I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 721

To establish fair market value pricing of Federal natural assets, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 1995

Mr. MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. VENTO, Mr. TORRES, Mr.

HINCHEY, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. YATES,

Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. NADLER, Mr. STARK, Mr. FRANK

of Massachusetts, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. GOSS, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,

Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Resources and, in addition, to the

Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, and Government Reform

and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish fair market value pricing of Federal natural

assets, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of 1995’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Fair market value for resource disposal.

Sec. 102. Fees from program beneficiaries.

Sec. 103. Revenues from sale, lease, and transfer of assets.

TITLE II—REVENUE FROM MINING CLAIMS

Sec. 201. Definitions.

Sec. 202. Mining claim maintenance requirements.

Sec. 203. Royalty.

Sec. 204. Severance tax.

Sec. 205. Fund for abandoned locatable minerals mine reclamation.

Sec. 206. Limitation on patent issuance.

Sec. 207. Purchasing power adjustment.

Sec. 208. Savings clause.

Sec. 209. Effective date.

TITLE III—HELIUM

Sec. 301. Amendment of helium act.

Sec. 302. Authority of Secretary.

Sec. 303. Sale of crude helium.

Sec. 304. Elimination of stockpile.

Sec. 305. Repeal of authority to borrow.

TITLE IV—USE OR DISPOSAL OF FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCES

Sec. 401. Annual domestic livestock grazing fee.

Sec. 402. Elimination of below-cost timber sales of timber from National Forest

System lands.

Sec. 403. Timberland suitability.

Sec. 404. Cost of water used to produce surplus crops.

Sec. 405. Reduction in maximum amount of payments under agricultural assistance programs to reflect receipt of Federal irrigation water.

Sec. 406. Off budget expenditures.

Sec. 407. Deposit of Taylor Grazing Act receipts in Treasury.

Sec. 408. Repeal of livestock feed assistance program.

Sec. 409. Communication permits.

Sec. 410. Oil and gas rentals.

TITLE V—NATIONAL PARK CONCESSIONS

Sec. 501. Findings and policy.

Sec. 502. Definitions.

Sec. 503. Repeal of Concessions Policy Act of 1965.

Sec. 504. Concession contracts and other authorizations.

Sec. 505. Competitive selection process.

Sec. 506. Franchise fees.

Sec. 507. Use of franchise fees.

Sec. 508. Duration of contract.

Sec. 509. Transfer of contract.

Sec. 510. Protection of concessioner investment.

Sec. 511. Rates and charges to public.

Sec. 512. Concessioner performance evaluation.
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Sec. 513. Recordkeeping requirements.

Sec. 514. Exemption from certain lease requirements.

Sec. 515. No effect on ANILCA provisions.

Sec. 516. Implementation.

Sec. 517. Authorization of appropriations.

1 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 SEC. 101. FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR RESOURCE DISPOSAL.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, no timber, minerals, forage, or other natural

5 resource owned by the United States, no Federally owned

6 water, and no hydroelectric energy generated at a Federal

7 facility may be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of by

8 any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United

9 States for an amount less than fair market value, as deter10 mined by such department, agency, or instrumentality.

11 (b) EXISTING CONTRACTS, LEASES, ETC.—

12 (1) EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS.—The provisions

13 of subsection (a) shall not apply to any existing con14 tract, lease, or other binding arrangement entered

15 into before the date of the enactment of this Act un16 less such contract, lease or other arrangement is re17 newed or extended after such date of enactment.

18 (2) ARRANGEMENTS ENTERED INTO IN 5-YEAR

19 PERIOD.—The provisions of subsection (a) shall take

20 effect on the date 5 years after the date of enact21 ment of this Act in the case of any contract, lease,

22 or other binding arrangement entered into or re-
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1 newed or extended after such date but before the

2 date 5 years after such date.

3 (3) ARRANGEMENTS ENTERED INTO AFTER 5

4 YEARS.—The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply

5 immediately to all contracts, leases, or other binding

6 arrangements entered into or renewed or extended

7 after the date 5 years after the enactment of this

8 Act.

9 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require10 ments of subsection (a) whenever the President deter11 mines that such waiver is in the national interest. The

12 President shall submit a notice to Congress containing an

13 explanation of the reasons for any such determination

14 within 60 days after the date of the determination.

15 SEC. 102. FEES FROM PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES.

16 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the In17 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each author18 ized to establish and collect from persons subject to pro19 grams administered by each such Secretary such user fees

20 as may be necessary to reimburse the United States for

21 the expenses incurred in administering such programs.

22 The aggregate amount of fees that may be assessed and

23 collected under this section by each such Secretary in any

24 fiscal year from persons subject to any such program shall
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1 not exceed the aggregate amount of expenses incurred in

2 administering such program in such fiscal year.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; OIL AND GAS LEASE TRANS4 FERS.—The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

5 of Agriculture may, by rule, establish the applicable effec6 tive date of any fee to be imposed under this section, ex7 cept that fees shall be established and collected under this

8 section from each person receiving a transfer of a Federal

9 onshore oil and gas lease after the date of the enactment

10 of this section.

11 SEC. 103. REVENUES FROM SALE, LEASE, AND TRANSFER

12 OF ASSETS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1105(a) of chapter 11 of

14 title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting at

15 the end the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(28) a separate statement of—

17 ‘‘(A) projected revenues during the fiscal

18 year for which the budget is submitted from the

19 anticipated sale, lease, or transfer of any phys20 ical asset; and

21 ‘‘(B) the estimated price at which this

22 asset or a comparable asset would be sold in an

23 arms length transaction in the private sector;

24 asset by asset and aggregated by major functional

25 category.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall become effective for fiscal year 1997

3 and shall be fully reflected in the fiscal year 1997 budget

4 submitted by the President in February 1996 as required

5 by section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

6 TITLE II—REVENUE FROM

7 MINING CLAIMS

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title:

10 (1) The term ‘‘locatable mineral’’ means any

11 mineral not subject to disposition under any of the

12 following:

13 (A) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

14 181 and following);

15 (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

16 (30 U.S.C. 100 and following);

17 (C) the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

18 known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C.

19 601 and following); or

20 (D) the Mineral Leasing for Acquired

21 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 and following).

22 (2) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any

23 activity for, related to or incidental to mineral explo24 ration, mining, beneficiation and processing activi-
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1 ties for any locatable mineral, including access.

2 When used with respect to this term—

3 (A) The term ‘‘exploration’’ means those

4 techniques employed to locate the presence of a

5 locatable mineral deposit and to establish its

6 nature, position, size, shape, grade and value.

7 (B) The term ‘‘mining’’ means the proc8 esses employed for the extraction of a locatable

9 mineral from the earth.

10 (C) The term ‘‘beneficiation’’ means the

11 crushing and grinding of locatable mineral ore

12 and such processes as are employed to free the

13 mineral from other constituents, including but

14 not necessarily limited to, physical and chemical

15 separation techniques.

16 (D) The term ‘‘processing’’ means proc17 esses downstream of beneficiation employed to

18 prepare locatable mineral ore into the final

19 marketable product, including but not limited

20 to, smelting and electrolytic refining.

21 (3) The term ‘‘mining claim’’ means a claim for

22 the purposes of mineral activities.

23 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means, unless other24 wise provided in this title, the Secretary of the Inte-
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1 rior acting through the Director of the Minerals

2 Management Service.

3 SEC. 202. MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The holder of each mining claim

5 located on lands open to location shall pay to the Secretary

6 an annual claim maintenance fee of $100 per claim per

7 calendar year.

8 (b) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The claim maintenance fee

9 payable pursuant to subsection (a) for any year shall be

10 paid on or before August 31 of each year, except that for

11 the initial calendar year in which the location is made,

12 the locator shall pay the initial claim maintenance fee at

13 the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau

14 of Land Management.

15 (c) OIL SHALE CLAIMS SUBJECT TO CLAIM MAINTE16 NANCE FEES UNDER ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992.—

17 This section shall not apply to any oil shale claims for

18 which a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2)

19 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 3111; 30

20 U.S.C. 242).

21 (d) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES PAYABLE UNDER

22 1993 ACT.—The claim maintenance fees payable under

23 this section for any period with respect to any claim shall

24 be reduced by the amount of the claim maintenance fees

25 paid under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Rec-
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1 onciliation Act of 1993 with respect to that claim and with

2 respect to the same period.

3 (e) WAIVER.—(1) The claim maintenance fee re4 quired under this section may be waived for a claim holder

5 who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the date

6 the payment was due, the claim holder and all related par7 ties held not more than 10 mining claims on lands open

8 to location. Such certification shall be made on or before

9 the date on which payment is due.

10 (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), with respect to

11 any claim holder, the term ‘‘related party’’ means each

12 of the following:

13 (A) The spouse and dependent children (as de14 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of

15 1986), of the claim holder.

16 (B) Any affiliate of the claim holder.

17 (f) CO-OWNERSHIP.—Upon the failure of any one or

18 more of several co-owners to contribute such co-owner or

19 owners’ portion of the fee under this section, any co-owner

20 who has paid such fee may, after the payment due date,

21 give the delinquent co-owner or owners notice of such fail22 ure in writing (or by publication in the newspaper nearest

23 the claim for at least once a week for at least 90 days).

24 If at the expiration of 90 days after such notice in writing

25 or by publication, any delinquent co-owner fails or refuses
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1 to contribute his portion, his interest in the claim shall

2 become the property of the co-owners who have paid the

3 required fee.

4 SEC. 203. ROYALTY.

5 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Production of all

6 locatable minerals from any mining claim located under

7 the general mining laws, or mineral concentrates or prod8 ucts derived from locatable minerals from any mining

9 claim located under the general mining laws, as the case

10 may be, shall be subject to a royalty of 8 percent of the

11 gross income from such production. The claimholder and

12 any operator to whom the claimholder has assigned the

13 obligation to make royalty payments under the claim and

14 any person who controls such claimholder or operator shall

15 be jointly and severally liable for payment of such royal16 ties.

17 (b) DUTIES OF CLAIM HOLDERS, OPERATORS, AND

18 TRANSPORTERS.—(1) A person—

19 (A) who is required to make any royalty pay20 ment under this section shall make such payments

21 to the United States at such times and in such man22 ner as the Secretary may by rule prescribe; and

23 (B) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and

24 manner as may be specified by the Secretary, of any

25 assignment that such person may have made of the
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1 obligation to make any royalty or other payment

2 under a mining claim.

