II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2121

To promote entrepreneurial management of the National Park Service, and

for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 17 (legislative day, MAY 16), 1994

Mr. JOHNSTON (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To promote entrepreneurial management 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 Entrepreneurial Management Reform Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 In furtherance of the Act of August 25, 1916 (39

8 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), which directs

9 the Secretary of the Interior to administer areas of the

10 National Park System in accordance with the fundamental
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1 purpose of conserving the scenery, wildlife, natural and

2 historic objects, and providing for their enjoyment in a

3 manner that will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment

4 of future generations, the Congress finds that—

5 (1) management of the National Park System

6 requires entrepreneurial strategies that will enable

7 the National Park Service to meet the increasing de8 mands placed on the System by the American public;

9 and

10 (2) in order to preserve the natural and cultural

11 resources of the System for future generations and

12 provide for appropriate enjoyment of those re13 sources, the National Park Service must increase

14 revenues by reforming the nature, level and collec15 tion of fees, and increasing voluntary donations and

16 partnerships.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in this Act, the term—

19 (1) ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the National Park

20 System; and

21 (2) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the In22 terior.

23 SEC. 4. FEES.

24 (a) ADMISSION FEES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish

2 reasonable admission fees to be charged at units of

3 the National Park System where the Secretary de4 termines that such fees are appropriate and feasible.

5 (2) ANNUAL PASSES.—For admission or en6 trance into any unit of the National Park System

7 designated by the Secretary pursuant to this section,

8 or into several specific units located in a particular

9 geographic area, or for entrance to all units where

10 an admission fee is charged, the Secretary is author11 ized to make available annual admission permits for

12 reasonable fees to be determined by the Secretary.

13 (3) SINGLE VISITS.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish reasonable admission fees for a single visit at

15 any unit of the National Park System designated by

16 the Secretary pursuant to this section for persons

17 who choose not to purchase an annual pass.

18 (b) RECREATION USE FEES.—The Secretary shall

19 establish reasonable fees for specialized outdoor recreation

20 sites, facilities, equipment, or services that are provided

21 or furnished at Federal expense.

22 (c) SPECIAL PARK USES.—The Secretary shall estab23 lish reasonable fees for uses of park units that require spe24 cial arrangements including permits. The fees shall cover

25 all costs or providing necessary services associated with
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1 special uses and shall be credited to the appropriation cur2 rent at that time.

3 (d) RETENTION OF FEES.—(1) Except as provided

4 below, fees collected pursuant to subsections 4 (a) and (b)

5 of this Act shall be deposited in the special fund account

6 established in section 4 of the Land and Water Conserva7 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460 1–6a(i)(4)).

8 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be9 ginning in fiscal year 1995 and thereafter, an amount

10 equal to 15 percent of the total fees collected in the imme11 diate preceding fiscal year pursuant to subsections 4 (a)

12 and (b) shall be deducted from the current year collections

13 and shall be deposited into a special fund established in

14 the Treasury of the United States titled ‘‘Fee Collection

15 Support—National Park System’’ and shall be available

16 to the Secretary without further appropriation to cover the

17 costs of collection of the fees, to remain available until

18 expended.

19 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be20 ginning in fiscal year 1996 and thereafter, 50 percent of

21 the difference in additional receipts collected during the

22 immediate preceding fiscal year as compared to total re23 ceipts collected in fiscal year 1993 shall be deducted from

24 the current year collections and shall be covered into a

25 special fund established in the Treasury of the United
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1 States titled ‘‘National Park Renewal Fund’’, and shall

2 be available to the Secretary without further appropriation

3 for infrastructure needs at parks, including but not limited

4 to facility refurbishment, repair and replacement, re5 sources protection, interpretive/educational media (exhib6 its), and other infrastructure projects beneficial to park

7 resources, to remain available until expended.

8 (4) In fiscal year 1995 only, fees authorized to be

9 collected pursuant to subsections 4 (a) and (b) of this Act

10 may be collected only to the extent provided in advance

11 in appropriations acts and shall be credited to the appro12 priate special fund accounts described in this Act. In addi13 tion, said fees shall be available for the purposes of this

14 Act only to the extent provided in advance in appropria15 tions acts and are authorized to be appropriated to remain

16 available until expended. In fiscal year 1996 and there17 after, fees collected as authorized to be collected pursuant

18 to subsections 4 (a) and (b) of this Act may be collected

19 as authorized by this Act and shall be available as pro20 vided in this Act without further provision in appropria21 tions acts.

22 (e) USE OF FEES.—The Secretary shall develop pro23 cedures for the use of these receipts that ensure account24 ability and demonstrated results consistent with the pur25 poses of this Act. The Secretary shall report annually to
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1 Congress on the expenditure of funds from fees collected,

2 beginning after the first full fiscal year following enact3 ment of this Act.

