105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1693

AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

October 13, 1998.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1693) entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for improved management and increased accountability for certain National Park Service programs, and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na3 tional Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

5 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definition.

TITLE I—NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CAREER DEVELOPMENT,

TRAINING, AND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Protection, interpretation, and research in the National Park System.

Sec. 102. National Park Service employee training.

Sec. 103. Management development and training.

Sec. 104. Park budgets and accountability.

TITLE II—NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM RESOURCE INVENTORY AND

MANAGEMENT

Sec. 201. Purposes.

Sec. 202. Research mandate.

Sec. 203. Cooperative agreements.

Sec. 204. Inventory and monitoring program.

Sec. 205. Availability for scientific study.

Sec. 206. Integration of study results into management decisions.

Sec. 207. Confidentiality of information.
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TITLE III—STUDY REGARDING ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL PARK

SYSTEM AREAS

Sec. 301. Short title.

Sec. 302. Purpose.

Sec. 303. Study of addition of new National Park System areas.

TITLE IV—NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CONCESSIONS MANAGEMENT

Sec. 401. Short title.

Sec. 402. Congressional findings and statement of policy.

Sec. 403. Award of concessions contracts.

Sec. 404. Term of concessions contracts.

Sec. 405. Protection of concessioner investment.

Sec. 406. Reasonableness of rates.

Sec. 407. Franchise fees.

Sec. 408. Transfer of concessions contracts.

Sec. 409. National Park Service Concessions Management Advisory Board.

Sec. 410. Contracting for services.

Sec. 411. Multiple contracts within a park.

Sec. 412. Special rule for transportation contracting services.

Sec. 413. Use of nonmonetary consideration in concessions contracts.

Sec. 414. Recordkeeping requirements.

Sec. 415. Repeal of National Park Service Concessions Policy Act.

Sec. 416. Promotion of the sale of Indian, Alaska Native, Native Samoan, and

Native Hawaiian handicrafts.

Sec. 417. Regulations.

Sec. 418. Commercial use authorizations.

Sec. 419. Savings provision.

TITLE V—FEES FOR USE OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

Sec. 501. Fees.

Sec. 502. Distribution of golden eagle passport sales.

TITLE VI—NATIONAL PARK PASSPORT PROGRAM

Sec. 601. Purposes.

Sec. 602. National Park passport program.

Sec. 603. Administration.

Sec. 604. Foreign sales of Golden Eagle Passports.

Sec. 605. Effect on other laws and programs.

TITLE VII—NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION SUPPORT

Sec. 701. Promotion of local fundraising support.

TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 801. United States Park Police.

Sec. 802. Leases and cooperative management agreements.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

2 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the

3 Secretary of the Interior, except as otherwise specifically

4 provided.

5 TITLE I—NATIONAL PARK SERV6 ICE CAREER DEVELOPMENT,

7 TRAINING, AND MANAGE8 MENT

9 SEC. 101. PROTECTION, INTERPRETATION, AND RESEARCH

10 IN THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

11 Recognizing the ever increasing societal pressures

12 being placed upon America’s unique natural and cultural

13 resources contained in the National Park System, the Sec14 retary shall continually improve the ability of the National

15 Park Service to provide state-of-the-art management, pro16 tection, and interpretation of and research on the resources

17 of the National Park System.

18 SEC. 102. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE EMPLOYEE TRAINING.

19 The Secretary shall develop a comprehensive training

20 program for employees in all professional careers in the

21 work force of the National Park Service for the purpose of

22 assuring that the work force has available the best, up-to23 date knowledge, skills and abilities with which to manage,

24 interpret and protect the resources of the National Park

25 System.
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1 SEC. 103. MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.

2 Within 2 years after the enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary shall develop a clear plan for management training

4 and development, whereby career, professional National

5 Park Service employees from any appropriate academic

6 field may obtain sufficient training, experience, and ad7 vancement opportunity to enable those qualified to move

8 into park management positions, including explicitly the

9 position of superintendent of a unit of the National Park

10 System.

11 SEC. 104. PARK BUDGETS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

12 (a) STRATEGIC AND PERFORMANCE PLANS FOR EACH

13 UNIT.—Each unit of the National Park System shall pre14 pare and make available to the public a 5-year strategic

15 plan and an annual performance plan. Such plans shall

16 reflect the National Park Service policies, goals, and out17 comes represented in the Service-wide Strategic Plan, pre18 pared pursuant to the provisions of the Government Per19 formance and Results Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–62; 107

20 Stat. 285).

21 (b) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR EACH UNIT.—As a part of

22 the annual performance plan for a unit of the National

23 Park System prepared pursuant to subsection (a), following

24 receipt of the appropriation for the unit from the Oper25 ations of the National Park System account (but no later

26 than January 1 of each year), the superintendent of the
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1 unit shall develop and make available to the public the

2 budget for the current fiscal year for that unit. The budget

3 shall include, at a minimum, funding allocations for re4 source preservation (including resource management), visi5 tor services (including maintenance, interpretation, law en6 forcement, and search and rescue) and administration. The

7 budget shall also include allocations into each of the above

8 categories of all funds retained from fees collected for that

9 year, including (but not limited to) special use permits,

10 concession franchise fees, and recreation use and entrance

11 fees.

12 TITLE II—NATIONAL PARK SYS13 TEM RESOURCE INVENTORY

14 AND MANAGEMENT

15 SEC. 201. PURPOSES.

16 The purposes of this title are—

17 (1) to more effectively achieve the mission of the

18 National Park Service;

19 (2) to enhance management and protection of

20 national park resources by providing clear authority

21 and direction for the conduct of scientific study in the

22 National Park System and to use the information

23 gathered for management purposes;

24 (3) to ensure appropriate documentation of re25 source conditions in the National Park System;
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1 (4) to encourage others to use the National Park

2 System for study to the benefit of park management

3 as well as broader scientific value, where such study

4 is consistent with the Act of August 25, 1916 (com5 monly known as the National Park Service Organic

6 Act; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and

7 (5) to encourage the publication and dissemina8 tion of information derived from studies in the Na9 tional Park System.

10 SEC. 202. RESEARCH MANDATE.

11 The Secretary is authorized and directed to assure that

12 management of units of the National Park System is en13 hanced by the availability and utilization of a broad pro14 gram of the highest quality science and information.

15 SEC. 203. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

16 (a) COOPERATIVE STUDY UNITS.—The Secretary is

17 authorized and directed to enter into cooperative agree18 ments with colleges and universities, including but not lim19 ited to land grant schools, in partnership with other Federal

20 and State agencies, to establish cooperative study units to

21 conduct multi-disciplinary research and develop integrated

22 information products on the resources of the National Park

23 System, or the larger region of which parks are a part.

24 (b) REPORT.—Within one year of the date of enact25 ment of this title, the Secretary shall report to the Commit-
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1 tee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States

2 Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of

3 Representatives on progress in the establishment of a com4 prehensive network of such college and university based co5 operative study units as will provide full geographic and

6 topical coverage for research on the resources contained in

7 units of the National Park System and their larger regions.

8 SEC. 204. INVENTORY AND MONITORING PROGRAM.

9 The Secretary shall undertake a program of inventory

10 and monitoring of National Park System resources to estab11 lish baseline information and to provide information on the

12 long-term trends in the condition of National Park System

13 resources. The monitoring program shall be developed in co14 operation with other Federal monitoring and information

15 collection efforts to ensure a cost-effective approach.

16 SEC. 205. AVAILABILITY FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may solicit, receive,

18 and consider requests from Federal or non-Federal public

19 or private agencies, organizations, individuals, or other en20 tities for the use of any unit of the National Park System

21 for purposes of scientific study.

22 (b) CRITERIA.—A request for use of a unit of the Na23 tional Park System under subsection (a) may only be ap24 proved if the Secretary determines that the proposed

25 study—
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1 (1) is consistent with applicable laws and Na2 tional Park Service management policies; and

3 (2) will be conducted in a manner as to pose no

4 threat to park resources or public enjoyment derived

5 from those resources.

6 (c) FEE WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive any park

7 admission or recreational use fee in order to facilitate the

8 conduct of scientific study under this section.

9 (d) NEGOTIATIONS.—The Secretary may enter into ne10 gotiations with the research community and private indus11 try for equitable, efficient benefits-sharing arrangements.

