Union Calendar No. 317

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 208

[Report No. 103–571]

AN ACT

To reform the concessions policies of the National

Park Service, and for other purposes.

JUNE 30, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 317

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 208

[Report No. 103–571]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 23, 1994

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

JUNE 30, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as printed in the House of Representatives on

March 23, 1994]

AN ACT

To reform the concessions policies of the National Park

Service, 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 ‘‘National Park Service

5 Concessions Policy Reform Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—In furtherance of the Act of August 25,

3 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), which

4 directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer areas of

5 the National Park System in accordance with the fun6 damental purpose of conserving their scenery, wildlife, nat7 ural and historic objects, and providing for their enjoyment

8 in a manner that will leave them unimpaired for the enjoy9 ment of future generations, the Congress finds that the pres10 ervation and conservation of park resources and values re11 quires that such public accommodations, facilities, and

12 services within such areas as the Secretary, in accordance

13 with this Act, determines necessary and appropriate—

14 (1) should be provided only under carefully con15 trolled safeguards against unregulated and indis16 criminate use so that visitation will not unduly im17 pair park resources and values; and

18 (2) should be limited to locations and designs

19 consistent to the highest practicable degree with the

20 preservation and conservation of park resources and

21 values.

22 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the Congress that—

23 (1) development on Federal lands within a park

24 shall be limited to those facilities that the Secretary

25 determines are necessary and appropriate for public
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1 use and enjoyment of the park in which such facilities

2 and services are located;

3 (2) development within a park should be consist4 ent to the highest practicable degree with the preserva5 tion and conservation of the park’s resources and

6 values;

7 (3) park facilities and services the Secretary de8 termines suitable to be provided by parties other than

9 the Secretary should be provided by private persons,

10 corporations, or other entities, except when no private

11 interest is qualified and willing to provide such fa12 cilities and services;

13 (4) if the Secretary determines that development

14 should occur within a park, such development shall be

15 designed, located, and operated in a manner that is

16 consistent with the purposes for which such park was

17 established;

18 (5) the right to provide such services and to de19 velop or utilize facilities should be awarded to the

20 person, corporation, or entity submitting the best pro21 posal through a competitive selection process;

22 (6) such facilities or services should be provided

23 to the public at reasonable rates; and

24 (7) if adequate facilities to serve the needs of

25 park visitors exist outside a park’s boundaries or can
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1 feasibly be developed outside such boundaries by pri2 vate enterprise, such facilities should not be developed

3 or expanded within the park.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 As used in this Act—

6 (1) the term ‘‘concessioner’’ means a person, cor7 poration, or other entity to whom a concession con8 tract has been awarded;

9 (2) the term ‘‘concession contract’’ means a con10 tract, or permit, (but not an authorization issued

11 pursuant to section 5(b) of this Act) to provide facili12 ties or services, or both, at a park;

13 (3) the term ‘‘facilities’’ means improvements to

14 real property within parks used to provide accom15 modations, facilities, or services to park visitors;

16 (4) the term ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the Na17 tional Park System;

18 (5) the term ‘‘proposal’’ means the complete pro19 posal for a concession contract offered by a potential

20 or existing concessioner in response to the minimum

21 requirements for the contract established by the Sec22 retary;

23 (6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

24 the Interior; and
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1 (7) the term ‘‘franchise fee’’ means the fee re2 quired by a concession contract to be paid to the

3 United States in consideration for the privileges af4 forded by such contract to the holder thereof, which

5 may be expressed as a percentage of revenues derived

6 by the contract holder from activities authorized by

7 the contract, and which shall be in addition to fees

8 required to be paid to the United States for the use

9 of federally-owned buildings or other facilities.

10 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CONCESSIONS POLICY ACT OF 1965.

11 The Act of October 9, 1965, Public Law 89–249 (79

12 Stat. 969, 16 U.S.C. 20–20g), entitled ‘‘An Act relating to

13 the establishment of concession policies in the areas admin14 istered by National Park Service and for other purposes’’,

15 is hereby repealed. The repeal of such Act shall not affect

16 the validity of any contract entered into under such Act,

17 but the provisions of this Act shall apply to any such con18 tract except to the extent such provisions are inconsistent

19 with the express terms and conditions of the contract. Noth20 ing in this Act that is inconsistent with a prospectus issued

21 before April 1, 1994, shall apply to the contract with respect

22 to which such prospectus was issued. The Secretary is au23 thorized to award a concession contract prior to promulga24 tion of new regulations to implement this Act if the Sec25 retary determines that protection of public health and safe-
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1 ty warrant such action, provided that such contract is con2 sistent with this Act.