4 (f) DISCOUNTS.—In establishing the fees authorized

5 in this section, the Secretary shall establish appropriate

6 discounts for educational groups, persons sixty-two years

7 of age or older, or persons who are blind or permanently

8 disabled. The Secretary may also establish criteria when

9 the fees may be waived for these groups or individuals.

10 (g) CRITERIA.—All fees established pursuant to this

11 section shall be fair and equitable, taking into consider12 ation the direct and indirect cost to the Government, the

13 benefits to the recipient, the public policy or interest

14 served, the comparable fees charged by non-Federal public

15 and private agencies, the economic and administrative fea16 sibility of fee collection and other pertinent factors. The

17 Secretary shall from time to time review the fees for con18 sistency with the provisions of this subsection and provide

19 timely public notice of any proposed changes in the fees.

20 SEC. 5. DONATIONS.

21 (a) REQUESTS FOR DONATIONS.—In addition to

22 other authorities the Secretary may have to accept the do23 nation of lands, buildings, other property, services, and

24 moneys for the purposes of the National Park System, the

25 Secretary is authorized to solicit donations of money,
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1 property, and services from individuals, corporations,

2 foundations and other potential donors who the Secretary

3 believes would wish to make such donations as an expres4 sion of support for the national parks. Such donations

5 may be accepted and used for any authorized purpose or

6 program of the National Park Service, and donations of

7 money shall remain available for expenditure without fis8 cal year limitation. Any employees of the Department to

9 whom this authority is delegated shall be set forth in regu10 lations issued by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (d).

11 (b) EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION.—Employees of the

12 National Park Service may solicit donations only if the

13 request is incidental to or in support of, and does not

14 interfere with their primary duty of protecting and admin15 istering the parks or administering authorized programs,

16 and only for the purpose of providing a level of resource

17 protection, visitor facilities, or services for health and safe18 ty projects, recurring maintenance activities, or for other

19 routine activities normally funded through annual agency

20 appropriations. Such requests must be in accordance with

21 guidelines issued pursuant to paragraph (d).

22 (c) PROHIBITIONS.—(1) A donation may not be ac23 cepted in exchange for a commitment to the donor on the

24 part of the National Park Service or which attaches condi25 tions inconsistent with applicable laws and regulations or
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1 that is conditioned upon or will require the expenditure

2 of appropriated funds that are not available to the Depart3 ment, or which compromises a criminal or civil position

4 of the United States or any of its departments or agencies

5 or the administrative authority of any agency of the

6 United States.

7 (2) In utilizing the authorities contained in this sec8 tion employees of the National Park Service shall not di9 rectly conduct or execute major fund raising campaigns,

10 but may cooperate with others whom the Secretary may

11 designate to conduct such campaigns on behalf of the Na12 tional Park Service.

13 (d) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—(1) The Sec14 retary shall issue regulations setting forth those positions

15 to which he has delegated his authority under paragraph

16 (a) and the categories of employees of the National Park

17 Service that are authorized to request donations pursuant

18 to paragraph (b). Such regulations shall also set forth any

19 limitations on the types of donations that will be requested

20 or accepted as well as the sources of those donations.

21 (2) The Secretary shall publish guidelines which set

22 forth the criteria to be used in determining whether the

23 solicitation or acceptance of contributions of lands, build24 ings, other property, services, moneys and other gifts or

25 donations authorized by this section would reflect unfavor-
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1 ably upon the ability of the Department of the Interior

2 or any employee to carry out its responsibilities or official

3 duties in a fair and objective manner, or would com4 promise the integrity or the appearance of the integrity

5 of its programs or any official involved in those programs.

6 The Secretary shall also issue written guidance on the ex7 tent of the cooperation that may be provided by National

8 Park Service employees in any major fund raising cam9 paign which the Secretary has designated others to con10 duct pursuant to paragraph (c)(2).

11 SEC. 6. CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.

12 (A) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary is authorized to

13 negotiate and enter into challenge cost-share agreements

14 with cooperators. For purposes of this section, the term—

15 (1) ‘‘challenge cost-share agreement’’ means

16 any agreement entered into between the Secretary

17 and any cooperator for the purpose of sharing costs

18 or services in carrying out authorized functions and

19 responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to the

20 National Park System; and

21 (2) ‘‘cooperator’’ means any State or local gov22 ernment, public or private agency, organization, in23 stitution, corporation, individual, or other entity.