3 (2) Any person paying royalties under this section

4 shall file a written instrument, together with the first roy5 alty payment, affirming that such person is liable to the

6 Secretary for making proper payments for all amounts due

7 for all time periods for which such person as a payment

8 responsibility. Such liability for the period referred to in

9 the preceding sentence shall include any and all additional

10 amounts billed by the Secretary and determined to be due

11 by final agency or judicial action. Any person liable for

12 royalty payments under this section who assigns any pay13 ment obligation shall remain jointly and severally liable

14 for all royalty payments due for the claim for the period.

15 (3) A person conducting mineral activities shall—

16 (A) develop and comply with the site security

17 provisions in operations permit designed to protect

18 from theft the locatable minerals, concentrates or

19 products derived therefrom which are produced or

20 stored on a mining claim, and such provisions shall

21 conform with such minimum standards as the Sec22 retary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the

23 variety of circumstances on mining claims; and

24 (B) not later than the 5th business day after

25 production begins anywhere on a mining claim, or
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1 production resumes after more than 90 days after

2 production was suspended, notify the Secretary, in

3 the manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date

4 on which such production has begun or resumed.

5 (4) The Secretary may by rule require any person en6 gaged in transporting a locatable mineral, concentrate, or

7 product derived therefrom to carry on his or her person,

8 in his or her vehicle, or in his or her immediate control,

9 documentation showing, at a minimum, the amount, ori10 gin, and intended destination of the locatable mineral, con11 centrate, or product derived therefrom in such cir12 cumstances as the Secretary determines is appropriate.

13 (c) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE14 MENTS.—(1) A claim holder, operator, or other person di15 rectly involved in developing, producing, processing, trans16 porting, purchasing, or selling locatable minerals, con17 centrates, or products derived therefrom, subject to this

18 Act, through the point of royalty computation shall estab19 lish and maintain any records, make any reports, and pro20 vide any information that the Secretary may reasonably

21 require for the purposes of implementing this section or

22 determining compliance with rules or orders under this

23 section. Such records shall include, but not be limited to,

24 periodic reports, records, documents, and other data. Such

25 reports may also include, but not be limited to, pertinent
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1 technical and financial data relating to the quantity, qual2 ity, composition volume, weight, and assay of all minerals

3 extracted from the mining claim. Upon the request of any

4 officer or employee duly designated by the Secretary or

5 any State conducting an audit or investigation pursuant

6 to this section, the appropriate records, reports, or infor7 mation which may be required by this section shall be

8 made available for inspection and duplication by such offi9 cer or employee or State.

10 (2) Records required by the Secretary under this sec11 tion shall be maintained for 6 years after cessation of all

12 mining activity at the claim concerned unless the Sec13 retary notifies the operator that he or she has initiated

14 an audit or investigation involving such records and that

15 such records must be maintained for a longer period. In

16 any case when an audit or investigation is underway,

17 records shall be maintained until the Secretary releases

18 the operator of the obligation to maintain such records.

19 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct

20 such audits of all claim holders, operators, transporters,

21 purchasers, processors, or other persons directly or indi22 rectly involved in the production or sales of minerals cov23 ered by this title, as the Secretary deems necessary for

24 the purposes of ensuring compliance with the require25 ments of this section. For purposes of performing such
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1 audits, the Secretary shall, at reasonable times and upon

2 request, have access to, and may copy, all books, papers

3 and other documents that relate to compliance with any

4 provision of this section by any person.

5 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Secretary

6 is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

7 Secretary of Agriculture to share information concerning

8 the royalty management of locatable minerals, con9 centrates, or products derived therefrom, to carry out in10 spection, auditing, investigation, or enforcement (not in11 cluding the collection of royalties, civil or criminal pen12 alties, or other payments) activities under this section in

13 cooperation with the Secretary, and to carry out any other

14 activity described in this section.

15 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (4)(A) of this

16 subsection (relating to trade secrets), and pursuant to a

17 cooperative agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture shall,

18 upon request, have access to all royalty accounting infor19 mation in the possession of the Secretary respecting the

20 production, removal, or sale of locatable minerals, con21 centrates, or products derived therefrom from claims on

22 lands open to location under the general mining laws.

23 (3) Trade secrets, proprietary, and other confidential

24 information shall be made available by the Secretary pur-
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1 suant to a cooperative agreement under this subsection to

2 the Secretary of Agriculture upon request only if—

3 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture consents in

4 writing to restrict the dissemination of the informa5 tion to those who are directly involved in an audit

6 or investigation under this section and who have a

7 need to know;

8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture accepts liabil9 ity for wrongful disclosure; and

10 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture demonstrates

11 that such information is essential to the conduct of

12 an audit or investigation under this subsection.

13 (f) INTEREST AND SUBSTANTIAL UNDERREPORTING

14 ASSESSMENTS.—(1) In the case of mining claims where

15 royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the

16 date that such payments are due, the Secretary shall

17 charge interest on such under payments at the same inter18 est rate as is applicable under section 6621(a)(2) of the

19 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In the case of an

20 underpayment, interest shall be computed and charged

21 only on the amount of the deficiency and not on the total

22 amount.

23 (2) If there is any underreporting of royalty owed on

24 production from a claim for any production month by any

25 person liable for royalty payments under this section, the
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1 Secretary may assess a penalty of 10 percent of the

2 amount of that underreporting.

3 (3) If there is a substantial underreporting of royalty

4 owed on production from a claim for any production

5 month by any person responsible for paying the royalty,

6 the Secretary may assess an additional penalty of 10 per7 cent of the amount of that underreporting.

8 (4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term

9 ‘‘underreporting’’ means the difference between the roy10 alty on the value of the production which should have been

11 reported and the royalty on the value of the production

12 which was reported, if the value which should have been

13 reported is greater than the value which was reported. An

14 underreporting constitutes a ‘‘substantial underreporting’’

15 if such difference exceeds 10 percent of the royalty on the

16 value of production which should have been reported.

17 (5) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment

18 provided in paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection if the

19 person liable for royalty payments under this section cor20 rects the underreporting before the date such person re21 ceives notice from the Secretary that an underreporting

22 may have occurred, or before 90 days after the date of

23 the enactment of this section, whichever is later.

24 (6) The Secretary shall waive any portion of an as25 sessment under paragraph (2) or (3) of this subsection
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1 attributable to that portion of the underreporting for

2 which the person responsible for paying the royalty dem3 onstrates that—

4 (A) such person had written authorization from

5 the Secretary to report royalty on the value of the

6 production on basis on which it was reported, or

7 (B) such person had substantial authority for

8 reporting royalty on the value of the production on

9 the basis on which it was reported, or

10 (C) such person previously had notified the Sec11 retary, in such manner as the Secretary may by rule

12 prescribe, of relevant reasons or facts affecting the

13 royalty treatment of specific production which led to

14 the underreporting, or

15 (D) such person meets any other exception

16 which the Secretary may, by rule, establish.

17 (7) All penalties collected under this subsection shall

18 be deposited in the Treasury.

19 (g) EXPANDED ROYALTY OBLIGATIONS.—Each per20 son liable for royalty payments under this section shall

21 be jointly and severally liable for royalty on all locatable

22 minerals, concentrates, or products derived therefrom lost

23 or wasted from a mining claim located or converted under

24 this section when such loss or waste is due to negligence

25 on the part of any person or due to the failure to comply
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1 with any rule, regulation, or order issued under this sec2 tion.

3 (h) EXCEPTION.—No royalty shall be payable under

4 subsection (a) with respect to minerals processed at a fa5 cility by the same person or entity which extracted the

6 minerals if an urban development action grant has been

7 made under section 119 of the Housing and Community

8 Development Act of 1974 with respect to any portion of

9 such facility.

10 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The royalty under this sec11 tion shall take effect with respect to the production of

12 locatable minerals after the enactment of this Act, but any

13 royalty payments attributable to production during the

14 first 12 calendar months after the enactment of this Act

15 shall be payable at the expiration of such 12-month period.

16 SEC. 204. SEVERANCE TAX.

17 (a) SEVERANCE TAX ON MINERALS.—Chapter 36 of

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to certain

19 other excise taxes) is amended by adding at the end the

20 following new subchapter:

21 ‘‘Subchapter G—Tax on Severance of

22 Locatable Minerals

23 ‘‘SEC. 4500. TAX ON SEVERANCE OF LOCATABLE MINERALS.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed a tax

25 on gross income resulting from the severance of any
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1 locatable mineral, or mineral concentrates or products,

2 from a mine or other natural deposit located within the

3 United States.

4 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF TAX.—The amount of the tax im5 posed by subsection (a) shall be 8 percent of the gross

6 income derived from the locatable mineral, or from the

7 mineral concentrates or products, severed as described in

8 such subsection.

9 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION IF ROYALTY IMPOSED.—Subsection

10 (a) shall not apply to gross income with respect to which

11 a royalty is imposed by section 203 of the Public Re12 sources Deficit Reduction Act of 1995.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sub14 chapters for chapter 36 of such Code (relating to certain

15 other excise taxes) is amended by adding at the end the

16 following new item:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER G. Tax on severance of locatable minerals.’’.

17 SEC. 205. FUND FOR ABANDONED LOCATABLE MINERALS

18 MINE RECLAMATION.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—(1) There is estab20 lished on the books of the Treasury of the United States

21 a trust fund to be known as the Abandoned Locatable

22 Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (hereinafter in this title

23 referred to as the ‘Fund’). The Fund shall be administered

24 by the Secretary acting through the Director of the Office

25 of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
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1 (2) The Secretary shall notify the Secretary of the

2 Treasury as to what portion of the Fund is not, in the

3 Secretary’s judgment, required to meet current withdraw4 als. The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such por5 tion of the Fund in public debt securities with maturities

6 suitable for the needs of such Fund and bearing interest

7 at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, tak8 ing into consideration current market yields on outstand9 ing marketplace obligations of the United States of com10 parable maturities. The income on such investments shall

11 be credited to, and form a part of, the Fund.

12 (b) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts shall be cred13 ited to the Fund:

14 (1) All moneys received from royalties under

15 section 203.

16 (2) All taxes collected under section 4500 of the

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

18 (3) All donations by persons, corporations, as19 sociations, and foundations for the purposes of this

20 section.