12 SEC. 206. INTEGRATION OF STUDY RESULTS INTO MANAGE13 MENT DECISIONS.

14 The Secretary shall take such measures as are nec15 essary to assure the full and proper utilization of the results

16 of scientific study for park management decisions. In each

17 case in which an action undertaken by the National Park

18 Service may cause a significant adverse effect on a park

19 resource, the administrative record shall reflect the manner

20 in which unit resource studies have been considered. The

21 trend in the condition of resources of the National Park

22 System shall be a significant factor in the annual perform23 ance evaluation of each superintendent of a unit of the Na24 tional Park System.
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1 SEC. 207. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.

2 Information concerning the nature and specific loca3 tion of a National Park System resource which is endan4 gered, threatened, rare, or commercially valuable, of min5 eral or paleontological objects within units of the National

6 Park System, or of objects of cultural patrimony within

7 units of the National Park System, may be withheld from

8 the public in response to a request under section 552 of title

9 5, United States Code, unless the Secretary determines

10 that—

11 (1) disclosure of the information would further

12 the purposes of the unit of the National Park System

13 in which the resource or object is located and would

14 not create an unreasonable risk of harm, theft, or de15 struction of the resource or object, including individ16 ual organic or inorganic specimens; and

17 (2) disclosure is consistent with other applicable

18 laws protecting the resource or object.

19 TITLE III—STUDY REGARDING

20 ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL

21 PARK SYSTEM AREAS

22 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Park System

24 New Areas Studies Act’’.
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1 SEC. 302. PURPOSE.

2 It is the purpose of this title to reform the process by

3 which areas are considered for addition to the National

4 Park System.

5 SEC. 303. STUDY OF ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL PARK

6 SYSTEM AREAS.

7 Section 8 of Public Law 91–383 (commonly known as

8 the National Park System General Authorities Act; 16

9 U.S.C. 1a–5) is amended as follows:

10 (1) By inserting ‘‘GENERAL AUTHORITY.—’’

11 after ‘‘(a)’’.

12 (2) By striking the second through the sixth sen13 tences of subsection (a).

14 (3) By redesignating the last two sentences of

15 subsection (a) as subsection (f) and inserting in the

16 first of such sentences before the words ‘‘For the pur17 poses of carrying’’ the following: ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION

18 OF APPROPRIATIONS.—’’.

19 (4) By inserting the following after subsection

20 (a):

21 ‘‘(b) STUDIES OF AREAS FOR POTENTIAL ADDITION.—

22 (1) At the beginning of each calendar year, along with the

23 annual budget submission, the Secretary shall submit to the

24 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

25 and to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

26 of the United States Senate a list of areas recommended
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1 for study for potential inclusion in the National Park Sys2 tem.

3 ‘‘(2) In developing the list to be submitted under this

4 subsection, the Secretary shall consider—

5 ‘‘(A) those areas that have the greatest potential

6 to meet the established criteria of national signifi7 cance, suitability, and feasibility;

8 ‘‘(B) themes, sites, and resources not already

9 adequately represented in the National Park System;

10 and

11 ‘‘(C) public petition and Congressional resolu12 tions.

13 ‘‘(3) No study of the potential of an area for inclusion

14 in the National Park System may be initiated after the date

15 of enactment of this subsection, except as provided by spe16 cific authorization of an Act of Congress.

17 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of

18 the National Park Service to conduct preliminary resource

19 assessments, gather data on potential study areas, provide

20 technical and planning assistance, prepare or process nomi21 nations for administrative designations, update previous

22 studies, or complete reconnaissance surveys of individual

23 areas requiring a total expenditure of less than $25,000.

24 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply

25 to or to affect or alter the study of any river segment for
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1 potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers

2 system or to apply to or to affect or alter the study of any

3 trail for potential addition to the national trails system.

4 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—(1) The Secretary shall complete the

5 study for each area for potential inclusion in the National

6 Park System within 3 complete fiscal years following the

7 date on which funds are first made available for such pur8 poses. Each study under this section shall be prepared with

9 appropriate opportunity for public involvement, including

10 at least one public meeting in the vicinity of the area under

11 study, and after reasonable efforts to notify potentially af12 fected landowners and State and local governments.

13 ‘‘(2) In conducting the study, the Secretary shall con14 sider whether the area under study—

15 ‘‘(A) possesses nationally significant natural or

16 cultural resources and represents one of the most im17 portant examples of a particular resource type in the

18 country; and

19 ‘‘(B) is a suitable and feasible addition to the

20 system.

21 ‘‘(3) Each study—

22 ‘‘(A) shall consider the following factors with re23 gard to the area being studied—

24 ‘‘(i) the rarity and integrity of the re25 sources;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the threats to those resources;

2 ‘‘(iii) similar resources are already pro3 tected in the National Park System or in other

4 public or private ownership;

5 ‘‘(iv) the public use potential;

6 ‘‘(v) the interpretive and educational poten7 tial;

8 ‘‘(vi) costs associated with acquisition, de9 velopment and operation;

10 ‘‘(vii) the socioeconomic impacts of any des11 ignation;

12 ‘‘(viii) the level of local and general public

13 support; and

14 ‘‘(ix) whether the area is of appropriate

15 configuration to ensure long-term resource pro16 tection and visitor use;

17 ‘‘(B) shall consider whether direct National Park

18 Service management or alternative protection by

19 other public agencies or the private sector is appro20 priate for the area;

21 ‘‘(C) shall identify what alternative or combina22 tion of alternatives would in the professional judg23 ment of the Director of the National Park Service be

24 most effective and efficient in protecting significant

25 resources and providing for public enjoyment; and
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1 ‘‘(D) may include any other information which

2 the Secretary deems to be relevant.

3 ‘‘(4) Each study shall be completed in compliance with

4 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

5 ‘‘(5) The letter transmitting each completed study to

6 Congress shall contain a recommendation regarding the

7 Secretary’s preferred management option for the area.

8 ‘‘(d) NEW AREA STUDY OFFICE.—The Secretary shall

9 designate a single office to be assigned to prepare all new

10 area studies and to implement other functions of this sec11 tion.

12 ‘‘(e) LIST OF AREAS.—At the beginning of each cal13 endar year, along with the annual budget submission, the

14 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of

15 the House of Representatives and to the Committee on En16 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a list of areas

17 which have been previously studied which contain pri18 marily historical resources, and a list of areas which have

19 been previously studied which contain primarily natural

20 resources, in numerical order of priority for addition to the

21 National Park System. In developing the lists, the Secretary

22 should consider threats to resource values, cost escalation

23 factors, and other factors listed in subsection (c) of this sec24 tion. The Secretary should only include on the lists areas

25 for which the supporting data is current and accurate.’’.
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1 (5) By adding at the end of subsection (f) (as

2 designated by paragraph (3) of this section) the fol3 lowing: ‘‘For carrying out subsections (b) through (d)

4 there are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for

5 each fiscal year.’’.

6 TITLE IV—NATIONAL PARK

7 SERVICE CONCESSIONS MAN8 AGEMENT

9 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

10 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Park Service

11 Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998’’.

12 SEC. 402. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF

13 POLICY.

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

15 1916 (commonly known as the National Park Service Or16 ganic Act; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), which directs the Secretary

17 to administer units of the National Park System in accord18 ance with the fundamental purpose of conserving their sce19 nery, wildlife, and natural and historic objects, and provid20 ing for their enjoyment in a manner that will leave them

21 unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations, the

22 Congress hereby finds that the preservation and conserva23 tion of park resources and values requires that such public

24 accommodations, facilities, and services as have to be pro25 vided within such units should be provided only under care-
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1 fully controlled safeguards against unregulated and indis2 criminate use, so that—

3 (1) visitation will not unduly impair these re4 sources and values; and

5 (2) development of public accommodations, fa6 cilities, and services within such units can best be

7 limited to locations that are consistent to the highest

8 practicable degree with the preservation and conserva9 tion of the resources and values of such units.

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

11 development of public accommodations, facilities, and serv12 ices in units of the National Park System shall be limited

13 to those accommodations, facilities, and services that—

14 (1) are necessary and appropriate for public use

15 and enjoyment of the unit of the National Park Sys16 tem in which they are located; and

17 (2) are consistent to the highest practicable de18 gree with the preservation and conservation of the re19 sources and values of the unit.

