In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

July 28, 1994.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 208) entitled ‘‘An Act to reform the concessions policies of the National Park Service, and for other purposes’’, do pass with

the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Park Service

3 Concessions Policy Reform Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

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

6 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), which

7 directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer areas of

8 the National Park System in accordance with the fun9 damental purpose of conserving their scenery, wildlife, nat10 ural and historic objects, and providing for their enjoyment

11 in a manner that will leave them unimpaired for the enjoy12 ment of future generations, the Congress finds that the pres13 ervation and conservation of park resources and values re14 quires that such public accommodations, facilities, and

15 services within such areas as the Secretary, in accordance

16 with this Act, determines necessary and appropriate—
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1 (1) should be provided only under carefully con2 trolled safeguards against unregulated and indis3 criminate use so that visitation will not unduly im4 pair park resources and values; and

5 (2) should be limited to locations and designs

6 consistent to the highest practicable degree with the

7 preservation and conservation of park resources and

8 values.

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

10 (1) development on Federal lands within a park

11 shall be limited to those facilities that the Secretary

12 determines are necessary and appropriate for public

13 use and enjoyment of the park in which such facilities

14 and services are located;

15 (2) development within a park should be consist16 ent to the highest practicable degree with the preserva17 tion and conservation of the park’s resources and

18 values;

19 (3) park facilities and services the Secretary de20 termines suitable to be provided by parties other than

21 the Secretary should be provided by private persons,

22 corporations, or other entities, except when no private

23 interest is qualified and willing to provide such fa24 cilities and services;
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1 (4) if the Secretary determines that development

2 should occur within a park, such development shall be

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

4 consistent with the purposes for which such park was

5 established;

6 (5) the right to provide such services and to de7 velop or utilize facilities should be awarded to the

8 person, corporation, or entity submitting the best pro9 posal through a competitive selection process;

10 (6) such facilities or services should be provided

11 to the public at reasonable rates; and

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

13 park visitors exist outside a park’s boundaries or can

14 feasibly be developed outside such boundaries by pri15 vate enterprise, such facilities should not be developed

16 or expanded within the park.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in this Act—

19 (1) the term ‘‘concessioner’’ means a person, cor20 poration, or other entity to whom a concession con21 tract has been awarded;

22 (2) the term ‘‘concession contract’’ means a con23 tract, or permit, (but not an authorization issued

24 pursuant to section 5(b) of this Act) to provide facili25 ties or services, or both, at a park;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘facilities’’ means improvements to

2 real property within parks used to provide accom3 modations, facilities, or services to park visitors;

4 (4) the term ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the Na5 tional Park System;

6 (5) the term ‘‘proposal’’ means the complete pro7 posal for a concession contract offered by a potential

8 or existing concessioner in response to the minimum

9 requirements for the contract established by the Sec10 retary;

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

12 the Interior; and

13 (7) the term ‘‘franchise fee’’ means the fee re14 quired by a concession contract to be paid to the

15 United States in consideration for the privileges af16 forded by such contract to the holder thereof, which

17 may be expressed as a percentage of revenues derived

18 by the contract holder from activities authorized by

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

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

21 of federally-owned buildings or other facilities.

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

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

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

25 the establishment of concession policies in the areas admin-
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1 istered by National Park Service and for other purposes’’,

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

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

4 but the provisions of this Act shall apply to any such con5 tract except to the extent such provisions are inconsistent

6 with the express terms and conditions of the contract. Noth7 ing in this Act that is inconsistent with a prospectus issued

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

9 to which such prospectus was issued. The Secretary is au10 thorized to award a concession contract prior to promulga11 tion of new regulations to implement this Act if the Sec12 retary determines that protection of public health and safe13 ty warrant such action, provided that such contract is con14 sistent with this Act.

15 SEC. 5. CONCESSION CONTRACTS AND OTHER AUTHORIZA16 TIONS.

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

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

19 of this section, the Secretary may award concession con20 tracts that authorize private persons, corporations, or other

21 entities to provide services to park visitors and to utilize

22 facilities if the Secretary determines that such award is the

23 appropriate means for such authorization.