21 (c) USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND.—The Sec22 retary is authorized, subject to appropriations, to use

23 moneys in the Fund for the reclamation and restoration

24 of land and water resources adversely affected by past

25 mineral activities on lands the legal and beneficial title to
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1 which resides in the United States, land within the exte2 rior boundary of any National Forest System unit.

3 (d) SPECIFIC SITES AND AREAS NOT ELIGIBLE.—

4 The provisions of section 411(d) of the Surface Mining

5 Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 shall apply to ex6 penditures made from the Fund established under this

7 section.

8 (e) FUND EXPENDITURES.—Moneys available from

9 the Fund may be expended for the purposes specified in

10 subsection (d) directly by the Director of the Office of Sur11 face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The Director

12 may also make such money available for such purposes

13 to the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the

14 Chief of the United States Forest Service, the Director

15 of the National Park Service, Director of the United

16 States Fish and Wildlife Service, to any other agency of

17 the United States, to an Indian tribe, or to any public

18 entity that volunteers to develop and implement, and that

19 has the ability to carry out, all or a significant portion

20 of a reclamation program under this title.

21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Amounts

22 credited to the Fund are authorized to be appropriated

23 for the purpose of this section without fiscal year limita24 tion.
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1 SEC. 206. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

2 (a) MINING CLAIMS.—After the date of enactment of

3 this Act, no patent shall be issued by the United States

4 for any mining claim located under the general mining

5 laws unless the Secretary determines that, for the claim

6 concerned—

7 (1) a patent application was filed with the Sec8 retary on or before January 27, 1995; and

9 (2) all requirements established under sections

10 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C.

11 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims and sections

12 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of the Revised Statutes

13 (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, and 37) for placer claims were

14 fully complied with by that date.

15 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

16 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mining claim, the holder

17 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

18 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

19 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

20 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn

21 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

22 States.

23 (b) MILL SITES.—After the date of enactment of this

24 Act, no patent shall be issued by the United States for

25 any mill site claim located under the general mining laws
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1 unless the Secretary determines that for the mill site con2 cerned—

3 (1) a patent application for such land was filed

4 with the Secretary on or before January 27, 1995;

5 and

6 (2) all requirements applicable to such patent

7 application were fully complied with by that date.

8 If the Secretary makes the determinations referred to in

9 paragraphs (1) and (2) for any mill site claim, the holder

10 of the claim shall be entitled to the issuance of a patent

11 in the same manner and degree to which such claim holder

12 would have been entitled to prior to the enactment of this

13 Act, unless and until such determinations are withdrawn

14 or invalidated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

15 States.

16 SEC. 207. PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.

17 The Secretary shall adjust all dollar amounts estab18 lished in this title for changes in the purchasing power

19 of the dollar every 10 years following the date of enact20 ment of this Act, employing the Consumer Price Index for

21 all-urban consumers published by the Department of

22 Labor as the basis for adjustment, and rounding accord23 ing to the adjustment process of conditions of the Federal

24 Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (104

25 Stat. 890).
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1 SEC. 208. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as repealing

3 or modifying any Federal law, regulation, order or land

4 use plan, in effect prior to the effective date of this Act,

5 that prohibits or restricts the application of the general

6 mining laws, including such laws that provide for special

7 management criteria for operations under the general

8 mining laws as in effect prior to the effective date of this

9 Act, to the extent such laws provide environmental protec10 tion greater than required under this title.

11 SEC. 209. EFFECTIVE DATE.

12 Except as otherwise provided in section 206 (relating

13 to limitation on patent issuance) this title shall take effect

14 on the date 1 year after the date of enactment of this

15 Act.

16 TITLE III—HELIUM

17 SEC. 301. AMENDMENT OF HELIUM ACT.

18 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

19 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

20 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi21 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

22 section or other provision of the Helium Act (50 U.S.C.

23 167 to 167n).

24 SEC. 302. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

25 Sections 3, 4, and 5 are amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

2 ‘‘(a) EXTRACTION AND DISPOSAL OF HELIUM ON

3 FEDERAL LANDS.—(1) The Secretary may enter into

4 agreements with private parties for the recovery and dis5 posal of helium on Federal lands upon such terms and

6 conditions as he deems fair, reasonable and necessary. The

7 Secretary may grant leasehold rights to any such helium.

8 The Secretary may not enter into any agreement by which

9 the Secretary sells such helium other than to a private

10 party with whom the Secretary has an agreement for re11 covery and disposal of helium. Such agreements may be

12 subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed

13 by the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(2) Any agreement under this subsection shall be

15 subject to the existing rights of any affected Federal oil

16 and gas lessee. Each such agreement (and any extension

17 or renewal thereof) shall contain such terms and condi18 tions as deemed appropriate by the Secretary.

19 ‘‘(3) This subsection shall not in any manner affect

20 or diminish the rights and obligations of the Secretary and

21 private parties under agreements to dispose of helium pro22 duced from Federal lands in existence at the enactment

23 of the Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of 1995 ex24 cept to the extent that such agreements are renewed or

25 extended after such date.
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1 ‘‘(b) STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND SALE.—The

2 Secretary is authorized to store, transport, and sell helium

3 only in accordance with this Act.

4 ‘‘(c) MONITORING AND REPORTING.—The Secretary

5 is authorized to monitor helium production and helium re6 serves in the United States and to periodically prepare re7 ports regarding the amounts of helium produced and the

8 quantity of crude helium in storage in the United States.

9 ‘‘SEC. 4. STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION OF CRUDE HE10 LIUM.

11 ‘‘(a) STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION.—The Sec12 retary is authorized to store and transport crude helium

13 and to maintain and operate existing crude helium storage

14 at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field, together with relat15 ed helium transportation and withdrawal facilities.

16 ‘‘(b) CESSATION OF PRODUCTION, REFINING, AND

17 MARKETING.—Effective one year after the date of enact18 ment of the Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of

19 1995, the Secretary shall cease producing, refining and

20 marketing refined helium and shall cease carrying out all

21 other activities relating to helium which the Secretary was

22 authorized to carry out under this Act before the date of

23 enactment of the Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act

24 of 1995, except those activities described in subsection (a).
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1 ‘‘(c) DISPOSAL OF FACILITIES.—(1) Within one year

2 after the date of enactment of the Public Resources Defi3 cit Reduction Act of 1995, the Secretary shall dispose of

4 all facilities, equipment, and other real and personal prop5 erty, together with all interests therein, held by the United

6 States for the purpose of producing, refining and market7 ing refined helium. The disposal of such property shall be

8 in accordance with the provisions of law governing the dis9 posal of excess or surplus properties of the United States.

10 ‘‘(2) All proceeds accruing to the United States by

11 reason of the sale or other disposal of such property shall

12 be treated as moneys received under this chapter for pur13 poses of section 6(f). All costs associated with such sale

14 and disposal (including costs associated with termination

15 of personnel) and with the cessation of activities under

16 subsection (b) shall be paid from amounts available in the

17 helium production fund established under section 6(f).

18 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any facilities,

19 equipment, or other real or personal property, or any in20 terest therein, necessary for the storage and transpor21 tation of crude helium.

22 ‘‘(d) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—All contracts which

23 were entered into by any person with the Secretary for

24 the purchase by such person from the Secretary of refined

25 helium and which are in effect on the date of the enact-
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1 ment of the Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of

2 1995 shall remain in force and effect until the date on

3 which the facilities referred to in subsection (c) are dis4 posed of. Any costs associated with the termination of

5 such contracts shall be paid from the helium production

6 fund established under section 6(f).

7 ‘‘SEC. 5. FEES FOR STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND WITH8 DRAWAL.

9 ‘‘Whenever the Secretary provides helium storage,

10 withdrawal, or transportation services to any person, the

11 Secretary is authorized and directed to impose fees on

12 such person to reimburse the Secretary for the full costs

13 of providing such storage, transportation, and withdrawal.

14 All such fees received by the Secretary shall be treated

15 as moneys received under this Act for purposes of section

16 6(f).’’.

17 SEC. 303. SALE OF CRUDE HELIUM.

18 Section 6 is amended as follows:

19 (1) Subsection (a) is amended by striking out

20 ‘‘from the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘from persons

21 who have entered into enforceable contracts to pur22 chase an equivalent amount of crude helium from

23 the Secretary’’.

24 (2) Subsection (b) is amended by inserting

25 ‘‘crude’’ before ‘‘helium’’ and by adding the follow-
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1 ing at the end thereof: ‘‘Except as may be required

2 by reason of subsection (a), sales of crude helium

3 under this section shall be in amounts as the Sec4 retary determines, in consultation with the helium

5 industry, necessary to carry out this subsection with

6 minimum market disruption.

7 (3) Subsection (c) is amended by inserting

8 ‘‘crude’’ before ‘‘helium’’ after the words ‘‘Sales of’’

9 and by striking ‘‘together with interest as provided

10 in subsection’’ and all that follows down through the

11 period at the end of such subsection and inserting

12 the following:

13 ‘‘all funds required to be repaid to the United States as

14 of October 1, 1994 under this section (hereinafter referred

15 to as ‘repayable amounts’). The price at which crude he16 lium is sold by the Secretary shall not be less than the

17 amount determined by the Secretary as follows:

18 ‘‘(1) Divide the outstanding amount of such re19 payable amounts by the volume (in mcf) of crude he20 lium owned by the United States and stored in the

21 Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field at the time of the

22 sale concerned.

23 ‘‘(2) Adjust the amount determined under para24 graph (1) by the Consumer Price Index for years be25 ginning after December 31, 1994.’’.
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1 (4) Subsection (d) is amended to read as fol2 lows:

3 ‘‘(d) EXTRACTION OF HELIUM FROM DEPOSITS ON

4 FEDERAL LANDS.—All moneys received by the Secretary

5 from the sale or disposition of helium on Federal lands

6 shall be paid to the Treasury and credited against the

7 amounts required to be repaid to the Treasury under sub8 section (c) of this section.’’.

9 (5) Subsection (e) is repealed.