3 SEC. 5. CONCESSION CONTRACTS AND OTHER AUTHORIZA4 TIONS.

5 (a) CONCESSIONS.—(1) Subject to the findings and

6 policy stated in section 2 of this Act and the provisions

7 of this section, the Secretary may award concession con8 tracts that authorize private persons, corporations, or other

9 entities to provide services to park visitors and to utilize

10 facilities if the Secretary determines that such award is the

11 appropriate means for such authorization.

12 (2) Concession contracts shall be awarded only to the

13 extent that the Secretary finds that the services to be pro14 vided and the facilities to be utilized pursuant to each such

15 contract are necessary and appropriate for the accommoda16 tion of visitors to a park.

17 (3) The provision of services and the utilization of fa18 cilities pursuant to concession contracts shall be consistent

19 with all applicable requirements of law, including laws re20 lating generally to the administration and management of

21 units of the National Park Service, and with the general

22 management plan, concessions plan, and other relevant

23 plans developed by the Secretary for the relevant park.

24 (b) OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) To the extent spec25 ified in this subsection, the Secretary, upon request, may
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1 authorize a private person, corporation, or other entity to

2 provide services to park visitors otherwise than by award

3 of a concession contract.

4 (2)(A) The authority of this subsection may be used

5 only to authorize provision of services to park visitors that

6 the Secretary determines have minimal impact on park re7 sources and values and will be consistent with the purposes

8 for which the relevant park was established and with all

9 applicable management plans for such park.

10 (B) The Secretary—

11 (i) shall require payment of a reasonable fee for

12 issuance of an authorization under this subsection;

13 (ii) shall require that the provision of services

14 under such an authorization be accomplished in a

15 manner consistent to the highest practicable degree

16 with the preservation and conservation of park re17 sources and values;

18 (iii) shall take appropriate steps to limit the li19 ability of the United States arising from the provi20 sion of services under such an authorization; and

21 (iv) shall have no authority under this subsection

22 to issue more authorizations than are consistent with

23 the preservation and proper management of park re24 sources and values, and shall establish such other con25 ditions for issuance of such an authorization as the
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1 Secretary determines appropriate for protection of

2 visitors, provision of adequate and appropriate visi3 tor services, and protection and proper management

4 of the resources and values of the National Park

5 System.

6 (3) An entity seeking or obtaining an authorization

7 pursuant to this subsection shall not be precluded from also

8 submitting proposals for concession contracts.

9 SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in sub11 section (b), and consistent with the provisions of subsection

12 (g), any concession contract entered into pursuant to this

13 Act shall be awarded to the person submitting the best pro14 posal, as determined by the Secretary through the competi15 tive selection process specified in this section.

16 (2) Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this

17 Act, the Secretary shall promulgate appropriate regulations

18 establishing a process to implement this section. The regula19 tions shall include provisions for establishing a method or

20 procedure for the resolution of disputes between the Sec21 retary and a concessioner in those instances where the Sec22 retary has been unable to meet conditions or requirements

23 or provide such services, if any, as set forth in a prospectus

24 pursuant to sections 6(c)(2) (D) and (E).
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1 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—Notwithstanding the

2 provisions of subsection (a), the Secretary may award on

3 a noncompetitive basis a temporary concession contract if

4 the Secretary determines such an award to be necessary in

5 order to avoid interruption of services to the public at a

6 park. Prior to making such a determination, the Secretary

7 shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to consider

8 alternative actions to avoid such interruptions.

9 (c) PROSPECTUS.—(1) Prior to soliciting proposals for

10 a concession contract at a park, the Secretary shall prepare

11 a prospectus soliciting proposals, shall publish a notice of

12 its availability at least once in such local or national news13 papers or trade publications as the Secretary determines

14 appropriate, and shall make such prospectus available upon

15 request to all interested parties.