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

25 extent that the Secretary finds that the services to be pro-
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1 vided and the facilities to be utilized pursuant to each such

2 contract are necessary and appropriate for the accommoda3 tion of visitors to a park.

4 (3) The provision of services and the utilization of fa5 cilities pursuant to concession contracts shall be consistent

6 with all applicable requirements of law, including laws re7 lating generally to the administration and management of

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

9 management plan, concessions plan, and other relevant

10 plans developed by the Secretary for the relevant park.

11 (b) OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) To the extent spec12 ified in this subsection, the Secretary, upon request, may

13 authorize a private person, corporation, or other entity to

14 provide services to park visitors otherwise than by award

15 of a concession contract.

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

17 only to authorize provision of services to park visitors that

18 the Secretary determines have minimal impact on park re19 sources and values and will be consistent with the purposes

20 for which the relevant park was established and with all

21 applicable management plans for such park.

22 (B) The Secretary—

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

24 issuance of an authorization under this subsection;
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1 (ii) shall require that the provision of services

2 under such an authorization be accomplished in a

3 manner consistent to the highest practicable degree

4 with the preservation and conservation of park re5 sources and values;

6 (iii) shall take appropriate steps to limit the li7 ability of the United States arising from the provi8 sion of services under such an authorization; and

9 (iv) shall have no authority under this subsection

10 to issue more authorizations than are consistent with

11 the preservation and proper management of park re12 sources and values, and shall establish such other con13 ditions for issuance of such an authorization as the

14 Secretary determines appropriate for protection of

15 visitors, provision of adequate and appropriate visi16 tor services, and protection and proper management

17 of the resources and values of the National Park

18 System.

19 (3) An entity seeking or obtaining an authorization

20 pursuant to this subsection shall not be precluded from also

21 submitting proposals for concession contracts.

22 SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in sub24 section (b), and consistent with the provisions of subsection

25 (g), any concession contract entered into pursuant to this
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1 Act shall be awarded to the person submitting the best pro2 posal, as determined by the Secretary through the competi3 tive selection process specified in this section.

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

5 Act, the Secretary shall promulgate appropriate regulations

6 establishing a process to implement this section. The regula7 tions shall include provisions for establishing a method or

8 procedure for the resolution of disputes between the Sec9 retary and a concessioner in those instances where the Sec10 retary has been unable to meet conditions or requirements

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

12 pursuant to sections 6(c)(2) (D) and (E).

13 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—Notwithstanding the

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

15 a noncompetitive basis a temporary concession contract if

16 the Secretary determines such an award to be necessary in

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

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

19 shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to consider

20 alternative actions to avoid such interruptions.

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

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

23 a prospectus soliciting proposals, shall publish a notice of

24 its availability at least once in such local or national news25 papers or trade publications as the Secretary determines
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1 appropriate, and shall make such prospectus available upon

2 request to all interested parties.

3 (2) The prospectus shall include, but need not be lim4 ited to, the following information:

5 (A) The minimum requirements for such con6 tract, as set forth in subsection (d).

7 (B) The terms and conditions of the existing con8 cession contract awarded for such park, if any, in9 cluding all fees and other forms of compensation pro10 vided to the United States by the concessioner, and all

11 information available to the Secretary with regard to

12 the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the

13 workforce engaged by the concessioner to fulfill the re14 quirements of such existing concession contract.

15 (C) Other authorized facilities or services which

16 may be included in a proposal.

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

18 Secretary to the concessioner, if any, including but

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

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

21 offered within a park by the Secretary, including but

22 not limited to, interpretive programs, campsites, and

23 visitor centers.

24 (F) Such other information related to the pro25 posed concessions operation which is not privileged or
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1 otherwise exempt from disclosure under Federal law

2 as the Secretary determines is necessary to allow for

3 the submission of competitive proposals.

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

5 proposal shall be considered which fails to meet the mini6 mum requirements included in the relevant prospectus.

7 Such minimum requirements shall include payment to the

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

9 need not be limited to, the following:

10 (A) The minimum acceptable franchise fee, fees

11 for use of any Federal buildings or other facilities,

12 and any other fees to be paid to the United States.