20 SEC. 403. AWARD OF CONCESSIONS CONTRACTS.

21 In furtherance of the findings and policy stated in sec22 tion 402, and except as provided by this title or otherwise

23 authorized by law, the Secretary shall utilize concessions

24 contracts to authorize a person, corporation, or other entity

25 to provide accommodations, facilities, and services to visi-
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1 tors to units of the National Park System. Such concessions

2 contracts shall be awarded as follows:

3 (1) COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.—Except

4 as otherwise provided in this section, all proposed

5 concessions contracts shall be awarded by the Sec6 retary to the person, corporation, or other entity sub7 mitting the best proposal, as determined by the Sec8 retary through a competitive selection process. Such

9 competitive process shall include simplified proce10 dures for small, individually-owned, concessions con11 tracts.

12 (2) SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS.—Except as

13 otherwise provided in this section, prior to awarding

14 a new concessions contract (including renewals or ex15 tensions of existing concessions contracts) the Sec16 retary shall publicly solicit proposals for the conces17 sions contract and, in connection with such solicita18 tion, the Secretary shall prepare a prospectus and

19 shall publish notice of its availability at least once in

20 local or national newspapers or trade publications,

21 and/or the Commerce Business Daily, as appropriate,

22 and shall make the prospectus available upon request

23 to all interested parties.

24 (3) PROSPECTUS.—The prospectus shall include

25 the following information:
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1 (A) The minimum requirements for such

2 contract as set forth in paragraph (4).

3 (B) The terms and conditions of any exist4 ing concessions contract relating to the services

5 and facilities to be provided, including all fees

6 and other forms of compensation provided to the

7 United States by the concessioner.

8 (C) Other authorized facilities or services

9 which may be provided in a proposal.

10 (D) Facilities and services to be provided by

11 the Secretary to the concessioner, if any, includ12 ing public access, utilities, and buildings.

13 (E) An estimate of the amount of compensa14 tion, if any, due an existing concessioner from a

15 new concessioner under the terms of a prior con16 cessions contract.

17 (F) A statement as to the weight to be given

18 to each selection factor identified in the prospec19 tus and the relative importance of such factors in

20 the selection process.

21 (G) Such other information related to the

22 proposed concessions operation as is provided to

23 the Secretary pursuant to a concessions contract

24 or is otherwise available to the Secretary, as the
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1 Secretary determines is necessary to allow for the

2 submission of competitive proposals.

3 (H) Where applicable, a description of a

4 preferential right to the renewal of the proposed

5 concessions contract held by an existing conces6 sioner as set forth in paragraph (7).

7 (4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—(A) No proposal

8 shall be considered which fails to meet the minimum

9 requirements as determined by the Secretary. Such

10 minimum requirements shall include the following:

11 (i) The minimum acceptable franchise fee or

12 other forms of consideration to the Government.

13 (ii) Any facilities, services, or capital in14 vestment required to be provided by the conces15 sioner.

16 (iii) Measures necessary to ensure the pro17 tection, conservation, and preservation of re18 sources of the unit of the National Park System.

19 (B) The Secretary shall reject any proposal, re20 gardless of the franchise fee offered, if the Secretary

21 determines that the person, corporation, or entity is

22 not qualified, is not likely to provide satisfactory

23 service, or that the proposal is not responsive to the

24 objectives of protecting and preserving resources of the

25 unit of the National Park System and of providing
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1 necessary and appropriate facilities and services to

2 the public at reasonable rates.

3 (C) If all proposals submitted to the Secretary

4 either fail to meet the minimum requirements or are

5 rejected by the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish

6 new minimum contract requirements and re-initiate

7 the competitive selection process pursuant to this sec8 tion.

9 (D) The Secretary may not execute a concessions

10 contract which materially amends or does not incor11 porate the proposed terms and conditions of the con12 cessions contract as set forth in the applicable pro13 spectus. If proposed material amendments or changes

14 are considered appropriate by the Secretary, the Sec15 retary shall resolicit offers for the concessions contract

16 incorporating such material amendments or changes.

17 (5) SELECTION OF THE BEST PROPOSAL.—(A)

18 In selecting the best proposal, the Secretary shall con19 sider the following principal factors:

20 (i) The responsiveness of the proposal to the

21 objectives of protecting, conserving, and preserv22 ing resources of the unit of the National Park

23 System and of providing necessary and appro24 priate facilities and services to the public at rea25 sonable rates.
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1 (ii) The experience and related background

2 of the person, corporation, or entity submitting

3 the proposal, including the past performance and

4 expertise of such person, corporation or entity in

5 providing the same or similar facilities or serv6 ices.

7 (iii) The financial capability of the person,

8 corporation, or entity submitting the proposal.

9 (iv) The proposed franchise fee, except that

10 consideration of revenue to the United States

11 shall be subordinate to the objectives of protect12 ing, conserving, and preserving resources of the

13 unit of the National Park System and of provid14 ing necessary and appropriate facilities to the

15 public at reasonable rates.

16 (B) The Secretary may also consider such sec17 ondary factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.

18 (C) In developing regulations to implement this

19 title, the Secretary shall consider the extent to which

20 plans for employment of Indians (including Native

21 Alaskans) and involvement of businesses owned by In22 dians, Indian tribes, or Native Alaskans in the oper23 ation of a concession, contracts should be identified as

24 a factor in the selection of a best proposal under this

25 section.
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1 (6) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Sec2 retary shall submit any proposed concessions contract

3 with anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of

4 $5,000,000 or a duration of more than 10 years to the

5 Committee on Resources of the House of Representa6 tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re7 sources of the Senate. The Secretary shall not award

8 any such proposed contract until at least 60 days

9 subsequent to the notification of both committees.

10 (7) PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—(A)

11 Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Sec12 retary shall not grant a concessioner a preferential

13 right to renew a concessions contract, or any other

14 form of preference to a concessions contract.

15 (B) The Secretary shall grant a preferential

16 right of renewal to an existing concessioner with re17 spect to proposed renewals of the categories of conces18 sions contracts described by paragraph (8), subject to

19 the requirements of that paragraph.

20 (C) As used in this title, the term ‘‘preferential

21 right of renewal’’ means that the Secretary, subject to

22 a determination by the Secretary that the facilities or

23 services authorized by a prior contract continue to be

24 necessary and appropriate within the meaning of sec25 tion 402, shall allow a concessioner qualifying for a
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1 preferential right of renewal the opportunity to match

2 the terms and conditions of any competing proposal

3 which the Secretary determines to be the best proposal

4 for a proposed new concessions contract which author5 izes the continuation of the facilities and services pro6 vided by the concessioner under its prior contract.

7 (D) A concessioner which successfully exercises a

8 preferential right of renewal in accordance with the

9 requirements of this title shall be entitled to award of

10 the proposed new concessions contract to which such

11 preference applies.

12 (8) OUTFITTER AND GUIDE SERVICES AND SMALL

13 CONTRACTS.—(A) The provisions of paragraph (7)

14 shall apply only to the following:

15 (i) Subject to subparagraph (B), outfitting

16 and guide concessions contracts.

17 (ii) Subject to subparagraph (C), conces18 sions contracts with anticipated annual gross re19 ceipts under $500,000.

20 (B) For the purposes of this title, an ‘‘outfitting

21 and guide concessions contract’’ means a concessions

22 contract which solely authorizes the provision of spe23 cialized backcountry outdoor recreation guide services

24 which require the employment of specially trained

25 and experienced guides to accompany park visitors in
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1 the backcountry so as to provide a safe and enjoyable

2 experience for visitors who otherwise may not have

3 the skills and equipment to engage in such activity.

4 Outfitting and guide concessioners, where otherwise

5 qualified, include concessioners which provide guided

6 river running, hunting, fishing, horseback, camping,

7 and mountaineering experiences. An outfitting and

8 guide concessioner is entitled to a preferential right of

9 renewal under this title only if—

10 (i) the contract with the outfitting and

11 guide concessioner does not grant the conces12 sioner any interest, including any leasehold sur13 render interest or possessory interest, in capital

14 improvements on lands owned by the United

15 States within a unit of the National Park Sys16 tem, other than a capital improvement con17 structed by a concessioner pursuant to the terms

18 of a concessions contract prior to the date of the

19 enactment of this title or constructed or owned

20 by a concessioner or his or her predecessor before

21 the subject land was incorporated into the Na22 tional Park System;

23 (ii) the Secretary determines that the con24 cessioner has operated satisfactorily during the
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1 term of the contract (including any extension

2 thereof); and

3 (iii) the concessioner has submitted a re4 sponsive proposal for a proposed new contract

5 which satisfies the minimum requirements estab6 lished by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph

7 (4).

