under8 taken;

9 ‘‘(B) the availability of appraisals of land,

10 water, or interests in land or water and other

11 information necessary to complete the acquisi12 tion in a timely manner;

13 ‘‘(C) the conservation and recreational val14 ues that the acquired land, water, or interest in

15 land or water will provide; and

16 ‘‘(D) any other factors that the agency

17 heads consider appropriate.

18 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—An agency head shall ex19 pend funds appropriated for a fiscal year for acquisi20 tions in the order of priority specified in the budget

21 request unless Congress, in the general appropria22 tion Act for the fiscal year, specifies a different

23 order of priority or list of priorities.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. URBAN PARK AND RECREATION RECOVERY PRO2 GRAM.

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1004 of the Urban Park

4 and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2503)

5 is amended—

6 (1) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

7 end;

8 (2) in subsection (k), by striking the period at

9 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(l) ‘acquisition grant’ means a matching capital

12 grant to a general purpose local government to cover the

13 direct and incidental costs of purchasing new parkland to

14 be permanently dedicated for public conservation and

15 recreation; and

16 ‘‘(m) ‘development and construction grant’ means a

17 matching capital grant to a general purpose local govern18 ment to cover costs of development and construction of

19 existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including

20 indoor and outdoor recreation facilities.’’.

21 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF GENERAL PURPOSE LOCAL GOV22 ERNMENTS.—Section 1005 of the Urban Park and Recre23 ation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2504) is amended

24 by striking ‘‘SEC. 1005.’’ and all that follows through sub25 section (a) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1005. ELIGIBILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY OF GENERAL PURPOSE LOCAL

3 GOVERNMENTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY LIST.—Not later than 120

5 days after the date of enactment of this paragraph

6 and periodically thereafter, the Secretary shall pub7 lish in the Federal Register—

8 ‘‘(A) a list of general purpose local govern9 ments eligible for assistance under this Act; and

10 ‘‘(B) a description of the criteria used in

11 determining eligibility.

12 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The criteria for determining

13 eligibility shall be based on factors that the Sec14 retary determines are related to—

15 ‘‘(A) deteriorated recreational facilities or

16 systems;

17 ‘‘(B) economic distress; and

18 ‘‘(C) lack of recreational opportunity.’’.

19 (c) GRANTS.—The Urban Park and Recreation Re20 covery Act of 1978 is amended by striking section 1006

21 (16 U.S.C. 2505) and inserting the following:

22 ‘‘SEC. 6. GRANTS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide an

24 acquisition grant, development and construction grant, in25 novation grant, or rehabilitation grant to a general pur26 pose local government on approval by the Secretary of an
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1 application made by the chief executive officer of the local

2 government.

3 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a

4 project undertaken with a grant under subsection (a) shall

5 not exceed 70 percent.

6 ‘‘(c) TRANSFER OF GRANT.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With the consent of the

8 Secretary, and if consistent with an approved appli9 cation, an acquisition grant, development and con10 struction grant, innovation grant, or rehabilitation

11 grant may be transferred in whole or in part to a

12 special purpose local government, private nonprofit

13 agency or political subdivision, or regional park au14 thority.

15 ‘‘(2) ASSURANCES.—A transferee of a grant

16 shall provide an assurance that the transferee will

17 maintain public conservation and recreation opportu18 nities in perpetuity at facilities funded with the

19 grant funds.

20 ‘‘(d) GRANT PAYMENTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) ADVANCE APPROVAL.—Payment of a grant

22 under subsection (a) may be made only for a project

23 that the Secretary has approved in advance.

24 ‘‘(2) PROGRESS PAYMENTS.—Payment of a

25 grant under subsection (a) may be made from time
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1 to time in keeping with the rate of progress toward

2 completion of a project, on a reimbursable basis.’’.

3 (d) CONVERSION OF USE OF PROPERTY.—The

4 Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is

5 amended by striking section 1010 (16 U.S.C. 2509) and

6 inserting the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 1010. CONVERSION OF USE OF PROPERTY.

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No property acquired, improved,

9 or developed under this title may be converted to a use

10 other than use for public recreation without the approval

11 of the Secretary.

12 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve

14 a conversion of use of property under subsection (a)

15 if the grant recipient demonstrates that—

16 ‘‘(A) no prudent or feasible alternative to

17 conversion of the use of the property exists;

18 ‘‘(B) because of changes in demographics,

19 the property is no longer viable for use for

20 recreation; or

21 ‘‘(C) the property must be abandoned be22 cause of environmental contamination that en23 dangers public health or safety.

24 ‘‘(2) SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER PROPERTY.—

25 Conversion of the use of property shall satisfy any
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1 condition that the Secretary considers necessary to

2 ensure that—

3 ‘‘(A) the substituted property is of at least

4 equal market value and reasonably equivalent

5 usefulness and location; and

6 ‘‘(B) the use of the substituted property

7 for recreation is consistent with the current

8 recreation recovery action program.’’.

9 (e) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Section 1014

10 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978

11 (16 U.S.C. 2513) is repealed.

Æ