10 (6) Subsection (f) is amended by inserting

11 ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’ and by adding the following at the

12 end thereof:

13 ‘‘(2) Within 7 days after the commencement of each

14 fiscal year after the disposal of the facilities referred to

15 in section 4(c), all amounts in such fund in excess of

16 $2,000,000 (or such lesser sum as the Secretary deems

17 necessary to carry out this Act during such fiscal year)

18 shall be paid to the Treasury and credited as provided in

19 paragraph (1). Upon repayment of all amounts referred

20 to in subsection (c), the fund established under this sec21 tion shall be terminated and all moneys received under this

22 Act shall be deposited in the Treasury as General Reve23 nues.’’.

24 SEC. 304. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

25 Section 8 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF STOCKPILE.

2 ‘‘(a) REVIEW OF RESERVES.—The Secretary shall re3 view annually the known helium reserves in the United

4 States and make a determination as to the expected life

5 of the domestic helium reserves (other than federally

6 owned helium stored at the Cliffside Reservoir) at that

7 time.

8 ‘‘(b) Sales.—Not later than January 1, 2005, the

9 Secretary shall commence making sales of crude helium

10 from helium reserves owned by the United States in such

11 amounts as may be necessary to dispose of all such helium

12 reserves in excess of 600 million cubic feet (mcf) by Janu13 ary 1, 2015. The sales shall be at such times and in such

14 lots as the Secretary determines, in consultation with the

15 helium industry, to be necessary to carry out this sub16 section with minimum market disruption. The price for

17 all such sales, as determined by the Secretary in consulta18 tion with the helium industry, shall be such as will ensure

19 repayment of the amounts required to be repaid to the

20 Treasury under section 6(c).

21 ‘‘(c) DISCOVERY OF ADDITIONAL RESERVES.—The

22 discovery of additional helium reserves shall not affect the

23 duty of the Secretary to make sales of helium as provided

24 in subsection (b), as the case may be.’’.

25 SEC. 305. REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO BORROW.

26 Sections 12 and 15 are repealed.
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1 TITLE IV—USE OR DISPOSAL OF

2 FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCES

3 SEC. 401. ANNUAL DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK GRAZING FEE.

4 Section 401 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage5 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1751) is hereby amended

6 by adding at the end the following new subsections:

7 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

8 the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National For9 est lands in the 16 contiguous Western States (except Na10 tional Grasslands) administered by the United States For11 est Service where domestic livestock grazing is permitted

12 under applicable law, and the Secretary of the Interior

13 with respect to public domain lands administered by the

14 Bureau of Land Management where domestic livestock

15 grazing is permitted under applicable law, shall establish

16 beginning with the grazing season which commences on

17 March 1, 1996, an annual domestic livestock grazing fee

18 equal to fair market value: Provided, That the fee charged

19 for any given year shall not increase nor decrease by more

20 than 33.3 percent from the previous year’s grazing fee.

21 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term

22 ‘fair market value’ is defined as follows:

Fair Market Value=

Appraised Base Value×Forage Value Index

100

23 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A)—
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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘Forage Value Index’ means the

2 Forage Value Index (FVI) computed annually by the

3 Economic Research Service, United States Depart4 ment of Agriculture, and set with the 1996 FVI

5 equal to 100; and

6 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Appraised Base Value’ means

7 the 1983 Appraisal Value conclusions for mature

8 cattle and horses (expressed in dollars per head or

9 per month), as determined in the 1986 report pre10 pared jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the

11 Secretary of the Interior entitled ‘Grazing Fee Re12 view and Evaluation’, dated February 1986, on a

13 westwide basis using the lowest appraised value of

14 the pricing areas adjusted for advanced payment

15 and indexed to 1996.

16 ‘‘(3) Executive Order No. 12548, dated February 14,

17 1986, shall not apply to grazing fees established pursuant

18 to this Act.

19 ‘‘(d) The grazing advisory boards established pursu20 ant to Secretarial action, notice of which was published

21 in the Federal Register on May 14, 1986 (51 Fed. Reg.

22 17874), are hereby abolished, and the advisory functions

23 exercised by such boards, shall, after the date of enact24 ment of this sentence, be exercised only by the appropriate

25 councils established under this section.
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1 ‘‘(e) Funds appropriated pursuant to section 5 of the

2 Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C.

3 1904) or any other provision of law related to disposition

4 of the Federal share of receipts from fees for grazing on

5 public domain lands or National Forest lands in the 16

6 contiguous western States shall be used for restoration

7 and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, for restora8 tion and improved management of riparian areas, and for

9 implementation and enforcement of applicable land man10 agement plans, allotment plans, and regulations regarding

11 the use of such lands for domestic livestock grazing. Such

12 funds shall be distributed as the Secretary concerned

13 deems advisable after consultation and coordination with

14 the advisory councils established pursuant to section 309

15 of this Act and other interested parties.’’.

16 SEC. 402. ELIMINATION OF BELOW-COST TIMBER SALES OF

17 TIMBER FROM NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM

18 LANDS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Forest Management

20 Act of 1976 is amended by inserting after section 14 (16

21 U.S.C. 472a) the following new section:

22 ‘‘SEC. 14A. ELIMINATION OF BELOW-COST TIMBER SALES

23 FROM NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.

24 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT THAT SALE REVENUES EXCEED

25 COSTS.—On and after October 1, 2001, in appraising tim-
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1 ber and setting a minimum bid for trees, portions of trees,

2 or forest products located on National Forest System

3 lands proposed for sale under section 14 or other provision

4 of law, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that the

5 estimated cash returns to the United States Treasury

6 from each sale exceed the estimated costs to be incurred

7 by the Federal Government in preparation or as a result

8 of that sale.

9 ‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—For purposes of

10 estimating under this section the costs to be incurred by

11 the Federal Government from each timber sale, the Sec12 retary shall assign to the sale the following costs:

13 ‘‘(1) The actual appropriated expenses for sale

14 preparation and harvest administration incurred or

15 to be incurred by the Federal Government from the

16 sale and the payments to counties to be made as a

17 result of the sale.

18 ‘‘(2) A portion of the annual timber resource

19 planning costs, silvicultural examination costs, other

20 resource support costs, road design and construction

21 costs, road maintenance costs, transportation plan22 ning costs, appropriated reforestation costs, timber

23 stand improvement costs, forest genetics costs, gen24 eral administrative costs (including administrative

25 costs of the national and regional offices of the For-
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1 est Service), and facilities construction costs of the

2 Federal Government directly or indirectly related to

3 the timber harvest program conducted on National

4 Forest System lands.

5 ‘‘(c) METHOD OF ALLOCATING COSTS.—The Sec6 retary shall allocate the costs referred to in subsection

7 (b)(2) to each unit of the National Forest System, and

8 each proposed timber sale in such unit, on the basis of

9 harvest volume.

10 ‘‘(d) TRANSITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—To ensure the

11 elimination of all below-cost timber sales by the date speci12 fied in subsection (a), the Secretary shall progressively re13 duce the number and size of below-cost timber sales on

14 National Forest System lands as follows:

15 ‘‘(1) In fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, the

16 quantity of timber sold in below-cost timber sales on

17 National Forest System lands shall not exceed 75

18 percent of the quantity of timber sold in such sales

19 in the preceding fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(2) In fiscal year 1999, the quantity of timber

21 sold in below-cost timber sales on National Forest

22 System lands shall not exceed 65 percent of the

23 quantity of timber sold in such sales in fiscal year

24 1998.
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1 ‘‘(3) In fiscal year 2000, the quantity of timber

2 sold in below-cost timber sales on National Forest

3 System lands shall not exceed 50 percent of the

4 quantity of timber sold in such sales in the fiscal

5 year 1999.

6 ‘‘(e) BELOW-COST TIMBER SALE.—For purposes of

7 this section, the term ‘below-cost timber sale’ means a sale

8 of timber in which the costs to be incurred by the Federal

9 Government exceed the cash returns to the United States

10 Treasury.’’.

11 (b) FINDINGS.—Section 2 of the Forest and Range12 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16

13 U.S.C. 1600) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

15 (6);

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new

19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(8) the practice of selling timber from Na21 tional Forest System lands for less than the cost to

22 the Federal Government of growing the timber and

23 preparing the timber for sale is not in the best inter24 ests of the United States, and such below-cost sales

25 should be eliminated in an orderly manner to achieve
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1 a more economically and environmentally sound tim2 ber program for the National Forest System.’’.

3 SEC. 403. TIMBERLAND SUITABILITY.

4 Section 6(k) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable

5 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(k)) is

6 amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(k) DETERMINATION OF SUITABILITY OF LANDS

8 FOR TIMBER PRODUCTION.—

9 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—In revising

10 land management plans developed pursuant to this

11 section, the Secretary shall identify lands within the

12 management area that are not suited for timber pro13 duction based on physical, economic, or other rel14 evant factors. The Secretary shall review the identi15 fications made under this paragraph during each re16 vision of the forest plan.

17 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE OF ECONOMIC

18 UNSUITABILITY.—The Secretary shall identify lands

19 as economically unsuitable for timber production

20 under paragraph (1) if—

21 ‘‘(A) the expected cash returns to the

22 United States Treasury that would result from

23 the sale of standing timber on the lands do not

24 exceed the expected costs that would be in-
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1 curred by the Federal Government in prepara2 tion or as a result of such sales; or

3 ‘‘(B) the expected cash returns to the

4 United States Treasury that would result from

5 the sale of subsequent timber stands on the

6 lands do not exceed the expected costs that

7 would be incurred by the Federal Government

8 in preparation or as a result of such sales.

9 ‘‘(3) COSTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—For purposes

10 of estimating under paragraph (2) the costs to be in11 curred by the Federal Government from timber sales

12 conducted on the lands being reviewed, the Secretary

13 shall assign to sales on such lands the following

14 costs:

15 ‘‘(A) The appropriated expenses for sale

16 preparation and harvest administration that

17 would be incurred by the Federal Government

18 from such sales and the payments to counties

19 that would be made as a result of such sales.

20 ‘‘(B) A portion of the annual timber re21 source planning costs, silvicultural examination

22 costs, other resource support costs, road design

23 and construction costs, road maintenance costs,

24 transportation planning costs, appropriated re25 forestation costs, timber stand improvement
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1 costs, forest genetics costs, general administra2 tive costs (including administrative costs of the

3 national and regional offices of the Forest Serv4 ice), and facilities construction costs of the Fed5 eral Government directly or indirectly related to

6 the timber harvest program conducted on Na7 tional Forest System lands.