8 (C) A concessioner that holds a concessions con9 tract that the Secretary estimates will result in gross

10 annual receipts of less than $500,000 if renewed shall

11 be entitled to a preferential right of renewal under

12 this title if—

13 (i) the Secretary has determined that the

14 concessioner has operated satisfactorily during

15 the term of the contract (including any extension

16 thereof); and

17 (ii) the concessioner has submitted a respon18 sive proposal for a proposed new concessions con19 tract which satisfies the minimum requirements

20 established by the Secretary pursuant to para21 graph (4).

22 (9) NEW OR ADDITIONAL SERVICES.—The Sec23 retary shall not grant a preferential right to a conces24 sioner to provide new or additional services in a unit

25 of the National Park System.
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1 (10) SECRETARIAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this

2 title shall be construed as limiting the authority of

3 the Secretary to determine whether to issue a conces4 sions contract or to establish its terms and conditions

5 in furtherance of the policies expressed in this title.

6 (11) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding the provi7 sions of this section, the Secretary may award, with8 out public solicitation, the following:

9 (A) A temporary concessions contract or an

10 extension of an existing concessions contract for

11 a term not to exceed 3 years in order to avoid

12 interruption of services to the public at a unit

13 of the National Park System, except that prior

14 to making such an award, the Secretary shall

15 take all reasonable and appropriate steps to con16 sider alternatives to avoid such interruption.

17 (B) A concessions contract in extraordinary

18 circumstances where compelling and equitable

19 considerations require the award of a concessions

20 contract to a particular party in the public in21 terest. Such award of a concessions contract shall

22 not be made by the Secretary until at least 30

23 days after publication in the Federal Register of

24 notice of the Secretary’s intention to do so and

25 the reasons for such action, and submission of
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1 notice to the Committee on Energy and Natural

2 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on

3 Resources of the House of Representatives.

4 SEC. 404. TERM OF CONCESSIONS CONTRACTS.

5 A concessions contract entered into pursuant to this

6 title shall generally be awarded for a term of 10 years or

7 less. However, the Secretary may award a contract for a

8 term of up to 20 years if the Secretary determines that the

9 contract terms and conditions, including the required con10 struction of capital improvements, warrant a longer term.

11 SEC. 405. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

12 (a) LEASEHOLD SURRENDER INTEREST UNDER NEW

13 CONCESSIONS CONTRACTS.—On or after the date of the en14 actment of this title, a concessioner that constructs a capital

15 improvement upon land owned by the United States within

16 a unit of the National Park System pursuant to a conces17 sions contract shall have a leasehold surrender interest in

18 such capital improvement subject to the following terms and

19 conditions:

20 (1) A concessioner shall have a leasehold surren21 der interest in each capital improvement constructed

22 by a concessioner under a concessions contract, con23 sisting solely of a right to compensation for the cap24 ital improvement to the extent of the value of the con-
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1 cessioner’s leasehold surrender interest in the capital

2 improvement.

3 (2) A leasehold surrender interest—

4 (A) may be pledged as security for financ5 ing of a capital improvement or the acquisition

6 of a concessions contract when approved by the

7 Secretary pursuant to this title;

8 (B) shall be transferred by the concessioner

9 in connection with any transfer of the conces10 sions contract and may be relinquished or

11 waived by the concessioner; and

12 (C) shall not be extinguished by the expira13 tion or other termination of a concessions con14 tract and may not be taken for public use except

15 on payment of just compensation.

16 (3) The value of a leasehold surrender interest in

17 a capital improvement shall be an amount equal to

18 the initial value (construction cost of the capital im19 provement), increased (or decreased) in the same per20 centage increase (or decrease) as the percentage in21 crease (or decrease) in the Consumer Price Index,

22 from the date of making the investment in the capital

23 improvement by the concessioner to the date of pay24 ment of the value of the leasehold surrender interest,

25 less depreciation of the capital improvement as evi-
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1 denced by the condition and prospective serviceability

2 in comparison with a new unit of like kind.

3 (4) Effective 9 years after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Secretary may provide, in any

5 particular new concession contract the Secretary esti6 mates will have a leasehold surrender interest of more

7 than $10,000,000, that the value of any leasehold sur8 render interest in a capital improvement shall be

9 based on either (A) a reduction on an annual basis,

10 in equal portions, over the same number of years as

11 the time period associated with the straight line de12 preciation of the initial value (construction cost of the

13 capital improvement), as provided by applicable Fed14 eral income tax laws and regulations in effect on the

15 day before the date of the enactment of this Act or (B)

16 such alternative formula that is consistent with the

17 objectives of this title. The Secretary may only use

18 such an alternative formula if the Secretary deter19 mines, after scrutiny of the financial and other cir20 cumstances involved in this particular concession con21 tract (including providing notice in the Federal Reg22 ister and opportunity for comment), that such alter23 native formula is, compared to the standard method

24 of determining value provided for in paragraph (3),

25 necessary in order to provide a fair return to the Gov-
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1 ernment and to foster competition for the new con2 tract by providing a reasonable opportunity to make

3 a profit under the new contract. If no responsive of4 fers are received in response to a solicitation that in5 cludes such an alternative formula, the concession op6 portunity shall be resolicited with the leasehold sur7 render interest value as described as paragraph (3).

8 (5) Where a concessioner, pursuant to the terms

9 of a concessions contract, makes a capital improve10 ment to an existing capital improvement in which the

11 concessioner has a leasehold surrender interest, the

12 cost of such additional capital improvement shall be

13 added to the then current value of the concessioner’s

14 leasehold surrender interest.

15 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING POSSESSORY INTER16 EST.—

17 (1) A concessioner which has obtained a

18 possessory interest as defined pursuant to Public Law

19 89–249 (commonly known as the National Park Serv20 ice Concessions Policy Act; 16 U.S.C. 20 et seq.), as

21 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment

22 of this Act, under the terms of a concessions contract

23 entered into before that date shall, upon the expira24 tion or termination of such contract, be entitled to re25 ceive compensation for such possessory interest im-
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1 provements in the amount and manner as described

2 by such concessions contract. Where such a possessory

3 interest is not described in the existing contract, com4 pensation of possessory interest shall be determined in

5 accordance with the laws in effect on the day before

6 the date of enactment of this Act.

7 (2) In the event such prior concessioner is

8 awarded a new concessions contract after the effective

9 date of this title replacing an existing concessions

10 contract, the existing concessioner shall, instead of di11 rectly receiving such possessory interest compensation,

12 have a leasehold surrender interest in its existing

13 possessory interest improvements under the terms of

14 the new contract and shall carry over as the initial

15 value of such leasehold surrender interest (instead of

16 construction cost) an amount equal to the value of the

17 existing possessory interest as of the termination date

18 of the previous contract. In the event of a dispute be19 tween the concessioner and the Secretary as to the

20 value of such possessory interest, the matter shall be

21 resolved through binding arbitration.

22 (3) In the event that a new concessioner is

23 awarded a concessions contract and is required to

24 pay a prior concessioner for possessory interest in

25 prior improvements, the new concessioner shall have
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1 a leasehold surrender interest in such prior improve2 ments and the initial value in such leasehold surren3 der interest (instead of construction cost), shall be an

4 amount equal to the value of the existing possessory

5 interest as of the termination date of the previous

6 contract.

7 (c) TRANSITION TO SUCCESSOR CONCESSIONER.—

8 Upon expiration or termination of a concessions contract

9 entered into after the effective date of this title, a conces10 sioner shall be entitled under the terms of the concessions

11 contract to receive from the United States or a successor

12 concessioner the value of any leasehold surrender interest

13 in a capital improvement as of the date of such expiration

14 or termination. A successor concessioner shall have a lease15 hold surrender interest in such capital improvement under

16 the terms of a new contract and the initial value of the

17 leasehold surrender interest in such capital improvement

18 (instead of construction cost) shall be the amount of money

19 the new concessioner is required to pay the prior conces20 sioner for its leasehold surrender interest under the terms

21 of the prior concessions contract.

