II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1995 

To provide grants for projects to acquire land and water for parks and 

other outdoor recreation purposes and to develop new or renovate existing 

outdoor recreation facilities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide grants for projects to acquire land and water 

for parks and other outdoor recreation purposes and 

to develop new or renovate existing outdoor recreation 

facilities. 

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 ‘‘Outdoor Recreation 

5 Legacy Partnership Grant Program Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (i) a State; 

4 (ii) a political subdivision of a State, 

5 including— 

6 (I) a city; and 

7 (II) a county; 

8 (iii) a special purpose district, includ9 ing park districts; and 

10 (iv) an Indian tribe (as defined in sec11 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

12 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

13 450b)). 

14 (B) POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS AND INDIAN

15 TRIBES.—A political subdivision of a State or 

16 an Indian tribe shall be considered an eligible 

17 entity only if the political subdivision or Indian 

18 tribe represents or otherwise serves a qualifying 

19 urban area. 

20 (2) OUTDOOR RECREATION LEGACY PARTNER21 SHIP GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Outdoor Recre22 ation Legacy Partnership Grant Program’’ means 

23 the program established under section 3(a). 

24 (3) QUALIFYING URBAN AREA.—The term 

25 ‘‘qualifying urban area’’ means an area described in 


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1 the notice of the Bureau of the Census entitled 

2 ‘‘Qualifying Urban Areas for the 2010 Census’’ (77 

3 Fed. Reg. 18652 (March 27, 2012)). 

4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 

8 outdoor recreation legacy partnership grant program 

9 under which the Secretary may award grants to eligible 

10 entities for projects— 

11 (1) to acquire land and water for parks and 

12 other outdoor recreation purposes; and 

13 (2) to develop new or renovate existing outdoor 

14 recreation facilities. 

15 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving a 

17 grant under subsection (a), an eligible entity shall 

18 provide matching funds in the form of cash or an in19 kind contribution in an amount equal to not less 

20 than 100 percent of the amounts made available 

21 under the grant. 

22 (2) SOURCES.—The matching amounts referred 

23 to in paragraph (1) may include amounts made 

24 available from State, local, nongovernmental, or pri25 vate sources. 


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1 SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE USES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient may use a grant 

3 awarded under this Act— 

4 (1) to acquire land or water that provides out5 door recreation opportunities to the public; and 

6 (2) to develop or renovate outdoor recreational 

7 facilities that provide outdoor recreation opportuni8 ties to the public, with priority given to projects 

9 that— 

10 (A) create or significantly enhance access 

11 to park and recreational opportunities in an 

12 urban neighborhood or community; 

13 (B) engage and empower underserved com14 munities and youth; 

15 (C) provide opportunities for youth em16 ployment or job training; 

17 (D) establish or expand public-private 

18 partnerships, with a focus on leveraging re19 sources; and 

20 (E) take advantage of coordination among 

21 various levels of government. 

22 (b) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—A grant recipient may 

23 not use grant funds for— 

24 (1) grant administration costs; 

25 (2) incidental costs related to land acquisition, 

26 including appraisal and titling; 


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1 (3) operation and maintenance activities; 

2 (4) facilities that support semiprofessional or 

3 professional athletics; 

4 (5) indoor facilities such as recreation centers 

5 or facilities that support primarily non-outdoor pur6 poses; or 

7 (6) acquisition of land or interests in land that 

8 restrict access to specific persons. 

9 SEC. 5. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 

10 In carrying out the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Part11 nership Grant Program, the Secretary shall— 

12 (1) conduct an initial screening and technical 

13 review of applications received; and 

14 (2) evaluate and score all qualifying applica15 tions. 

16 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 

17 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after 

18 the last day of each report period, each State lead agency 

19 that receives a grant under this Act shall annually submit 

20 to the Secretary performance and financial reports that— 

21 (1) summarize project activities conducted dur22 ing the report period; and 

23 (2) provide the status of the project. 

24 (b) FINAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after 

25 the earlier of the date of expiration of a project period 


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1 or the completion of a project, each State lead agency that 

2 receives a grant under this Act shall submit to the Sec3 retary a final report containing such information as the 

4 Secretary may require. 

5 SEC. 7. REVENUE SHARING. 

6 Section 105(a)(2)(B) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy 

7 Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 

8 109–432) is amended by inserting before the period at the 

9 end ‘‘, of which 20 percent for each of fiscal years 2017 

10 through 2055 shall be used by the Secretary of the Inte11 rior to provide grants under the Outdoor Recreation Leg12 acy Partnership Grant Program Act of 2015.’’. 

Æ 


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