13 (B) The duration of the contract.

14 (C) Any facilities, services, or capital invest15 ments required to be provided by the concessioner.

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

17 ensure the protection and preservation of park re18 sources and values.

19 (2) The Secretary may reject any proposal, notwith20 standing the amount of franchise fee offered, if the Secretary

21 determines that the person, corporation, or entity making

22 such proposal is not qualified, is likely to provide unsatis23 factory service, or that the proposal is not sufficiently re24 sponsive to the objectives of protecting and preserving park
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1 resources and of providing necessary and appropriate fa2 cilities or services to the public at reasonable rates.

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

4 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by

5 the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish new minimum

6 contract requirements and re-initiate the competitive selec7 tion process pursuant to this section.

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

9 the best proposal, the Secretary shall consider the following

10 principal factors:

11 (A) The responsiveness of the proposal to the ob12 jectives of protecting and preserving park resources

13 and of providing necessary and appropriate facilities

14 and services to the public at reasonable rates.

15 (B) The experience, expertise, and related back16 ground of the person, corporation, or other entity sub17 mitting the proposal, including whether the submitter

18 is the holder of a previous concession contract for

19 similar services at the same park and has established

20 a record of outstanding performance in executing that

21 contract, the submitter’s history of satisfactory per22 formance under any other concession contract, and

23 the submitter’s compliance with applicable labor law

24 and existing standards regarding wages, hours, and

25 conditions of employment and provision of a safe and
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1 healthful workplace in connection with any concession

2 contract.

3 (C) The financial capability of the person, cor4 poration, or entity submitting the proposal.

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

6 consideration of revenue to the United States shall be

7 subordinate to the objectives of protecting and preserv8 ing park resources including cultural resources, and

9 of providing necessary and appropriate facilities or

10 services to the public at reasonable rates.

11 (E) Giving preference to American concessioners.

12 (2) The Secretary may also consider such secondary

13 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate. In developing

14 regulations to implement this Act, the Secretary shall con15 sider the extent to which plans for employment of Indians

16 (including Native Alaskans) and involvement of businesses

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

18 operation of concession contracts should be identified as a

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

20 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec21 retary shall submit any proposed concession contract with

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

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

24 of ten years to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re25 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee on
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1 Natural Resources of the United States House of Represent2 atives.

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

4 contract until at least 60 days subsequent to the submission

5 thereof to both Committees.

6 (g) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—(1) Ex7 cept as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall not

8 grant a preferential right to a concessioner to renew a con9 cession contract executed pursuant to this Act.

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

11 (1), the Secretary shall include a preferential right of re12 newal in a concession contract covered by this paragraph,

13 but exercise of such right shall be subject to the requirements

14 of this paragraph.

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

16 right of renewal’’ means a provision in a concession con17 tract allowing a concessioner satisfying the requirements of

18 this paragraph to have the opportunity to match the terms

19 and conditions of any competing proposal which the Sec20 retary determines to be the best offer for a new concession

21 contract for provision of the same services as were author22 ized by the concession contract that included the pref23 erential right of renewal.

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

25 to concession contracts which the Secretary estimates will
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1 result in annual gross receipts of no more than $500,000

2 in any year during the term of the contract.

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

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

5 concession contract and only where the Secretary has deter6 mined both—

7 (i) that the concessioner has operated satisfac8 torily during the term of such contract, and

9 (ii) that the concessioner has submitted a respon10 sive proposal for a new contract which satisfies the

11 minimum requirements established by the Secretary

12 pursuant to section 6 of this Act.

13 (D) A concessioner who exercises a preferential right

14 of renewal in accordance with the requirements of this

15 paragraph shall be entitled to award of the new concession

16 contract with respect to which such right is exercised.

17 (h) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL SERV18 ICES.—The Secretary shall not grant a preferential right

19 to a concessioner to provide new or additional services at

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

21 that would allow the holders thereof to provide services inci22 dental to or closely related to the services authorized by such

23 contracts, if the Secretary determines that such changes

24 would enhance the safety or enjoyment of park visitors or

25 the protection of park resources and values and would not
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1 unduly restrict competition for award of concession con2 tracts.