22 (d) TITLE TO IMPROVEMENTS.—Title to any capital

23 improvement constructed by a concessioner on lands owned

24 by the United States in a unit of the National Park System

25 shall be vested in the United States.
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1 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

2 (1) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.—The term ‘‘Con3 sumer Price Index’’ means the ‘‘Consumer Price

4 Index—All Urban Consumers’’ published by the Bu5 reau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor,

6 unless such index is not published, in which case an7 other regularly published cost-of-living index approxi8 mating the Consumer Price Index shall be utilized by

9 the Secretary; and

10 (2) CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.—The term ‘‘capital

11 improvement’’ means a structure, fixture, or non12 removable equipment provided by a concessioner pur13 suant to the terms of a concessions contract and lo14 cated on lands of the United States within a unit of

15 the National Park System.

16 (f) SPECIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— Not later

17 than 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,

18 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on

19 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com20 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives con21 taining a complete analysis of the concession program as

22 well as—

23 (1) an assessment of competition in the solicita24 tion of prospectuses, fair and/or increased return to
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1 the Government, and improvement of concession fa2 cilities and infrastructure; and

3 (2) an assessment of any problems with the man4 agement and administration of the concession pro5 gram that are a direct result of the implementation

6 of the provisions of this title.

7 SEC. 406. REASONABLENESS OF RATES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each concessions contract shall

9 permit the concessioner to set reasonable and appropriate

10 rates and charges for facilities, goods, and services provided

11 to the public, subject to approval under subsection (b).

12 (b) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY REQUIRED.—A conces13 sioner’s rates and charges to the public shall be subject to

14 approval by the Secretary. The approval process utilized

15 by the Secretary shall be as prompt and as unburdensome

16 to the concessioner as possible and shall rely on market

17 forces to establish reasonableness of rates and charges to the

18 maximum extent practicable. The Secretary shall approve

19 rates and charges that the Secretary determines to be rea20 sonable and appropriate. Unless otherwise provided in the

21 contract, the reasonableness and appropriateness of rates

22 and charges shall be determined primarily by comparison

23 with those rates and charges for facilities, goods, and serv24 ices of comparable character under similar conditions, with

25 due consideration to the following factors and other factors
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1 deemed relevant by the Secretary: length of season,

2 peakloads, average percentage of occupancy, accessibility,

3 availability and costs of labor and materials, and type of

4 patronage. Such rates and charges may not exceed the mar5 ket rates and charges for comparable facilities, goods, and

6 services, after taking into account the factors referred to in

7 the preceding sentence.

8 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not

9 later than 6 months after receiving recommendations from

10 the Advisory Board established under section 409(a) regard11 ing concessioner rates and charges to the public, the Sec12 retary shall implement the recommendations or report to

13 the Congress the reasons for not implementing the rec14 ommendations.

15 SEC. 407. FRANCHISE FEES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A concessions contract shall pro17 vide for payment to the government of a franchise fee or

18 such other monetary consideration as determined by the

19 Secretary, upon consideration of the probable value to the

20 concessioner of the privileges granted by the particular con21 tract involved. Such probable value shall be based upon a

22 reasonable opportunity for net profit in relation to capital

23 invested and the obligations of the contract. Consideration

24 of revenue to the United States shall be subordinate to the

25 objectives of protecting and preserving park areas and of
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1 providing necessary and appropriate services for visitors at

2 reasonable rates.

3 (b) AMOUNT OF FRANCHISE FEE.—The amount of the

4 franchise fee or other monetary consideration paid to the

5 United States for the term of the concessions contract shall

6 be specified in the concessions contract and may only be

7 modified to reflect extraordinary unanticipated changes

8 from the conditions anticipated as of the effective date of

9 the contract. The Secretary shall include in concessions con10 tracts with a term of more than 5 years a provision which

11 allows reconsideration of the franchise fee at the request of

12 the Secretary or the concessioner in the event of such ex13 traordinary unanticipated changes. Such provision shall

14 provide for binding arbitration in the event that the Sec15 retary and the concessioner are unable to agree upon an

16 adjustment to the franchise fee in these circumstances.

17 (c) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—All franchise fees (and other

18 monetary consideration) paid to the United States pursu19 ant to concessions contracts shall be deposited into a special

20 account established in the Treasury of the United States.

21 Twenty percent of the funds deposited in the special account

22 shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary, without

23 further appropriation, to support activities throughout the

24 National Park System regardless of the unit of the National

25 Park System in which the funds were collected. The funds
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1 deposited into the special account shall remain available

2 until expended.

3 (d) SUBACCOUNT FOR EACH UNIT.—There shall be es4 tablished within the special account required under sub5 section (c) a subaccount for each unit of the National Park

6 System. Each subaccount shall be credited with 80 percent

7 of the franchise fees (and other monetary consideration) col8 lected at a single unit of the National Park System under

9 concessions contracts. The funds credited to the subaccount

10 for a unit of the National Park System shall be available

11 for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appro12 priation, for use at the unit for visitor services and for pur13 poses of funding high-priority and urgently necessary re14 source management programs and operations. The funds

15 credited to a subaccount shall remain available until ex16 pended.

17 SEC. 408. TRANSFER OF CONCESSIONS CONTRACTS.

18 (a) APPROVAL OF THE SECRETARY.—No concessions

19 contract or leasehold surrender interest may be transferred,

20 assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed or pledged by a conces21 sioner without prior written notification to, and approval

22 by, the Secretary.

23 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall approve a

24 transfer or conveyance described in subsection (a) unless the

25 Secretary finds that—
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1 (1) the individual, corporation or entity seeking

2 to acquire a concessions contract is not qualified or

3 able to satisfy the terms and conditions of the conces4 sions contract;

5 (2) such transfer or conveyance would have an

6 adverse impact on (A) the protection, conservation, or

7 preservation of the resources of the unit of the Na8 tional Park System or (B) the provision of necessary

9 and appropriate facilities and services to visitors at

10 reasonable rates and charges; and

11 (3) the terms of such transfer or conveyance are

12 likely, directly or indirectly, to reduce the conces13 sioner’s opportunity for a reasonable profit over the

14 remaining term of the contract, adversely affect the

15 quality of facilities and services provided by the con16 cessioner, or result in a need for increased rates and

17 charges to the public to maintain the quality of such

18 facilities and services.

19 (c) TRANSFER TERMS.—The terms and conditions of

20 any contract under this section shall not be subject to modi21 fication or open to renegotiation by the Secretary because

22 of a transfer or conveyance described in subsection (a), un23 less such transfer or conveyance would have an adverse im24 pact as described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b).
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1 SEC. 409. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CONCESSIONS MAN2 AGEMENT ADVISORY BOARD.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

4 National Park Service Concessions Management Advisory

5 Board (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Board’’)

6 whose purpose shall be to advise the Secretary and National

7 Park Service on matters relating to management of conces8 sions in of the National Park System.

9 (b) DUTIES.—

10 (1) ADVICE.—The Advisory Board shall advise

11 on each of the following:

12 (A) Policies and procedures intended to as13 sure that services and facilities provided by con14 cessioners are necessary and appropriate, meet

15 acceptable standards at reasonable rates with a

16 minimum of impact on park resources and val17 ues, and provide the concessioners with a reason18 able opportunity to make a profit.

19 (B) Ways to make National Park Service

20 concessions programs and procedures more cost

21 effective, more process efficient, less burdensome,

22 and timelier.

23 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Advisory Board

24 shall make recommendations to the Secretary regard25 ing each of the following:
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1 (A) National Park Service contracting with

2 the private sector to conduct appropriate ele3 ments of concessions management and providing

4 recommendations to make more efficient, less

5 burdensome, and timelier the review or approval

6 of concessioner rates and charges to the public.

7 (B) The nature and scope of products which

8 qualify as Indian, Alaska Native, and Native

9 Hawaiian handicrafts within this meaning of

10 this title.

11 (C) The allocation of concession fees.