16 (2) The prospectus shall include, but need not be lim17 ited to, the following information:

18 (A) The minimum requirements for such con19 tract, as set forth in subsection (d).

20 (B) The terms and conditions of the existing con21 cession contract awarded for such park, if any, in22 cluding all fees and other forms of compensation pro23 vided to the United States by the concessioner, and all

24 information available to the Secretary with regard to

25 the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the
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1 workforce engaged by the concessioner to fulfill the re2 quirements of such existing concession contract.

3 (C) Other authorized facilities or services which

4 may be included in a proposal.

5 (D) Facilities and services to be provided by the

6 Secretary to the concessioner, if any, including but

7 not limited to, public access, utilities, and buildings.

8 (E) The services to park visitors intended to be

9 offered within a park by the Secretary, including but

10 not limited to, interpretive programs, campsites, and

11 visitor centers.

12 (F) Such other information related to the pro13 posed concessions operation which is not privileged or

14 otherwise exempt from disclosure under Federal law

15 as the Secretary determines is necessary to allow for

16 the submission of competitive proposals.

17 (d) MINIMUM PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) No

18 proposal shall be considered which fails to meet the mini19 mum requirements included in the relevant prospectus.

20 Such minimum requirements shall include payment to the

21 United States of a franchise fee and shall also include, but

22 need not be limited to, the following:

23 (A) The minimum acceptable franchise fee, fees

24 for use of any Federal buildings or other facilities,

25 and any other fees to be paid to the United States.
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1 (B) The duration of the contract.

2 (C) Any facilities, services, or capital invest3 ments required to be provided by the concessioner.

4 (D) Measures that will be required in order to

5 ensure the protection and preservation of park re6 sources and values.

7 (2) The Secretary may reject any proposal, notwith8 standing the amount of franchise fee offered, if the Secretary

9 determines that the person, corporation, or entity making

10 such proposal is not qualified, is likely to provide unsatis11 factory service, or that the proposal is not sufficiently re12 sponsive to the objectives of protecting and preserving park

13 resources and of providing necessary and appropriate fa14 cilities or services to the public at reasonable rates.

15 (3) If all proposals submitted to the Secretary either

16 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by

17 the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish new minimum

18 contract requirements and re-initiate the competitive selec19 tion process pursuant to this section.

20 (e) SELECTION OF BEST PROPOSAL.—(1) In selecting

21 the best proposal, the Secretary shall consider the following

22 principal factors:

23 (A) The responsiveness of the proposal to the ob24 jectives of protecting and preserving park resources
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1 and of providing necessary and appropriate facilities

2 and services to the public at reasonable rates.

3 (B) The experience, expertise, and related back4 ground of the person, corporation, or other entity sub5 mitting the proposal, including whether the submitter

6 is the holder of a previous concession contract for

7 similar services at the same park and has established

8 a record of outstanding performance in executing that

9 contract, the submitter’s history of satisfactory per10 formance under any other concession contract, and

11 the submitter’s compliance with applicable labor law

12 and existing standards regarding wages, hours, and

13 conditions of employment and provision of a safe and

14 healthful workplace in connection with any concession

15 contract.

16 (C) The financial capability of the person, cor17 poration, or entity submitting the proposal.

18 (D) The proposed franchise fee: Provided, That

19 consideration of revenue to the United States shall be

20 subordinate to the objectives of protecting and preserv21 ing park resources including cultural resources, and

22 of providing necessary and appropriate facilities or

23 services to the public at reasonable rates.

24 (2) The Secretary may also consider such secondary

25 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate. In developing
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1 regulations to implement this Act, the Secretary shall con2 sider the extent to which plans for employment of Indians

3 (including Native Alaskans) and involvement of businesses

4 owned by Indians, Indian tribes, or Native Alaskans in the

5 operation of concession contracts should be identified as a

6 factor in the selection of a best offer under this section.

7 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec8 retary shall submit any proposed concession contract with

9 anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of $1,000,000

10 (indexed to 1993 constant dollars) or a duration in excess

11 of ten years to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re12 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee on

13 Natural Resources of the United States House of Represent14 atives.

15 (2) The Secretary shall not award any such proposed

16 contract until at least 60 days subsequent to the submission

17 thereof to both Committees.

