II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 146 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture 

to enter into agreements with States and political subdivisions of States 

providing for the continued operation, in whole or in part, of public 

land, units of the National Park System, units of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System, and units of the National Forest System in the State 

during any period in which the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

of Agriculture is unable to maintain normal level of operations at the 

units due to a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. LEE, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. HATCH) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

of Agriculture to enter into agreements with States and 

political subdivisions of States providing for the continued operation, in whole or in part, of public land, units 

of the National Park System, units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and units of the National Forest 

System in the State during any period in which the 

Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture 

is unable to maintain normal level of operations at the 

units due to a lapse in appropriations, and for other 

purposes. 


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•S 146 IS

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 ‘‘Public Access to Public 

5 Land Guarantee Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) public land in the United States is managed 

9 and administered for the use and enjoyment of 

10 present and future generations; 

11 (2) the National Park System (including Na12 tional Parks, National Monuments, and National 

13 Recreation Areas) is managed for the benefit and in14 spiration of all the people of the United States; 

15 (3) the National Wildlife Refuge System is ad16 ministered for the benefit of present and future gen17 erations of people in the United States, with priority 

18 consideration for compatible wildlife-dependent gen19 eral public uses of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys20 tem; 

21 (4) the National Forest System is dedicated to 

22 the long-term benefit of present and future genera23 tions; and 

24 (5) the reopening and temporary operation and 

25 management of public land, the National Park SysVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S146.IS S146

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1 tem, the National Wildlife Refuge System, and the 

2 National Forest System using funds from States 

3 and political subdivisions of States during periods in 

4 which the Federal Government is unable to operate 

5 and manage the areas at normal levels due to a 

6 lapse in appropriations is consistent with the values 

7 and purposes for which those areas were established. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) COVERED UNIT.—The term ‘‘covered unit’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) public land; 

13 (B) units of the National Park System; 

14 (C) units of the National Wildlife Refuge 

15 System; or 

16 (D) units of the National Forest System. 

17 (2) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

18 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in 

19 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage20 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

22 means— 

23 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re24 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Sec25 retary of the Interior; or 


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1 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re2 spect to land under the jurisdiction of the Sec3 retary of Agriculture. 

4 SEC. 4. AGREEMENT TO KEEP PUBLIC LAND OPEN DURING 

5 A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), if a 

7 State or political subdivision of the State offers, the Sec8 retary shall enter into an agreement with the State or po9 litical subdivision of the State under which the United 

10 States may accept funds from the State or political sub11 division of the State to reopen, in whole or in part, any 

12 covered unit within the State or political subdivision of 

13 the State during any period in which there is a lapse in 

14 appropriations for the covered unit. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The authority under subsection 

16 (a) shall only be in effect during any period in which the 

17 Secretary is unable to operate and manage covered units 

18 at normal levels, as determined in accordance with the 

19 terms of agreement entered into under subsection (a). 

20 (c) REFUND.—The Secretary shall refund to the 

21 State or political subdivision of the State all amounts pro22 vided to the United States under an agreement entered 

23 into under subsection (a)— 

24 (1) on the date of enactment of an Act retro25 actively appropriating amounts sufficient to mainVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S146.IS S146

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1 tain normal operating levels at the covered unit re2 opened under an agreement entered into under sub3 section (a); or 

4 (2) on the date on which the State or political 

5 subdivision establishes, in accordance with the terms 

6 of the agreement, that, during the period in which 

7 the agreement was in effect, fees for entrance to, or 

8 use of, the covered units were collected by the Sec9 retary. 

10 (d) VOLUNTARY REIMBURSEMENT.—If the require11 ments for a refund under subsection (c) are not met, the 

12 Secretary may, subject to the availability of appropria13 tions, reimburse the State and political subdivision of the 

14 State for any amounts provided to the United States by 

15 the State or political subdivision under an agreement en16 tered into under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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