8 ‘‘(4) METHOD OF ALLOCATING COSTS.—The

9 Secretary shall allocate the costs referred to in para10 graph (3)(B) to each unit of the National Forest

11 System on the basis of harvest volume.

12 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON TIMBER HARVESTS ON

13 UNSUITABLE LANDS.—In the case of lands identified

14 under paragraph (1) as unsuitable for timber pro15 duction, no timber harvesting shall occur on such

16 lands for a period of 10 years or the life of the plan,

17 whichever is greater.

18 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub19 section:

20 ‘‘(A) The term ‘standing timber’ means an

21 existing stand of timber that has not been har22 vested.

23 ‘‘(B) The term ‘subsequent timber stand’

24 means a regenerated stand of timber produced
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1 on land from which standing timber has been

2 harvested.’’.

3 SEC. 404. COST OF WATER USED TO PRODUCE SURPLUS

4 CROPS.

5 Section 9 of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43

6 U.S.C. 485h) is amended by inserting at the end thereof

7 the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(g)(1) Any contract entered into under authority of

9 this section or any other provision of Federal reclamation

10 law shall require that the organization agree by contract

11 with the Secretary to pay full cost for the delivery of water

12 used in the production of any crop of an agricultural com13 modity for which an acreage reduction program is in effect

14 under the provisions of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7

15 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.).

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall announce the amount of the

17 full cost payment for the succeeding year on or before July

18 1 of each year.

19 ‘‘(3) As used in this subsection, the term ‘full cost’

20 shall have the meaning given such term in paragraph (3)

21 of section 202 of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982

22 (43 U.S.C. 390bb(3)).

23 ‘‘(4) Paragraph (1) shall apply to any contract en24 tered into or amended after the date of enactment of this

25 subsection.’’.
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1 SEC. 405. REDUCTION IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS

2 UNDER AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE PRO3 GRAMS TO REFLECT RECEIPT OF FEDERAL

4 IRRIGATION WATER.

5 (a) PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAMS.—Title X of the

6 Food Security Act of 1985 is amended—

7 (1) by redesignating sections 1001D (7 U.S.C.

8 1308–4) and 1001E (7 U.S.C. 1308–5) as sections

9 1001E and 1001F, respectively; and

10 (2) by inserting after section 1001C (7 U.S.C.

11 1308–3) the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 1001D. REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITATIONS TO

13 REFLECT RECEIPT OF FEDERAL IRRIGATION

14 WATER.

15 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITATIONS RE16 QUIRED.—If a person subject to section 1001 receives

17 Federal irrigation water for agricultural purposes from the

18 operation of a Federal reclamation project, the payment

19 limitations specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such sec20 tion and applicable to such person shall be reduced for

21 the year in which such person receives irrigation water.

22 The amount of the reduction shall be equal to the total

23 value during that year of the subsidy portion of the con24 tract with such person for the delivery of the irrigation

25 water.
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1 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY PORTION OF

2 WATER CONTRACT.—The subsidy portion of an irrigation

3 water delivery contract is equal to the amount by which

4 full cost for the delivery of the irrigation water exceeds

5 the actual contract price for the delivery of the water.

6 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

7 terms ‘contract’, ‘full cost’, ‘irrigation water’, and ‘project’

8 have the meanings given such terms in section 202 of the

9 Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb).’’.

10 (b) NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.—

11 Subsection (h) of section 519 of the Federal Crop Insur12 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1519), as added by section 112 of the

13 Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (title I of

14 Public Law 103–354; 108 Stat. 3202), is amended—

15 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para16 graph (6); and

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow18 ing new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF RECEIPT OF IRRIGATION

20 WATER.—

21 ‘‘(A) REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITA22 TION.—If a person who receives payments

23 under this title also receives, during the same

24 year, Federal irrigation water for agricultural

25 purposes from the operation of a Federal rec-
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1 lamation project, the payment limitation speci2 fied in paragraph (2) for such person shall be

3 reduced for that year. The amount of the re4 duction shall be equal to the total value during

5 that year of the subsidy portion of the contract

6 with such person for the delivery of the irriga7 tion water.

8 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY POR9 TION OF WATER CONTRACT.—The subsidy por10 tion of an irrigation water delivery contract is

11 equal to the amount by which full cost for the

12 delivery of the irrigation water exceeds the ac13 tual contract price for the delivery of the water.

14 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

15 paragraph, the terms ‘contract’, ‘full cost’, ‘irri16 gation water’, and ‘project’ have the meanings

17 given such terms in section 202 of the Reclama18 tion Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb).’’.

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1001 of

20 the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘through 1001C’’ in paragraphs (1)(A),

22 (1)(B), (2)(A), and (5)(A) and inserting ‘‘through

23 1001D’’.
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1 SEC. 406. OFF BUDGET EXPENDITURES.

2 (a) KNUTSON-VANDENBERG FUND.—Section 3 of

3 the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the

4 Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), is amended

5 by striking ‘‘and shall constitute a special fund, which is

6 hereby appropriated and made available until expended,’’

7 in the second sentence and inserting ‘‘and are authorized

8 to be appropriated’’.

9 (b) DEPOSITS FROM BRUSH DISPOSAL.—The para10 graph relating to deposits from brush disposal under the

11 heading ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ in the Act of August 11, 1916

12 (39 Stat. 462; 16 U.S.C. 490), is amended by striking

13 ‘‘and constitute a special fund, which is hereby appro14 priated and shall remain available until expended’’ and in15 serting ‘‘and are authorized to be appropriated for the

16 purpose of disposing of such brush and other debris’’.

17 (c) NATIONAL FORESTS ROADS AND TRAILS.—Sec18 tion 7 of Public Law 88–657 (16 U.S.C. 538) is amended

19 by striking ‘‘may be placed in a fund to be available’’ and

20 inserting ‘‘are authorized to be appropriated’’.

21 (d) TIMBER SALVAGE SALE FUND.—Section 303(d)

22 of Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a) is amended by

23 inserting ‘‘, subject to annual appropriations,’’ after ‘‘The

24 Secretary of Agriculture’’.
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1 SEC. 407. DEPOSIT OF TAYLOR GRAZING ACT RECEIPTS IN

2 TREASURY.

3 Section 10 of the Taylor Grazing Act (43 U.S.C.

4 315i) is amended by striking all after ‘‘miscellaneous re5 ceipts’’ and inserting in lieu thereof a period.

6 SEC. 408. REPEAL OF LIVESTOCK FEED ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAM.

8 (a) REPEAL.—The Emergency Livestock Feed As9 sistance Act of 1988 (title VI of the Agricultural Act of

10 1949; 7 U.S.C. 1471–1471j) is repealed.

11 (b) EFFECT OF REPEAL ON APPROVED APPLICA12 TIONS FOR ASSISTANCE.—The repeal of the Emergency

13 Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1988 by subsection (a)

14 shall not affect the provision of payments or benefits

15 under such Act pursuant to a completed application ap16 proved by the Secretary of Agriculture before the date of

17 the enactment of this Act, and the Emergency Livestock

18 Feed Assistance Act of 1988, as in effect on the day before

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, shall continue to

20 apply to the provision of payments or benefits pursuant

21 to such an application.

22 SEC. 409. COMMUNICATION PERMITS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—No permit, lease, or authorization

24 for the use of any area of the public lands or National

25 Forests for communication uses, including but not limited

26 to radio and television broadcast, mobile radio, cellular
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•HR 721 IH

1 telephone, or microwave relay facilities, shall remain in

2 force and effect after October 1, 1995, unless, by such

3 date, and by October 1 of each year thereafter, the holder

4 of such permit, lease, or authorization pays to the Sec5 retary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as

6 appropriate, an amount equal to the fair market value,

7 as determined by such Secretary, of the right to use and

8 occupy such area for such communication uses.

9 (b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section,

10 the term ‘‘public lands’’ shall have the same meaning as

11 defined in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy Man12 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).

13 SEC. 410. OIL AND GAS RENTALS.

14 The Mineral Leasing Act is amended as follows:

15 (1) In section 14 by striking out ‘‘a rental of

16 $1 per acre’’ and inserting ‘‘a rental established by

17 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and by adding the fol18 lowing at the end thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall es19 tablish fair market value rental fees under this sec20 tion based upon the rental fees which would be

21 charged in arm’s length transactions for comparable

22 leases of oil and gas resources on non-Federal land.’’

23 (2) In section 17(d) by striking out ‘‘rental of

24 not less than $1.50 per acre per year for the first

25 through fifth years of the lease and not less than $2
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1 per acre per year for each year thereafter’’ and in2 serting ‘‘rental established by the Secretary of the

3 Interior’’ and by adding the following at the end

4 thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall establish fair market

5 value rental fees under this section based upon the

6 rental fees which would be charged in arms length

7 transactions for comparable leases of oil and gas re8 sources on non-Federal land.’’

9 (3) In section 21(a) by striking out ‘‘rental,

10 payable at the beginning of each year, at the rate of

11 50 cents per acre per annum, for the lands included

12 in the lease,’’ and inserting ‘‘rental established by

13 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and by adding the fol14 lowing at the end thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall es15 tablish fair market value rental fees under this sec16 tion based upon the rental fees which would be

17 charged in arms length transactions for comparable

18 leases on non-Federal land.’’

19 (4) In section 31(e)(2) by striking ‘‘rate of not

20 less than $10 per acre per year, or the inclusion in

21 a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the provisions

22 of section 17(c) of this Act of a requirement that fu23 ture rentals shall be at a rate not less than $5 per

24 acre per year’’ and inserting ‘‘fair market value rate

25 (but not less than $10 per acre per year)’’.
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1 (5) In section 31(f)(3) by striking out ‘‘of not

2 less than $5 per acre per year’’ and inserting ‘‘es3 tablished by the Secretary at fair market value

4 based upon the rental fees which would be charged

5 in arms length transactions for comparable leases on

6 non-Federal land.’’

7 TITLE V—NATIONAL PARK

8 CONCESSIONS

9 SEC. 501. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

10 (a) FINDINGS.—In furtherance of the Act of August

11 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–

12 4), which directs the Secretary of the Interior to admin13 ister areas of the National Park System in accordance

14 with the fundamental purpose of conserving their scenery,

15 wildlife, natural and historic objects, and providing for

16 their enjoyment in a manner that will leave them

17 unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations, the

18 Congress finds that the preservation and conservation of

19 park resources and values requires that such public ac20 commodations, facilities, and services within such areas as

21 the Secretary, in accordance with this Act, determines nec22 essary and appropriate—

23 (1) should be provided only under carefully con24 trolled safeguards against unregulated and indis-
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1 criminate use so that visitation will not unduly im2 pair park resources and values; and

3 (2) should be limited to locations and designs

4 consistent to the highest practicable degree with the

5 preservation and conservation of park resources and

6 values.