18 (g) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—(1) Ex19 cept as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall not

20 grant a preferential right to a concessioner to renew a con21 cession contract executed pursuant to this Act.

22 (2)(A)(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph

23 (1), the Secretary shall include a preferential right of re24 newal in a concession contract covered by this paragraph,
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1 but exercise of such right shall be subject to the requirements

2 of this paragraph.

3 (ii) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘preferential

4 right of renewal’’ means a provision in a concession con5 tract allowing a concessioner satisfying the requirements of

6 this paragraph to have the opportunity to match the terms

7 and conditions of any competing proposal which the Sec8 retary determines to be the best offer for a new concession

9 contract for provision of the same services as were author10 ized by the concession contract that included the pref11 erential right of renewal.

12 (B) The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only

13 to concession contracts which the Secretary estimates will

14 result in annual gross receipts of no more than $500,000

15 in any year during the term of the contract.

16 (C) A preferential right of renewal may be exercised

17 by a concessioner only when such right is included in a

18 concession contract and only where the Secretary has deter19 mined both—

20 (i) that the concessioner has operated satisfac21 torily during the term of such contract, and

22 (ii) that the concessioner has submitted a respon23 sive proposal for a new contract which satisfies the

24 minimum requirements established by the Secretary

25 pursuant to section 6 of this Act.
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1 (D) A concessioner who exercises a preferential right

2 of renewal in accordance with the requirements of this

3 paragraph shall be entitled to award of the new concession

4 contract with respect to which such right is exercised.

5 (h) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL SERV6 ICES.—The Secretary shall not grant a preferential right

7 to a concessioner to provide new or additional services at

8 a park, but may agree to changes in concession contracts

9 that would allow the holders thereof to provide services inci10 dental to or closely related to the services authorized by such

11 contracts, if the Secretary determines that such changes

12 would enhance the safety or enjoyment of park visitors or

13 the protection of park resources and values and would not

14 unduly restrict competition for award of concession con15 tracts.

16 SEC. 7. FRANCHISE FEES.

17 Franchise fees, however stated, shall not be less than

18 the minimum franchise fee established by the Secretary for

19 each contract. The minimum franchise fee shall be deter20 mined in a manner that will provide the concessioner with

21 a reasonable opportunity to realize a profit on the operation

22 as a whole, commensurate with the capital invested and the

23 obligations assumed.
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1 SEC. 8. USE OF FRANCHISE FEES.

2 (a) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub3 section (b), all receipts collected pursuant to this Act shall

4 be covered into a special account established in the Treasury

5 of the United States. Amounts covered into such account

6 in a fiscal year shall be available for expenditure, subject

7 to appropriation, solely as follows:

8 (1) 50 percent shall be allocated among the units

9 of the National Park System in the same proportion

10 as franchise fees collected from a specific unit bears

11 to the total amount covered into the account for each

12 fiscal year, to be used for resource management and

13 protection, maintenance activities, interpretation,

14 and research.

15 (2) 50 percent shall be allocated among the units

16 of the National Park System on the basis of need, in

17 a manner to be determined by the Secretary, to be

18 used for resource management and protection, main19 tenance activities, interpretation, and research.

20 (b) PARK IMPROVEMENT FUNDS.—(1) In lieu of col21 lecting all or a portion of the franchise fees that would oth22 erwise be collected pursuant to a concession contract, the

23 Secretary shall, where the Secretary determines it to be de24 sirable, establish a Park Improvement Fund (hereinafter in

25 this section referred to as the ‘‘fund’’), in which some or

26 all of the concessioners at the relevant park shall deposit
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1 the franchise fees that would otherwise be required by the

2 contract.

3 (2) The Secretary shall maintain the fund separately

4 from any other funds or accounts and shall not commingle

5 the monies in the fund with any other monies. The Sec6 retary may establish such other terms, conditions, or re7 quirements as the Secretary determines to be necessary to

8 ensure the financial integrity of such fund.