12 The initial recommendations under subparagraph (A)

13 relating to rates and charges shall be submitted to the

14 Secretary not later than one year after the first meet15 ing of the Board.

16 (3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Advisory Board,

17 commencing with the first anniversary of its initial

18 meeting, shall provide an annual report on its activi19 ties to the Committee on Resources of the United

20 States House of Representatives and the Committee

21 on Energy and Natural Resources of the United

22 States Senate.

23 (c) ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERSHIP.—Members of the

24 Advisory Board shall be appointed on a staggered basis by

25 the Secretary for a term not to exceed 4 years and shall
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1 serve at the pleasure of the Secretary. The Advisory Board

2 shall be comprised of not more than seven individuals ap3 pointed from among citizens of the United States not in

4 the employment of the Federal Government and not in the

5 employment of or having an interest in a National Park

6 Service concession. Of the seven members of the Advisory

7 Board—

8 (1) one member shall be privately employed in

9 the hospitality industry and have both broad knowl10 edge of hotel or food service management and experi11 ence in the parks and recreation concessions business;

12 (2) one member shall be privately employed in

13 the tourism industry;

14 (3) one member shall be privately employed in

15 the accounting industry;

16 (4) one member shall be privately employed in

17 the outfitting and guide industry;

18 (5) one member shall be a State government em19 ployee with expertise in park concession management;

20 (6) one member shall be active in promotion of

21 traditional arts and crafts; and

22 (7) one member shall be active in a nonprofit

23 conservation organization involved in parks and

24 recreation programs.
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1 (d) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Board shall con2 tinue to exist until December 31, 2008. In all other respects,

3 it shall be subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory

4 Committee Act.

5 (e) SERVICE ON ADVISORY BOARD.—Service of an in6 dividual as a member of the Advisory Board shall not be

7 considered as service or employment bringing such individ8 ual within the provisions of any Federal law relating to

9 conflicts of interest or otherwise imposing restrictions, re10 quirements, or penalties in relation to the employment of

11 persons, the performance of services, or the payment or re12 ceipt of compensation in connection with claims, proceed13 ings, or matters involving the United States. Service as a

14 member of the Advisory Board shall not be considered serv15 ice in an appointive or elective position in the Government

16 for purposes of section 8344 of title 5, United States Code,

17 or other comparable provisions of Federal law.

18 SEC. 410. CONTRACTING FOR SERVICES.

19 (a) CONTRACTING AUTHORIZED.—(1) To the maxi20 mum extent practicable, the Secretary shall contract with

21 private entities to conduct or assist in those elements of the

22 management of the National Park Service concessions pro23 gram considered by the Secretary to be suitable for non24 Federal performance. Such management elements include

25 each the following:
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1 (A) Health and safety inspections.

2 (B) Quality control of concessions operations

3 and facilities.

4 (C) Strategic capital planning for concessions fa5 cilities.

6 (D) Analysis of rates and charges to the public.

7 (2) The Secretary may also contract with private enti8 ties to assist the Secretary with each of the following:

9 (A) Preparation of the financial aspects of

10 prospectuses for National Park Service concessions

11 contracts.

12 (B) Development of guidelines for a national

13 park system capital improvement and maintenance

14 program for all concession occupied facilities.

15 (C) Making recommendations to the Director of

16 the National Park Service regarding the conduct an17 nual audits of concession fee expenditures.

18 (b) OTHER MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS.—The Secretary

19 shall also consider, taking into account the recommenda20 tions of the Advisory Board, contracting out other elements

21 of the concessions management program, as appropriate.

22 (c) CONDITION.—Nothing in this section shall dimin23 ish the governmental responsibilities and authority of the

24 Secretary to administer concessions contracts and activities

25 pursuant to this title and the Act of August 25, 1916 (com-
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1 monly known as the National Park Service Organic Act;

2 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). The Secretary reserves the right to

3 make the final decision or contract approval on contracting

4 services dealing with the management of the National Park

5 Service concessions program under this section.

6 SEC. 411. MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITHIN A PARK.

7 If multiple concessions contracts are awarded to au8 thorize concessioners to provide the same or similar outfit9 ting, guiding, river running, or other similar services at

10 the same approximate location or resource within a specific

11 national park, the Secretary shall establish a comparable

12 franchise fee structure for all such same or similar con13 tracts, except that the terms and conditions of any existing

14 concessions contract shall not be subject to modification or

15 open to renegotiation by the Secretary because of a award

16 of a new contract at the same approximate location or re17 source.

18 SEC. 412. SPECIAL RULE FOR TRANSPORTATION CON19 TRACTING SERVICES.

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a service

21 contract entered into by the Secretary for the provision sole22 ly of transportation services in a unit of the National Park

23 System shall be no more than 10 years in length, including

24 a base period of 5 years and annual extensions for an addi-
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1 tional 5-year period based on satisfactory performance and

2 approval by the Secretary.

3 SEC. 413. USE OF NONMONETARY CONSIDERATION IN CON4 CESSIONS CONTRACTS.

5 Section 321 of the Act of June 30, 1932 (40 U.S.C.

6 303b), relating to the leasing of buildings and properties

7 of the United States, shall not apply to contracts awarded

8 by the Secretary pursuant to this title.

9 SEC. 414. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

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

11 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec12 retary to determine that all terms of the concessions con13 tract have been and are being faithfully performed, and the

14 Secretary and any duly authorized representative of the

15 Secretary shall, for the purpose of audit and examination,

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

17 and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the contract and

18 all terms and conditions thereof.

19 (b) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—The Comptroller General

20 or any duly authorized representative of the Comptroller

21 General shall, until the expiration of 5 calendar years after

22 the close of the business year of each concessioner or sub23 concessioner, have access to and the right to examine any

24 pertinent books, papers, documents and records of the con-
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1 cessioner or subconcessioner related to the contract or con2 tracts involved.

3 SEC. 415. REPEAL OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CONCES4 SIONS POLICY ACT.

5 (a) REPEAL.—Public Law 89–249 (commonly known

6 as the National Park Service Concessions Policy Act; 16

7 U.S.C. 20 et seq.) is repealed. The repeal of such Act shall

8 not affect the validity of any concessions contract or permit

9 entered into under such Act, but the provisions of this title

10 shall apply to any such contract or permit except to the

11 extent such provisions are inconsistent with the terms and

12 conditions of any such contract or permit. References in

13 this title to concessions contracts awarded under authority

14 of such Act also apply to concessions permits awarded

15 under such authority.

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The fourth sen17 tence of section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916 (commonly

18 known as the National Park Service Organic Act; 16 U.S.C.

19 3), is amended—

20 (A) by striking all through ‘‘no natural’’ and in21 serting ‘‘No natural,’’; and

22 (B) by striking the last proviso in its entirety.

23 (2) Section 12 of Public Law 91–383 (commonly

24 known as the National Park System General Authorities

25 Act; 16 U.S.C. 1a–7) is amended by striking subsection (c).
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1 (3) The second paragraph under the heading ‘‘NA2 TIONAL PARK SERVICE’’ in the Act of July 31, 1953 (67

3 Stat. 261, 271), is repealed.

4 (c) ANILCA.—Nothing in this title amends, super5 sedes, or otherwise affects any provision of the Alaska Na6 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3101 et

7 seq.) relating to revenue-producing visitor services.

8 SEC. 416. PROMOTION OF THE SALE OF INDIAN, ALASKA NA9 TIVE, NATIVE SAMOAN, AND NATIVE HAWAI10 IAN HANDICRAFTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Promoting the sale of authentic

12 United States Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Samoan, and

13 Native Hawaiian handicrafts relating to the cultural, his14 torical, and geographic characteristics of units of the Na15 tional Park System is encouraged, and the Secretary shall

16 ensure that there is a continuing effort to enhance the hand17 icraft trade where it exists and establish the trade in appro18 priate areas where such trade currently does not exist.

19 (b) EXEMPTION FROM FRANCHISE FEE.—In further20 ance of these purposes, the revenue derived from the sale

21 of United States Indian, Alaska Native, Native Samoan,

22 and Native Hawaiian handicrafts shall be exempt from any

23 franchise fee payments under this title.
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1 SEC. 417. REGULATIONS.

2 As soon as practicable after the effective date of this

3 title, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations appro4 priate for its implementation. Among other matters, such

5 regulations shall include appropriate provisions to ensure

6 that concession services and facilities to be provided in a

7 unit of the National Park System are not segmented or oth8 erwise split into separate concessions contracts for the pur9 poses of seeking to reduce anticipated annual gross receipts

10 of a concessions contract below $500,000. The Secretary

11 shall also promulgate regulations which further define the

12 term ‘‘United States Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native

13 Hawaiian handicrafts’’ for the purposes of this title.

14 SEC. 418. COMMERCIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent specified in this sec16 tion, the Secretary , upon request, may authorize a private

17 person, corporation, or other entity to provide services to

18 visitors to units of the National Park System through a

19 commercial use authorization. Such authorizations shall

20 not be considered as concessions contracts pursuant to this

21 title nor shall other sections of this title be applicable to

22 such authorizations except where expressly so stated.