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

8 (1) development on Federal lands within a park

9 shall be limited to those facilities that the Secretary

10 determines are necessary and appropriate for public

11 use and enjoyment of the park in which such facili12 ties and services are located;

13 (2) development within a park should be con14 sistent to the highest practicable degree with the

15 preservation and conservation of the park’s re16 sources and values;

17 (3) park facilities and services the Secretary de18 termines suitable to be provided by parties other

19 than the Secretary should be provided by private

20 persons, corporations, or other entities, except when

21 no private interest is qualified and willing to provide

22 such facilities and services;

23 (4) if the Secretary determines that develop24 ment should occur within a park, such development

25 shall be designed, located, and operated in a manner
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1 that is consistent with the purposes for which such

2 park was established;

3 (5) the right to provide such services and to de4 velop or utilize facilities should be awarded to the

5 person, corporation, or entity submitting the best

6 proposal through a competitive selection process;

7 and

8 (6) such facilities or services should be provided

9 to the public at reasonable rates.

10 SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

11 As used in this title:

12 (1) The term ‘‘concessioner’’ means a person,

13 corporation, or other entity to whom a concession

14 contract has been awarded.

15 (2) the term ‘‘concession contract’’ means a

16 contract, or permit, (but not an authorization issued

17 pursuant to section 504(b) of this title) to provide

18 facilities or services, or both, at a park.

19 (3) The term ‘‘facilities’’ means improvements

20 to real property within parks used to provide accom21 modations, facilities, or services to park visitors.

22 (4) The term ‘‘franchise fee’’ means the fee re23 quired by a concession contract to be paid to the

24 United States in consideration for the privileges af25 forded by such contract to the holder thereof, which
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1 may be expressed as a percentage of revenues de2 rived by the contract holder from activities author3 ized by the contract, and which shall be in addition

4 to fees required to be paid to the United States for

5 the use of federally-owned buildings or other facili6 ties.

7 (5) The term ‘‘fund’’ means the Park Improve8 ment Fund established under section 8(b).

9 (6) The term ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the Na10 tional Park System.

11 (7) The term ‘‘proposal’’ means the complete

12 proposal for a concession contract offered by a po13 tential or existing concessioner in response to the

14 minimum requirements for the contract established

15 by the Secretary.

16 (8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

17 of the Interior.

18 SEC. 503. REPEAL OF CONCESSIONS POLICY ACT OF 1965.

19 (a) REPEAL.—The Act of October 9, 1965, Public

20 Law 89–249 (79 Stat. 969, 16 U.S.C. 20–20g), entitled

21 ‘‘An Act relating to the establishment of concession poli22 cies in the areas administered by National Park Service

23 and for other purposes’’, is hereby repealed. The repeal

24 of such Act shall not affect the validity of any contract

25 entered into under such Act, but the provisions of this title
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1 shall apply to any such contract except to the extent such

2 provisions are inconsistent with the express terms and

3 conditions of the contract. Nothing in this title that is in4 consistent with a prospectus issued before January 27,

5 1995, shall apply to the contract with respect to which

6 such prospectus was issued. The Secretary is authorized

7 to award a concession contract prior to promulgation of

8 new regulations to implement this title if the Secretary

9 determines that protection of public health and safety war10 rant such action, provided that such contract is consistent

11 with this title.

12 (b) TRANSITION.—Nothing in this Act that is incon13 sistent with a prospectus issued before April 1, 1994, shall

14 apply to the contract with respect to which such prospec15 tus was issued. The Secretary is authorized to award a

16 concession contract prior to promulgation of new regula17 tions to implement this Act if the Secretary determines

18 that protection of public health and safety warrant such

19 action, provided that such contract is consistent with this

20 Act.

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The fourth sen22 tence of section 3 of this Act of August 25, 1916 (16

23 U.S.C. 3; 39 Stat. 535) is amended by striking all through

24 ‘‘no natural’’ and inserting in lieu thereof, ‘‘No natural’’.
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1 SEC. 504. CONCESSION CONTRACTS AND OTHER AUTHOR2 IZATIONS.

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

4 policy stated in section 501 of this title and the provisions

5 of this section, the Secretary may award concession con6 tracts that authorize private persons, corporations, or

7 other entities to provide services to park visitors and to

8 utilize facilities if the Secretary determines that such

9 award is the appropriate means for such authorization.

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

11 extent that the Secretary finds that the services to be pro12 vided and the facilities to be utilized pursuant to each such

13 contract are necessary and appropriate for the accommo14 dation of visitors to a park.

15 (3) The provision of services and the utilization of

16 facilities pursuant to concession contracts shall be consist17 ent with all applicable requirements of law, including laws

18 relating generally to the administration and management

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

20 management plan, concessions plan, and other relevant

21 plans developed by the Secretary for the relevant park.

22 (b) OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) To the extent

23 specified in this subsection, the Secretary, upon request,

24 may authorize a private person, corporation, or other en25 tity to provide services to park visitors otherwise than by

26 award of a concession contract.
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1 (2)(A) The authority of this subsection may be used

2 only to authorize provision of services to park visitors that

3 the Secretary determines have minimal impact on park re4 sources and values and will be consistent with the pur5 poses for which the park was established and with all ap6 plicable management plans for such park.

7 (B) The Secretary shall require payment of a reason8 able fee for issuance of an authorization under this sub9 section. The fees shall remain available without further

10 appropriation to be used to recover the costs of managing

11 and administering this subsection.

12 (C) The Secretary shall require that the provision of

13 services under such an authorization be accomplished in

14 a manner consistent to the highest practicable degree with

15 the preservation and conservation of park resources and

16 values.

17 (D) The Secretary shall take appropriate steps to

18 limit the liability of the United States arising from the

19 provision of services under such an authorization.

20 (E) The Secretary shall have no authority under this

21 subsection to issue more authorizations than are consist22 ent with the preservation and proper management of park

23 resources and values, and shall establish such other condi24 tions for issuance of such an authorization as the Sec25 retary determines appropriate for protection of visitors,
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1 provision of adequate and appropriate visitor services, and

2 protection and proper management of the resources and

3 values of the National Park System.

4 (3) Any authorization issued under this subsection

5 shall be limited to commercial operations with annual

6 gross revenues of not more than $25,000 resulting from

7 the services provided within the park pursuant to such au8 thorization.

9 (4) The term of any authorization issued under this

10 subsection shall not exceed 2 years.

11 (5) An entity seeking or obtaining an authorization

12 pursuant to this subsection shall not be precluded from

13 also submitting proposals for concession contracts.

14 SEC. 505. COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in sub16 section (b), and consistent with the provisions of sub17 section (g), any concession contract entered into pursuant

18 to this title shall be awarded to the person submitting the

19 best proposal, as determined by the Secretary through the

20 competitive selection process specified in this section.

21 (2) Within 180 days after the date of enactment of

22 this title, the Secretary shall promulgate appropriate regu23 lations establishing a process to implement this section.

24 (3) The regulations referred to in paragraph (2) shall

25 include provisions for establishing a method or procedure
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1 for the resolution of disputes between the Secretary and

2 a concessioner in those instances where the Secretary has

3 been unable to meet conditions or requirements or provide

4 such services, if any, as set forth in a prospectus pursuant

5 to sections 505(c)(2) (D) and (E).

6 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—Notwithstanding the

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

8 a noncompetitive basis a temporary concession contract if

9 the Secretary determines such an award to be necessary

10 in order to avoid interruption of services to the public at

11 a park. Prior to making such a determination, the Sec12 retary shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to

13 consider alternative actions to avoid such interruptions.

14 (c) PROSPECTUS.—(1) Prior to soliciting proposals

15 for a concession contract at a park, the Secretary shall

16 prepare a prospectus soliciting proposals, shall publish a

17 notice of its availability at least once in such local or na18 tional newspapers or trade publications as the Secretary

19 determines appropriate, and shall make such prospectus

20 available upon request to all interested parties.

21 (2) The prospectus shall include, but need not be lim22 ited to, the following information:

23 (A) The minimum requirements for such con24 tract, as set forth in subsection (d).
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1 (B) The terms and conditions of the existing

2 concession contract awarded for such park, if any,

3 including all fees and other forms of compensation

4 provided to the United States by the concessioner.

5 (C) Other authorized facilities or services which

6 may be included in a proposal.

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

8 Secretary to the concessioner, if any, including but

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

10 (E) Minimum public services to be offered with11 in a park by the Secretary, including but not limited

12 to, interpretive programs, campsites, and visitor cen13 ters.

14 (F) Such other information related to the con15 cessions operation as is provided by the Secretary

16 pursuant to a concession contract or is otherwise

17 available to the Secretary, as the Secretary deter18 mines is necessary to allow for the submission of

19 competitive proposals.

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

21 proposal shall be considered which fails to meet the mini22 mum requirements included in the prospectus. Such mini23 mum requirements shall include payment to the United

24 States of a franchise fee and shall also include, but need

25 not be limited to, the following:
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1 (A) The minimum acceptable franchise fee, fees

2 for use of any Federal buildings or other facilities,

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

4 (B) The duration of the contract.

5 (C) Any facilities, services, or capital invest6 ments required to be provided by the concessioner.

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

8 ensure the protection and preservation of park re9 sources and values.

10 (2) The Secretary may reject any proposal, notwith11 standing the amount of franchise fee offered, if the Sec12 retary determines that the person, corporation, or entity

13 making such proposal is not qualified, is likely to provide

14 unsatisfactory service, or that the proposal is not suffi15 ciently responsive to the objectives of protecting and pre16 serving park resources and of providing necessary and ap17 propriate facilities or services to the public at reasonable

18 rates.

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

20 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by

21 the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish new minimum

22 contract requirements and re-initiate the competitive se23 lection process pursuant to this section.
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1 (e) SELECTION OF BEST PROPOSAL.—(1) In select2 ing the best proposal, the Secretary shall consider the fol3 lowing principal factors:

4 (A) The responsiveness of the proposal to the

5 objectives of protecting and preserving park re6 sources and of providing necessary and appropriate

7 facilities and services to the public at reasonable

8 rates.