9 (3)(A) Monies from the fund shall be expended solely

10 for activities and projects within the park which are con11 sistent with the park’s general management plan, conces12 sions plan, and other applicable plans, and which the Sec13 retary determines will enhance public use, safety, and en14 joyment of the park, including but not limited to projects

15 which directly or indirectly support concession facilities or

16 services required by the concession contract, but no expendi17 ture from the fund shall have the effect of creating or in18 creasing any compensable interest of any concessioner in

19 any such facilities. A concessioner shall not be allowed to

20 make any advances or credits to the fund.

21 (B) To the extent consistent with the need to respond

22 to urgent requirements and with priorities established as

23 part of a park’s general management plan or concessions

24 management plan, the Secretary shall direct that monies

25 from the fund be utilized in coordination with funds pro-
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1 vided by other sources, including donations from the Na2 tional Park Foundation or other groups associated with one

3 or more units of the National Park System.

4 (4) A concessioner shall not be granted any interest

5 in improvements made from fund expenditures, including

6 any interest granted pursuant to section 11(b) of this Act.

7 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga8 tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any

9 structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such conces10 sioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im11 provement fully complies with applicable safety and health

12 laws and regulations.

13 (6) The Secretary shall maintain proper records for

14 all expenditures made from the fund. Such records shall in15 clude, but not be limited to invoices, bank statements, can16 celed checks, and such other information as the Secretary

17 may require.

18 (7) A fund established pursuant to this subsection may

19 not be used for any capital expenditure exceeding

20 $2,500,000 in any fiscal year unless such expenditure from

21 a fund has been authorized in advance by Act of Congress.

22 The Secretary shall annually inform the Congress concern23 ing the actual and projected use of moneys in each fund

24 established pursuant to this subsection.
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1 SEC. 9. DURATION OF CONTRACT.

2 (a) MAXIMUM TERM.—A concession contract entered

3 into pursuant to this Act shall be awarded for a term not

4 to exceed ten years: Provided, however, That the Secretary

5 may award a contract for a term not to exceed twenty years

6 if the Secretary determines that a longer term is a necessary

7 component of the overall contract in order to reduce the

8 costs to the United States of acquiring possessory interests

9 or to carry out the policies of this Act and other laws appli10 cable to the National Park System.

11 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary concession

12 contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant to

13 section 6(b) of this Act shall be for a term not to exceed

14 two years.

15 SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) No concession contract may be

17 transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by a con18 cessioner without prior written notification to, and ap19 proval of the Secretary.

20 (2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold ap21 proval of a transfer, assignment, sale, or conveyance of a

22 concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer of

23 a concession contract to any individual, corporation or

24 other entity if the Secretary determines that—
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1 (A) such individual, corporation or entity is, or

2 is likely to be, unable to completely satisfy all of the

3 requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;

4 (B) such transfer, assignment, sale or conveyance

5 is not consistent with the objectives of protecting and

6 preserving park resources, and of providing necessary

7 and appropriate facilities or services to the public at

8 reasonable rates; or

9 (C) the terms of the transfer, assignment, sale, or

10 conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a signifi11 cant value to intangible assets or otherwise may so re12 duce the opportunity for a reasonable profit over the

13 remaining term of the contract that the United States

14 would be required to make substantial additional ex15 penditures in order to avoid interruption of services

16 to park visitors.

17 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty

18 days after receiving a request to approve a transfer, assign19 ment, sale, or other conveyance of a concession contract, the

20 Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natu21 ral Resources of the United States Senate and the Commit22 tee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Rep23 resentatives of such proposal. Approval of such proposal, if

24 granted by the Secretary, shall not take effect until sixty

25 days after the date of notification of both Committees.
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1 SEC. 11. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

2 (a) EXISTING STRUCTURES.—(1) A concessioner who,

3 pursuant to a concession contract, before the date of enact4 ment of this Act acquired or constructed, or as of such date

5 was required by such a contract to commence acquisition

6 or construction, of any structure, fixture, or improvement

7 upon land owned by the United States within a park, shall

8 have a possessory interest therein, to the extent provided

9 by such contract.

10 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply

11 to a concessioner whose contract in effect on the date of en12 actment of this Act does not include recognition of a

13 possessory interest.