24 (b) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In carrying out chal25 lenge cost-share agreements, the Secretary is authorized,
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1 subject to appropriation, to provide the Federal funding

2 share from any funds available to the National Park

3 Service.

4 SEC. 7. COST RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE TO PARK RE5 SOURCES.

6 Any funds payable to United States as restitution on

7 account of damage to park resources or property shall be

8 paid to the Secretary. Any such funds, and any other

9 funds received by the Secretary as a result of forfeiture,

10 compromise, or settlement on account of damage to park

11 resources or property shall be available without appropria12 tion and may be expended by the Secretary without regard

13 to fiscal year limitation to improve, protect, or rehabilitate

14 any park resources or property which have been damaged

15 by the action of a permittee or any unauthorized person.

16 SEC. 8. CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAWS.

17 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), to the extent

18 that the provisions of this Act are inconsistent with section

19 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 as

20 amended (16 U.S.C. 4601–6a) or any other provision of

21 law, including any provision that prohibits or limits the

22 charging of a reasonable recreation or other fee, the provi23 sions of this Act shall prevail.
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1 (b) The following sections of the Land and Water

2 Conservation Act of 1965 as amended (16 U.S.C. 4601–

3 6a) will apply to this Act:

4 (1) RULES AND REGULATIONS; ESTABLISH5 MENT; ENFORCEMENT POWERS; PENALTY FOR VIO6 LATIONS.—In accordance with the provisions of this

7 section, the Secretary may prescribe rules and regu8 lations for areas under his or her administration for

9 the collection of any fee established pursuant to this

10 section. Persons authorized to enforce any such rules

11 or regulations issued under this subsection may,

12 within areas under the administration or authority

13 of the Secretary and with or, if the offense is com14 mitted in his presence, without a warrant, arrest any

15 person who violates such rules and regulations. Any

16 person so arrested may be tried and sentenced by

17 the United States magistrate judge specifically des18 ignated for that purpose by the court by which he

19 was appointed, in the same manner and subject to

20 the same conditions as provided in subsections (b),

21 (c), (d), and (e) of section 3401 of title 18. Any vio22 lations of the rules and regulations issued under this

23 subsection shall be punishable by a fine of not more

24 than $1000.
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1 (2) CRITERIA, POSTING AND UNIFORMITY OF

2 FEES.—Clear notice that a fee has been established

3 pursuant to this section shall be prominently posted

4 at each area and at appropriate locations therein

5 and shall be included in publications distributed at

6 such areas.

7 (3) CONTRACTS WITH PUBLIC OR PRIVATE EN8 TITIES FOR VISITOR RESERVATION SERVICES.—The

9 Secretary, under such terms and conditions as he

10 deems appropriate, may contract with any public or

11 private entity to provide visitor reservation services.

12 Any such contract may provide that the contractor

13 shall be permitted to deduct a commission to be

14 fixed by the agency head from the amount charged

15 the public for providing such services and to remit

16 the net proceeds therefrom to the contracting

17 agency.

18 (4) FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS UNAF19 FECTED.—Nothing in this Act shall authorize Fed20 eral hunting or fishing licenses or fees or charges for

21 commercial or other activities not related to recre22 ation, nor shall it affect any rights or authority of

23 the States with respect to fish and wildlife, nor shall

24 it repeal or modify any provision of law that permits

25 States or political subdivisions to share in the reve-
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1 nues from Federal lands or any provision of law that

2 provides that any fees or charges collected at par3 ticular Federal areas shall be used for or credited to

4 specific purposes or special funds as authorized by

5 that provision of law.

6 (5) SELLING OF PERMITS AND COLLECTION OF

7 FEES BY VOLUNTEERS AT DESIGNATED AREAS; COL8 LECTING AGENCY DUTIES; SURETY BONDS; SELLING

9 OF ANNUAL ADMISSION PERMITS BY PUBLIC AND

10 PRIVATE ENTITIES UNDER ARRANGEMENTS WITH

11 COLLECTING AGENCY HEAD.—When authorized by

12 the Secretary, volunteers at designated areas may

13 sell permits and collect fees authorized or established

14 pursuant to this section. The Secretary shall ensure

15 that such volunteers have adequate training regard16 ing—

17 (A) the sale of permits and the collection

18 of fees,

19 (B) the purposes and resources of the

20 areas in which they are assigned, and

21 (C) the provision of assistance and infor22 mation to visitors to the designated area.

23 The Secretary shall require a surety bond for any

24 such volunteer performing services under this sub25 section. Funds available to the collecting agency may
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1 be used to cover the cost of any such surety bond.

2 The head of the collecting agency may enter into ar3 rangements with qualified public or private entities

4 pursuant to which such entities may sell (without

5 cost to the United States) annual admission permits

6 (including Golden Eagle Passports) at any appro7 priate location.

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