23 (b) CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF AUTHORIZATIONS.—

24 (1) REQUIRED DETERMINATIONS.—The author25 ity of this section may be used only to authorize pro26 vision of services that the Secretary determines will
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1 have minimal impact on resources and values of the

2 unit of the National Park System and are consistent

3 with the purpose for which the unit was established

4 and with all applicable management plans and park

5 policies and regulations.

6 (2) ELEMENTS OF AUTHORIZATION.—The Sec7 retary shall—

8 (A) require payment of a reasonable fee for

9 issuance of an authorization under this section,

10 such fees to remain available without further ap11 propriation to be used, at a minimum, to recover

12 associated management and administrative costs;

13 (B) require that the provision of services

14 under such an authorization be accomplished in

15 a manner consistent to the highest practicable

16 degree with the preservation and conservation of

17 park resources and values;

18 (C) take appropriate steps to limit the li19 ability of the United States arising from the pro20 vision of services under such an authorization;

21 and

22 (D) have no authority under this section to

23 issue more authorizations than are consistent

24 with the preservation and proper management of

25 park resources and values, and shall establish
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1 such other conditions for issuance of such an au2 thorization as the Secretary determines appro3 priate for the protection of visitors, provision of

4 adequate and appropriate visitor services, and

5 protection and proper management of the re6 sources and values of the park.

7 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Any authorization issued under

8 this section shall be limited to—

9 (1) commercial operations with annual gross re10 ceipts of not more than $25,000 resulting from serv11 ices originating and provided solely within a unit of

12 the National Park System pursuant to such author13 ization;

14 (2) the incidental use of resources of the unit by

15 commercial operations which provide services origi16 nating and terminating outside of the boundaries of

17 the unit; or

18 (3) such uses by organized children’s camps, out19 door clubs and nonprofit institutions (including back

20 country use) and such other uses as the Secretary de21 termines appropriate.

22 Nonprofit institutions are not required to obtain commer23 cial use authorizations unless taxable income is derived by

24 the institution from the authorized use.
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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.—An authoriza2 tion issued under this section shall not provide for the con3 struction of any structure, fixture, or improvement on feder4 ally-owned lands within the boundaries of a unit of the Na5 tional Park System.

6 (e) DURATION.—The term of any authorization issued

7 under this section shall not exceed 2 years. No preferential

8 right of renewal or similar provisions for renewal shall be

9 granted by the Secretary.

10 (f) OTHER CONTRACTS.—A person, corporation, or

11 other entity seeking or obtaining an authorization pursuant

12 to this section shall not be precluded from also submitting

13 proposals for concessions contracts.

14 SEC. 419. SAVINGS PROVISION.

15 (a) TREATMENT OF GLACIER BAY CONCESSION PER16 MITS PROSPECTUS.—Nothing contained in this title shall

17 authorize or require the Secretary to withdraw, revise,

18 amend, modify, or reissue the February 19, 1998, Prospec19 tus Under Which Concession Permits Will be Open for Com20 petition for the Operation of Cruise Ship Services Within

21 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (in this section

22 referred to as the ‘‘1998 Glacier Bay Prospectus’’). The

23 award of concession permits pursuant to the 1998 Glacier

24 Bay Prospectus shall be under provisions of existing law

25 at the time the 1998 Glacier Bay Prospectus was issued.
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1 (b) PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—Notwith2 standing any provision of this title, the Secretary, in

3 awarding future Glacier Bay cruise ship concession permits

4 covering cruise ship entries for which a preferential right

5 of renewal existed prior to the effective date of this title,

6 shall provide for such cruise ship entries a preferential right

7 of renewal, as described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of

8 section 403(7). Any Glacier Bay concession permit awarded

9 under the authority contained in this subsection shall expire

10 by December 31, 2009.

11 TITLE V—FEES FOR USE OF

12 NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

13 SEC. 501. FEES.

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where the

15 National Park Service or an entity under a service contract

16 with the National Park Service provides transportation to

17 all or a portion of any unit of the National Park System,

18 the Secretary may impose a reasonable and appropriate

19 charge to the public for the use of such transportation serv20 ices in addition to any admission fee required to be paid.

21 Collection of both the transportation and admission fees

22 may occur at the transportation staging area or any other

23 reasonably convenient location determined by the Secretary.

24 The Secretary may enter into agreements with public or

25 private entities, who qualify to the Secretary’s satisfaction,
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1 to collect the transportation and admission fee. Such trans2 portation fees collected as per this section shall be retained

3 by the unit of the National Park System at which the trans4 portation fee was collected and the amount retained shall

5 be expended only for costs associated with the transpor6 tation systems at the unit where the charge was imposed.

7 SEC. 502. DISTRIBUTION OF GOLDEN EAGLE PASSPORT

8 SALES.

9 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment

10 of this title, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

11 of Agriculture shall enter into an agreement providing for

12 an apportionment among each agency of all proceeds de13 rived from the sale of Golden Eagle Passports by private

14 vendors. Such proceeds shall be apportioned to each agency

15 on the basis of the ratio of each agency’s total revenue from

16 admission fees collected during the previous fiscal year to

17 the sum of all revenue from admission fees collected during

18 the previous fiscal year for all agencies participating in the

19 Golden Eagle Passport Program.

20 TITLE VI—NATIONAL PARK

21 PASSPORT PROGRAM

22 SEC. 601. PURPOSES.

23 The purposes of this title are—
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1 (1) to develop a national park passport that in2 cludes a collectible stamp to be used for admission to

3 units of the National Park System; and

4 (2) to generate revenue for support of the Na5 tional Park System.

6 SEC. 602. NATIONAL PARK PASSPORT PROGRAM.

7 (a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a na8 tional park passport program. A national park passport

9 shall include a collectible stamp providing the holder admis10 sion to all units of the National Park System.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A national park passport

12 stamp shall be effective for a period of 12 months from the

13 date of purchase.

14 (c) TRANSFERABILITY.—A national park passport and

15 stamp shall not be transferable.

16 SEC. 603. ADMINISTRATION.

17 (a) STAMP DESIGN COMPETITION.—(1) The Secretary

18 shall hold an annual competition for the design of the col19 lectible stamp to be affixed to the national park passport.

20 (2) Each competition shall be open to the public and

21 shall be a means to educate the American people about the

22 National Park System.

23 (b) SALE OF PASSPORTS AND STAMPS.—(1) National

24 park passports and stamps shall be sold through the Na25 tional Park Service and may be sold by private vendors
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1 on consignment in accordance with guidelines established

2 by the Secretary.

3 (2) A private vendor may be allowed to collect a com4 mission on each national park passport (including stamp)

5 sold, as determined by the Secretary.

6 (3) The Secretary may limit the number of private

7 vendors of national park passports (including stamps).

8 (c) USE OF PROCEEDS.—

9 (1) The Secretary may use not more than 10

10 percent of the revenues derived from the sale of na11 tional park passports (including stamps) to admin12 ister and promote the national park passport pro13 gram and the National Park System.

14 (2) Net proceeds from the sale of national park

15 passports shall be deposited in a special account in

16 the Treasury of the United States and shall remain

17 available until expended, without further appropria18 tion, for high priority visitor service or resource man19 agement projects throughout the National Park Sys20 tem.

21 (d) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter into co22 operative agreements with the National Park Foundation

23 and other interested parties to provide for the development

24 and implementation of the national park passport program
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1 and the Secretary shall take such actions as are appropriate

2 to actively market national park passports and stamps.

3 (e) FEE.—The fee for a national park passport and

4 stamp shall be $50.

5 SEC. 604. FOREIGN SALES OF GOLDEN EAGLE PASSPORTS.

6 The Secretary of Interior shall—

7 (1) make Golden Eagle Passports issued under

8 section 4(a)(1)(A) of the Land and Water Conserva9 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(a)(1)(A))

10 or the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program au11 thorized by section 315 of the Department of the Inte12 rior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996

13 (section 101(c) of Public Law 104–134; 16 U.S.C.

14 460l–6a note), available to foreign visitors to the

15 United States; and

16 (2) make such Golden Eagle Passports available

17 for purchase outside the United States, through com18 mercial tourism channels and consulates or other of19 fices of the United States.