3 SEC. 7. FRANCHISE FEES.

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

5 the minimum franchise fee established by the Secretary for

6 each contract. The minimum franchise fee shall be deter7 mined in a manner that will provide the concessioner with

8 a reasonable opportunity to realize a profit on the operation

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

10 obligations assumed.

11 SEC. 8. USE OF FRANCHISE FEES.

12 (a) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub13 section (b), all receipts including fees for use of Federally14 owned buildings or other facilities collected pursuant to this

15 Act shall be covered into a special account established in

16 the Treasury of the United States. Amounts covered into

17 such account in a fiscal year shall be available for expendi18 ture, subject to appropriation, solely as follows:

19 (1) 50 percent shall be allocated among the units

20 of the National Park System in the same proportion

21 as franchise fees collected from a specific unit bears

22 to the total amount covered into the account for each

23 fiscal year, to be used for resource management and

24 protection, maintenance activities, interpretation,

25 and research.
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1 (2) 50 percent shall be allocated among the units

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

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

4 used for resource management and protection, main5 tenance activities, interpretation, and research.

6 (b) PARK IMPROVEMENT FUNDS.—(1) The Secretary

7 shall, where the Secretary determines it to be desirable, es8 tablish a Park Improvement Fund (hereinafter in this sec9 tion referred to as the ‘‘fund’’), in which, for each fiscal

10 year after fiscal year 1994, the Secretary may deposit some

11 or all of the receipts collected from concessioners to the ex12 tent that such receipts exceed the amounts specified in the

13 following table:

‘‘Fiscal year: Amount

1995 ............................................................................................. $22,600,000

1996 ............................................................................................. $25,500,000

1997 ............................................................................................. $27,500,000

1998 ............................................................................................. $30,900,000

After 1998 ................................................................................... $35,700,000’’.

14 (2) The Secretary shall maintain the fund separately

15 from any other funds or accounts and shall not commingle

16 the monies in the fund with any other monies. The Sec17 retary may establish such other terms, conditions, or re18 quirements as the Secretary determines to be necessary to

19 ensure the financial integrity of such fund.

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

21 for activities and projects within the park which are con22 sistent with the park’s general management plan, conces-
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1 sions plan, and other applicable plans, and which the Sec2 retary determines will enhance public use, safety, and en3 joyment of the park, including but not limited to projects

4 which directly or indirectly support concession facilities or

5 services required by the concession contract, but no expendi6 ture from the fund shall have the effect of creating or in7 creasing any compensable interest of any concessioner in

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

9 make any advances or credits to the fund.

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

11 to urgent requirements and with priorities established as

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

13 management plan, the Secretary shall direct that monies

14 from the fund be utilized in coordination with funds pro15 vided by other sources, including donations from the Na16 tional Park Foundation or other groups associated with one

17 or more units of the National Park System.

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

19 in improvements made from fund expenditures, including

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

21 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga22 tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any

23 structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such conces24 sioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im-
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1 provement fully complies with applicable safety and health

2 laws and regulations.

3 (6) The Secretary shall maintain proper records for

4 all expenditures made from the fund. Such records shall in5 clude, but not be limited to invoices, bank statements, can6 celed checks, and such other information as the Secretary

7 may require.

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

9 not be used for any capital expenditure exceeding

10 $2,500,000 in any fiscal year unless such expenditure from

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

12 The Secretary shall annually inform the Congress concern13 ing the actual and projected use of moneys in each fund

14 established pursuant to this subsection.

15 SEC. 9. DURATION OF CONTRACT.

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

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

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

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

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

21 component of the overall contract in order to reduce the

22 costs to the United States of acquiring possessory interests

23 or to carry out the policies of this Act and other laws appli24 cable to the National Park System.
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1 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary concession

2 contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant to

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

4 two years.

5 SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.

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

7 transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by a con8 cessioner without prior written notification to, and ap9 proval of the Secretary.