14 (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), with

15 respect to a concession contract entered into on or after the

16 date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of subsection

17 (b) shall apply to any existing structure, fixture, or im18 provement as defined in paragraph (1), except that the

19 value of the possessory interest as of the termination date

20 of the first contract expiring after the date of enactment

21 of this Act shall be used as the basis for depreciation, in

22 lieu of the actual original cost of such structure, fixture,

23 or improvement.

24 (B)(i) If the Secretary determines during the competi25 tive selection process that all proposals submitted either fail

26 to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected (as pro-
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1 vided in section 6), the Secretary may, solely with respect

2 to a structure, fixture, or improvement covered under this

3 paragraph, suspend the depreciation provisions of sub4 section (b)(1) for the duration of the contract: Provided,

5 That the Secretary may suspend such depreciation provi6 sions only if the Secretary determines that the establishment

7 of other new minimum contract requirements is not likely

8 to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals, and

9 that the suspension of the depreciation provisions is likely

10 to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals.

11 (ii) If the Secretary suspends the depreciation provi12 sions of subsection (b)(1) pursuant to this subparagraph,

13 the Secretary may include in the relevant concession con14 tract, as an obligation of the United States, a compensatory

15 interest in any structure, fixture, or improvement with re16 spect to which such depreciation provisions were suspended

17 in an amount not to exceed the fair market value of such

18 structure, fixture, or improvement.

19 (b) NEW STRUCTURES.—(1) On or after the date of

20 enactment of this Act, a concessioner who constructs or ac21 quires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fixture,

22 or improvement upon land owned by the United States

23 within a park, pursuant to a concession contract, shall have

24 an interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement

25 equivalent to the actual original cost of acquiring or con-
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1 structing such structure, fixture, or improvement, less

2 straight line depreciation over the estimated useful life of

3 the asset according to Generally Accepted Accounting Prin4 ciples: Provided, That in no event shall the estimated useful

5 life of such asset exceed the depreciation period used for such

6 asset for Federal income tax purposes.

7 (2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi8 nated prior to the estimated useful life of an asset described

9 in paragraph (1), the concessioner shall be entitled to re10 ceive from the United States or the successor concessioner

11 payment equal to the value of the concessioner’s interest in

12 such structure, fixture, or improvement. A successor conces13 sioner may not revalue the interest in such structure, fix14 ture, or improvement, the method of depreciation, or the

15 estimated useful life of the asset.

16 (3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve17 ment shall be vested in the United States.

18 (c) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.—Nothing

19 in this section shall affect the obligation of a concessioner

20 to insure, maintain, and repair any structure, fixture, or

21 improvement assigned to such concessioner and to insure

22 that such structure, fixture, or improvement fully complies

23 with applicable safety and health laws and regulations.
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1 SEC. 12. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.

2 The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and

3 charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in the

4 prospectus and contract, be judged primarily by compari5 son with those rates and charges for facilities and services

6 of comparable character charged by parties in reasonable

7 proximity to the relevant park and operating under similar

8 conditions, with due consideration for length of season, sea9 sonal variance, average percentage of occupancy, accessibil10 ity, availability and costs of labor and materials, type of

11 patronage, and other factors deemed significant by the Sec12 retary.

13 SEC. 13. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.

14 (a) REGULATIONS.—Within one hundred and eighty

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary,

16 after an appropriate period for public comment, shall pub17 lish regulations establishing standards and criteria for eval18 uating the performance of concessioners operating within

19 parks.

20 (b) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—(1) The Secretary shall

21 periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op22 erating under a concession contract pursuant to this Act

23 to determine whether such concessioner has performed satis24 factorily. In evaluating a concessioner’s performance, the

25 Secretary shall seek and consider applicable reports and

26 comments from appropriate Federal, State, and local regu-
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1 latory agencies, and shall seek and consider the views of

2 park visitors and concession customers. If the Secretary’s

3 performance evaluation results in an unsatisfactory rating

4 of the concessioner’s overall operation, the Secretary shall

5 so notify the concessioner in writing, and shall provide the

6 concessioner with a list of the minimum requirements nec7 essary for the operation to be rated satisfactory.

8 (2) The Secretary may terminate a concession contract

9 if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum operational

10 requirements identified by the Secretary within the time

11 limitations established by the Secretary at the time notice

12 of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the concessioner.

