II

Calendar No. 137

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 154

[Report No. 106–67]

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 13, 1999

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

JUNE 7, 1999

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

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

AN ACT

To provide for the collection of fees for the making of motion

pictures, television productions, and sound tracks in National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System

units, 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. FEE AUTHORITY AND REPEAL OF PROHIBI4 TION.

5 (a) AUTHORITY.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte2 rior (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

3 may permit, under terms and conditions considered

4 necessary by the Secretary, the use of lands and fa5 cilities administered by the Secretary for the making

6 of any motion picture, television production, sound7 track, or similar project, if the Secretary determines

8 that such use is appropriate and will neither impair

9 the values and resources of the lands and facilities

10 nor result in a significant disruption of normal vis11 itor uses.

12 (2) FEES.—(A) Any permit under this section

13 shall require the payment of fees to the Secretary in

14 an amount determined to be appropriate by the Sec15 retary sufficient to provide a fair return to the gov16 ernment in accordance with subparagraph (B), ex17 cept as provided in subparagraph (C). The amount

18 of the fee shall be not less than the direct and indi19 rect costs to the Government for processing the ap20 plication for the permit and the use of lands and fa21 cilities under the permit, including any necessary

22 costs of cleanup and restoration, except as provided

23 in subparagraph (C).

24 (B) The authority of the Secretary to establish

25 fees under this paragraph shall include, but not be
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1 limited to, authority to issue regulations that estab2 lish a schedule of rates for fees under this paragraph

3 based on such factors as—

4 (i) the number of people on site under a

5 permit;

6 (ii) the duration of activities under a per7 mit;

8 (iii) the conduct of activities under a per9 mit in areas designated by statute or regula10 tions as special use areas, including wilderness

11 and research natural areas; and

12 (iv) surface disturbances authorized under

13 a permit.

14 (C) The Secretary may, under the terms of the

15 regulations promulgated under paragraph (4),

16 charge a fee below the amount referred to in sub17 paragraph (A) if the activity for which the fee is

18 charged provides clear educational or interpretive

19 benefits for the Department of the Interior.

20 (3) BONDING AND INSURANCE.—The Secretary

21 may require a bond, insurance, or such other means

22 as may be necessary to protect the interests of the

23 United States in activities arising under such a per24 mit.
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1 (4) REGULATIONS.—(A) The Secretary shall

2 issue regulations implementing this subsection by

3 not later than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act.

5 (B) Within 3 years after the date of enactment

6 of this Act, the Secretary shall review and, as appro7 priate, revise regulations issued under this para8 graph. After that time, the Secretary shall periodi9 cally review the regulations and make necessary

10 changes.

11 (b) COLLECTION OF FEES.—Fees shall be collected

12 under subsection (a) whenever the proposed filming,

13 videotaping, sound recording, or still photography involves

14 product or service advertisements, or the use of models,

15 actors, sets, or props, or when such filming, videotaping,

16 sound recording, or still photography could result in dam17 age to resources or significant disruption of normal visitor

18 uses. Filming, videotaping, sound recording or still pho19 tography, including bona fide newsreel or news television

20 film gathering, which does not involve the activities or im21 pacts identified herein, shall be permitted without fee.

22 (c) EXISTING REGULATIONS.—The prohibition on

23 fees set forth in paragraph (1) of section 5.1(b) of title

24 43, Code of Federal Regulations, shall cease to apply upon

25 the effective date of regulations under subsection (a).
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1 Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the

2 regulations set forth in part 5 of such title, other than

3 paragraph (1) thereof.

4 (d) PROCEEDS.—Amounts collected as fees under

5 this section shall be available for expenditure without fur6 ther appropriation and shall be distributed and used, with7 out fiscal year limitation, in accordance with the formula

8 and purposes established for the Recreational Fee Dem9 onstration Program under section 315 of Public Law 104–

10 134.

11 (e) PENALTY.—A person convicted of violating any

12 regulation issued under subsection (a) shall be fined in

13 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or impris14 oned for not more than 6 months, or both, and shall be

15 ordered to pay all costs of the proceedings.

16 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the regula17 tions issued under this section shall become effective 180

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, except

19 that this subsection and the authority of the Secretary to

20 issue regulations under this section shall be effective on

21 the date of the enactment of this Act.

22 SECTION 1. COMMERCIAL FILMING.

23 (a) COMMERCIAL FILMING FEE.—The Secretary of the

24 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter indi25 vidually referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’ with respect to lands
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1 under their respective jurisdiction) shall require a permit

2 and shall establish a reasonable fee for commercial filming

3 activities or similar projects on Federal lands administered

4 by the Secretary. Such fee shall provide a fair return to

5 the United States and shall be based upon the following cri6 teria:

7 (1) The number of days the filming activity or

8 similar project takes place on Federal land under the

9 Secretary’s jurisdiction.

10 (2) The size of the film crew present on Federal

11 land under the Secretary’s jurisdiction.

12 (3) The amount and type of equipment present.

13 The Secretary may include other factors in determining an

14 appropriate fee as the Secretary deems necessary.

15 (b) RECOVERY OF COSTS.—The Secretary shall also

16 collect any costs incurred as a result of filming activities

17 or similar project, including but not limited to administra18 tive and personnel costs. All costs recovered shall be in addi19 tion to the fee assessed in subsection (a).

20 (c) STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.—(1) Except as provided in

21 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall not require a permit nor

22 assess a fee for still photography on lands administered by

23 the Secretary if such photography takes place where mem24 bers of the public are generally allowed. The Secretary may

25 require a permit, fee, or both, if such photography takes
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1 place at other locations where members of the public are

2 generally not allowed, or where additional administrative

3 costs are likely.

4 The Secretary shall require and shall establish a

5 reasonble fee for still photography that uses models or props

6 which are not a part of the site’s natural or cultural re7 sources or administrative facilities.

8 (d) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall

9 not permit any filming, still photography or other related

10 activity if the Secretary determines—

11 (1) there is a likelihood of resource damage;

12 (2) there would be an unreasonable disruption of

13 the public’s use and enjoyment of the site; or

14 (3) that the activity poses health or safety risks

15 to the public.

16 (e) USE OF PROCEEDS.—(1) All fees collected under

17 this Act shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary,

18 without further appropriation, in accordance with the for19 mula and purposes established for the Recreational Fee

20 Demonstration Program (Public Law 104–134). All fees

21 collected shall remain available until expended.

22 (2) All costs recovered under this Act shall be available

23 for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appro24 priation, at the site where collected. All costs recovered shall

25 remain available until expended.
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1 (f) PROCESSING OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS.—The Sec2 retary shall establish a process to ensure that permit appli3 cants for commercial filming, still photography, or other ac4 tivity are responded to in a timely manner.

Amend the title so as to read ‘‘An Act to allow the

Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

to establish a fee system for commercial filming activities

on Federal land, and for other purposes.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives April 12, 1999.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.

Calendar No. 137

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 154

[Report No. 106–67]

A BILL

To provide for the collection of fees for the making

other purposes.tional Wildlife Refuge System units, and forsound tracks in National Park System and Naof motion pictures, television productions, and

JUNE 7, 1999

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title