10 (2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold ap11 proval of a transfer, assignment, sale, or conveyance of a

12 concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer of

13 a concession contract to any individual, corporation or

14 other entity if the Secretary determines that—

15 (A) such individual, corporation or entity is, or

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

17 requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;

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

19 is not consistent with the objectives of protecting and

20 preserving park resources, and of providing necessary

21 and appropriate facilities or services to the public at

22 reasonable rates; or

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

24 conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a signifi25 cant value to intangible assets or otherwise may so re-
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1 duce the opportunity for a reasonable profit over the

2 remaining term of the contract that the United States

3 would be required to make substantial additional ex4 penditures in order to avoid interruption of services

5 to park visitors.

6 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty

7 days after receiving a request to approve a transfer, assign8 ment, sale, or other conveyance of a concession contract, the

9 Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natu10 ral Resources of the United States Senate and the Commit11 tee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Rep12 resentatives of such proposal. Approval of such proposal, if

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

14 days after the date of notification of both Committees.

15 SEC. 11. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

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

17 pursuant to a concession contract, before the date of enact18 ment of this Act acquired or constructed, or as of such date

19 was required by such a contract to commence acquisition

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

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

22 have a possessory interest therein, to the extent provided

23 by such contract, the value of such possessory interest to

24 be determined for all purposes on the basis of applicable
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1 laws and contracts in effect on the day before such date

2 of enactment.

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

4 to a concessioner whose contract in effect on the date of en5 actment of this Act does not include recognition of a

6 possessory interest.

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

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

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

10 (b) shall apply to any existing structure, fixture, or im11 provement as defined in paragraph (1), except that the

12 value of the possessory interest as of the termination date

13 of the first contract expiring after the date of enactment

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

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

16 or improvement.

17 (B)(i) If the Secretary determines during the competi18 tive selection process that all proposals submitted either fail

19 to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected (as pro20 vided in section 6), the Secretary may, solely with respect

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

22 paragraph, suspend the depreciation provisions of sub23 section (b)(1) for the duration of the contract: Provided,

24 That the Secretary may suspend such depreciation provi25 sions only if the Secretary determines that the establishment
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1 of other new minimum contract requirements is not likely

2 to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals, and

3 that the suspension of the depreciation provisions is likely

4 to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals.

5 (ii) If the Secretary suspends the depreciation provi6 sions of subsection (b)(1) pursuant to this subparagraph,

7 the Secretary may include in the relevant concession con8 tract, as an obligation of the United States, a compensatory

9 interest in any structure, fixture, or improvement with re10 spect to which such depreciation provisions were suspended

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

12 structure, fixture, or improvement.

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

14 enactment of this Act, a concessioner who constructs or ac15 quires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fixture,

16 or improvement upon land owned by the United States

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

18 an interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement

19 equivalent to the actual original cost of acquiring or con20 structing such structure, fixture, or improvement, less

21 straight line depreciation over the estimated useful life of

22 the asset according to Generally Accepted Accounting Prin23 ciples: Provided, That in no event shall the estimated useful

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

25 asset for Federal income tax purposes.
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1 (2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi2 nated prior to the estimated useful life of an asset described

3 in paragraph (1), the concessioner shall be entitled to re4 ceive from the United States or the successor concessioner

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

6 such structure, fixture, or improvement. A successor conces7 sioner may not revalue the interest in such structure, fix8 ture, or improvement, the method of depreciation, or the

9 estimated useful life of the asset.

10 (3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve11 ment shall be vested in the United States.

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

13 in this section shall affect the obligation of a concessioner

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

15 improvement assigned to such concessioner and to insure

16 that such structure, fixture, or improvement fully complies

17 with applicable safety and health laws and regulations.

18 SEC. 12. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.

19 The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and

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

21 prospectus and contract, be judged primarily by compari22 son with those rates and charges for facilities and services

23 of comparable character charged by parties in reasonable

24 proximity to the relevant park and operating under similar

25 conditions, with due consideration for length of season, sea-
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1 sonal variance, average percentage of occupancy, accessibil2 ity, availability and costs of labor and materials, type of

3 patronage, and other factors deemed significant by the Sec4 retary.