9 (B) The experience, expertise, and related back10 ground of the person, corporation, or other entity

11 submitting the proposal, including whether the per12 son, corporation, or entity submitted the proposal

13 has established a record of outstanding performance

14 in providing the same or similar facilities or services.

15 (C) The financial capability of the person, cor16 poration, or entity submitting the proposal.

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

18 consideration of revenue to the United States shall

19 be subordinate to the objectives of protecting and

20 preserving park resources including cultural re21 sources, and of providing necessary and appropriate

22 facilities or services to the public at reasonable rates.

23 (2) The Secretary may also consider such secondary

24 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.
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1 (3) In developing regulations to implement this title,

2 the Secretary shall consider the extent to which plans for

3 employment of Indians (including Native Alaskans) and

4 involvement of businesses owned by Indians, Indian tribes,

5 or Native Alaskans in the operation of concession con6 tracts should be identified as a factor in the selection of

7 a best offer under this section.

8 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec9 retary shall submit any proposed concession contract with

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

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

12 of ten years to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re13 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

14 on Resources of the United States House of Representa15 tives.

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

17 contract until at least 60 days subsequent to the submis18 sion thereof to both Committees.

19 (g) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—(1)

20 Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall

21 not grant a preferential right to a concessioner to renew

22 a concession contract executed pursuant to this title.

23 (2)(A) The Secretary shall grant a preferential right

24 of renewal with respect to a concession contract covered
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1 by subsection (h) and (i) subject to the requirements of

2 subsection (h) or (i), as appropriate.

3 (B) As used in this paragraph and subsections (h)

4 and (i), the term ‘‘preferential right of renewal’’ means

5 that the Secretary shall allow a concessioner satisfying the

6 requirements of this paragraph the opportunity to match

7 the terms and conditions of any competing proposal which

8 the Secretary determines to be the best offer.

9 (C) A concessioner who exercises a preferential right

10 of renewal in accordance with the requirements of this

11 paragraph shall be entitled to award of the new concession

12 contract with respect to which such right is exercised.

13 (h) OUTFITTING AND GUIDE CONTRACTS.—(1) Ex14 cept as provided in subsection (i), the provisions of sub15 section (g)(2) shall apply only—

16 (A) to a concession contract—

17 (i) which solely authorizes a concessioner

18 to provide outfitting, guide, river running, or

19 other substantially similar services within a

20 park; and

21 (ii) which does not grant such concessioner

22 any interest in any structure, fixture, or im23 provement pursuant to section 11 of this Act;

24 and
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1 (B) where the concessioner has been awarded

2 an annual rating of ‘‘Excellent’’ in at least 50 per3 cent of the annual ratings during the term of the

4 contract;

5 (C) where the concessioner has not received any

6 annual unsatisfactory ratings during the term of the

7 contract; and

8 (D) where the Secretary determines that the

9 concessioner has submitted a responsive proposal for

10 a new contract which satisfies the minimum require11 ments established by the Secretary pursuant to sec12 tion 6 of this Act.

13 (2) In granting a preferential right of renewal pursu14 ant to subsection (g)(2), the Secretary shall not require

15 concessioner to match any portion of a proposed franchise

16 fee which exceeds by more than 10 percent the minimum

17 fee established by the Secretary in the prospectus for such

18 contract.

19 (3)(A) With respect to a concession contract (or ex20 tension thereof) covered by this subsection, which is in ef21 fect on the date of enactment of this Act, the provisions

22 of this paragraph shall apply if the holder of such con23 tract, under the laws and policies in effect on the day be24 fore the date of enactment of this Act, would have been
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1 entitled to a preferential right of renewal upon the expira2 tion of such contract.

3 (B) Upon the expiration of a concession contract (or

4 extension thereof) covered by this paragraph, the Sec5 retary, with respect to the award of a new concession con6 tract to provide the same or substantially similar services

7 as those authorized by the previous contract or extension,

8 shall allow the holder of such contract or extension the

9 right to exercise a preferential right of renewal to the

10 same extent as would have been the case under the laws

11 and policies in effect on the day before the date of enact12 ment of this Act.

13 (4)(A) In promulgating regulations to implement this

14 subsection, the Secretary shall include a rating category

15 of ‘‘Excellent’’, and shall establish clear and achievable

16 standards necessary for the award of such rating, includ17 ing but not necessarily limited to criteria relating to—

18 (i) protection of the park’s resources and val19 ues;

20 (ii) furtherance of the educational, recreational,

21 and other purposes for which the Secretary manages

22 the park; and

23 (iii) the adequacy of services provided to park

24 visitors.
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1 (B) The Secretary shall take appropriate steps to en2 able all holders of contracts covered by this subsection,

3 and all parties seeking to obtain such contracts, to be

4 aware of the criteria established pursuant to this para5 graph.

6 (i) CONTRACTS WITH ANNUAL GROSS RECEIPTS

7 UNDER $500,000.—(1) The provisions of subsection

8 (g)(2) shall also apply to a concession contract—

9 (A) which the Secretary estimates will result in

10 annual gross receipts of less than $500,000;

11 (B) where the Secretary has determined that

12 the concessioner has operated satisfactorily during

13 the term of the contract (including any extensions

14 thereof); and

15 (C) that the concessioner has submitted a re16 sponsive proposal for a new concession contract

17 which satisfies the minimum requirements estab18 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 6 of this

19 Act.

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

21 to a concession contract covered by subsection (h).

22 SEC. 506. FRANCHISE FEES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Franchise fees, however stated,

24 shall not be less than the minimum franchise fee estab25 lished by the Secretary for each contract. The minimum
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1 franchise fee shall be determined in a manner that will

2 provide the concessioner with a reasonable opportunity to

3 realize a profit on the operation as a whole, commensurate

4 with the capital invested and the obligations assumed.

5 (b) MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITHIN A PARK.—If

6 multiple concession contracts are awarded to authorize

7 concessioners to provide the same outfitting, guide, river

8 running, or other similar services at the same approximate

9 location within a specific park, the Secretary shall estab10 lish a standardized schedule of franchise fees for all such

11 contracts, subject to periodic review and revision by the

12 Secretary.

13 SEC. 507. USE OF FRANCHISE FEES.

14 (a) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub15 section (b), all receipts including fees for use of federally

16 owned buildings or other facilities collected pursuant to

17 this title shall be covered into a special account established

18 in the Treasury of the United States. Amounts covered

19 into such account in a fiscal year shall be available for

20 expenditure, subject to appropriation, solely as follows:

21 (1) 50 percent shall be allocated among the

22 units of the National Park System in the same pro23 portion as franchise fees collected from a specific

24 unit bears to the total amount covered into the ac25 count for each fiscal year, to be used for resource
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1 management and protection, maintenance activities,

2 interpretation, and research.

3 (2) 50 percent shall be allocated among the

4 units of the National Park System on the basis of

5 need, in a manner to be determined by the Sec6 retary, to be used for resource management and pro7 tection, maintenance activities, interpretation, and

8 research.

9 (b) PARK IMPROVEMENT FUND.—(1) In lieu of col10 lecting all or a portion of the franchise fees that would

11 otherwise be collected pursuant to the concession contract,

12 the Secretary shall, where the Secretary determines it to

13 be practicable, require a concessioner to establish a Park

14 Improvement Fund in which the concessioner shall deposit

15 the franchise fees that would otherwise be required by the

16 contract.

17 (2) The fund shall be maintained by the concessioner

18 in an interest bearing account in a federally insured finan19 cial institution. The concessioner shall maintain the fund

20 separately from any other funds or accounts and shall not

21 co-mingle the monies in the fund with any other monies.

22 The Secretary may establish such other terms, conditions,

23 or requirements as the Secretary determines to be nec24 essary to ensure the financial integrity of the fund.
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1 (3) Monies from the fund, including interest, shall be

2 expended solely for activities and projects within the park

3 which are consistent with the park’s general management

4 plan, concessions plan, and other applicable plans, and

5 which the Secretary determines will enhance public use,

6 safety, and enjoyment of the park, including but not lim7 ited to projects which directly or indirectly support conces8 sion facilities or services required by the concession con9 tract, but no expenditure from the fund shall have the ef10 fect of creating or increasing any compensable interest of

11 any concessioner in any such facilities. A concessioner

12 shall not be allowed to make any advances or credits to

13 the fund.

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

15 in improvements made from fund expenditures, including

16 any interest granted pursuant to section 310 of this title.

17 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga18 tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any

19 structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such con20 cessioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im21 provement fully complies with applicable safety and health

22 laws and regulations.

23 (6) The concessioner shall maintain proper records

24 for all expenditures made from the fund. Such records

25 shall include, but not be limited to invoices, bank state-
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1 ments, canceled checks, and such other information as the

2 Secretary may require.

3 (7) The concessioner shall annually submit to the

4 Secretary a statement reflecting total activity in the fund

5 for the preceding financial year. The statement shall re6 flect monthly deposits, expenditures by project, interest

7 earned, and such other information as the Secretary re8 quires.

9 (8) A fund established pursuant to this subsection

10 may not be used for any capital expenditure exceeding

11 $2,500,000 in any fiscal year unless such expenditure

12 from a fund has been authorized in advance by Act of Con13 gress. The Secretary shall annually inform the Congress

14 concerning the actual and projected use of moneys in each

15 fund established pursuant to this subsection.

16 (9) Upon the termination of a concession contract,

17 or upon the sale or transfer of such contract, any remain18 ing balance in the fund shall be transferred by the conces19 sioner to the successor concessioner, to be sued solely as

20 set forth in this subsection. In the event there is no succes21 sor concessioner, the fund balance shall be deposited into

22 the special account established in subsection (a).

23 SEC. 508. DURATION OF CONTRACT.

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

25 into pursuant to this title shall be awarded for a term not
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1 to exceed ten years: Provided, however, That the Secretary

2 may award a contract for a term not to exceed twenty

3 years if the Secretary determines that a longer term is

4 a necessary component of the overall contract in order to

5 reduce the costs to the United States of acquiring

6 possessory interests or to carry out the policies of this title

7 and other laws applicable to the National Park System.

8 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary conces9 sion contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant

10 to section 505(b) of this title shall be for a term not to

11 exceed two years.