20 SEC. 605. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS AND PROGRAMS.

21 (a) PARK PASSPORT NOT REQUIRED.—A national

22 park passport shall not be required for—

23 (1) a single visit to a national park that charges

24 a single visit admission fee under section 4(a)(2) of

25 the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965
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1 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(a)(2)) or the Recreational Fee

2 Demonstration Program authorized by section 315 of

3 the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies

4 Appropriations Act, 1996 (section 101(c) of Public

5 Law 104–134; 16 U.S.C. 460l–6a note); or

6 (2) an individual who has obtained a Golden

7 Age or Golden Access Passport under paragraph (4)

8 or (5) of section 4(a) of the Land and Water Con9 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(a)).

10 (b) GOLDEN EAGLE PASSPORTS.—A Golden Eagle

11 Passport issued under section 4(a)(1)(A) of the Land and

12 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

13 6a(a)(1)(A)) or such Recreational Fee Demonstration Pro14 gram (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a note) shall be honored for admis15 sion to each unit of the National Park System.

16 (c) ACCESS.—A national park passport shall provide

17 access to each unit of the National Park System under the

18 same conditions, rules, and regulations as apply to access

19 with a Golden Eagle Passport as of the date of enactment

20 of this title.

21 (d) LIMITATIONS.—A national park passport may not

22 be used to obtain access to other Federal recreation fee areas

23 outside of the National Park System.

24 (e) EXEMPTIONS AND FEES.—A national park pass25 port does not exempt the holder from or provide the holder
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1 any discount on any recreation use fee imposed under sec2 tion 4(b) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

3 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(b)) or such Recreational Fee

4 Demonstration Program (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a note).

5 TITLE VII—NATIONAL PARK

6 FOUNDATION SUPPORT

7 SEC. 701. PROMOTION OF LOCAL FUNDRAISING SUPPORT.

8 Public Law 90–209 (commonly known as the National

9 Park Foundation Act; 16 U.S.C. 19 et seq.) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 11. PROMOTION OF LOCAL FUNDRAISING SUPPORT.

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Foundation shall design

13 and implement a comprehensive program to assist and pro14 mote philanthropic programs of support at the individual

15 national park unit level.

16 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The program under sub17 section (a) shall be implemented to—

18 ‘‘(1) assist in the creation of local nonprofit sup19 port organizations; and

20 ‘‘(2) provide support, national consistency, and

21 management-improving suggestions for local non22 profit support organizations.

23 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM.—The program under subsection (a)

24 shall include the greatest number of national park units as

25 is practicable.
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1 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The program under subsection

2 (a) shall include, at a minimum—

3 ‘‘(1) a standard adaptable organizational design

4 format to establish and sustain responsible manage5 ment of a local nonprofit support organization for

6 support of a national park unit;

7 ‘‘(2) standard and legally tenable bylaws and

8 recommended money-handling procedures that can

9 easily be adapted as applied to individual national

10 park units; and

11 ‘‘(3) a standard training curriculum to orient

12 and expand the operating expertise of personnel em13 ployed by local nonprofit support organizations.

14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Foundation shall report

15 the progress of the program under subsection (a) in the an16 nual report of the Foundation.

17 ‘‘(f) AFFILIATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) CHARTER OR CORPORATE BYLAWS.—Noth19 ing in this section requires—

20 ‘‘(A) a nonprofit support organization or

21 friends group to modify current practices or to

22 affiliate with the Foundation; or

23 ‘‘(B) a local nonprofit support organization,

24 established as a result of this section, to be bound
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1 through its charter or corporate bylaws to be per2 manently affiliated with the Foundation.

3 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—An affiliation with the

4 Foundation shall be established only at the discretion

5 of the governing board of a nonprofit organization.’’.

6 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS

7 PROVISIONS

8 SEC. 801. UNITED STATES PARK POLICE.

9 (a) APPOINTMENT OF TASK FORCE.—Not later than

10 60 days after the date of enactment of this title, the Sec11 retary shall appoint a multidisciplinary task force to fully

12 evaluate the shortfalls, needs, and requirements of law en13 forcement programs in the National Park Service, includ14 ing a separate analysis for the United States Park Police,

15 which shall include a review of facility repair, rehabilita16 tion, equipment, and communication needs.

17 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than one year

18 after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall

19 submit to the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources

20 and Appropriations of the United States Senate and the

21 Committees on Resources and Appropriations of the United

22 States House of Representatives a report that includes—

23 (1) the findings and recommendations of the task

24 force;
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1 (2) complete justifications for any recommenda2 tions made; and

3 (3) a complete description of any adverse im4 pacts that would occur if any need identified in the

5 report is not met.

6 SEC. 802. LEASES AND COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREE7 MENTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of Public Law 91–383

9 (commonly known as the National Park System General

10 Authorities Act; 16 U.S.C. 1a–2) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘(k) LEASES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2) and subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary

15 may enter into a lease with any person or govern16 mental entity for the use of buildings and associated

17 property administered by the Secretary as part of the

18 National Park System.

19 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary

20 may not use a lease under paragraph (1) to authorize

21 the lessee to engage in activities that are subject to

22 authorization by the Secretary through a concessions

23 contract, commercial use authorization, or similar in24 strument.
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1 ‘‘(3) USE.—Buildings and associated property

2 leased under paragraph (1)—

3 ‘‘(A) shall be used for an activity that is

4 consistent with the purposes established by law

5 for the unit in which the building is located;

6 ‘‘(B) shall not result in degradation of the

7 purposes and values of the unit; and

8 ‘‘(C) shall be compatible with National

9 Park Service programs.

10 ‘‘(4) RENTAL AMOUNTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a lease

12 under paragraph (1)—

13 ‘‘(i) payment of fair market value

14 rental shall be required; and

15 ‘‘(ii) section 321 of the Act of June 30,

16 1932 (47 Stat. 412, chapter 314; 40 U.S.C.

17 303b) shall not apply.

18 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may

19 adjust the rental amount as appropriate to take

20 into account any amounts to be expended by the

21 lessee for preservation, maintenance, restoration,

22 improvement, or repair and related expenses.

23 ‘‘(C) REGULATION.—The Secretary shall

24 promulgate regulations implementing this sub25 section that includes provisions to encourage and
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1 facilitate competition in the leasing process and

2 provide for timely and adequate public comment.

3 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

4 ‘‘(A) DEPOSITS.—Rental payments under a

5 lease under paragraph (1) shall be deposited in

6 a special account in the Treasury of the United

7 States.

8 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the spe9 cial account shall be available until expended,

10 without further appropriation, for infrastructure

11 needs at units of the National Park System, in12 cluding—

13 ‘‘(i) facility refurbishment;

14 ‘‘(ii) repair and replacement;

15 ‘‘(iii) infrastructure projects associated

16 with park resource protection; and

17 ‘‘(iv) direct maintenance of the leased

18 buildings and associated properties.

19 ‘‘(C) ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESULTS.—The

20 Secretary shall develop procedures for the use of

21 the special account that ensure accountability

22 and demonstrated results consistent with this

23 Act.

24 ‘‘(l) COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Where a unit of the National

2 Park System is located adjacent to or near a State

3 or local park area, and cooperative management be4 tween the National Park Service and a State or local

5 government agency of a portion of either park will

6 allow for more effective and efficient management of

7 the parks, the Secretary may enter into an agreement

8 with a State or local government agency to provide

9 for the cooperative management of the Federal and

10 State or local park areas. The Secretary may not

11 transfer administration responsibilities for any unit

12 of the National Park System under this paragraph.

13 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF GOODS AND SERVICES.—

14 Under a cooperative management agreement, the Sec15 retary may acquire from and provide to a State or

16 local government agency goods and services to be used

17 by the Secretary and the State or local governmental

18 agency in the cooperative management of land.

19 ‘‘(3) ASSIGNMENT.—An assignment arranged by

20 the Secretary under section 3372 of title 5, United

21 States Code, of a Federal, State, or local employee for

22 work in any Federal, State, or local land or an exten23 sion of such an assignment may be for any period of

24 time determined by the Secretary and the State or

25 local agency to be mutually beneficial.’’.
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1 (b) HISTORIC LEASE PROCESS SIMPLIFICATION.—The

2 Secretary is directed to simplify, to the maximum extent

3 possible, the leasing process for historic properties with the

4 goal of leasing available structures in a timely manner.

Attest:

Clerk.