5 SEC. 13. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.

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

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

8 after an appropriate period for public comment, shall pub9 lish regulations establishing standards and criteria for eval10 uating the performance of concessioners operating within

11 parks.

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

13 periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op14 erating under a concession contract pursuant to this Act

15 to determine whether such concessioner has performed satis16 factorily. In evaluating a concessioner’s performance, the

17 Secretary shall seek and consider applicable reports and

18 comments from appropriate Federal, State, and local regu19 latory agencies, and shall seek and consider the views of

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

21 performance evaluation results in an unsatisfactory rating

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

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

24 concessioner with a list of the minimum requirements nec25 essary for the operation to be rated satisfactory.
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1 (2) The Secretary may terminate a concession contract

2 if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum operational

3 requirements identified by the Secretary within the time

4 limitations established by the Secretary at the time notice

5 of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the concessioner.

6 (3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract

7 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos8 als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of this

9 Act.

10 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary

11 shall notify 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 of each unsatisfactory overall annual rating and of

15 each concession contract terminated pursuant to this sec16 tion.

17 SEC. 14. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

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

19 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec20 retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s con21 tract have been and are being faithfully performed, and the

22 Secretary, the Inspector General of the Department of the

23 Interior, or any of the Secretary’s duly authorized rep24 resentatives shall, for the purpose of audit and examination,

25 have access to such records and to other books, documents
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1 and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the contract and

2 all the terms and conditions thereof as the Secretary and

3 the Inspector General deem necessary.

4 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The

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

6 her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expira7 tion of five calendar years after the close of the business

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

9 examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and

10 records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con11 tracts involved, including those related to any Park Im12 provement Funds established pursuant to section 8(b).

13 SEC. 15. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE14 MENTS.

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

16 1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leasing

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

18 apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant to

19 this Act.

20 SEC. 16. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.

21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend, super22 sede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska Na23 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et

24 seq.).
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1 SEC. 17. IMPLEMENTATION.

2 (a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with fiscal

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

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

5 implementation of this Act and the award and management

6 of concession contracts and authorizations described in sec7 tion 5(b).

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

9 and biannually thereafter the Secretary and the Inspector

10 General of the Department of the Interior shall submit a

11 report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

12 of the United States Senate and the Committee on Natural

13 Resources of the United States House of Representatives on

14 the implementation of this Act and the effect of such imple15 mentation on facilities operated and services provided pur16 suant to concession contracts.

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

18 required by this section, the Secretary shall—

19 (1) identify any concession contracts which have

20 been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or transferred

21 during the 2 years prior to the submission of the re22 port and identify any significant changes in the

23 terms of the new contract;

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

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

26 other services required to be provided by the conces-
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1 sioner in comparison to that required in any previous

2 concession contract for the same facilities or services

3 at the same park;

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

5 maintained, using the condition of such facilities on

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

7 (4) indicate whether competition has been in8 creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of

9 concession contracts;

10 (5) set forth the total amount of revenues re11 ceived and financial obligations incurred or reduced

12 by the Federal Government as a result of enactment

13 of this Act for the reporting period and in compari14 son with previous reporting periods and the baseline

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

16 with the acquisition of possessory interests; and

17 (6) include information concerning any park

18 improvement funds established pursuant to section

19 8(b) of this Act, including—

20 (A) the total amount of funds deposited into

21 and expended from each such fund during the

22 preceding 2-year period; and

23 (B) the purposes for which expenditures

24 from such funds during such period were used.
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1 (d) INFORMATION FROM INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In

2 each report required by this section, the Inspector General

3 of the Department of the Interior shall include information

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

5 including—

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

7 of this Act;

8 (2) the extent to which such implementation has

9 furthered the policies of this Act, as set forth in sec10 tion 2, and has led to an increase or decrease in com11 petition for concession contracts;

12 (3) the adequacy of recordkeeping and other re13 quirements imposed on establishment and use of park

14 improvement funds established pursuant to section

15 8(b); and

16 (4) any recommendations the Inspector General

17 may find appropriate in order to further the purposes

18 of this Act and other laws applicable to the National

19 Park System or to assure that park improvement

20 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.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 208

AMENDMENT