12 SEC. 509. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.

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

14 be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by

15 a concessioner without prior written notification to, and

16 approval of the Secretary.

17 (2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold

18 approval of a transfer, assignment, sale, or conveyance of

19 a concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer

20 of a concession contract to any individual, corporation or

21 other entity if, among other matters, the Secretary deter22 mines that—

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

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

25 requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;
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1 (B) such transfer, assignment, sale or convey2 ance is not consistent with the objectives of protect3 ing and preserving park resources, and of providing

4 necessary and appropriate facilities or services to the

5 public at reasonable rates;

6 (C) such transfer, assignment, sale, or convey7 ance relates to a concession contract which does not

8 provide to the United States consideration commen9 surate with the probable value of the privileges

10 granted by the contract; or

11 (D) the terms of the transfer, assignment, sale,

12 or conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a sig13 nificant value to intangible assets or otherwise may

14 so reduce the opportunity for a reasonable profit

15 over the remaining term of the contract that the

16 United States would be required to make substantial

17 additional expenditures in order to avoid interrup18 tion of services to park visitors.

19 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty

20 days after receiving a request to approve a transfer, as21 signment, sale, or other conveyance of a concession con22 tract with anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of

23 $1,000,000 (indexed to 1993 constant dollars) or a dura24 tion in excess of 10 years, the Secretary shall notify the

25 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Unit-
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1 ed States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

2 United States House of Representatives of such proposal.

3 Approval of such proposal, if granted by the Secretary,

4 shall not take effect until sixty days after the date of noti5 fication of both Committees.

6 SEC. 510. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

7 (a) EXISTING STRUCTURES.—(1) A concessioner

8 who, pursuant to a concession contract, before the date

9 of enactment of this title acquired or constructed, or as

10 of such date was required by such a contract to commence

11 acquisition or construction, of any structure, fixture, or

12 improvement upon land owned by the United States within

13 a park, shall have a possessory interest therein, to the ex14 tent provided by such contract, the value of such

15 possessory interest to be determined for all purposes on

16 the basis of applicable laws and contracts in effect on the

17 day before such date of enactment.

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

19 to a concessioner whose contract in effect on the date of

20 enactment of this title does not include recognition of a

21 possessory interest.

22 (3)(A)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

23 with respect to a concession contract entered into on or

24 after the date of enactment of this title, the provisions

25 of subsection (b) shall apply to any existing structure, fix-
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1 ture, or improvement as defined in paragraph (1), except

2 that the value of the possessory interest as of the termi3 nation date of the first contract expiring after the date

4 of enactment of this title shall be used as the basis for

5 depreciation, in lieu of the actual original cost of such

6 structure, fixture, or improvement.

7 (ii) Notwithstanding Generally Accepted Accounting

8 Principles, a concessioner with a possessory interest as

9 provided in subsection (a) may, at the termination date

10 of the first contract expiring after the date of enactment

11 of this Act, re-estimate the useful life of the applicable

12 structure, fixture, or improvement, consistent with sub13 section (b): Provided, That the estimated useful life of

14 such structure, fixture, or improvement shall not there15 after be reestablished or revalued.

16 (B) If the Secretary determines during the competi17 tive selection process that all proposals submitted either

18 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected (as

19 provided in section 505), the Secretary may, solely with

20 respect to a structure, fixture, or improvement covered

21 under this paragraph, suspend the depreciation provisions

22 of subsection (b)(1) for the duration of the contract: Pro23 vided, That the Secretary may suspend such depreciation

24 provisions only if the Secretary determines that the estab25 lishment of other new minimum contract requirements is
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1 not likely to result in the submission of satisfactory pro2 posals, and that the suspension of the depreciation provi3 sions is likely to result in the submission of satisfactory

4 proposals.

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

6 enactment of this title, a concessioner who constructs or

7 acquires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fix8 ture, or improvement upon land owned by the United

9 States within a park, pursuant to a concession contract,

10 shall have an interest in such structure, fixture, or im11 provement equivalent to the actual original cost of acquir12 ing or constructing such structure, fixture, or improve13 ment, less straight line depreciation over the estimated

14 useful life of the asset according to Generally Accepted

15 Accounting Principles: Provided, That in no event shall

16 the estimated useful life of such asset exceed the deprecia17 tion period used for such asset for Federal income tax pur18 poses.

19 (2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi20 nated prior to the estimated useful life of an asset de21 scribed in paragraph (1), the concessioner shall be entitled

22 to receive from the United States or the successor conces23 sioner payment equal to the value of the concessioner’s

24 interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement. A suc25 cessor concessioner may not revalue the interest in such
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1 structure, fixture, or improvement, the method of depre2 ciation, or the estimated useful life of the asset.

3 (3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve4 ment shall be vested in the United States.

5 (c) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.—Noth6 ing in this section shall affect the obligation of a conces7 sioner to insure, maintain, and repair any structure, fix8 ture, or improvement assigned to such concessioner and

9 to insure that such structure, fixture, or improvement

10 fully complies with applicable safety and health laws and

11 regulations.

12 SEC. 511. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.

13 The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and

14 charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in

15 the prospectus and contract, be judged primarily by com16 parison with those rates and charges for facilities and

17 services of comparable character charged by parties in rea18 sonable proximity to the relevant park and operating

19 under similar conditions, with due consideration for length

20 of season, seasonal variance, average percentage of occu21 pancy, accessibility, availability and costs of labor and ma22 terials, type of patronage, and other factors deemed sig23 nificant by the Secretary.
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1 SEC. 512. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.

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

3 days after the date of enactment of this title, the Sec4 retary, after an appropriate period for public comment,

5 shall publish regulations establishing standards and cri6 teria for evaluating the performance of concessioners oper7 ating within parks.

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

9 periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op10 erating under a concession contract pursuant to this title

11 to determine whether such concessioner has performed

12 satisfactorily. In evaluating a concessioner’s performance,

13 the Secretary shall seek and consider applicable reports

14 and comments from appropriate Federal, State, and local

15 regulatory agencies, and shall seek and consider the views

16 of park visitors and concession customers. If the Sec17 retary’s performance evaluation results in an unsatisfac18 tory rating of the concessioner’s overall operation, the Sec19 retary shall so notify the concessioner in writing, and shall

20 provide the concessioner with a list of the minimum re21 quirements necessary for the operation to be rated satis22 factory.

23 (2) The Secretary may terminate a concession con24 tract if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum oper25 ational requirements identified by the Secretary within the

26 time limitations established by the Secretary at the time
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1 notice of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the con2 cessioner.

3 (3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract

4 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos5 als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of

6 this title.

7 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary

8 shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural Re9 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

10 on Resources of the United States House of Representa11 tives of each unsatisfactory overall annual rating and of

12 each concession contract terminated pursuant to this sec13 tion.

14 SEC. 513. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

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

16 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec17 retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s

18 contract have been and are being faithfully performed, and

19 the Secretary, the Inspector General of the Department

20 of the Interior, or any of the Secretary’s duly authorized

21 representatives shall, for the purpose of audit and exam22 ination, have access to such records and to other books,

23 documents and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the

24 contract and all the terms and conditions thereof as the

25 Secretary and the Inspector General deem necessary.
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1 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The

2 Comptroller General of the United States or any of his

3 or her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expi4 ration of five calendar years after the close of the business

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

6 to examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and

7 records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con8 tracts involved, including those related to any Park Im9 provement Funds established pursuant to section 507(b).

10 SEC. 514. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE11 MENTS.

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

13 1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leas14 ing of buildings and properties of the United States, shall

15 not apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant

16 to this title.

17 SEC. 515. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.

18 Nothing in this title shall be construed to amend, su19 persede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska

20 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

21 3101 et seq.).

22 SEC. 516. IMPLEMENTATION.

23 (a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with fiscal

24 year 1997, the Inspector General of the Department of

25 the Interior shall conduct a biennial audit of the Sec-
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1 retary’s implementation of this title and the award and

2 management of concession contracts and authorizations

3 described in section 504(b).

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

5 1997, and biannually thereafter the Secretary and the In6 spector General of the Department of the Interior shall

7 submit a report to the Committee on Energy and Natural

8 Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee

9 on Resources of the United States House of Representa10 tives on the implementation of this title and the effect of

11 such implementation on facilities operated and services

12 provided pursuant to concession contracts.

13 (c) INFORMATION FROM SECRETARY.—In each re14 port required by this section, the Secretary shall—

15 (1) identify any concession contracts which have

16 been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or trans17 ferred during the 2 years prior to the submission of

18 the report and identify any significant changes in

19 the terms of the new contract;

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

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

22 other services required to be provided by the conces23 sioner in comparison to that required in any pre24 vious concession contract for the same facilities or

25 services at the same park;
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1 (3) assess the degree to which facilities are

2 being maintained, using the condition of such facili3 ties on the date of enactment of this Act as a base4 line;

5 (4) indicate whether competition has been in6 creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of

7 concession contracts;

8 (5) set forth the total amount of revenues re9 ceived and financial obligations incurred or reduced

10 by the Federal Government as a result of enactment

11 of this Act for the reporting period and in compari12 son with previous reporting periods and the baseline

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

14 with the acquisition of possessory interests; and

15 (6) include information concerning any park

16 improvement funds established pursuant to section

17 507(b) of this title, including—

18 (A) the total amount of funds deposited

19 into and expended from each such fund during

20 the preceding 2-year period; and

21 (B) the purposes for which expenditures

22 from such funds during such period were used.

23 (d) INFORMATION FROM INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In

24 each report required by this section, the Inspector General

25 of the Department of the Interior shall include informa-
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1 tion as to the results of the audit required by subsection

2 (a), including—

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

4 of this title;

5 (2) the extent to which such implementation

6 has furthered the policies of this title, as set forth

7 in section 501, and has led to an increase or de8 crease in competition for concession contracts;

9 (3) the adequacy of recordkeeping and other re10 quirements imposed on establishment and use of

11 park improvement funds established pursuant to sec12 tion 507(b); and

13 (4) any recommendations the Inspector General

14 may find appropriate in order to further the pur15 poses of this title and other laws applicable to the

16 National Park System or to assure that park im17 provement funds established pursuant to section

18 507(b) are maintained and expenditures therefrom

19 are used in accordance with this title and sound

20 business practices.

21 SEC. 517. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

23 may be necessary to carry out this title.

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