13 (3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract

14 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos15 als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of this

16 Act.

17 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary

18 shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee on

20 Natural Resources of the United States House of Represent21 atives of each unsatisfactory rating and of each concession

22 contract terminated pursuant to this section.

23 SEC. 14. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each concessioner shall keep such

25 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec-
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1 retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s con2 tract have been and are being faithfully performed, and the

3 Secretary, the Inspector General of the Department of the

4 Interior, or any of the Secretary’s duly authorized rep5 resentatives shall, for the purpose of audit and examination,

6 have access to such records and to other books, documents

7 and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the contract and

8 all the terms and conditions thereof as the Secretary and

9 the Inspector General deem necessary.

10 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The

11 Comptroller General of the United States or any of his or

12 her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expira13 tion of five calendar years after the close of the business

14 year for each concessioner, have access to and the right to

15 examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and

16 records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con17 tracts involved, including those related to any Park Im18 provement Funds established pursuant to section 8(b).

19 SEC. 15. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE20 MENTS.

21 The provisions of section 321 of the Act of June 30,

22 1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leasing

23 of buildings and properties of the United States, shall not

24 apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant to

25 this Act.
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1 SEC. 16. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend, super3 sede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska Na4 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et

5 seq.).

6 SEC. 17. IMPLEMENTATION.

7 (a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with fiscal

8 year 1997, the Inspector General of the Department of the

9 Interior shall conduct a biennial audit of the Secretary’s

10 implementation of this Act and the award and management

11 of concession contracts and authorizations described in sec12 tion 5(b).

13 (b) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Beginning on June 1, 1997,

14 and biannually thereafter the Secretary and the Inspector

15 General of the Department of the Interior shall submit a

16 report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

17 of the United States Senate and the Committee on Natural

18 Resources of the United States House of Representatives on

19 the implementation of this Act and the effect of such imple20 mentation on facilities operated and services provided pur21 suant to concession contracts.

22 (c) INFORMATION FROM SECRETARY.—In each report

23 required by this section, the Secretary shall—

24 (1) identify any concession contracts which have

25 been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or transferred

26 during the 2 years prior to the submission of the re-
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1 port and identify any significant changes in the

2 terms of the new contract;

3 (2) state the amount of franchise fees, the rates

4 which would be charged for services, and the level of

5 other services required to be provided by the conces6 sioner in comparison to that required in any previous

7 concession contract for the same facilities or services

8 at the same park;

9 (3) assess the degree to which facilities are being

10 maintained, using the condition of such facilities on

11 the date of enactment of this Act as a baseline;

12 (4) indicate whether competition has been in13 creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of

14 concession contracts;

15 (5) set forth the total amount of revenues re16 ceived and financial obligations incurred or reduced

17 by the Federal Government as a result of enactment

18 of this Act for the reporting period and in compari19 son with previous reporting periods and the baseline

20 year of 1993, including the costs, if any, associated

21 with the acquisition of possessory interests; and

22 (6) include information concerning any park

23 improvement funds established pursuant to section

24 8(b) of this Act, including—
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1 (A) the total amount of funds deposited into

2 and expended from each such fund during the

3 preceding 2-year period; and

4 (B) the purposes for which expenditures

5 from such funds during such period were used.

6 (d) INFORMATION FROM INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In

7 each report required by this section, the Inspector General

8 of the Department of the Interior shall include information

9 as to the results of the audit required by subsection (a),

10 including—

11 (1) the status of the Secretary’s implementation

12 of this Act;

13 (2) the extent to which such implementation has

14 furthered the policies of this Act, as set forth in sec15 tion 2, and has led to an increase or decrease in com16 petition for concession contracts;

17 (3) the adequacy of recordkeeping and other re18 quirements imposed on establishment and use of park

19 improvement funds established pursuant to section

20 8(b); and

21 (4) any recommendations the Inspector General

22 may find appropriate in order to further the purposes

23 of this Act and other laws applicable to the National

24 Park System or to assure that park improvement

25 funds established pursuant to section 8(b) are main-
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1 tained and expenditures therefrom are used in accord2 ance with this Act and sound business practices.

Passed the Senate March 22 (legislative day, February 22), 1994.

Attest: WALTER J. STEWART,

Secretary.

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